"If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." Jesus "became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." Heb. 5:9. Are we his disciples? If we continue in his word we are; if we bring forth much fruit we are. John 15:8. A disciple is a learner. A disciple of Christ is one who learns of Christ. And this is the Saviour's command, "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me." In him is a field of study that can never be exhausted, "For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." Col. 2:9. Would we learn meekness, we must learn it of Christ. Would we learn gentleness, we must learn it of Christ. Would we learn righteousness, we must learn it of Christ. Would we learn holiness, we must learn it of Christ. Would we learn charity, we must learn it of Christ. Would we learn anything at all but that which is earthly, we must learn it of Christ; for "of God he is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." If thus we study the divine Saviour, and learn of him and continue in his word, then are we his disciples indeed. He that heareth the sayings of Christ and doeth them is the man who has built his house upon the rock; while he that heareth these sayings and doeth them not has built his house on the sand. Alas! how many there are even to-day as of old to whom the words of Christ come, "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Luke 6:46.
If thus we learn of Christ, we shall know the truth, for he is the Truth. He came to "bear witness unto the truth." The word of God is truth, and Christ is the word of God personified. We shall know the truth and the truth shall make us free; for "he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." The people who enter in through the gates of the eternal city, are those who have kept the truth. "In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in." Isa. 26:1, 2. Jesus tells us what is meant by the truth in this place; he says: "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." Rev. 22:14. And David says: "Thy righteousness is an everlasting347righteousness, and thy law is the truth." Ps. 119:142. But it is only through Christ that we can keep the truth, the commandments of God. And he, Christ the Truth, must make us free from our disobedience to the truth,—the law of God,—before we can do the truth.
"WHOSOEVER committeth sin is the servant of sin." Sin is the master and the sinner is the servant. The wages that the servant receives is death; "for the wages of sin is death." Sin is a cruel master, and pays a cruel price for the service that is rendered. He holds his servants in cruel bondage, with mighty strength, for the strength of sin is the law of God. "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." The wages of sin is death, but Christ died for all. God "made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin." "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." He came to set at liberty them that are bound under the bondage of sin. He has conquered and condemned sin; he has broken the power of death. "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." And he longs to make free all the servants of sin. "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God," "and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour." "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit; for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Rom. 8:1, 2.
"If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham." This is the Lord's testimony of Abraham: "Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." Abraham believed God, and obeyed God; and these men, while asserting with all their power that they were the children of Abraham, were denying all the evidences that God could bring before them, and in their rebellion were only waiting for a chance to kill the One whom God had sent, the promised seed of Abraham, in whom all the world should be blessed. If they had believed on Christ, they would have been indeed the children of Abraham, and would have been blessed with faithful Abraham. For "if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." If they had been indeed the children of Abraham, they would have rejoiced to see the day when Jesus stood in the world, for Abraham rejoiced to see that day, and he saw it and was glad. Abraham rejoiced to see it even afar off, and by faith; while they would not see it before their eyes and present to their senses.
In seeking to kill Christ, they were but doing the deeds of their father the devil, for "he that committeth sin is of the devil," and the devil was a murderer from the beginning. Jesus thus laid bare their wicked hearts, and the more they resisted the truth the more he exposed their hypocrisy, until their baseness became so glaring before all that the only thing they could do to hide it was to kill him who so persistently and so unscathingly exposed it. A similar instance of their wickedness was shown in the case of Lazarus. After Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, many by seeing Lazarus believed on Jesus, so to prevent this the chief priests proposed to kill Lazarus. John 12:10, 11. And it was all brought about by their resistance to the truth in the first place. If they had received his word at the beginning; if they had diligently weighed his profession, and fairly examined his works with honesty of purpose to know the truth, they would have seen in him that which he really was.
But because his appearance did not suit them, because he did not come as they thought the Messiah ought to come, they set their minds against him at once. And though he besought them not to judge according to appearances, but to judge righteous judgment, and though they believed not him, to believe the works yet it was all to no purpose. They had decided that they would not believe he was the Christ, and nothing should alter that decision. We should never condemn any doctrine, nor any profession, simply because it does not meet our opinion. Our opinion may be wrong, and if the doctrine be the truth, we wrong ourselves by rejecting it. "Prove all things, hold fast that which is good." Bring everything to the test of the word of God; if it will not bear that test, it is wrong, and then cast it away as such. If it will bear the test of the word of God, then we dare not reject it, for it is the truth of God, and it is by knowing and continuing in the truth that we become Christ's disciples indeed. Be careful with the truth. Exalt it and it shall promote thee. Those that hate it love death.
AGAIN Jesus put them in a strait by the question, "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" Convince here signifies to convict. Which of you convicts me of sin? Here he throws the question open in the fairest possible way, and it still remains so. Let the world be summoned, and who of all its inhabitants can convict Jesus Christ of sin? Who can point to a single word or deed of wrong report? He has stood thus challenging the world for more than eighteen centuries; but as with the Jews at the first, so has it ever been, no man can say "I." And upon this comes, as the logical consequence, the question that he asked of them: "If I say the truth, why do you not believe me?" If he cannot be convicted of sin, his whole course was that of truth. Why then do you not believe him? Do you not want to believe the truth? This challenge of Christ places upon every person the alternative of either believing that he is the Christ, or of refusing to believe the truth.
"BEFORE Abraham was, I am." Yea, before all things he is; for he is the beginning and the ending, "which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." Rev. 1:8.
The Truth Is Spreading.
By William Ings
LETTERS have just been received from Central America, where quite an interest has been awakened on present truth, by a devoted sister, a native of that country, who embraced the truth in San Francisco and is a member of this church. Since receiving the truth herself she has had an intense desire that her country people should have the privilege of learning it. She began the work by sending the Signs and other reading matter, which aroused an interest, and many of our bound books were sought for and eagerly perused. A preacher was called for, but as none could be spared, the sister referred to above left her family of children in the hands of one of our people and made a visit to them. As a result we have the following good report. A letter dated April 23, says:—
"I presume you have heard from me, through others, of the interest concerning present truth among the people of these islands (Balize and Carazel). While visiting Balize Island, I took many orders for books; sold many copies of 'Great Controversy,' and left many interested in the present truth. On my visit to Carazel, I did the same work. One took her stand to keep the Sabbath, and others are deeply interested and are circulating papers and tracts among the people. Since my return to Bay Island, I have labored from one end of the island to the other, holding Bible-readings and distributing papers and tracts. I have found the people extremely anxious to learn all about our views. Eleven have taken their stand to keep all of God's commandments. Four ministers are much exercised about these new truths. I am very anxious that a minister should come here, as some are awaiting baptism. I have already sold nineteen dozen copies of our publications."
A letter has also been received by the San Francisco church, from a lady who has embraced the truth from the labors of this faithful sister. She says:—
"I desire your prayers and sympathy for me and mine, that the Lord may lead us into all truth. For years I have been praying for light on the Sabbath question, and am now very grateful that my heavenly Father has answered my prayers. I am very thankful to learn the truth at last, from the dearest living friend of my childhood. I am delighted to hear of the love and zeal among the members of your church, and also to learn that you are offering your prayers for the people on this island. I am happy to say that my husband has received the truth and keeps the Lord's Sabbath. Oh, how I wish that a minister could come here to preach both in English and Spanish; for it seems such a pity for the poor Spanish Hondurrans to live and die knowing and believing nothing but the wickedness taught them by the Catholic priest."
The truth surely is going before "many people, and nations, and tongues, and kings." Therefore let us take courage and go forward in the name and strength of Israel's God.
WM. INGS.
Salvation Not Inherited.
It will not do to trust blood as a substitute for religion. Absalom was David’s son. Judas Iscariot could have said, “I am a child of Abraham.” It would seem that even the blindest Hebrew must sometimes have seen enough to make him doubt the sufficiency of Abraham’s name.
Christ told the Jews plainly that this dead faith in an ancestor was really a bondage to the devil.
About their freedom the Hebrews were peculiarly sensitive. Their forefathers had been in cruel slavery in Egypt. Others had afterward been carried captive to Babylon. Even now the streets of the holy city were guarded by a foreign soldiery. Yet by some legerdemain of logic they reasoned that to be a Hebrew was to be a freeman. We were “never in bondage to any man,” they cried.
At once Jesus set them upon a deeper search: “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” How surprising that they could get no vision of themselves! Their hearts ablaze with hate, their hands ready for murder, and yet they could be boastful of their piety! Christ himself explains the anomaly: “Ye are of your father the devil.”—Half Hours.
Watch Your Thoughts, Tempers, and Tongues
By Hannah More
We have employment assigned to us for every circumstance in life. When we are alone we have our thoughts to watch, in the family our tempers, and in company our tongues.—Hannah More.
THE LAW OF GOD.
Christ the End of the Law.
(Continued.)
(Lesson 10.—Sabbath, June 26.)
1. To whom is Christ the end of the law?
"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." Rom. 10:4.
2. For what purpose is he the end of the law to believers? "For righteousness."
3. What is righteousness? Obedience to the law. See Deut. 6:25.
4. What will those have who keep the law?
"For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them." Rom. 10:5. "And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God; but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Matt. 19:17.
5. Then since it was designed that men should keep the law, to what may the law be said to have been ordained or designed? It was ordained unto life. See Rom. 7:10.
6. But since all men have violated the law, what does it now bring them?
"And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death." "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 7:10; 6:23.
7. By what means has life again been brought to view?
"But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." 2 Tim. 1:10.
8. Who has life to bestow?
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself." John 5:25, 26.
9. For what purpose did Christ come to earth?
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10.
10. To whom will he give this life?
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.
11. Since the law, which was ordained to life, cannot, because of sin, give us life, who is now our life?
"When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Col. 3:4.
12. Then how, as a whole, is Christ the end of the law? He secures to believers justification before God (Rom. 3:24, 25; 8:1); he enables us to keep the law (Rom. 8:3, 4), a thing that without him we could not do (Gal. 5:17; John 15:5); and as a consequence of our continued faith and obedience, he secures to us eternal life (John 3:16; Matt. 19:17; Rev. 22:14); thus enabling the law to fulfill its design, which was to give life (Rom. 7:10).
13. Then what may Christ truly be said to be to those who believe in him?
"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." 1 Cor. 1:30.
14. In whom alone can we be complete?
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power." Col. 2:8-10.
How Trot Was Cured.
By Mary F. Lathrop
His real name was Thomas Trotter Wadsworth, but everybody, from the minister to the milkman, called him Trot. He was nine years old, and small of his age. He had big blue eyes, and a round, chubby face, plentifully sprinkled with freckles, and crowned with bristling sandy hair. When the minister, who had no little boys or girls of his own, visited Trot's home, he shook hands gravely with the boy, and said: "Trot, my little man, I am glad to see you so regular in attendance at Sabbath-school." The minister never said any more, and never any less. Trot was somewhat afraid of his solemn voice and stiff manner, but nothing save measles or diphtheria would have kept him home from Sabbath-school. He even attended when his arm was broken by a fall from the grape arbor, which he had climbed to rescue Laura Joslyn's kitten. Laura cried because the kitten could not get down, and Trot would have willingly risked his neck to save Laura a tear. When his face was battered and scratched in the grand foot-ball scrimmage, Trot convulsed the boys and tried his mother's patience to the utmost by appearing in Sabbath-school with more court-plaster than skin visible on his face. He had an idea—and it was not such a bad idea, either—that the Sabbath-school would fail and the minister be disheartened, if he did not attend.
On the whole, Trot was a clever, honest boy—just such a fun-loving, rough-and-tumble chap as you would like for a playmate. But he had one bad habit, learned from boys of a larger growth. On the corner above the brick house in which Trot lived was a grocery store. Only an ordinary grocery store, with the usual stock of fruit and berries in season; but that store was Trot's stumbling-block. Try as he might, he could not pass it; something seemed to draw and hold him, as on enchanted ground. Mr. Martin, the grocer, was a good-natured man, who bore patiently the annoyance of ten or twelve boys standing around his pavement. His patience was sorely tried, however, when the boys developed a talent for tasting and sampling his pears, cherries, and apples. Some of them further annoyed him by pulling the silk out of the ears of corn to wrap in brown paper and smoke as imitation cigars, but Trot was above that. He thought smoking was a filthy habit. What do you think? But he was not above picking the largest strawberry out of a box, or the best bunch of red currants off a tray, else this story never would have been written for other little Trots. At such times he usually said: "What are currants to-day, Mr. Martin? Fine lot you have there!" just as he heard Mr. Avery and Mrs. Miller say when they picked and tasted.
Poor tormented Mr. Martin saw his profits being carried away before his eyes without redress. He did not want to offend the boys' parents; but on several occasions, when his outraged sense of justice got the better of his discretion, he caught some of the more daring offenders by the shoulders and spanked them—just as your mother spanks you. Trot was not punished in that way. It was reserved for his mother to cure him effectually. For a long time he had been helping himself to Mr. Martin's dried peaches, raisins, currants, berries, and fruit, when one morning he went home with three fine bunches of cherries in his hand.
"Where did you get your cherries, Trot?" said his mother.
"Up at Mr. Martin's," said Trot, promptly. "Aren't they beauties?" with an admiring gaze, as he held them up.
"Yes, very nice. Did he give them to you?" was the next question.
The answer was not so prompt this time. Trot began to have misgivings.
"No," he said.
"Oh! you bought them," his mother went on, blithely. "How much were they?"
Trot's answer was long delayed. At last he said: "They are twelve cents a pound; but—but—I did not buy these."
His mother was looking searchingly at him, and those last words were hard to say. His eyes fell before the quick glance of his mother.
"What do you mean, child?" she questioned. "You did not buy them, and Mr. Martin did not give them to you. How did you get them?"
Should Trot live to be an old man, I do not believe anything will ever seem quite so difficult as that explanation to his mother. He stood on his left foot, ran his empty hand through his bristling hair, stood on his right foot. His face grew red, and his breath grew short. Oh, it was dreadful! And all the while his mother's eyes seemed piercing him through.
"Why—a, you see, they were there in the tray by the door, and I put my head inside, and I said, 'Fine cherries these, Mr. Martin; how much are they?' and he said, 'Twelve cents;' and then I—I—tasted them to see if they were good, you know."
Trot looked appealingly at his mother, but her face was very grave.
"Trot Wadsworth, do you mean to tell me that you stole Mr. Martin's cherries?"
There was an ugly little emphasis on the word "stole" that made Trot wince, but he spoke up bravely:—
"No, ma'am, I didn't; I don't steal things. I just took them like the other people, so I could see if they were nice."
The excuse had a lame sound as he made it, even to his own ears.
"Stop, Trot," said his mother; "you did not buy those cherries, and Mr. Martin did not give them to you, so you must have stolen them; taking them in that way is stealing. Do you understand?"
Yes, Trot understood all too well for his own comfort. "How many are there?" continued Mrs. Martin perseveringly.
Trot counted.
"Eleven."
"How many more did you have?"
Trot was not sure; he thought about five.
"Well," said his mother, "we will say seven. Eleven and seven are eighteen. Here are twenty-five cents. Take it up to Mr. Martin. Tell him you took eighteen cherries off his tray, that you did not mean to steal, and are very sorry." Trot looked as if he would cry, and he despised boys who cried. "Get him to weigh eighteen cherries, then pay him."
In vain, Trot explained about Mr. Avery and Mrs. Miller. His mother was inflexible. Incidentally, in his explanation, he mentioned a bunch of currants which Mr. Martin had seen him take without remonstrance. At that his mother looked so sorrowful that Trot thought she was going to cry.
"To think my little boy, whom I so trusted, is a thief," she said.
Trot broke down and cried lustily. Then the whole dreadful story came out,—raisins, dried apples, evaporated peaches, strawberries, currants, plums, and so on through the list of Trot's petty pilferings. It was a long story, interspersed with a great deal about Johnny Harris, and George McBride, and Charlie Keyser, and how they picked up Mr. Martin's wares. The grown folks also came in for their share. In a way that should have made the interested parties blush Trot told how Mrs. Walker ate two or three pears, to see if they were good, then said, "I believe I will not take any to-day;" how Mr. Myers cut off a piece of cheese, and Mr. Oldman devoured the ginger-cakes, while Mrs. Merrill displayed a fondness for peaches and blackberries. But Mrs. Wadsworth insisted that this was no excuse for Trot. The end of it all was, that she made a list, on a sheet of paper, of all the things Trot could remember. She gave him this paper, and also two silver dollars, with instructions to go at once to Mr. Martin, privately tell his story, show his paper, and get the grocer to affix a value to each of the articles taken. With his two dollars Trot was to pay the bill, and bring the receipt back to his mother.
The little boy demurred at this, shook his head, cried, and passionately said: "I will not go; I never will. I'll die first."
His mother was firm. In the quiet way that meant so much to Trot, she said: "Must I go with you? I thought you would rather go alone."
That made Trot gasp for breath. To have his mother take him up to Mr. Martin, just as a policeman would take a thief; as if he, Trot Wadsworth, could not be trusted alone—why, it was too dreadful to think about! Trot's mind was made up; he would go at once, and have it over.
It was very hard to do, and though Trot crept along at a snail's pace, the walk to Mr. Martin's never seemed so short. The grocer was very kind and forgiving to the little boy who sobbed out his unpleasant story, and at first refused to take his money. But Trot could not and would not go home without paying his debt. Afterward Mr. Martin offered to return the money to his mother, but Mrs. Wadsworth said firmly: "No; it is justly yours, and the lesson in honesty is worth a thousand dollars to my little son."
To-day Trot is cashier in one of the largest banks in a great city. Not long since, one director said to another: "Good fellow, that Wadsworth! Very exacting, but honest as the sun! I believe if he picked up a dime on the floor, he would look up the owner. No danger of his running off with the cash."
"True," assented the second, "he is a queer fellow, though. Seems to worship that painted bunch of cherries over his desk. Won't have it out of his sight a minute. Must prize it because it matches his hair," and he laughed heartily at his joke.
At his desk near by Trot heard their talk. An odd little smile flitted over his face, and he said grimly to himself: "A bunch of cherries made Thomas Trotter Wadsworth an honest man."
The Home Circle.
By Golden Days
THE BEST BEAUTY.
I KNOW a little fellow
Whose face is fair to see,
But still there's nothing pleasant
About that face to me.
For he's rude and cross and selfish
If he cannot have his way,
And he's always making trouble,
I've heard his mother say.
I know a little fellow
Whose face is plain to see,
But that we never think of,
So kind and brave is he,
He carries sunshine with him,
And everybody's glad
To hear the cheery whistle
Of the pleasant little lad.
You see, it's not the features
That others judge us by,
But what we do, I tell you,
And what you can't deny.
The plainest face has beauty,
If its owner's kind and true,
And that's the kind of beauty,
My girl and boy, for you.
—Golden Days.
Table Etiquette at Anne Boleyn’s Banquet
TABLE etiquette has doubtless changed a good deal at the royal palace of England in the last 353 years. At the coronation banquet of Anne Boleyn, it was counted worthy of record in the matter of royal manners that, "Two countesses stood, one on each side of the queen, during all the dinner, which divers times in the dinner-time did hold a fine cloth before the queen's face when she list to spit."—Sel.
Health and Temperance.
Plead! Guilty, or Not Guilty?
THE following is an extract from a speech by John B. Finch, at Lake Bluff, Illinois, in 1881. The argument is as good now as it was then, and the statements in the first paragraph are just as applicable in religious controversy as in temperance discussion:—
Some cry, "Attack the liquor seller!" When asked why, they answer, "He is a mean man." What if he is? If the man is mean, he is all the better representative of his business. I prefer a man should be a good representative of the trade he is carrying on. The American people must enter upon the investigation of this question, determined to examine fully all of its phases, to weigh carefully the arguments on both sides, and investigate the alleged facts, produced by advocates who represent the different sides, and then on weight of evidence presented, base their verdict. Anything less would not be reasonable; anything less would not be honest. In trying such issues black-guardism, sneers, and reckless statements are out of place. I am often impressed, when listening to those who represent the other side, that a blackguard is as much out of place in the field of honest, manly discussion as a monkey would be in the tabernacle of the Lord. A man engaged in either intellectual or physical combat never throws mud when he has rocks to use, and when individuals stoop to use the mud of epithets in a discussion of this kind it is prima facie evidence that they have nothing else to use. The copious use of epithets like "fanatic," "zealot," "fool," and "visionary," is not argument, but rather an indication of a cerebral vacuum in the head of the talker. When you see a man standing on the corner, sticking his thumbs under his coat and calling temperance people vile names, just remember it does not require a high order of brains to abuse people. A parrot could do that. "If you have no case, abuse the opposing attorney," is the motto of pettifoggers the world over.
Temperance advocates have no use for the style of argument used by the drunkard makers and their apologists. Temperance men believe they are advocating correct principles, and that the facts and arguments upon which they base their claims are so nearly self-evident that a presentation in a fair, candid way will convince thinking, intelligent people that prohibition is the only remedy for the drink curse. They believe the people are intelligent and fully capable of passing judgment upon any question of governmental policy; that the people are the court of last resort and that all questions must be determined by them. In accordance with this idea they go to the people as to a jury, presenting an indictment against the drink traffic, and ask that the traffic be tried and a verdict rendered in accordance with the evidence. The object and purpose of the work they have never concealed. From the day the temperance reform started in this country, they have declared from every platform their purpose, and that purpose is to bury the liquor business of this country in the same way the old Welsh woman said she would bury the devil, "with face down so that, should he ever come to life, the more he dug the deeper he would get."
Ladies and gentlemen, such is the purpose of the temperance men of this country, a calm, deliberate, dispassionate purpose, formed after a full investigation of all the facts in the case. You say at once: "This involves social changes, legal changes, changes in the very structure of this Government," and I say, "Yes." You ask, "On what grounds do you base the demands for this change?" Let me write the answer; dip my finger in the blood of some man killed by beer or whisky and write it on this wall.
1. From the day the liquor traffic was introduced into this country from the despotisms of Europe, until the present, it has existed as a bitter, blighting, damning curse on everything decent, virtuous, and holy. Its history proves it the enemy of law, order, morality, Christianity, and civilization.
2. The American dram shop is the cause of more than six-sevenths of the pauperism and four-fifths of the crime in the nation. It is the hot-bed where outlaws germinate, the cradle where vice is rocked.
3. Liquor drinking makes the slums of great cities and the horrible condition of mankind in the slums.
The temperance leaders stand before the people of this country, present the indictment, and say to the liquor interest: "Come into the court of the people and plead." It does not matter whether the temperance advocate is a scoundrel or a gentleman, Mr. Beer-seller. The only question the liquor interest of this country must meet is the issue presented in this indictment. If the charges are false, the temperance men of this country are liars; they are slanderers, and the people ought to put them on a rail, ride them out of the towns, and dump them in the lake. If the charges are true, no man can justify the license of the damnable traffic. It is simply a question of fact. Do the temperance men lie, or do they tell the truth? They have proclaimed and pressed the charges. They have stood upon the public platforms and said: "Gentlemen, come before the people and meet us on these issues." How have the liquor men met the charges?
Suppose a young man in Lake Bluff should steal a horse and start to go to Wisconsin. He is arrested this side of the Wisconsin line, brought back, and put in the county jail. The Grand Jury meet and formulate an indictment charging him with felony. The young man is brought into court to make his plea. The people prefer he should be acquitted. I believe it is a fact that the American people always sympathize with the criminal; in other words, they prefer that the man should be proved innocent, rather than that he should be proved guilty. You see a man charged with the crime of murder, led into a court room, and there is not a man who does not hope that the charge is not true. The boy is brought in, the clerk reads the indictment, and asks the simple question: "Are you guilty or not guilty?" It is a question of fact between him and the people; he is expected to do one of two things, either plead guilty and accept the punishment of an outraged law, or not guilty, thereby challenging the allegations of the people, and forcing them to produce the proof.
The indictment is read; he is asked for his plea, "guilty or not guilty," and instead of making it he draws back, begins to whimper, and says: "If I had not stolen the horse some other man would!"
The court would say: "That has nothing to do with the question; it is a question involving your liberty, a simple question of fact; are you guilty or not guilty?"
The prisoner continues to whimper, and says: "People have always stolen horses, and they will always steal horses, and it is not fair to pitch into me."
No court would accept such a plea. I can imagine the indignation of the court when for the third time he asks: "Are you guilty or not guilty?"
The prisoner, drawing back among a crowd of roughs, answers: "And if I am guilty, what are you going to do about it? All prohibitory laws for the suppression of stealing have failed. Persons steal in every section of this land. You cannot stop it. Prohibition is a failure. Let me tell you what I will do. If you will let350me go and continue stealing, I will give you half the money I received for the horse."
If the judge, in the face of such a threat, should accept the bribe and release the prisoner, how quickly the public would move to impeach and depose him for corrupt practices.
The temperance leaders draw an indictment, on which the liquor business is brought into the court of the people. They insist and demand that the traffic shall plead; not sneak into its dens of infamy, not crouch with the bludgeon in the hands of drunken assassins, not bulldoze and intimidate law-abiding citizens; but, like any other criminal, come up and meet the indictment before the people. Bring the traffic into court. Read the indictment, is it true or false?
The liquor dealer commences to whimper, and says:—
"These temperance people are all hypocrites."
"Come, now, brace up and be a man; true or false?"
"Well," he says, "if I don't sell, some other fellows will."
"What has that to do with the question of guilt? The question is simply, Is your business guilty? That is all. If it is not guilty, the business will go on all the stronger; if it is guilty, it must die. Guilty or not guilty?"
"The people have always drank; they always will drink, and it is not fair to pitch into me."
"Guilty or not guilty, Mr. Liquor-seller? That is all."
He draws back and says:—
"Well, if I am, what are you going to do about it? If you say I shall not sell, I will sell anyway; you never have stopped it, and never can stop it. When you say I shall not do it, I will put up the flag of rebellion at the head of a beer keg, and defy you to stop me. Let me tell you what I will do: If you will let me sell, even though I may be guilty of all the crime charged, I will give you $500 out of the money I get as the results of the business."
And the people of Chicago and the people of this country reach out their hands and say:—
"Pass over a part of the illegitimate proceeds; divide the blood money with us, and we will stand behind you and swear you are respectable."
Making Home Attractive.
Mrs. Higginbottom, as a first step, visited her husband's favorite concert saloon under the protection of a disguise and a detective officer. When she had learned what were the attractions which most powerfully appealed to Mr. Higginbottom's mind, she proceeded to reproduce them, as far as practicable, in her own house. She had the parlor carpet taken up, and the bare floor nicely sprinkled with beer and stumps of cigars. She removed the pictures from the walls, and hung in their places cheap and gaudy chromos representing impossible young women in undesirable costumes. Two dirty wooden tables and a supply of wooden chairs from the kitchen completed the furniture of the room, and it began to assume a really attractive appearance.
Before the hour of her husband's return from his business, Mrs. Higginbottom hired a man to play on an accordion, and another to torture a violin, besides three professional drunkards of great indecency of appearance and conduct, and a notorious burglar kindly furnished for the occasion by the police captain of the precinct. There were in the kitchen two Irish girls who were decidedly ugly, but who were clean, decent, and modest girls. These two she instructed in the art of serving beer and spirits, and dressed them in costumes that were extremely vulgar, though they could not be said to be improper. Having thus arranged all things, she met her husband at the door, and escorted him to the dining-room, where he ate his dinner, unconscious of the transformation that had been wrought in his front parlor.
After dinner Mr. Higginbottom lit his cigar and remarked that he must go out an hour or two to see a friend. His wife, with a sweet smile, told him he need not go out, for she had finally discovered how to make home attractive to him. So saying she showed him into the parlor, and led him to a seat at one of the dirty tables. The fiddler and the accordion player immediately struck up; the drunkards, at a sign from Mrs. Higginbottom, began to swear and wrangle; and the burglar sidled up to Mr. Higginbottom and asked him to drink. The two Irish girls brought beer and spilled it on Mr. Higginbottom's table; they called him "dear," and asked him to "open a bottle of wine," and Mrs. Higginbottom, apologizing for the fact that they were undeniably decent girls, assured her husband that nevertheless she was confident that she had finally learned how to make home attractive; that she hoped to spend many jolly evenings with him, and would like a hot whisky without further delay.
Mr. Higginbottom was at first completely dazed, but in a few moments he recovered his reason. He ordered the girls to go into the kitchen and stay there, and he pitched the drunkards out of the front door into the street, and ordered the musicians and the burglar to follow them. Then he informed his wife that he had been an idiot of the largest size; and that if she would restore the parlor to its former condition, he would stay at home, and make no further complaint of its want of attractiveness.—Sel.
Resist the Devil in Your Own Heart
By Cumberland Presbyterian
It is not hard to resist the devil in other folks. Many who fail to curb their own passions and prejudices find it easy (at a safe distance) to fight the Pope, or the whisky ring, or some evil combination, or some outward error. The scribes and Pharisees could drag a guilty woman before the Lord, but they failed to conquer their own hate and jealousy and lust. A mob, though made up of individuals who never think of fighting their own criminal faults, may wreak terrible vengeance on the crime of another. The right way to cure evil is to get every man to try to overcome his own sins. The place to begin to resist the devil is in our own hearts and lives.