Earlier text: A LAY DISCURSUS ON THE SOULPERHAPS it ought to be called the present struggle; for it has already begun. We refer to the conflict of imperial governments with Socialism. Not all the governments of earth are imperial in name. Some of them are even called republics; some are limited monarchies; but all of them are coming to be dominated with the strongest imperial master earth has known, King Gold, who rules with iron scepter not the masses alone but the classes as well. Not a few who seem to roll in luxury are dying in the grip of gold, dying mentally, physically, spiritually, while not a few in circumstances scarcely above want are among the freest of earth. Opposed to this imperialism of gold in the present course of its operations are the millions that are massing under the name Socialism and kindred terms. Each of these organizations has more or less definite purposes with all sorts of ideas and ways of accomplishing those purposes, from the wildest and most intense Anarchist and Nihilist, who would stop at nothing, to the Socialist who would by education and the ballot reform the nations. They are to some extent disorganized, and of course lack the coherency of success; but they are gaining, and gaining tremendously, and nowhere has this gain been more apparent than in the great imperial nation of Germany. Socialism flourishes on opposition. It feeds and thrives on oppression. And the reign of mammon, especially when united to Mars, the war-god, is ever oppressive. The imperio-ecclesiastical Papacy opposes Socialism by opposition orders and fulminations of prelates; but Socialism does not stop. Rather, it advances, and numbers among its adherents both professed Protestants and Catholics. The world has tried in its forms of government empires, autocracies, oligarchies, aristocracies, monarchies, republics; and all have failed in the end. It will try another form, Socialism; and that too will fail utterly, as have all before it. But the experiment is coming. The red-handed struggle of a little more than a century ago in France is not to remain an isolated spot of its kind. It seemed then to many only a miracle of mercy that it did not involve all Europe in the sanguinary strife. It is still deplored by many. It is still believed by many to be one of the mighty tho rugged steps onward in the progress of humanity; and the number who thus believe are constantly increasing, altho that step left France morally blighted. The pope is endeavoring to undermine the Socialist movement by the organization of the “Christian Democracy” in Italy but we have not heard with how much success. In this country Archbishop Corrigan, of New York, Bishop Quigley, of Buffalo, are putting forth strenuous opposition to Socialism. Bishop Quigley has issued a manifesto, printed in the Buffalo Catholic Union and Times, in which he says:— As a political party, Social-Democracy is a recent importation from continental Europe. Here, as there, its avowed object is the creation of a new order of things totally destructive of the existing social, political, and economical conditions under which we live. The attainment of this new order of things is to be effected by political agitation in the main, but revolutionary and violent methods are freely urged by its leading advocates as soon as the masses shall be sufficiently organized to cope with the powers of capital and class. Everywhere this movement is characterized by unbelief, hostility to religion, and above all, uncompromising and bitter hatred and denunciation of the Catholic Church. Its official programs, the platforms of its party conventions, the public utterances of its leading advocates, its newspaper organs and periodicals, breathe hatred and threats against revealed religion, its doctrines and institutions. Social-Democracy denies the existence of God, the immortality of the soul, eternal punishment, the right of private ownership, the rightful existence of our present social organization, and the independence of the church as a society complete in itself and founded by God. Therefore no Catholic can become a Social-Democrat. Therefore no Catholic can become a member of a Social-Democratic organization or subscribe for, or in any way contribute to, the support of a Social-Democratic newspaper organ. The Worker, the Social-Democratic organ of New York, takes up Bishop Quigley’s challenge in an editorial entitled “Shall the Church Rule the Labor Movement?” After saying that the Social-Democratic movement does not antagonize religion or religious bodies, has no official utterance on record against any church, has within its ranks both Protestants and Catholics, asks no man his creed, but demands his faithful adherence to the working class and opposition to the forces of capitalism, the Worker continues:— Bishop Quigley, let us advise you to reconsider your action. Your attack is an unprovoked one, for the Socialist party makes no attack upon you or your church or your beliefs. But if you persist in the attack, let us tell you that there is no organization on earth that can fight as we can. Bismark has measured strength with us, and failed. Russian czars and French dictators have tried to crush our movement, and they have failed. You will not succeed. There is nothing more fearful than the fires of religious prejudice and antagonism. We have sought to let them slumber till they should at last die out. Beware how you stir them up. The people of America are patient and good-natured, they endure much. But at heart—Catholic and Protestant and Jew and Atheist alike—they hold dear the principle of religious liberty and the separation of Church and State. Once awake them, and it will not be well for him who attacks that principle. The Democratic party may be afraid of you, bishop. The Republican party may be afraid of you. But the Socialist party is not afraid of you, because it is right, because it stands for all that is best in American history and in the world’s history, and because it knows that, the fiercer your attack, the greater forces will you rally to our side. These utterances, of which there are many to-day, serve to reveal the spirit slumbering beneath. There will come the time, and that not long delayed, when under repeated disappointments the people will arise, go with the Socialist movement, and then woe be to those high in authority. This is not idle talk, however the matter may be treated, the “sure word of prophecy” has foretold these things. Happy indeed will be those who, in the time of the sanguinary struggle, can hide in God and know that just before is the everlasting kingdom, whose King and subjects have won the pre-eminent right to reign forever. The old feudal governments, the tribal regime, imperialism, monarchy, republics, have all been tried in the world’s proving-grounds, and have been found wanting. The world will for a very brief period try Socialism; but this will fail, and then Christ the King will come to gather His own and reign forever. Why not accept Him as King now, not in politics but in principle, not on a worldly throne, but in the heart? DISCORD IN THE AMERICAN THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.
Recent despatches from San Diego, California, announce that Mrs. Katherine Tingley, the leader of the American Theosophical Society, has been obliged to “accept” the resignation of Dr. Jerome Anderson, as president of the Point Loma University brotherhood. Dr. Anderson is in open rebellion against Mrs. Tingley. He declares that she usurped the place of leader of the Theosophists, that she spent $300,000 on a “freakish oriental court” at Point Loma, California, and went to live there with a court “such as has never been seen off a comic-opera stage;” that she invented new court regulations, and new branches of Theosophy, such as the “school for the revival of the Lost Mysteries of Antiquity;” that she compels men and women of wealth and high social position to wear “long gowns and ridiculous hats” in her presence. Dr. Anderson finally declares that of the 140 prosperous lodges organized by W. P. Judge, not more than a dozen exist to-day. In a published interview Dr. Anderson said: “One reason for our trouble is that our constitution is foolishly broad and confers unlimited powers upon the ‘master.’ Recognizing her autocratic powers under the constitution, she demands that all members bow their knees before her, and she expects them to worship her. From her decisions there is no appeal. If she exercised her functions wisely, there would be no trouble; but she is a foolish, vainglorious woman, whose head has been turned by adulation, and who can not brook any opposition. Her conduct is very unsatisfactory to the Theosophists, and we have decided to quit.”—Public Opinion. News from Belgium, Nicaragua, and Samar
THE great strike and labor and Socialist demonstrations in Belgium have come to an end. The government refused to grant the desires of the laborers and Socialists in reference to the matter of equal suffrage, and the Socialist and labor leaders counseled their followers not to use violent measures against the government. Work has been resumed by the more than 300,000 strikers, and what threatened to be a civil war against class oppression has been averted. The dissatisfied populace will seek now to obtain its ends by peaceable means, later. Had the people not yielded to the counsels of the cool-headed leaders, a reign of terror would have been inaugurated. As it was, troops were called out in all the cities, and there were many collisions between them and the people, resulting in many deaths and injuries. A TERRIBLE explosion occurred in the capital of Nicaragua on April 16, in which a large two-story barrack was blown to pieces. The building was occupied by soldiers and officers, and was also used as a storehouse for munitions of war, and more than 100 soldiers are reported killed, with a great many injured. The president attributes the explosion to the work of conspirators. The present lowest estimate of the damage to the war supplies and to the buildings in the vicinity is $2,500,000. GEN. JACOB H. SMITH, who has been in command of the troops in the island of Samar, is to be court-martialed at Manila. This action is the outcome of the court-martial of Major Waller of the marine corps, who was accused of shooting natives without trial. It was found that Waller was acting under the orders of General Smith. THE great steel trust known as the United States Steel Corporation has decided to change its purpose from a purely financial concern to an operating and manufacturing company, which will operate directly all the properties now owned and controlled by it. AUTHENTIC reports from New York state that J. Pierpont Morgan has succeeded in combining nearly all the large trans-atlantic steamship companies into one great steamship trust under his supervision. The effect of this mammoth ocean-going combination can not be realized at the present time. It is all working, however, to the one end of combining all industries in the hands of a few men, who will regulate them to their own profit. It is one of the most striking signs of these times. THE rebellion in China continues, though little information concerning its progress is obtainable. The city of Nan-ning, which was reported in the hands of the rebels, is still holding out against them, though surrounded by a considerable army. The total rebel force in this vicinity now numbers 10,000 well-armed men. A despatch from Peking states that there is much uneasiness in that city, owing to the unmistakable anti-foreign feeling among the Chinese troops in northern China. PROFESSOR NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER was installed as president of Columbia University, New York, with imposing ceremonies, on April 19. There were present at the installation ceremonies President Roosevelt, the governor of New York, the mayor of greater New York, presidents of other colleges and universities, generals of the army, United States officials, and leaders in the Catholic Church. THE recent earthquake in the Caucasus Mountains, in which several thousand persons lost their lives, has had a peculiar effect on the beds of the Black and Caspian seas. Ridges of rock have appeared where formerly there were several fathoms of water, and the harbor of Krasnovodsk, from which the Central Asian Railway starts, has been rendered unapproachable by the vessels which used to enter there. THE Russian Minister of the Interior, M. Sipiaguin, was killed on April 15 by a student whom he had punished. He was opposed to all liberal tendencies, and employed the most severe measures for their repression, upholding the views of M. Pobedonostzeff, the chief procurator of the Holy Synod. His successor has already been appointed, and is an adherent of the same imperial policy. THE populace of Helsingfors, Finland, have had two sharp encounters with the Russian soldiers during the week. The people were severely handled at first by the troops, but later the troops received rough treatment themselves at the hands of the people, who fought from the windows of their houses with vitriol, firewood, and stones. Many were hurt on both sides. THE power of the trust is being well illustrated now in the city of New York, where the beef trust is giving an illustration to the people of what it can do in the way of controlling the prices of meat, butter, and eggs. It has been advancing prices steadily during the week on these products, without any apparent reason for the advance except its own wish to increase its own wealth. AT the New York conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, at New York City, on April 2, the secretary announced that as the result of the national twentieth-century thank-offering movement, $16,000,000 had already been raised or subscribed for. Church debts had been paid to the amount of $7,500,000, and $6,500,000 had been raised for educational purposes. HUNDREDS of persons are reported to have lost their lives in earthquakes which occurred in Guatemala on April 19 and 20. Quetzaltenango, the second city in importance, was reduced to ruins. The town of Amatitlan was completely destroyed. The disturbance extended into Mexico, and in one city alone the damage is placed at over a million dollars. THE steamer City of Pittsburg was burned on the Ohio River, near Cairo, Illinois, early on the morning of April 20, and fully 100 persons are believed to have lost their lives. Some perished in the flames, and others who jumped into the river were quickly drowned. Within a few minutes after the discovery of the fire, the whole vessel was enveloped in flames. TURKEY has granted a concession for a railroad from Konia, Asia Minor, through the Taurus Mountains, to Nineveh, and down the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates to the Persian Gulf, with branch lines. This will make a direct all-rail route from the Persian Gulf to Constantinople, and will be second in importance only to the great Siberian railway. ON April 16 the Senate substituted the amendment of Senator Platt of Connecticut for the Mitchell-Kahn Chinese exclusion bill, and passed the bill as amended by a vote of 76 to 1. Senator Hoar of Massachusetts was the one man in the Senate who stood opposed to the bill, and voiced his opposition in a vigorous and eloquent speech. MR. J. P. MORGAN is financing a new underground railway system for the city of London which will rival the undertaking of Charles T. Yerkes in the same field. The entrance of these two American millionaires into the transportation business of London is said to be causing much perturbation in England. THE Chinese Government has entered a strong protest against the terms of the Chinese exclusion bill, especially against that portion which proposes the exclusion of the Chinese from the Philippine Islands. GENERAL CHAFFEE is planning a campaign in the island of Mindanao which is giving the officials at Washington much concern, as it is known that the natives of Mindanao are Moslems, who look upon death in battle as the gate to heaven, and who are not well pleased with any interference with their customs and laws. SIX thousand textile workers are now on strike at Vienne, Department of Isere, France, and the resultant distress has led to rioting and other disorders. Troops dispersed the rioters after a sharp conflict. There is a serious strike of dock laborers at Copenhagen, Denmark, which threatens to tie up the trade of that port. THE Cuban reciprocity bill was amended and passed by the House on April 18, after the decision of the chair had been overruled as to the germaneness of the amendment. Sixty-four Republicans voted with the Democrats in amending the bill as it was finally passed. THE city of Bocas del Toro, Colombia, has been taken by the insurgents, and the government is sending re-enforcements to that vicinity to recapture the town. The government is strongly guarding the city of Colon to prevent a successful attack by the rebels on that city. THE city officials of Boston have decided to enforce the Sunday laws in that city, beginning with Sunday, April 20. The orders from police headquarters to the several captains are of the strictest character, and violators are to be haled into court without delay. GENERAL MALVAR has unconditionally surrendered to the American forces in Batangas province, Philippines. He has also ordered the surrender of all insurgents in that province. During the past four months 3,300 rifles have been captured by the Americans. THE street-railway employees of San Francisco went out practically in a body on April 19, resulting in a complete tie-up of the entire system. About 3,500 men, all told, are involved in the strike. The principal demand of the strikers is for a higher rate of wages. THE United States consul at Canton, China, cables the State Department at Washington that “whole villages on the banks of the North River, in the vicinity of Shick-wanfu, are devastated by smallpox, and Fat-shan is suffering from cholera and plague.” THE American army officer sent to New Orleans to investigate the charge that a British army camp was being maintained near New Orleans, has reported on the matter, and it is expected that Great Britain will be requested to discontinue the camp. THE United States Supreme Court has granted leave to the State of Washington to file an injunction against the Great Northern and Northern Pacific Railway companies, to prevent the merging of the two companies into a railway trust. THE Boer generals who have been in conference at Pretoria in the interests of peace have returned to their commands to submit their proposals to the men in the field. It is confidently expected that peace will be restored in the near future. A REPORT from Nicaragua states that leprosy is so prevalent in the western part of that country that parents are being warned against allowing their children to run upon the streets, for fear of coming in contact with leprous persons. ANOTHER clash has occurred on the Bulgarian frontier between Turkish troops and Bulgarians, in which several men were killed. Some of the Bulgarians engaged wore the uniform of the Bulgarian army. THE census bureau figures that the area of the United States and its insular possessions aggregates 3,690,822 square miles, which makes it the fifth among the nations in point of size. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER is reported to have given $1,000,000 to the cause of education in the South. The gift is to be used for the better education of both white and negro. THE result of the spring clean-up in the Klondike mining country is estimated to be the largest in the history of mining in that region. It is now placed at $30,000,000. THERE has been a heavy decline in the price of silver during the week, owing, it is said, to China's selling of silver in order to pay her indemnity instalment in gold. THE result of the special election recently held in the Hawaiian Islands seems to have been an indorsement of the present administration of the island affairs. QUEEN WILHELMINA, of Holland, is dangerously ill of typhoid fever, and there is much anxiety in Holland over the outcome of the attack. THE crops of Kansas for the coming season are being greatly damaged, if not ruined, by the prevalence of hot, dry winds. THE import duty on grain shipped into Great Britain continues to send up the price of grain. Evangelical Missionary Societies Issue a Warning.
A JOINT statement has been issued by the secretaries of ten of the evangelical missionary societies of America, calling the attention of the members of the Christian denominations to the rapid growth of Mormonism. It is in part as follows: “The undersigned, representatives of missionary societies of Christian denominations in the United States, beg leave most earnestly to call the attention of the Christian public to the position, work, and menace of Mormonism in our country. We are moved to this statement by the vitality which the Mormon system has shown—not only in western states and territories, but generally throughout the country. We are persuaded that Christian people have no adequate conception of the vitality, nor of the methods—seductive and often successful—by which the hateful system is being pressed upon the public attention. “Whatever modifications public sentiment or governmental action may have forced upon the Mormon attitude and Mormon practices, it has not essentially changed its character since the days of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Its priestly oligarchy threatens free government, its grasping priestcraft invades property rights; its varied vices are destructive of good morals, while its pagan doctrines and practices are antagonistic to the Gospel of Christ. The ambition of Mormons, which they do not even conceal, is to secure control of State after State, until, by means of the balance of power, they may make national legislation against Mormonism impossible. Toward this end they are moving by an organization as compact and skillfully devised for its purpose as any that ever engaged the activities of man. Their approaches to people are made the more seductive because their appeal affects to be based upon commonly accepted Bible truths. Only after entrance has been gained, and the door has been closed against retreat, is the awful system gradually unveiled to its converts. We urge upon the pastors and teachers to unveil to their people and scholars this system, so seductive and dangerous to all the best interests of every community and of our country. We urge upon the public press the duty of educating the public conscience by unsparingly giving the facts of the nature and the work of Mormonism, and we appeal to Christian and patriotic people everywhere to resist wherever it appears a system hostile at once to our free institutions and our Christian faith.”—Public Opinion. THE CHAMBER OF PEACE.
By Mary Wood-Allen
[Mary Wood-Allen, in Union Signal.] The large parlors were filled with a throng of well-dressed women with here and there the black coat of a man contrasting with the universal brightness of color. They were chatting together in subdued voices, but the heads of all were turning often toward the hallway, as if in expectation of the coming of some one. At length there fell on the ear the sound of distant music, soft and clear. Its tones stilled the hum of conversation, while the attentive ear caught the sound of a light footfall, the rustle of a dress, and amid the hush of expectancy, a tall, slender woman passed through the hall and entered the parlor. She greeted no one, but went directly to the place prepared for her, and took her stand at a small table whereon lay a Bible. Her face was fair, her brown hair slightly tinged with gray, her dress, of a soft, clinging material, was of white; and with a rapt expression of face, she seemed in some way as if set apart from her gaily-attired audience. She raised her eyes and stood for a moment in profound silence, while the deepest stillness prevailed, and every head was bowed. At length she spoke slowly, solemnly, and with a profound reverence: “The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth”—the earthy part of us—“keep silence before Him.” The stillness seemed to deepen. There was no sound of breathing, no rustle of garments. Every soul was hushed in the presence of the great Jehovah. To Mrs. Ashton, the scene was one of great impressiveness. She was just closing her first visit to the great city, and even now was on her way to the train. Her days had been full of great activity, of bustle, noise, glare, and brilliancy. This deep hush, coming in the midst of all the sights and sounds of city life, seemed strangely overpowering. She was prepared by it for the reception of truth. The address that followed the silence was simple but effective, and it sank deep into Mrs. Ashton's heart. It was a plea for faith, implicit faith, in the all-loving, ever-present God, who guides the trusting heart in all storms of trial and adversity; the faith that surrounds the soul like a protecting dome, shutting out all danger, but giving ever a glimpse of heaven, until the world, in spite of distracting scenes, becomes a veritable chamber of peace. As an aid to the attainment of this constant serenity, the speaker advised going daily into some place consecrated to holy thoughts and pure aspirations. “We have in this house,” she said, “our Chamber of Peace, and all who are united with us have right of entrance there. Within its sacred precincts no unkind word is spoken, no unholy thought is indulged. All weary, worn, and anxious hearts among us have the right to come by day or night and in this silent place seek and find divine aid. To those of you who are strangers among us, I give an invitation to visit our Chamber of Peace before you go away.” “Will there be time for us?” whispered Mrs. Ashton to her friend, who nodded in acquiescence. The throng had departed, and the speaker, seeing the two ladies waiting, came up to them. “Will you come up into our place of peace?” she asked. She led the way upstairs, and the two followed her. The room they entered was large and bright, the outer end opening through a wall of glass into a conservatory. The furniture was simple, but was all of white. The walls, of a light neutral tint, formed a fitting background for white-framed engravings, all of a sweet and peaceful type, such as a gentle-faced Madonna, a quiet landscape, or the face of a little child. A broad couch, a few easy chairs, small tables with books, and a cabinet organ, comprised the furniture. Mrs. Ashton took up the books and glanced at them. They were nearly all in white bindings, and she realized that all were, in some way, calculated to uplift and encourage the reader. Without a spoken word, the lecturer invited them to be seated, and taking her place at the organ she sang for them a sweet and solemn chant of struggle ending in perfect victory. As they left the room, she said,— “Since this room was consecrated to peace, no loud or unkind word has been spoken in it. We have filled it full of the spirit of love, and many a troubled soul has come here to pass out from its silence filled with a quiet serenity.” During the long hours of night travel that followed, Mrs. Ashton carried with her the presence of that peaceful room. It stayed with her for many days, and often amid her daily trials did she long for an hour of calm in that sweet retreat. But one day the thought came to her, “Why may I not have a Chamber of Peace of my own?” Her house was small—there was no room to spare from the requirements of every-day life—and she had almost given up the idea until she remembered her unfinished attic. Its possibilities grew upon her, and at last, consulting no one, she created among the very rafters a quiet nook consecrated to peaceful meditation. Her resources were small, but she was ingenious. She made the walls of hangings of unbleached muslin, to which she pinned the few engravings she could collect. A blue and white counterpane (a family heir-loom) draped and transformed an ordinary cot into a couch. She upholstered a small rocker and painted it with white enamel. A small table, covered with a white spread, held her few books, and the room was dedicated with silent prayer and became her daily refuge. Here, after the household tasks were done, she came for rest. Outside those muslin walls she left her cares, her petty annoyances, her feelings of pique, of irritation or resentment. Here there must be only love and peace. At first it seemed impossible to drop all disturbing thoughts; but soon with the entrance into her retreat discordant feelings vanished, and she came to feel that the very atmosphere was filled with holy calm. She wondered if others would recognize it, and one day when her little son seemed instinct with naughtiness she said to him, “Mama is going to take you to her dear, quiet room where only angels of love and goodness dwell.” The little fellow looked up at her in surprise and followed her silently. “Mama will leave you here for a little while,” she said; “and you must sit still and listen to hear some still voice whispering in your heart telling you of love. This is the place where mama comes when she feels tired and naughty, and she always hears sweet whispers of love that rest her and make her happy. You may come down stairs when you get ready.” She left the child and thought he would soon follow her; but as an hour passed and he did not come, she went up to see what he was doing. She found him sleeping on the couch, and so left him undisturbed. A half hour later he came down, his face aglow with happiness. “I like your little room,” he said. “It is a good place to lose the naughty;” and after that, when tired or cross, he would ask if he might go up to the white room for a little while, and he always came down quieted in spirit. “How I wish everybody had a Chamber of Peace,” thought Mrs. Ashton, and she introduced her husband to its sanctuary, and it became to him also a retreat from worldly cares and anxieties. One day there was a quick ring at the bell, and immediately a near neighbor entered, apparently much perturbed. “Mrs. Ashton,” she said, “will you keep this key and give it to John when he comes home to-night?” “Are you going away?” asked Mrs. Ashton, in surprise. “Yes, I am,” responded Mrs. Bell, with a bitterness of accent which betokened some great unhappiness, “and I'm not coming back,” she added, after a pause. Mrs. Ashton had just come from her Chamber of Peace, and her heart was full of love and rest. She was surprised at Mrs. Bell's outbreak. She recalled her coming two years before as a bride into the little cottage next door, and had rejoiced in the evident happiness of the young couple, which seemed almost to renew the happy days of her own young wifehood. What had happened? How could she help in this emergency? With the influence of her peaceful room still around her, she calmed her thoughts and asked quietly, “Can I help you, Mrs. Bell? I am sure you are in trouble.” The sympathetic word broke down the barriers of self-control, and the young woman poured her sorrows into the ears of the older woman. It was a simple tale; the old story of growing estrangement, of waning sympathy, of hasty words and unkind acts on the part of each. “And Mr. Bell does not know you are going?” asked Mrs. Ashton. “No,” responded Mrs. Bell, with resentment in her tone, “but he'll find out I have some pride. I won't put up with everything, as most women do. I'll teach him a lesson.” “Your train does not go for two hours,” said Mrs. Ashton. “You would better stay here and not wait at the station. Come with me. I will take you to a retreat where no one will find you, and when the time comes you can go to the train,—if you still want to.” “I'll want to, you may be sure,” replied Mrs. Bell, following her neighbor upstairs. Mrs. Ashton had not expressed approval of her plan, but she had not condemned her, and certainly she could see how greatly she had been wronged. She looked in surprise as she was ushered into the attic room. Mrs. Ashton gave her the rocker, and sitting down on the couch said, “This is my Chamber of Peace, Mrs. Bell. It is my retreat from all the storms of life. For a year it has been to me my one place of comfort and safety.” Mrs. Bell looked her question. “Yes, of safety,” continued Mrs. Ashton. “I find by experience that I am often in danger, but my foes are from within. I made this little room and consecrated it to all pure and holy thoughts. An unkind word has never been spoken in this room, and I have learned to banish unlovely thoughts when I enter it. No matter how unkindly I feel toward persons, when I come in here I will not let myself think of them in any way but with love. I recall all I can of their goodness. Every one has some good quality, and I dwell on that, or else I refuse to think of these persons at all. I never allow myself to pity myself while here. I find before I leave that I have ceased to pity myself and have begun to pity others. I have brought you here where you are safe from the knowledge of any one. I can only ask that you will not disturb the atmosphere of my peaceful room by thoughts of retribution or resentment. While you are here, for my sake, think only of sweet and lovely things.” “You are asking a great deal,” said Mrs. Bell, in a hesitant manner. “I realize it, dear, but it will not be long, only two hours. Lie down here and shut your eyes; or read one of these little books, and, just for this brief space and because of your love for me, keep the atmosphere of my little room free from the elements of unrest.”11 Mrs. Ashton did not stay to argue, but kissing the troubled young face, and laying her hand gently on the bright young head, she breathed a silent prayer and left the room. It lacked only fifteen minutes of train time when Mrs. Bell came down stairs. The angry flush had died from her face, and there was a look of peace in her eyes. She went at once to Mrs. Ashton, and, kissing her, she said, “Where is my key? I am going home—to stay,” she added, in reply to Mrs. Ashton's questioning glance. “You are a wise woman. Your little room has performed its mission. Its overpowering atmosphere of love reached my heart, and, as I was pledged not to think unkindly, there was an entrance into my soul for all the sweet influences there. I began to think of John lovingly, and I soon came to see where I had done wrong and to forget what he had done to irritate me. I know he loves me; but we have both been worried by cares and vexations in daily life, and as we had no Chamber of Peace to go to where we could leave our worries, we vented them on each other. Now I mean to have such a place for myself. It seemed to me,” she added softly, while her eyes filled with tears, “as if I heard God Himself speaking to me.” “Yes,” whispered Mrs. Ashton, “that is because you were still before Him. He is always speaking, but we are making so much noise, we do not hear Him. ‘The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth’—the earthly part of us—‘keep silence before Him.’ Then shall every place become to us a Chamber of Peace.” SEEK RELIEF FROM WOE.
By Benj. Phillips
Despairing man goes forth his strength to spend
In direst moil or silly grief and vain;
He wraps himself in cloak of crushing pain,
And thinks there bides nowhere for him a friend.
Ah! poverty and piercing sickness blend,
And haunting cares—a never-ending train—
Depress with zeal the wounded mortals' brain,
And keep him in the sphere of sorrow penned. But while incaged in ills of various name,
Some loving muse to Him above bestow,
Or seek sweet faith without the touch of shame;
Thou'lt surely find relief from bitter woe,
Find hope, which sad misfortune can not claim,
And sweet success that trusting humans know. Seiad, Cal.
BENJ. PHILLIPS. Through cards, countless multitudes have been led to dissipation and moral and financial ruin. There is about them a taint that contaminates—an impure taint that cannot be dissociated from them. It is beyond question that addiction to card games is a certain means of demoralization, especially among young people. Yet how many indulgent fathers and mothers permit and even approve of card-playing at home, on the plea that “there can be no harm in it if the young folks play with proper acquaintances,” and do not gamble. “Father plays,” say the children; but the example of many a card-playing father has caused the son’s ruin. True, the former may never have gambled; but the son may not be able to call a halt where his father did. And so the example of his kind, well-meaning, but unwise parent becomes to him a fatal stumbling-block. Indeed, the better the father, the more injurious his example is sure to prove in such a case. A young man once came to Dwight L. Moody and told him that he had been converted at one of the evangelist’s meetings and had become a Christian. “Now, Mr. Moody,” he said, “I wish to know whether it will be necessary for me to sacrifice all my social life and friendships. Must I give up altogether those gatherings I formerly enjoyed so much—I mean balls, theaters, cards, and the like—if I still could enjoy them?” “Not at all!” rejoined the evangelist, very heartily. “You needn’t give up anything that you really enjoy. You must not think that being a Christian takes all enjoyment out of life. But if you should want to go to these places now—or, indeed, if you should ever again take any real delight in them, as you once did—I’m very much mistaken.” The evangelist knew that no one who had taken Christ into his heart and life could longer find pleasure in amusements concerning which there could be the slightest doubt, or indulgence in which might, through the influence of example, lead others into sin. He is his brother’s keeper, and to keep that brother out of sin, he must keep out of it himself. There is no alternative. But even regarded from the worldly or social side, the question of card-playing deserves to be decided adversely. No man or woman ever advanced in character or esteem by such means; never was the grace of a girl or the manliness of a youth enhanced by card-playing; never were won any of the great prizes of life—honor, position, fame—by skill at cards; none ever found proficiency at the game a recommendation with the business world; none ever gained, as a stake, health, happiness, or moral or intellectual worth. Ever since the day when the mad king for whom cards were invented played with the first pack, they have been the peculiar paraphernalia of the gamester mad after another’s wealth, of the sleight-of-hand swindler, of the drunkard, and of the time-killer, who, if he squandered nothing else, wasted over them the golden hours that might have been devoted to some nobler purpose.—The Christian Herald. He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. — Prov. 29:1. A GENTLEMAN standing by Niagara, saw an eagle swoop down upon a frozen lamb incased in a floating piece of ice. The eagle stood upon it as it was “drifting” on toward the rapids. Every now and again the eagle would proudly lift his head into the air to look around him, as much as to say, “I am ‘drifting’ on toward danger; but I know what I am doing; I will fly away and make good my escape before it is too late.” When he neared the falls, he stooped and spread his powerful wings and leaped for his flight, but alas! alas! while he was feasting on that dead carcass, his feet had frozen to its fleece. He leaped and shrieked and beat upon the ice with his wings until the ice-frozen lamb and the eagle went over the falls and down into the chasm and darkness below. This is a graphic picture of the tippler, the sensualist, the embezzler; of any and every man who has begun to do evil, intending to stop before he goes too far.—Selected.