"AFTER this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water; whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had."
Jesus did not hold himself aloof from the poor, the suffering, and sinful. His great heart of love went out in yearning tenderness for wretched objects who needed his help. He was acquainted with the sufferers who had learned to look forward to the period when it was thought that the waters were agitated by a supernatural power. Many suffering from different maladies visited the pool; but so great was the crowd at the appointed time, that they rushed forward, trampling under foot men, women, and children, weaker than themselves.
Hundreds were pressed back and could not get near the water. Many disappointed sufferers, who had, by great pains and effort, succeeded in reaching the pool, died upon its brink without being able to make the first plunge into its depths. Shelters had been erected about the place that the sick might be protected from the scorching rays of the sun and the chilliness of the night. Some wretched sufferers spent their nights in the porches, and would drag their diseased bodies to the favored spot day after day in the vain hope of obtaining relief.
One man had been afflicted by an incurable disease for thirty-eight years, and he had repeatedly visited the pool. Those who pitied his helplessness would bear him to and fro at the time when the waters were supposed to be troubled. But those stronger than himself would rush in before him and seize the opportunity that he coveted. Thus the poor, palsied sufferer waited by the pool day and night, hoping that the favored moment would at length come when he could plunge into the water and be healed. His persistent efforts toward this object, and the doubt and anxiety of his mind, were fast wearing away the poor remnant of his strength.
Jesus visited this retreat of misery, and his eye rested upon this helpless invalid. The poor creature was weak and despairing, but as the looked-for moment arrived, he gathered his feeble energies in a last effort to reach the water, but, just as he had almost gained his object, another stepped in before him. He crept back to his pallet to die. But a pitying face bends over him, saying, "Wilt thou be made whole?" The desponding man looked up, thinking it might be some one who had come to assist him into the pool; but the faint glow of encouragement faded out of his heart when he remembered that it was too late, his opportunity for that time was gone, and, in his state of sickness and exposure, he could scarcely hope that he might live to see another.
He turned away wearily, saying, "Sir, I have no man; when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool; but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me." Poor man! how could he hope to contend successfully with the selfish, scrambling crowd! Jesus did not ask this wretched sufferer to exercise faith in him; but with a voice of command said, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." A sudden vigor was communicated to the paralyzed cripple. His whole being was stirred with a healing power; new blood and strength leaped into283every limb and member. He bounded to his feet in obedience to the Saviour's command, and stooped to take up his bed, which was only a simple rug and blanket. As he straightened himself again, with a sense of delight at standing upon his feet after so many years of helpless infirmity, he looked around for his deliverer, but he was nowhere to be seen. Jesus was lost in the crowd, and the restored paralytic feared that he might not know him again if he should see him. He was disappointed, for he longed to pour forth his gratitude to the stranger. As he hurried on toward Jerusalem, with firm, free step, praising God as he went, and rejoicing in his new-found strength, he met the Pharisees, and immediately related to them the wonderful cure he had experienced. He was surprised at the coolness with which they listened to his story.
Presently they interrupted him by asking why he was carrying that bed on the Sabbath day. They sternly reminded him that it was not lawful for him to bear burdens upon the Lord's day. In his joy the man had forgotten that it was the Sabbath; yet he felt no condemnation for obeying the command of One who had power from God to perform so wonderful a miracle. He answered boldly, "He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk." The Pharisees were not delighted at the cure which had been effected upon this poor invalid of thirty-eight years. They overlooked the object of the wondrous miracle, and, with their characteristic bigotry, seized upon the act as a violation of the Sabbath law.
Jesus did not come into the world to lessen the dignity of the law, but to exalt it. The Jews had perverted it by their traditions and misconceptions. They had made it a yoke of bondage. Their meaningless exactions and requirements had become a by-word among all other nations. Especially was the Sabbath hedged in by all manner of senseless restrictions which made that holy day almost unendurable. A Jew was not allowed to kindle a fire upon the Sabbath, nor even to light a candle on that day. The views of the people were so narrow that they had become slaves to their own useless regulations. As a consequence, they were dependent upon the Gentiles to do many services which their rules forbade them to do for themselves. . . . But a just God has given no commandment which cannot be consistently kept by all. His laws sanction no meaningless usages nor clumsy restrictions.
In the temple, soon after, Jesus met the man he had healed. He had come to bring a trespass offering, a sin offering, and a thank offering for the great mercy he had received. Jesus, finding him among the worshipers, made himself known to him. The great Physician addressed him with a timely warning, "Behold, thou art made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." He who had suffered for thirty-eight years, as a result, in part, of his own dissipation, was thus plainly warned to avoid the sins that had caused him such suffering.
The healed man was overjoyed to behold his deliverer, and, ignorant of the malice which the Jews held against Jesus, informed the Pharisees, who had before questioned him, that this was he who had wrought the wondrous cure. The Jewish dignitaries had only waited for proof that it was Jesus; from the first they had been confident that it could be no other. Now, a great uproar ensued in the court of the temple; for they sought to slay Jesus, but were prevented by the people, many of whom recognized in him a friend who had healed them from their infirmities and relieved their sorrows.
A controversy now took place in regard to the true claims of the Sabbath law. . . . Jesus sought to impress upon the narrow minds of the Jews a sense of the folly of their view of the Sabbath. He showed them that God's work never ceases. It is even greater upon the Sabbath than upon ordinary occasions, for at that time his people leave their usual employments and spend the time in prayerful meditation and worship. They ask more favors of him upon the Sabbath than upon other days; they demand his special attention; they crave his choicest blessings; they offer importunate prayers for special favors. God does not wait for the Sabbath to pass before he grants those requests, but he deals to the petitioners, with judicious wisdom, whatever is best for them to have.
Heaven's work never ceases for a moment, and men should never rest from doing good. The Sabbath law forbids labor on the sanctified rest-day of the Lord. The toil that gains a livelihood must cease; no labor for worldly pleasure or profit is lawful upon the Lord's day; but the work of Christ in healing the sick did honor to the holy Sabbath. Jesus claimed equal rights with God in doing a work equally sacred and of the same character with that which engaged his Father in Heaven. But the Pharisees were still more incensed, because he had not only broken the law, according to their understanding, but added to this offense the heinous sin of declaring himself equal with God. Nothing but the interference of the people prevented the Jewish authorities from slaying him on the spot. "Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do; for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth; and he will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will."
Here Jesus elevated himself to his true station before the Jews, and declared himself to be the Son of God. He then, in mild and dignified language, instructed them regarding the Sabbath. He told them that the rest-day which Jehovah had sanctified and set apart for a special purpose, after he had completed the work of creation, was not intended to be a period of useless inactivity. As God ceased his labor of creating, and rested upon that day and blessed it, so man was to leave the occupation of his daily life, and devote those sacred hours to healthful rest, to worship, and to holy deeds. —Great Controversy, Vol. 2, pp. 156-165.
God's Estimate of Sin.
By Charles Henry Mackintosh
If we would have a just sense of the awful reality of the government of God, his wrath against sin, and the true character of his holiness, we must gaze at the cross; we must hearken to that bitter cry that issued from the heart of the Son of God and broke through the dark shadows of Calvary, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
Never had such a question been asked before; never has such a question been asked since, and never shall—never can such a question be asked again. Whether we consider the One who asked it, the One of whom it was asked, or the answer, we must see that the question stands absolutely alone in the annals of eternity. The cross is the measure of God's hatred of sin, as it is the measure of his love to the sinner. It is the imperishable foundation of the throne of grace, the divinely righteous ground, on which God can pardon our sins and constitute us perfectly righteous in a risen and glorified Christ.—C. H. Macintosh.
1. Did the law exist before it was spoken from Sinai? Give proof.
2. Can you prove that its claims are binding on Gentiles as well as Jews?
3. Over what part of the earth has the law jurisdiction? Proof.
4. How many apartments were in the tabernacle built by Moses?
"And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony; and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy." Ex. 26:33.
5. What article of furniture was in the most holy place?
"And thou shalt put the mercy-seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place." Ex. 26:34.
6. Why was it called "the ark of the testimony"?
"And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee." Ex. 25:16.
7. What was this "testimony"?
"And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God." Ex. 31:18.
"And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, in the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them unto me. And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me." Deut. 10:4, 5.
8. Of what was this earthly tabernacle a pattern?
"The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing; which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience." "It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." Heb. 9:8, 9, 23, 24.
9. Was the furniture of the tabernacle, as well as the tabernacle itself, made according to this heavenly pattern?
"According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it." "And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount." Ex. 25:9, 40.
10. Is there a real temple in Heaven?
"Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the Heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." Heb. 8:1, 2.
11. What article of furniture is specially noted as having been seen in it?
"And the temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." Rev. 11:19.
12. Since the ark was called the "ark of the testimony" because it contained the tables of the law, what must be in the ark in the real temple in Heaven?
In Ex. 31:18 we read that the Lord "gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God." In Deut. 5:22 we learn that it was the ten commandments that were written on the two tables of stone; and from Deut. 10:4, 5 we learn that the tables were placed in the ark. Therefore we know that the ten commandments are the "testimony;" and when John says (Rev. 11:19) that in the temple of God in Heaven he saw the "ark of his testament," we must conclude that the ten commandments are in that ark. And, further, since the earthly tabernacle and its furniture were "patterns of things in the Heavens" (Ex. 25:9, 40; Heb. 9:23, 24), we must also conclude that the ten commandments which were on the tables of stone in the tabernacle which Moses built, were but a copy of the ten commandments in the temple in Heaven.
13. Then what relation did the tables which Moses placed in the ark bear to those in the temple in Heaven? See above.
14. Where is the Lord's throne?
"The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in Heaven; his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men." Ps. 11:4.
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(Continued from page 286.)
"But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him." Hab. 2:20.
15. Between what beings is his seat?
"Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth." Ps. 80:1.
"The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble; he sitteth between the cherubim; let the earth be moved." Ps. 99:1.
16. In the earthly tabernacle, from between what figures did the Lord speak to the people?
"And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel." Ex. 25:22.
17. Then of what was the ark in the earthly sanctuary a representation?—Of the throne of God in the temple in Heaven.
18. What was within the ark, and underneath the cherubim?
"And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee." "And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel." Ex. 25:16, 22.
"And the temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." Rev. 11:19.
19. Then what relation do the commandments sustain to the throne of God?—They are underneath it, forming its foundation.
20. Can you quote any texts of Scripture that directly support this conclusion?
"Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne; mercy and truth shall go before thy face." Ps. 89:14.
"Clouds and darkness are round about him; righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." Ps. 97:2. Compare Ps. 119:172.
21. How extensive is the authority of God's throne?
"The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all." Ps. 103:19.
22. Then how extensive must be the jurisdiction of the ten commandments?
23. Must they not, then, be the rule of conduct in Heaven as well as on earth?
"Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word." Ps. 103:20.
The Krupp Works.
ALFRED KRUPP owns probably the largest business in the world dependent on one individual. The works within the town of Essen occupy more than 500 acres, half of which are under cover. According to a census taken in September, 1881, the number of hands employed by Mr. Krupp was 19,605, the members of their families, 45,776, making 65,381 persons supported by his works. Mr. Krupp owns 547 iron mines in Germany. He owns four sea steamers, and there are connected with his Essen works 42 miles of railway, employing 28 locomotives and 883 cars, 69 horses with 191 wagons, and 40 miles of telegraph wires, with 35 stations and 55 Morse apparatuses. The establishment possesses a grand chemical laboratory, a photographic and lithographic atelier, a printing office with three steam and six hand presses, and a book-binding room. The establishment even runs a hotel in Essen.—New York Sun.
Four Brave Boys.
By Emily Huntington Miller
ONCE when the army of the king of Babylon came up against the city of Jerusalem, they carried away with them something more precious than the vessels of silver and gold. They chose out the best and most beautiful and the wisest among the children from the king's house, and carried them away to Babylon. They were not to be poor slaves and servants, but they were to be very carefully taught for three years, till they could speak the language of the people, and had learned all that the wisest men could teach them, and then they were to serve the king in his palace—to be his counselors, and to attend to all his business. This does not seem like a very hard thing; but would you be willing to be taken away from your father and mother, and all your friends, to live in a strange country among people who worship idols, and never see one of your dear ones again, even if you were to live in a splendid palace? Perhaps some of these boys liked it, and thought it a good chance to get rich and become famous. Perhaps some of them said: "Now we are so far away from home, among people who know nothing about God, it is of no use for us to try to serve him. We may as well do just as the people here do, and then the king will be pleased with us, and we shall be given the best place in his palace."
But there were four of these boys who remembered that God was just as near them in Babylon as in Jerusalem, and determined to serve and obey him wherever they might be. The only thing they were afraid of was doing wrong.
These boys may not have been related to each other, but it is very likely they might have been cousins. The names they called them by in Babylon were not the same as the names they had at home. Three of them were called Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. The leader had another name also, but we will only remember the one his mother gave him, and the one we know best; his name was Daniel. He was the one who spoke for the others, and was their leader always.
The king wanted these boys to be strong and beautiful and manly when they grew up, so he told the officers who had charge of them to give them for food the meat and wine and dainty dishes that were prepared for the king's own table. This was not proper food for boys to eat; but that was not the worst of it. It had all been offered to idols. Just as we thank our Father for our food, and ask him to bless it to our use, so the king thanked his idols and asked them to bless his meat and wine. So these boys knew that if they ate it they would be worshiping the idols also. But what could they do? Most of the children did not try to do anything, but these four boys made up their minds very quickly.
Daniel was the leader, and spoke for the others, but they were just as determined as he was. They did not know what would happen to them, but they purposed to do right, and so Daniel went to the man who had charge of them, and asked him to let them have some other food. "Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs." He was very willing to please Daniel, but he was afraid that it might displease the king. He was afraid, if they ate only plain, simple food, and drank water instead of wine, they would not be so fair and strong as the other children, and then the king would be angry, and kill him.
Daniel was very gentle and polite, but he did not give up. He begged the officer to try them just ten days, and see which kind of food was the best. The officer said he would try them for ten days, and he gave these four boys bread and rice and simple food to eat, and water to drink, while the rest of the children had the meat and the wine from the king's table.
Can you not guess how it came out? God took care that his faithful servants should not be disappointed. At the end of the ten days they were fairer and fatter in flesh than any of the children that ate the king's meat, so that no one tried again to compel them to eat the food offered to idols.
See what God did for these brave children who set their hearts upon serving him. God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. And when the three years were past, and the king sent for all the boys, that had grown now to be young men, and talked with them, and questioned them, he found these four friends ten times better than all the wise men of his kingdom, and so he chose them to serve him in his palace, and be among his counselors. They had a house where they lived together, and where they could praise God and pray to him even in that great wicked city. They had the word of God stored up in their hearts, and it was like a lamp to show them always the right way to go. They did not ask what other people did, or whether any one would ever know what they did; they only asked what God had commanded, and then walked exactly in that way; that is what is meant by taking heed unto your way according to God's word.—Emily Huntington Miller, in Christian Union.
The Lick Telescope.
In the basement of an unpretentious brick building on Henry Street, Cambridgesport, is probably the most costly table in the country. Its top is a circular disk of glass just a yard in diameter, and of the kind commercially known as crown glass. To the ordinary observer it presents the appearance of only a circle of plain glass, such as might be cut from hundreds of shop windows in this city, with the edges ground down. But this transparent table covering is worth $25,000, and its mate of flint glass in an adjoining room is worth $25,000 more. If by any accident these two pieces of glass should be destroyed, $25,000,000 could not duplicate them within the next six months. Together they are to form the lens of the great Lick telescope, which when finished will be the largest refracting telescope in the world.
In the manufacture of this instrument for the Lick Observatory the makers have no rivals to excel, the telescope they have but recently completed for the Russian Government already being the largest finished instrument in the world. This has a lens thirty inches in diameter, six inches less than the one on which they are now employed. Before this there were two twenty-seven-inch in Europe, one of which is in Vienna, once the largest known. The two largest in this country are twenty-six-inch—one at the Naval Observatory, Washington, and the other in the McCormick Observatory, connected with the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, both of which were made by the Messrs. Clark.
The discs for the Lick telescope were cast at an establishment in Paris, the only place in the world, with the exception of Birmingham, England, where work of this magnitude is attempted. The order for the casting was given five years ago, but so numerous were the failures that it was not until last September that the blocks were received here. Since that time Mr. Clark and his sons have been constantly engaged in the task of cutting them down to the proper curvature, and they do not expect to complete the work much before the latter part of next fall, and indeed are not ready to say positively that it will be done then.
Some idea of the amount of careful labor involved may be gained from the statement made by one of these gentlemen, that although the glasses came here partially ground down and polished, they have already taken from both over 100 pounds in weight of material. At first a rough grinding was done by machinery, but for months past only the hand has been used, and they have now reached that stage where the removal of a few grains more or less from the wrong place would ruin them. It is only by constantly testing with the trained eye and careful manipulation with the skilled hand of the operator that the work is now carried slowly on. The only instrument used is the hand smeared with rouge—a polishing substance finer than the finest emery.
Possibly some of our readers may ask why two qualities of glass are necessary for one lens, but probably a large portion of them are aware that double, or what are known as achromatic, lenses are necessary even in the cheapest of photographic instruments. In these and the smaller telescopes the two glasses are cemented together, generally with Canada balsam, but in this new instrument, and indeed in others made at Messrs. Clark's establishment, the two halves of the lens are set six inches apart in their iron frame. This having convenient285openings on its outer rim allows of the glasses being properly cleaned on each side, and does away with some disadvantages resulting from atmospheric changes. The two glasses with their metal frame weigh something over 700 pounds.
When mounted in its lofty dome this telescope will be one of the wonders of the world, and, doubtless, for the next few years it will be the Mecca toward which devout astronomers of all countries will make pilgrimages. Some idea of the power of this instrument may be gained from the statement recently made by an astronomer, that, gazing at the moon through this mighty annihilator of space, the orb of night, really about 240,000 miles away, would be brought to within less than a hundred miles of the eye of the beholder.
Mount Hamilton, where the telescope is to be placed, is in Santa Clara County, California. The mountain has three peaks, the eastern one being 4,440 feet high, the middle peak 4,350, and the third or Observatory Peak originally 4,276. Mr. Lick devoted $700,000 to the construction of the buildings and for a "telescope superior to and more powerful than any telescope yet made," with the proviso that Santa Clara County should construct a carriage road to the top of the mountain. This was accomplished in 1876 at a cost of $78,000, and is a marvel of engineering skill. The buildings and instruments now completed and in position are the observers' house, the transit house, the photo-heliograph and photograph house, the north dome and the twelve-inch equatorial refractor, the meridian circle house and the six-and-one-half-inch meridian circle, many auxiliary instruments, such as chronometer, sidereal clocks, etc., and a number of portable telescopes. The dome which is to cover the great telescope will probably be constructed of steel plates, will be about seventy-five feet in diameter, and will weigh about ninety-three tons.—Boston Transcript.
The Home Circle.
By Robert Whitaker
WAIT AWHILE.
If thy heart is lone and weary,
And the world seems sad and dreary,
Wait awhile;
Sorrow cannot last forever;
Tears and sighs will heal it never,
Life and joy we cannot sever;
Wait awhile.
When temptations fierce assail thee,
And thy strength and courage fail thee,
Wait awhile;
Do not yield the fight a minute;
Think what issues may be in it;
God will give thee strength to win it;
Wait awhile.
When the prayers thy lips have pleaded
Seem forgotten and unheeded,
Wait awhile;
God perchance thy faith is testing,
Thus thy soul with strength investing;
On his changeless goodness resting,
Wait awhile.
Life's great problems may perplex thee,
Sin and pain and sorrow vex thee,
Wait awhile;
In that brighter world elysian
Thou shalt see with clearer vision;
Seek to learn and work thy mission;
Wait awhile.
Wait awhile! thy feet may falter,
But God's truth can never alter;
Wait awhile;
If thy soul his yoke hath taken,
Thou canst never be forsaken,
But in perfect light shall waken;
Wait awhile.
—Robert Whitaker.
Health and Temperance.
Mad Dogs and Mad Men.
WHERE one person in this country dies of hydrophobia, a hundred or more die by tobacco poison—in the use of cigars, cigarettes, or the pipe. In smoking, death does not occur as speedily as in the case of hydrophobia. The bite of a mad dog does not always result in death; neither does indulgence in smoking or chewing. But, in both cases, there is damage to health and danger of life. Tobacco smoking is undoubtedly a poisonous, and therefore, a dangerous practice, and like, in its results, to the use of intoxicating drinks, which are also poisonous. Some constitutions can bear more tobacco poison or alcoholic poison than others.
We admit that, in some cases, poisonous liquids, drugs, and minerals may be properly used as a medicine, but in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, no one can safely indulge in the use of cigars or of intoxicating drinks. All are more or less harmful, and if immoderately used will surely result in an early death. If moderately used the damage will be sure but less apparent. The bite of a mad dog is a frightful matter anywhere, and there are probably a hundred deaths caused thereby, yearly, in this country. If one man dies of hydrophobia, a whole community is greatly excited and scared. "Run for your life!" "Load your gun!" "Kill all the dogs!" is then the loud and immediate cry in all directions. But not a ripple is made, nor hardly a word is uttered, if ten thousand men and women die in a year of delirium tremens, or a thousand die of tobacco poison.
It is fashionable to drink and to smoke; and hence, thousands of young men begin very early to indulge in these practices, with scarcely a thought of the risks and dangers of such indulgence. Pale faces, yellow skins, bloated bodies, restless nights, loss of appetite, heart disease, and poor health generally, do not seem to frighten them in the least. They will send for medicine and the doctor, but will not stop tampering with poison. They will drink and smoke, smoke and drink, day and night, year in and year out. That is the fashion, and that is law, no matter what the consequences are. "I'll take the risks," is the answer to all entreaties of friends to stop. If you should see a mad dog in the street you would run for your life, as we have before said, to get out of his way. If you see a man drunk in the gutter, you simply say: "Poor fellow! I pity him. His friends ought to take care of him," etc. If you hear of the death of a man by cancer, which was caused by smoking, you are at first startled, but never stop a day yourself the beastly practice of smoking.
A hundred thousand deaths, at least, are caused every year by indulgence in drinking and smoking; and those who are trying to stay its dreadful results are called bigots and other worse names. While we flee from mad dogs, malaria, small-pox, and typhoid fever, let us wake up and banish forever such senseless and dangerous indulgences as liquor drinking and smoking. People are beginning to wake up on this subject. Congress is talking about temperance, and physicians are speaking plainly about smoking. Tobacco is more dangerous in its direct and indirect effects on human life than would be the letting loose of all the mad dogs in the nation.
Alcoholic drinks destroy more lives yearly than do hydrophobia, small-pox, and all sorts of fevers combined. These dangerous and deathly practices should be stopped everywhere if possible. Life-saving on the ocean is now regarded as a proper theme for discussion in Congress and elsewhere. Why should not life-saving on land be also considered? As to the shameful drinking and smoking practices in the halls of Congress, it is high time that both were by law suppressed. Let us have pure air, clear heads, and a healthful example in the Capitol and at the White House. While we do well to attend to mad dogs and prevent infectious diseases, let us not forget or fail to check the immense, the untold loss of life caused by a worse madness in the shameful indulgences we have named.—N. Y. Independent.
Served Him Right.
ON a Fort Wayne train approaching Chicago, there was a short-statured, straight-haired, copper-colored Indian, going back to the reservation after a trip to the Indian school at Carlyle, Pa. He wore a nice suit of clothes, which fitted him badly, and a paper collar, without any neck-tie. He attended strictly to his own business, and was unmolested until a young fellow came into the smoking-car from the sleeper. "An Indian, I guess," said the young man, as he lighted a cigarette. And then approaching the son of the plains, he attracted general attention by shouting, with strange gestures, "Ugh, heap big Injun! Omaha! Sioux! Pawnee! See great father! Have drink fire-water? Warm Injun's blood!" The copper-colored savage gazed at the young man a moment with an ill-con-cealed expression on his face, and then he said, with good pronunciation, "You must have been reading dime novels, sir; I am going back to my people in Montana, after spending three years in the East at school. I advise you to do the same thing. No, I do not drink whisky. Where I live gentlemen do not carry whisky flasks in their pockets." The cigarette was not smoked out, and amid a general laugh, a much crest-fallen young man retired to the sleeping coach.—Youth's Companion.
The Pecan Tree.
The pecan tree, in the United States, grows chiefly in Louisiana, Texas, and Indian Territory. The nuts grown in Louisiana rank the first in quality. These nuts are shipped to all parts of the United States, and into Canada. There is no European market for them. The trees grow from sixty to seventy feet in height, sometimes higher. They yield a heavy and durable wood.
How to Use Hot Water.
ONE of the simplest and most effectual means of relieving pain is by the use of hot water, externally and internally, the temperature varying according to the feelings of the patient.
For bruises, sprains, and similar accidental hurts, it should be applied immediately, as hot as can be borne, by means of a cloth dipped in the water and laid on the wounded part, or by immersion if convenient, and the treatment kept up till relief is obtained. If applied at once, the use of the hot water will generally prevent the bruised flesh from turning black.
For pains resulting from indigestion, and known as wind colic, etc., a cup of hot water taken in sips will often relieve at once. When that is insufficient a flannel folded in several thicknesses, large enough to fully cover the painful place, should be wrung out of hot water and laid over the seat of the pain. It should be as hot as the skin can bear without injury, and be renewed every ten minutes, or oftener if it feels cool, till the pain is gone.
The remedy is simple, efficient, harmless, and within the reach of every one, and should be more generally used than it is. If used along with common sense it might save many a doctor's bill and many a course of drug treatment as well.—Sel.
Incalculable Loss.
By Grand Jury of Philadelphia
IN the performance of our duty, we have been deeply impressed with the fact that four-fifths, if not nine-tenths, of the six thousand paupers and criminals that fill our public institutions are in their present sad and deplorable condition through the influence of intoxicating liquors. If we look beyond these institutions to determine the cost of the liquor traffic in this city; if we estimate the increase of the police force necessary to meet its requirements, the degradation emanating from the infamous pest-houses which it sustains, the idleness which it fosters, the wealth which it squanders and destroys, the poverty and disgrace which it entails, the burdens and expenses which it lays upon our courts of justice; and if we add to these the perpetual support of so large a number of paupers and criminals—the loss we suffer is incalculable.—Grand Jury of Philadelphia.
Temperance Coffee-Houses in England
A SOCIETY has been formed in England having for its object the establishing and furnishing of temperance coffee-houses. A great many of such houses are being successfully carried on in all the larger cities in Great Britain.—Sel.
New Zealand Maoris Become Teetotalers
WHEN the king of New Zealand Maoris was in England, he promised to work for temperance reform among his people. He seems to have kept his word, for it is now announced that more than 11,000 of his subjects are tetotalers.
Evidence Against Liquor Selling
Canon Farrar says that Cruikshank, the artist, offered one hundred pounds for proof of a violent crime committed by a total abstainer, and that the money remains unclaimed to this day. Quite as striking a proposition has recently been made by a temperance society in England, offering a large reward for proof of a single instance where property accumulated by liquor selling has descended to the third generation.—Watchman.