The second beast, the bear, corresponds with the solid, heavy chest of Nebuchadnezzar's statue. The twofold division and the relative strength of the two sides, the one stronger than the other, recur in this symbol also, in that the bear is raised up on one side, ready to use the arm in which its chief strength lies. It lifts itself up heavily, in contrast with the winged rapidity of the Chaldean or Babylonian conquests. The three ribs in its mouth correspond accurately to the three kingdoms which the Medo-Persian empire swallowed up, the Lydian, Babylonian, Egyptian. It is bidden, “Arise, devour much flesh,” in conformity with the greedy, “all-eating,” character of the animal. Waste of human life was a characteristic of the Persian empire in its heavy aggressiveness. Heaviness was, after Cyrus, the characteristic of its wars.
It never moved, except in ponderous masses, avalanches, precipitated upon its enemy, sufficient to overwhelm him, if they could have been discharged at once, or had there been any one commanding mind to direct them. Like Attila or Timour, they wielded vast masses of human strength on their enemies; their armies varied from 300,000 on slighter expeditions to a million. Darius' army, with which he marched through the desolate regions of Scythia, was counted at 700,000, exclusive of his fleet of 600 ships, which would add a naval force of 120,000 men. Xerxes' expedition against Greece resembled more the emigration of vast hordes, than an army; they were calculated at above two million and a half of fighting men. Artaxerxes Longimanus, his successor, gathered two armies, each, it is said, exceeding 300,000 men, to subdue the single province of Egypt. The first was defeated chiefly through 200 Athenian ships. It is noticed how Artaxerxes gathered his army from all quarters to resist his brother Cyrus The Younger. Xenophon tells us that deserters and prisoners counted it 1,200,000, and that it was actually 900,000, a contingent of 300,000 not having arrived in time. Even its last unwarlike king brought an army of 500,000, or 600,000, to the battle of Issus; and, two years after its defeat, he gathered 1,000,000, in splendid array, to cover the plain of Gaugamela, a multitudinous host from all the nations yet left under his sway, to be mostly but the spectators of his disgrace.
“When the Persians first became a conquering people,” says Hereen, “it was their uniform practise to strengthen their armies by means of the conquered nations, who were forced to accompany them on their further advances. But when they had founded and organized their empire, and were lords of all Asia from the Indus to the Mediterranean, it would have involved endless difficulties to collect troops out of lands so distant. To do this on all little occasions, such as internal disturbances or easy wars, would have been as unmeaning as impossible. Still it continued to be their practise, that, on all great national undertakings, whether directed to the enlargement of the empire in distant lands or to meet mighty aggressions from without, such musters were made of all the subject nations, as is shown by the great arrays under Darius Hystaspes, Xerxes, and even under the last Darius.
“Even the preliminary preparations were of immense extent. The king's command issued to all nations of the empire, directing what each was to contribute, in men, horses, ships, or provisions. The commotion occasioned thereby throughout Asia lasted, before the expedition of Xerxes, for four full years. . . .
“The order of march in their own territories was marvelous; rather there was scarce any order. The men were not even separated according to nations, but formed an immense chaos. In the midst was the king with the Persians; the baggage went before. As they advanced, the inhabitants of the countries through which they passed were driven on, and had to swell the multitude. So the mass grew continually; the baggage must have become incalculable. The most inconceivable thing is the provisioning. In the countries through which they passed, corn had to be laid up long before; other was brought by ships. Else the hordes had to provide for themselves. Meals were ordered for the king and his attendants, but were given at such an expenditure that this alone exhausted the cities. . . .
“On approaching the enemy's country, the army was divided according to nations. This was connected with a muster which the king commonly made. Hence the document in which Herodotus has preserved to us an accurate list of the nations in Xerxes' army. The muster took place in Europe. Little instructive as the scene may be for military men, there could scarce be one more interesting to the observer of nations. The history of the world gives no instance, of which such a multitude and variety of nations was compressed into one spot of the earth, as appeared, each in his peculiar costume and arms, on the plain of Doriscus. Herodotus counts and describes fifty-six nations, which served by land, horse and foot, or part in the fleet. There were Indians in their cotton dress, and Ethiopians from beyond Egypt, clad in skins of lions; the black Walruchs from Gedrosia, and the nomad tribes from the steppes of Mongolia and the great Buchary; wild hunting tribes, like the Sagartians, who, without weapon of bronze or steel, caught their enemies, like the animals they hunted, in leathern lassoes, and Medes and Bactrians in rich array; Libyans with four-horse chariots, and Arabs upon camels; Phoenician mariners with numerous squadrons, and Asiatic Greeks compelled to fight against their countrymen. Never did despotism exhibit a spectacle, which began so splendidly, to end so pitifully.”
Every lineament then of the description agrees with the Medo-Persian empire; the heavy fierceness and the destructiveness of the animal; the prominence given to the one side; the three ribs, which can receive no explanation as to any other empire.—“Lectures on Daniel ‘the Prophet,’” by E. B. Pusey, D. D., London, 1869, pages 72-76.
The second kingdom is represented (verse 5) by “another beast like to a bear, and it raised itself up on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.” This is the kingdom of the Medes and Persians: and for their cruelty and greediness after blood they are compared to a bear, which is a most voracious and cruel animal. The very learned Bochart recounts several particulars wherein the Persians resembled bears: but the chief likeness consisted in what I have mentioned; and this likeness was principally intended by the prophet, as I think we may infer from the words of the text itself: “Arise, devour much flesh.” “A bear,” saith Aristotle, “is an all-devouring animal:” “and so,” saith Grotius, “the Medo-Persians were great robbers and spoilers according to Jer. 51: 48, 56.”
“And it raised itself up on one side,” or as it is in the margin, “it raised up one dominion;” for the Persians were subject to the Medes at the conquest of Babylon, but soon raised up themselves above them. “And it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it:” these Jerome “understands of the three kingdoms of the Babylonians, Medes, and Persians, which were reduced into one kingdom;” and so likewise Vatablus and Grotius; but Sir Isaac Newton and Bishop Chandler with greater propriety explain them to signify the kingdoms of Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt, which were conquered by it, but were not properly parts and members of its body. . . .
“And they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh;” this was said, as it was before observed, to denote the cruelty of the Medes and Persians. . . . Cambyses, Ochus, and others of their princes were indeed more like bears than men. Instances of their cruelty abound in almost all the historians, who have written of their affairs, from Herodotus down to Ammianus Marcellinus, who describes them as “proud, cruel, exercising the power of life and death over slaves and obscure plebeians. They pull off the skins (says he) from men alive by pieces, or all together: and they have abominable laws, by which for one man's offense all the neighborhood is destroyed.”—“Dissertations on the Prophecies,” by Thomas Newton, D. D., London, 1840, pages 226, 227.
Parental Responsibility for the Condition of the Young
By Mrs. Cora Hoopes
MRS. CORA HOOPES
The condition of the young at the present time is to a large degree just what Satan would have it. Their minds are diverted from the truths of the Bible, and the spirit of pride, selfishness, and worldly amusements has crept into the hearts of many of the young. The truth seems to have no charms for such, and the spirit of carelessness prevails. Those who have charge of the children keenly feel the lack of interest shown from Sabbath to Sabbath. Great efforts have been put forth to counteract this spirit of indifference, but as those in charge of Sabbath-schools and young people's meetings have the children only a few hours each week, the good accomplished has been far less than we could wish to see.
The leaders and teachers of the children should have the hearty co-operation of the parents. The Sabbath-school lessons should be studied in the home, ready to be recited in the class, and the parents should lead out or direct in this study. Duties, whether in the home or in the Sabbath-school, should be performed as unto the Lord. God is a God of order. Things that are done in a careless manner are displeasing to him.
We are living on the brink of eternity. We have been warned repeatedly of the stupefying power of the evil one. Satan is lulling us to sleep, and we do not realize the danger, nor the importance of keeping awake and watching unto prayer. The Christian experience of the young is a matter with which the parents have very much to do.
When the children and youth are given an active part in the young people's meeting, they should willingly and freely respond. The exercises in which they are to take part, should be studied at home, ready to be given promptly when called for. This would be pleasing to the Lord, and less embarrassing to the leaders, and would put an end to confusion; but only with the co-operation of the parents can this be successfully brought about.
In “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. V, page 322, we read: “Parents, if you would educate your children to serve God and do good in the world, make the Bible your text-book. It exposes the wiles of Satan. It is the great elevator of the race, the reprover and corrector of moral evils, the detector which enables us to distinguish between the true and the false. Whatever else is taught in the home or at school, the Bible, as the great educator, should stand first. If it is given this place, God is honored, and he will work for you in the conversion of your children. There is a rich mine of truth and beauty in this Holy Book, and parents have themselves to blame if they do not make it intensely interesting to their children. . . . Parents have a great and responsible work to do, and they may well inquire, ‘Who is sufficient for these things?’ But God has promised to give wisdom to those that ask in faith, and he will do just as he said he would. He is pleased with the faith that takes him at his word. The mother of Augustine prayed for her son's conversion. She saw no evidence that the Spirit of God was impressing his heart, but she was not discouraged. She laid her finger upon the texts, and pleaded as only a mother can. Her deep humiliation, her earnest importunities, her unwavering faith, prevailed, and the Lord gave her the desire of her heart. To-day he is just as ready to listen to the petitions of his people. ‘His hand is not shortened that it can not save, neither his ear heavy that it can not hear;’ and if Christian parents seek him earnestly, he will fill their mouths with arguments, and, for his name's sake, will work mightily in their behalf in the conversion of their children.’”
On page 328 of the same book we find the following: “The Bible gives explicit directions concerning the important work of educating children: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart.’
‘The parents are themselves to be connected with God; they are to have his fear before them, and to have a knowledge of his will. Then comes their work: ‘And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.’”
The sifting time is no longer in the future. Let us arouse and put on the whole armor of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Eph. 6:11. We know not how soon we shall be called upon to give a reason for the faith that makes us a peculiar people. Now is the time for parents to train their children as never before. They should be taught the reasons of our faith—why we are Seventh-day Adventists. Our children will be called upon to suffer for Christ, and if they do not receive the training God has designed they should, the parents will be held responsible. The children are to help carry the message, and how necessary and important that they should receive thorough training for this work. Parents, let us put forth a decided effort in this matter and improve the time that is left us. To do this work we shall have to pray. Our Saviour spent long nights in prayer on the lonely mountain-side and in the groves, with the dew of heaven falling upon his brow. If it was necessary for Jesus, the King of heaven, to spend so much time in prayer, how much more necessary that we should have our hearts uplifted to him in prayer continually! Then when his elect are gathered from the four winds, may we be able to say, Lord, here am I, and the children whom thou gavest me.
Takoma Park, D. C.
Spasm and Habit in Governing Children
By Ernest Hamlin Abbott
(Concluded)
THERE is no reason why regularity once established should not become for all future years a routine. We all know how hard it is to break up a bad habit. Happily, it is just as hard to break up a good one. The difference between the child who teases for every new variety of food on the table, pushes away the dishes that are set before him, whines when he is told it is bedtime, eats and goes to sleep only after much coaxing, and the child who accepts his food and his hours for sleep as a matter of course, as he accepts the house he lives in, is simply the difference between a bad habit and a good one. It is no easier to change the one habit than it is the other. After a child has learned to get his food and go to bed with whining and teasing, it is very difficult for him to14learn to eat and sleep in any other fashion; it is equally difficult for a child who has learned to eat and enjoy food adapted to him, and to go to bed at a suitable hour, to understand why all sorts of strange decoctions should be offered to him, and why he should not get undressed when his bedtime comes. Of course the spirit of adventure, which is strong in most normal children, will lead them sometimes to sample some things that they see their elders—or, for that matter, the animals—eating; and to race about the halls, exploring the domain of the dark, after they are supposed to be asleep; but even this spirit of adventure, which sometimes brings discouragement to the mother, is a tribute to regular life; and it is denied to those children whose whole life consists in a series of parental experiments. The little lad who at a children's party declines the sweetmeats is no angel. Nor is his companion who grabs the dainties an imp. They are both, like the rest of us, creatures of habit. The theory of total depravity, by which our forefathers explained the unpleasant doings of youngsters, is, I have concluded, a doctrine which parents devised in order to shift the burden of their offspring.
This practise of regularity in the physical care of children will lay the foundation, not only of health and contentment, but also of moral discipline. When we have eliminated the opportunities for collision with our children at meal-time and bedtime, we are well on our way toward eliminating government by collision altogether. The quiet exercise of authority involved in carrying out a simple regimen of diet and of rest will almost automatically extend to other matters. The most difficult part of this exercise of authority will be overcome when the parent learns self-restraint. Not to run to a child every time he cries is the beginning of learning not to yield to a child every time he wants something. In many cases authority is thus exercised by doing nothing. The mother, for example, has left the baby creeping about alone in his nursery. She has left him a ball and two or three blocks with which he can experiment, and another ball hanging from a cord within his reach which he can swing to and fro. He is learning that the ball is soft and can roll, that the blocks are hard and can not roll, and that the pendulum swings regularly. He is as well occupied in his work as the mother is in hers. Suddenly she hears a cry of vexation. If it continues, she steps to the door to see what has happened. He has raised himself up by the window and is trying to reach the tassel at the end of the cord on the window-shade, and finds it above his outstretched hands. She might go to the window, draw down the shade, and, holding it firm, let him play with the cord till he tires; but she knows that it would be inconvenient to have him continually playing with the window-shade in the house, and she does not want him to begin. She might then take him up and distract his attention till he forgets. But she knows that if she does this once, she will be called upon to do it again. So she shakes her head and says 'No,' which she has taught him to understand, and, after making sure that he is in no danger of a fall, leaves him and returns to her work. By doing nothing she has done what for the time being is the hardest thing. As she closes the door, she hears another wail of vexation, but she does not interfere. She has exercised her authority simply by exercising self-restraint.
It all depends on what we want our children to be whether we employ the method of spasm or the method of self-restraint. Of course those of us who think pertness in a child is a virtue, who regard a fit of teasing as 'smart' or 'cunning,' who enjoy the exhilaration of encountering a child as an adversary and breaking down his opposition, can develop in children habitual pertness, teasing, and disobedience with the utmost ease. It requires, however, no especial genius to avoid these qualities. Other traits, it may be, require something like genius—something at least beyond persistence and self-restraint—to create; but to provide children with a contented acquiescence in a regular life and an habitual disposition to obedience requires of the parents no qualities of mind which are not common to all us mortals.—Ernest Hamlin Abbott, in The Outlook.
Face to Face
By MARY A. MORRIS
MARY A. MORRIS
O, THE rapture past the telling!
We shall see Him face to face.
Where the glad new song is swelling,
Tell the story of his grace.
We shall cast our crowns before him,
While ascends the sweet refrain:
Magnify, exalt, adore him,
Lamb of God for sinners slain.
We shall tell the blessed story
How he came from heaven to earth,
Laid aside his robes of glory—
King, yet child of humblest birth.
We shall see him, we shall know him,
And our joy will be complete.
When we see him, we shall know him
By the scars in hands and feet.
We shall praise the love that sought us,
Thank him for his matchless grace,
Sing the wondrous love that bought us,
When we see him face to face.
Willow Lake, S. D.
How Old Must I Be?
“MOTHER,” a little child once said, “how old must I be before I can be a Christian?”
The wise mother answered: “How old will you have to be, darling, before you can love me?”
“Why, mother, I always loved you; I do now, and I always shall. But you have not told me how old I shall have to be.”
The mother replied: “How old must you be before you can trust yourself wholly to me and my care?”
“I always did,” she answered; “but tell me what I want to know,” and she put her arms lovingly about her mother’s neck.
The mother asked again: “How old will you have to be before you can do what I want you to do?”
Then the child whispered, half guessing what her mother meant: “I can now, without growing older.”
Her mother said: “You can be a Christian now, darling, without waiting to be older. Don’t you want to begin now?”
The child whispered, “Yes.” Then they both knelt down, and in her prayer the mother gave to Christ her little one who wanted to be his.—Selected.
London’s Thirst
THE thirst of London proper is looked after by 4,988 saloons. Westminster, with a population of 183,011, has 471 public houses; Stepney, with a population of 298,600, has 432 public houses; while, on the other hand, Battersea, with a population of 168,907, is content with 83 public houses; Fulham, with a population of 137,289, with 45 public houses; and Stoke-Newington, 51,247, with 28. In addition, there are 278 hotels and restaurants, of which 105 naturally are found in the West End and 62 in the city. Bethnal Green, Fulham, Lewisham, Poplar, Shoreditch, Stoke-Newington, and Woolwich have no restaurants.
There are 1,936 beer houses, the largest number being in Stepney, and 2,708 off-licensed premises. Altogether there are over 10,000 separate premises licensed for the sale of intoxicants in the various districts of London.—Selected.
Independently Poor
SHE always had a good time, the other girls said of Jessie—said it half enviously, some of them. Her home was an old-fashioned, rather shabby house where the furnishing and the style of life were of the plainest, but she welcomed her friends there cordially, and shared with them what she had without pretense or apology. She wore her plain clothes in the same way—prettily and daintily made, but inexpensive always—and made the most of whatever pleasure came in her way without regard to appearing in costly array.
“You seem to get as much satisfaction out of everything as if you were independently rich,” said a discontented acquaintance one day. “I don’t see how you can.”
“Well, if I am not independently rich, I am independently poor, and I suppose that’s the next best thing,” laughed Jessie.
After all, the simplicity of standing for just what one is, without sham or pretense, lifts a burden of fret and anxiety, and leaves the spirit free.—Well-spring.
Electric Sleep
“A PARIS physician describes what he calls ‘electric sleep,’ caused by passing a peculiar interrupted electric current through the brain. In the animals experimented on, the unconsciousness and insensibility appeared as profound as that produced by chloroform; but as soon as the current ceased, the animals opened their eyes, and seemed as lively as ever, manifesting no ill effects whatever; and they did not seem to fear the operation, even after it had been performed on them a number of times. Even when the condition of sleep was kept up for several hours at a time, the action of the heart and lungs was normal. The doctor has had the current turned through his own brain twice, confirming the animal experiments. When the current had been turned on to the maximum, he was still dimly conscious, and he had a faint sensation of touch. When he came to, immediately after the cessation of the current, the only effect was a feeling of increased vigor, and he was able to go on with his lecture without apparent inconvenience.”
A Needy Field in Brazil
By F. W. SPIES
F. W. SPIES
At last, after months of desire to come to this province (Bahia), I finally find myself here, in a new field, awaiting new experiences. I was pleased with the scene as our steamer sailed up the beautiful Bahia de San Salvador (Bay of the Holy Saviour), from which the city takes its name. Along the beach is a small strip of land, only a few feet above sea-level, on which are markets, wharves, custom-house, warehouses, a few industries, and dwellings, and then there is quite a steep incline, which at some places amounts to a wall of granite reaching a height of two hundred thirty-five feet above sea-level, and on this elevation the main part of the city of Bahia is located.
When our steamer anchored, it was almost sunset, and so on the day of my arrival I could see but little of the city. But the good impression I received when I viewed the city from the boat, rapidly faded when I saw it the next day as it really is. As I contrasted the dilapidated and tumbled-down condition of some parts of Bahia with Rio de Janeiro, which I had so recently left, it seemed to me as if the hand of progress on the clock of time had gone back about a century. Yet while there is not that spirit of progress apparent that I have seen in some other Brazilian cities, there is another sense in which the people also seem not so far advanced, and that is in iniquity. While I do not mean to say that Bahia is not full of wickedness, it does not appear to be so far advanced in this respect as are Rio, Sao Paulo, and Santos, and this feature seems to atone somewhat for its lack of material progress, when we realize that the saving of souls, and not of cities, is our work.
I made the acquaintance of a family with whom I had a very pleasant visit, and hope they may see and accept the whole truth. I also visited one of the Baptist pastors of Bahia, a young American, and in the course of our conversation, which touched several principles of the truth, he remarked, “The more churches that labor here, the better it will be for the cause of the gospel in Bahia.” I felt that it certainly would be better for Bahia and its people for the last gospel message to be proclaimed among them.
As at the beginning of the Sabbath I sat in my room in the hotel, I could but ponder over the situation. Here was Bahia, the capital of the province of the same name, a city estimated to contain two hundred fifty thousand inhabitants. How much this province needed a worker to locate here and go to work. The impressions I had received of it during the short time I had been here, through the various people with whom I had come in contact, had been very favorable. But among all this vast multitude there seemed to be no one who knew of the claims of the commandment that says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” and of the exhortation of the prophet, “Prepare to meet thy God.” No one seemed to know that Jesus was soon coming. It made me think of the days of Jonah, when the people knew not their right hand from their left. How long must this place yet wait ere a messenger could come to this field, feeling that the burden was upon him to go and work for these people? At best I could remain here only a few weeks, could satisfy at present only the most crying demands, as other calls and interests hurry me on.
BAHIA AS SEEN FROM THE BAY
But as in the Sabbath hours I pondered over all these things, I bowed before the Lord and told him my burden for that city and for its people, and laid before him its needs. As I did this, I felt that the Lord knew all about Bahia, all about its needs, all about its unsaved souls, all about the importance of having a laborer come here, and I received the assurance that somewhere the Lord has a man in training for this place, that somewhere he is preparing a worker upon whom to put the burden of the work in Bahia, and that somewhere he is preparing other hearts to sustain him in this field with their means. Then I felt happy because I had now placed it all in the Lord’s hands, assured that he, the Lord of the harvest, will send a reaper into this field.
Thus I pass along these, my first impressions concerning this province. I shall soon be among those who have for some time been keeping the Sabbath, and then will write further concerning my experiences in Bahia.
Bahia.
More about Tio Chiu, China
By W. C. HANKINS
W. C. HANKINS
Feeling sure that you will be interested to learn more concerning the progress of the truth in the prefectural city of Tio Chiu, inland from Swatow, and marked on the map as Chow Chow Foo, I write a short account of a trip that Elder B. L. Anderson, Elder S. Keh, and I took to that place some time ago.
In the afternoon of April 17 we boarded the steamer for Swatow. We arrived at that port the next morning, after a very quiet and uneventful voyage.
The sampans at this place soon attracted our attention, as they were unlike any we had ever seen before in China. They are long, quite narrow, and are generally operated by one man, who stands in the stern and does all the guiding and propelling with one oar. One not used to rowing such a craft would be pretty sure to row around in a circle, instead of straight ahead; but these people seem to get along without any such difficulty.
Our baggage was soon lowered into one of these old boats, and we were rowed to the station, to take the train that runs between Chow Chow Foo and Swatow. We were quite agreeably surprised to find the station well built and well kept. In fact, it compared very favorably with many depots in America. The Japanese are evidently managing the affairs of this line, which perhaps accounts for the order and neatness which were here noticeable.
At 10:40 A. M. the train arrived from Chow Chow Foo, and by eleven o'clock we were on our way to that city, which we reached about 12:40; the distance was between twenty-five and thirty miles. The country between the two cities is very attractive, and the land seems much richer than that around Amoy. There are also a number of smaller cities, at which this train stops.
When we arrived at our destination, we went at once to the home of Mr. Aug, who received us gladly, and immediately proceeded to make us comfortable. We stayed there about ten days, spending two Sabbaths with them. At each of the Sabbath services there were between fifty and sixty adults present, who have decided to keep the Sabbath. One might naturally have a false idea of these Sabbath-keepers, and that you may not, I will offer a word of explanation. Many are unable to read, and, consequently, have a very poor knowledge of the gospel. So far, they are keeping the Sabbath much the same as they formerly kept Sunday, which was to go to services in the morning, and work in the afternoon. We are hoping, however, that the last message of mercy to this dying world will so transform their hearts as to make them new creatures in Jesus Christ. Already some have given up their tobacco and wine, and we pray that through the power of God they may all be brought into full harmony with the teaching of God's Word.
There are, of course, some among16them better educated, who are taking a more intelligent stand for the truth. They all need teaching, and we are in hopes that the Lord will raise up some consecrated man and his wife to go to this place, learn the language, and teach these people, by both precept and example, the way of life.
Chow Chow Foo is a city of about six hundred thousand inhabitants, and is very nice, and comparatively clean. Here is a great opportunity for extensive work—not so much among those who have already heard the gospel, but among those who know nothing of the Saviour and redemption—the heathen. Some work is being done by the two missions already located there, but they have only begun to make a little headway in evangelizing that large city.
The language spoken there is similar to the Amoy dialect; but it would take several months' hard study before we could expect to do much preaching in it. Besides, it is too far away to be worked from Amoy. All we can hope to do is to try, by the Lord's help, to keep the work alive until some better arrangement can be made.
The region inland from Swatow is more or less stirred over the Sabbath question. While we were at Chow Chow Foo, three preachers from other cities came to see us, and expressed their determination to keep the Sabbath of the Lord. We also heard of an old man in another city who is keeping the Sabbath. Nearly every evening of our stay we studied with some young men who were interested in the truth. In the afternoons a young teacher who speaks English quite well, came and studied with us. He was also present at many of the evening meetings. We always had to speak through Elder Keh, who speaks the dialect of that place quite well. Sometimes he gave the lesson himself, thus saving much time. The Independent church, which has begun keeping the Sabbath, has a membership of from sixty to seventy, although between fifty and sixty were the most that attended our meetings at any one time. This was a good attendance, however, as it rained quite heavily most of the time we were there, and some of the members had to walk about ten miles to the services. A large number of them are farmers, who live in the villages some distance from the city.
On our way home we called on one of the Baptist missionaries at Swatow, who received us very pleasantly, and with whom we had a good visit. But our stay was limited, as our boat was to take its departure at a given hour, and we therefore had no time to discuss any of the truths of God's Word. We hope to have another and longer visit with this brother some time in the future. While we were there, he entered a very earnest protest against our mission opening up work in that field, since he seemed to think there were many places in China that had never been entered by any other mission. We are praying for this brother that he may see the truth. He seems to be an earnest, consecrated Christian.
Truly the harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few. Surely, if our brethren could realize the needs of this vast field, there would be many who would seek a preparation for work in this great needy portion of the Master's vineyard.
Amoy.
Superstition in China
REV. J. H. GRIFFIN, of south China, states that the viceroy of Fukien province has ordered all books on Fung Shui burned, all doctors practising this art have been arrested, declaring that it is one of the greatest hindrances to progress in China, preventing the building of railroads and the operating of mines. Thus error and superstition are gradually yielding.
