THE INITIAL SERVICES OF ODD-FELLOWSHIP DESCRIBED IN COURT.
A UNIQUE case was tried before Justice Galt at Whitby, a small village twenty miles east of this city [Toronto]. Richard Kinver, a chair-maker, brought suit against the Phoenix Lodge of Odd Fellows, of Whitby, for injuries received at the hands of members of the lodge while he was being initiated into the mysteries of the order. The case is the first of the kind ever brought before a court of justice in this country, and has excited a great deal of interest. The court-room to-day was crowded with members of the Phoenix Lodge and curious outsiders, anxious to learn something of the secrets of the brotherhood. The plaintiff appeared in court leaning on crutches. He was badly bruised about the head and body, and appeared to be suffering severe pain. On the witness-stand he told the story of events on the night of his initiation. He was met, he said, by a committee of the Odd Fellows Lodge, who first blindfolded him by drawing a black cap down over his face, so that he could not see the slightest thing, and then led him into the lodge-room.
His entry was the signal for shouts of derision from the members present. He had hardly got inside the room when he was forcibly seized from either side and whirled rapidly round till he had become so dizzy that he had lost all idea of his surroundings. Then a chain was fastened about his body, and he was dragged roughly about the room, the cap being still down over his head. When the brethren had tired of yanking him about at the end of the chain, he was brought up standing, while a mysterious jargon was gone through. Suddenly the candidate received a rough push from some one behind, which threw him over on his face. His feet tripped over something and he fell headlong on the floor, striking in falling upon a stool which cut a deep gash in his head. He was partially stunned by the fall. He was just conscious enough to hear some one ask in a deep voice: “Brethren, shall we have mercy?” and some one else replied: “Have mercy.” Then he was lifted up off the floor by the chain and was led about the room for a while, with the cap still on, until he had somewhat recovered from the effects of the fall. His initiation was not concluded, owing to his inability to endure more. Since then the witness testified that he had been unable to support his family by working at his trade. Physicians whom he had consulted said that his injuries would trouble him for several years, and that he might never get over them. The defendant Odd Fellows admit the truth of Kinver’s testimony regarding his experience in the lodge-room. They said it was the custom of the lodge to lead around the candidates for initiation with a view to bewildering or befogging them, so that when the cap is removed they can not find the door by which they entered the room. There is no intention of harming the candidates, and the initiation is not rougher than a healthy man can stand. The constitution of the order requires that candidates be in sound health. Plaintiff knew this, and procured his initiation by fraudulent representations and concealment regarding his health. Medical men testified that Kinver had received internal injuries from which he might die. The case was adjourned to a high court at Toronto.—Toronto Mail.
What a spectacle the facts narrated above present! Men of mature age blindfold a fellow-man, whirl him around until he becomes dizzy, drag him about the room with a chain, throw him violently upon the floor and cause him to sustain injuries which render him unable to support his family, and which are likely to trouble him for years, and finally defer the conclusion of his initiation because of his inability to endure more! And these things are not denied, but in extenuation of their crime the lodge declares that this is the usual method of initiating candidates; that there was no intention of harming him; that the initiation is not rougher than a healthy man can stand; that the constitution of the order requires that candidates shall be in sound health, and that the plaintiff knew this, and procured his initiation by fraudulent representations and concealment regarding his health! Odd fellows indeed! Is it any wonder that the secrets of the order are carefully concealed by those who get through the initiation ceremony without receiving lasting injuries? For very shame few men would be willing to publish abroad what fools they had thus made of themselves. Their most natural course would be to look very wise and solemn, and pretend that the ceremonies were highly religious and elevating, and thus get as many decent men as possible to join the lodge and lend respectability to their folly and be their companions in misery.
What if a religious denomination,—the Seventh-day Adventists, for example,—should perpetrate such outrages as are described above upon the members who are received into their churches? How long would it be before the people would rise up in righteous indignation, and drive them from the land? Furthermore, suppose the churches, pretending to be benevolent institutions, should refuse to receive into their ranks those who were not sufficiently rugged to endure without serious injury such a mauling as was received by the poor man alluded to in the preceding extract—what would be thought of them? And yet many a man will laugh at his wife’s religion, intimate that the church will do, perhaps, for women, but can never satisfy strong-minded men like himself, and then go to the lodge, engage in ceremonies that would make a heathen blush for very shame, and tell his wife that it is all very solemn and religious and manly! C. C. L.
THE LANGUAGE SPOKEN BY CHRIST.
It is a much discussed question as to what language was spoken by Christ; whether it was the Greek or the Hebrew or the Aramaic. The whole problem hangs together with the question as to what language was spoken in Palestine in the days of our Lord. The natural conservatism of the people, as well as the sacred character of the ancient Hebrew, would certainly influence the people to retain, as far as possible, that venerated idiom. Professor Delitzsch, in his little, but remarkably rich, pamphlet, entitled “The Hebrew New Testament of the British and Foreign Bible Society,” which he published (in English) as a sort of companion tract to the fifth and stereotyped edition of his New Testament, touches this point in the following words:—
“A friend of mine does not cease to entreat me to translate the New Testament into the Aramaic idiom which was spoken in Palestine in the days of Christ and his apostles; that is, into the language of the Palestinian Talmud and the Palestinian Targums. But his desire rests on an illusion. The Hebrew remained, even after the Exile, the language of Jewish literature. The Ecclesiasticus of Jesus Sirach was written in Hebrew, as its fragments in the Talmud show. The original of the first book of the Maccabees, and of the so-called Psalter of Solomon, was Hebrew. The inscriptions on coins, the epitaphs, the liturgic prayers, were Hebrew. The form of the laws was Hebrew, as appears from the codification of the Mishna. Also the book in which, as Papias says, Matthew had collected the sermons of the Lord, was written in the ‘Hebrew dialect.’ It is true that ‘Hebrew’ and ‘Chaldee’ were not accurately distinguished. Nevertheless it is quite unlikely that Matthew wrote in Aramaic; for the Aramaic was the language of daily life, the vulgar language, in which the people and also the learned were wont to converse and to hold controversies; but ἡ Ἑβραῖος διάλεκτος, in which St. Paul was accosted by the exalted Saviour (Acts 26:14), and in which he himself addressed the people of Jerusalem (Acts 21:40; 22:2), was the holy language, the language of the temple worship, of synagogical and732domestic prayer, of all formulas of benediction, of the traditional law; further, the parables, the animal fables, the lamentations for the dead, the Talmuds and Midrashim are mostly Hebrew; the holy languages continued to be the language of the higher form of speech; even the popular proverbs were only partly Aramaic. . . . The Shemitic woof of the New Testament Hellenism is Hebrew, not Aramaic. Our Lord and his apostles thought and spoke, for the most part, in Hebrew. Aramaic was understood only by a small part of the Diaspora.”
The little pamphlet of Delitzsch must be studied by all who are interested in Hebrew Syntax. It abounds in excellent points.—Independent.
Upon the same subject the Christian at Work, of Nov. 6, 1884, has the following:—
“The question is an interesting one, and has generally been answered one way; it is claimed that he spoke Aramaic. Our esteemed contemporary, the Advance, returns this answer to an inquiring correspondent, and assigns as its reason, ‘We know that He spoke Aramaic as we know that Bunsen spoke German and Talleyrand French, because it was the language of his countrymen.’ Herzog and the Encyclopædia Britannica are quoted in support of this view, likewise McClintock and Strong, though the latter can scarcely be considered as authorities. But our contemporary further quotes Herzog as follows—italics our own:—
“‘After the exile, Aramaic gradually became the language and the conversation of the people, and finally the written language of Judea. This language is called Hebrew in the New Testament.Acts 21:40; 22:2.’”
“And this from the Britannica:—
“‘The substitution of Aramaic for Hebrew, as the vernacular of Palestine, was completed before the time of Christ; and it is this dialect (not the language of the Old Testament Scriptures) which is designated in the New Testament as Hebrew.’”
The Christian at Work here quotes the opinion of Prof. Franz Delitzsch as given above from the Independent, and concludes as follows:—
“Who shall decide when the doctors disagree?—In the absence, though, of proof to the contrary, we may venture the opinion that Christ neither spoke all Aramaic nor all Hebrew. His words to the damsel, ‘Talitha cumi,’ are Aramaic, as they naturally would be; and one may believe that in addressing the common people Christ used the common language—Aramaic. On the other hand, whatever he said to the Sanhedrim, the Scribes, the Elders, the learned, would certainly be spoken in Hebrew. For one thing, we greatly doubt the correctness of the statement put forth in Herzog and the Britannica, and quoted by the Advance, that the ‘Hebrew tongue’ of the New Testament (Acts 21:40; 22:2) was not Hebrew but Aramaic. This seems entirely gratuitous. What proof is there that Aramaic was meant when the Jewish writers had proper and distinct word equivalents for each (Aramith and Hebraia)? Why, if Paul spoke in Aramaic, would it not have been so stated, and why, let us ask, would they have ‘kept the more silence’ at hearing their own common idiom? Is not this expression strongly indicative of the fact that Paul spoke in ‘the holy language of the temple worship’—a language sacred to them as used by God himself;—would they not naturally ‘keep the more silence,’ give him their respectful and stilled attention? As Christ used Hebrew on the cross, we believe he loved to use it—the hereditary language of his people—in speaking to his disciples and to the learned men of his day. We know that the great mass of commentators are united in the opinion that Paul spoke in Aramaic to that perturbed congregation of Jerusalemites. But we are mistaken if these opinions do not eventually have to give way. And we have no doubt that later investigation and the test of riper scholarship will considerably modify the view so generally held, that Christ ignored his own native tongue,—that sacred language in which he himself addressed the Apostle Paul from out of the cloud, as the apostle took that eventful and never-to-be-forgotten journey to Damascus.”
Finding God in One's Own Heart
—The man who finds not God in his own heart will find him nowhere, and he who finds him there will find him everywhere.
FOR YOUNG MEN.
THE qualities that are essential to true manhood and to good citizenship in our boys are sobriety, industry, frugality, and piety.
The slave of an appetite or of a passion is only half a man at best. The real element of manhood is gone whenever one surrenders himself to the dominion of his lower nature. Dissipation and gluttony brutalize human beings. If our boys and young men give way to these things they degrade themselves, injure society, and dishonor God. Whenever a vitiated appetite or an unholy passion gains the mastery, the human will is enslaved, and then manhood is gone. Paul urged Timothy to “exhort young men to be sober-minded,” to have self-control, as rendered by Messrs. Conybeare and Howson. Self-control is the most important factor in every true man.
Boys and young men should diligently cultivate habits of industry. Always be employed at something that is profitable or useful, something that will benefit yourself or some one else. Industrious habits are a great safeguard against the vices so common in our land. Most of our young men start to ruin from having nothing to do. Idleness is the mother of all vice. Satan always finds some mischief for idle hands to do. One who does nothing, or has nothing to do, is sure to fall into sin. Be employed.
It is exceedingly important that our boys form frugal habits while young. If they are wasteful, careless, or destructive while young, they will come to poverty and want when they are grown.
Boys should be taught—should learn to take care of everything, even the little things. This is all the more important now because this seems to be the careless age, the destructive age. A real frugal man would live on what many of us throw away. The stumps of some boys’ cigars would afford a competent support to other boys. Many of the boys and young men of this age chew up and spit out or puff away in smoke a handsome fortune before they come to man’s estate. A long train of evils is sure to follow this kind of wastefulness.
Industry and frugality are the corner-stones of the temple of worldly prosperity. Many large fortunes, acquired by hard labor, have been speedily thrown away by indolent and thriftless sons. A race of spendthrifts will ruin any country in the world.
Last, but not least, boys and young men should be religious. The religious principle, if we only know it, lies at the base of human action. When a young man, or any man, says in his heart, “No God,” he is ready for any sin in the catalogue of crime. In any given matter, at any time after the inception of moral accountability, every man who sins first says, “No God,” or “God, or no God, I intend to do this thing. To me, for this time, and in this thing, there is no God—nothing but self-will.” The word of God says such persons are “fools,” and so they are. Young men and boys should learn to do right things because they are right; because they are well-pleasing to God; and because they elevate, beautify, and dignify human character and action. In any matter where our hearts condemn us, we may know, assuredly, that God will also condemn us. When we sin, we sin against our better self as well as against God. In the day of Judgment the condemnation of God will have the approval of our own hearts. No man can ignore the religious element of human action without giving the lie to his own heart.
Religion has the approval of our better judgments, because it is in perfect accord with our higher natures. The normal—the natural—state of man is the religious state, and the best men and women of the world have been governed by religious principle. This is not an accident, but the result of a law of grace. Sin is an abnormal, an unnatural thing. We are restless, uneasy, unsatisfied, without peace of mind, and unhappy while in sin. Religion is the right thing, the only thing that can give us peace of mind in this life.—Religious. Intelligencer.
LEARNING IN THE PULPIT.
By Robert H. Williams
DOES THE PULPIT NEED IGNORANCE—OR CULTURE?
A GOOD many who cried out against learning in the pulpit never stopped to consider whether ignorance was any more acceptable to God. Fifty years ago, Dr. Archibald Alexander wrote as follows: “I know it to be a fact that multitudes would walk ten miles to hear a black man who could not read a word, in preference to going to hear the best sermons within a few miles.” Others want the learning, although it is beyond them, and have but little respect for the plain preaching of the gospel.
The gifted Romaine was asked to display a little more learning in the pulpit. The first text after this request, he read in Hebrew, remarking: “I suppose scarcely any one in this congregation understood that.” He then read it in Greek, and said, “There may be one or two that understand me now.” He then read it in Latin, and said, “Possibly a few more may comprehend me, but the number is still very limited.” Then he read it in English, and remarked: “There, now, you all understand me; which do you think is best? I hope always so to preach that the most ignorant person in the congregation may understand me.” Even Robert Hall, the famous English divine, was once accosted in the following manner: “Mr. Hall, this preaching won’t do for us; it will only suit a congregation of old women.”
It is related of Dr. Archibald Alexander after he had reached the period of ripe scholarship and great power over his audience, that a man arose and left the church where he was preaching, because he delivered his message in such a plain, simple manner. George Herbert, knowing this desire on the part of some of his congregation, preached a very learned sermon, and at its conclusion remarked: “I shall not often preach so learnedly, but shall henceforth strive to save your souls.”
In dismissing a minister, it was put upon the record of the ecclesiastical body having jurisdiction in the case, “Rev. Mr. A., in our judgment, has given to this church and congregation meat fully equal to their digestive powers”! Said a distinguished bishop of the English Church, “It takes all our learning to make things plain.” Plainness and simplicity are the fruit of learning. Faraday, when lecturing, said that he kept his eye on the dullest student in the class, and when his face lighted up, he knew that the whole class understood, and that he could proceed. Those who stand highest in any departments of learning are those who can tell in the plainest, simplest language what theories they hold. Fullness, variety, plainness, are the result of learning, and are wonderfully attractive to the multitude. The learning that furnishes these will give freshness and authority to pulpit utterance, and make the preacher a power in the community.
When the minister does his best to fill his pulpit, people will come and fill the pews. Guthrie says: “Alas for the day when pulpits are proverbial for dullness, and the greatest of all professions has the smallest men to fill it.” And Baxter bears this testimony: “He is the able, skillful minister that is best skilled in the art of instructing, convincing, persuading, and, consequently, of winning, souls; and that is the best sermon that is best in these.” These utterances are equally worthy the consideration of the pulpit and the pews.—Rev. Robert H. Williams.
Building a Vessel to Cross Life's Ocean
By Joseph Cook
—Let no passing fashion mislead you. Let God be your guide in the building of the vessel in which you expect to cross the ocean of life, and enter eternity without wreck. Use no timber that will not bear storm. Never sleep while you skirt the reefs. —Joseph Cook.
The Threefold Submission to God
By D. Manton
—There is a threefold submission to God—first, of our carnal hearts to his holiness; secondly, of our proud hearts to his mercy; thirdly, of our revolting hearts to his sovereignty.—D. Manton.
Patience in Affliction: A Brief Reflection
—You now lay yourself out not for much rest but for great patience. —Thomas à Kempis.
IOWA
By R. C. Porter
COIN.—We closed our meetings in the tent Oct. 26. Gave in all sixty discourses. We leave ten or twelve, all heads of families, keeping the Sabbath, who now hold regular Sabbath meetings and Sabbath school. Two of these were keeping the Sabbath when we came, and have been very kind in ministering to our temporal wants. The attendance was good to the close. Eld. Hart was with us the first three weeks of the meeting, and Elds. Hollenbeck and Larson each spent one week with us after that. Their labors were very valuable in the work here, and we missed them greatly when other labor called them away. Since then, with my wife's help, I have tried to labor the best I could, and the Lord has given some fruit. To him belongs the praise.
R. C. PORTER.
Nov. 6.
S. D. A. EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY.
By George I. Butler; W. H. Hall
TENTH ANNUAL SESSION.
The stockholders of the Educational Society met in Battle Creek, Nov. 6, 1884; at 9 A. M. The President, Eld. G. I. Butler, in the Chair. Prayer by Eld. I. D. Van Horn. Minutes of the previous session read.
Upon calling the roll, there were found to be present 84 stockholders. Interesting and instructive remarks were made by Sr. White relative to the importance of our College and her anxiety that the youth should receive the right mold of character to enable them to become successful workers in the cause of God. The teachers should have a living connection with God in order to help and strengthen those under their charge. She spoke of the necessity of a “Home” for our students and stated also that the present building erected was not one quarter as large as it should be.
These remarks were fully indorsed by Elds. Butler and Haskell.
Eld. Littlejohn spoke of the workings of the College the past year, and the good results which had been attained. He stated that last year more than one hundred students had been sent out as active workers in the cause.
The Treasurer’s report was read, and with the Auditor’s report accepted.
TREASURER’S REPORT.
A. R. Henry, in account with the Seventh-day Adventist Educational Society.
CASH RECEIVED.
Amount
On shares,
$2,560.00
“ tuition,
2,047.09
“ rent,
933.40
“ book stand,
848.27
“ donations,
703.25
“ notes issued,
500.00
“ accounts,
13,918.61
Total,
$21,510.62
CASH PAID OUT.
Amount
On salaries,
$3,644.00
“ notes redeemed,
8,050.00
“ book stand,
631.99
“ interest,
494.95
“ boarding house,
384.07
“ expense,
211.51
“ fuel,
209.72
“ tuition,
98.80
“ printing,
76.58
“ taxes,
71.35
“ repairs,
47.36
“ library,
17.50
“ real estate,
6.00
“ museum,
5.65
“ insurance,
2.33
“ accounts,
7,558.81
Total,
$21,510.62
FINANCIAL STATEMENT.
RESOURCES.
Amount
Real estate,
$45,290.50
Library,
1,356.50
Museum,
605.65
Philosophical Apparatus,
1,150.00
Due on accounts,
418.95
Boarding house,
384.07
Total,
$49,205.67
LIABILITIES.
Amount
Due Publishing Association,
$6,522.54
Outstanding notes,
2,002.50
$8,525.04
Present worth,
$40,680.63
Worth July 1, 1883,
$39,077.21
Gain,
$1,603.42
Given on donations,
$703.25
“ “ Shares,
2,560.00
Total,
$3,263.25
Less gain,
1,603.42
Actual loss,
$1,659.83
A. R. HENRY, Treasurer.
The Chair was authorized to appoint the usual committees. I. D. Van Horn, D. M. Canright, and H. Nicola, were named as Committee on Nominations; and W. C. White, S. N. Haskell, and W. H. Littlejohn, on Resolutions.
Adjourned to call of Chair.
SECOND MEETING, Nov. 12, AT 9:30 A. M. Prayer by Eld. J. D. Pegg. Minutes of the last meeting read and approved. The Committee on Resolutions presented the following report:—
Whereas, The Battle Creek College has been founded for the express purpose of preparing individuals for the ministry and for labor in other departments of our special work; and—
Whereas, Like most institutions of its kind, it is largely dependent for its financial support upon the liberalities of its friends; therefore—
1. Resolved, That we counsel those of our brethren who have means that they wish to invest where they will advance the interests of the present truth that they would do well to contribute generously to the maintenance of the Battle Creek College.
Whereas, It is impossible, without raising a large amount of money to pay off the debt of Battle Creek College, to carry out the long cherished plan of connecting a successful manual training department with the College, and to provide the necessary pecuniary aid for those who wish to prepare for usefulness in the cause of God, but who are prevented from so doing by a lack of means; therefore—
2. Resolved, That we earnestly request those who have subscribed to a fund which was designed to secure these ends, to pay their subscriptions at the earliest date possible.
Whereas, The usefulness of the missionary department of the College has been demonstrated by the fact that a large number of its members have engaged actively in the missionary and colporteur work; therefore—
3. Resolved, That we approve of the establishment of this department, and that we recommend persons needing instruction in the missionary work to spend some time at Battle Creek College.
Whereas, There are many churches having a large number of children who cannot attend Battle Creek College or any of our larger schools, that would be734willing to support and would be greatly benefited by a short term each year of a primary school conducted by teachers who have prepared themselves to teach the Bible and missionary work in connection with the common branches; therefore—
4. Resolved, That we recommend proper persons to attend Battle Creek College and prepare themselves to engage in this work.
Whereas, There will be a very large class in the College this winter of those who are preparing to enter the ministry, and who desire instruction in methods of labor, the duties of ministers, organization, church officers, church discipline, etc.; therefore—
5. Resolved, That we request Eld. Geo. I. Butler to spend as much time as he can consistently with other duties in the interests of the College, and especially in giving instruction to those soon to enter the field as laborers.
6. Resolved, That we cordially invite the presidents of Conferences and ministers of our denomination residing in States to which Battle Creek is the most accessible point where one of our educational institutions is located, to interest themselves in the work of inducing worthy young men and women who desire to labor in the cause of God to avail themselves of the advantages offered by Battle Creek College to those who wish to engage in such service.
These resolutions were considered separately and adopted.
The Nominating Committee recommended that the following persons act as a Board of Trustees for the coming year: Geo. I. Butler, W. H. Littlejohn, A. R. Henry, U. Smith, J. H. Kellogg, J. Fargo, W. C. Sisley.
The vote by ballot resulted in the election of the persons named.
Adjourned.
Geo. I. BUTLER, Pres.
W. H. HALL, Sec.
FRANCE
By D. T. Bourdeau
BASTIA, CORSICA.—Have held fifteen meetings since coming here, just one week. God has given us a great victory. Eleven persons have kept to-day (the Sabbath). The work of conversion is deep and thorough, and God’s Spirit is melting hard hearts. I have obtained three subscriptions for the Italian paper, two for the French, and one for the Present Truth. The two workers of the mission in this city are now commandment keepers. I start for Ajaccio to-morrow morning to return here in about one week. D. T. BOURDEAU.
Oct. 26
MICHIGAN
By I. H. Evans
POMPEII.—Commenced meetings here Oct. 20, and gave seventeen discourses. Politics agitated the minds of the people, and we had to give up the house to two speeches. Four, all heads of families, took a stand for the truth, and several others were deeply convicted. We were obliged to close last night, as school commences. Let us pray God to bless the seeds of truth to the salvation of the honest.
I. H. EVANS.
Nov. 7.
ALBERT WEEKS
By Albert Weeks
BUEL, Nov. 4.—I began meetings at this place Oct. 29. Have given seven discourses with a good attendance and interest. The order maintained in our meetings is thought to be very remarkable for this place. Nearly all are eager listeners, and seem to accept the truth as it is brought before them. Some are rejoicing in the light, and we hope as it increases they will be ready to walk in it. I am thankful for the blessing of God. Please pray for me and the work here.
ALBERT WEEKS
ALABAMA
By D. W. Jordon
HOPEWELL, CLARK Co.—On invitation, I spoke here Sabbath evening, Oct. 18, and also Sunday morning and evening. Our doctrines are new in this section, and I am the only Seventh-day Adventist that has ever preached here. Some seemed favorably impressed; others were not. One intelligent gentleman, who attended two meetings, said that he knew that, according to the Bible, the seventh day was the Sabbath. He had always supposed the change from the seventh to the first day to be right; but he hoped that if our faith was the truth, we might be successful. A Baptist minister, who heard one discourse on the Sabbath, also expressed himself the same. The people have requested me to return and preach to them again.
Oct. 20. D. W. JORDON.
THE TURNED LESSON.
“I THOUGHT I knew it!” she said;
“I thought I had learned it quite!”
But the gentle teacher shook her head,
With a grave yet loving light
In the eyes that fell on the upturned face,
As she gave the book
With the mark still set in the self-same place.
“I thought I knew it!” she said;
And a heavy tear fell down,
As she turned away with bending head;
Yet not for reproof or frown,
And not for the lesson to learn again,
Or the play-hour lost;
It was something else that gave the pain.
She could not have it put in words,
But her teacher understood,
As God understands the chirp of the birds
In the depth of an autumn wood;
And a quiet touch on the reddening cheek,
Was quite enough;
No need to question, no need to speak.
Then the gentle voice was heard:
“Now I will try you again.”
And the lesson was mastered, every word;
Was it not worth the pain?
Was it not kinder the task to turn
Than to let it pass
As a lost, lost leaf that she did not learn?
Is it not often so,
That we only learn in part,
That the Master’s testing time may show
That it was not quite “by heart”?
Then he gives, in his wise and patient grace,
The lesson again,
With the mark still set in the self-same place.
Only stay by his side
Till the page is really known;
It may be we failed because we tried
To learn it all alone.
And now that he would not let us lose
One lesson of love
(For he knows the loss), can we refuse?
But oh! how could we dream
That we knew it all so well,
Reading so fluently, as we deem,
What we could not even spell?
And oh! how could we grieve once more
That patient One
Who has turned so many a task before?
That waiting One, who now
Is letting us try again;
Watching us with the patient brow
That bore the wreath of pain;
Thoroughly teaching what he would teach
Line upon line,
Thoroughly doing his work in each.
Then let our hearts be still,
Though our task be turned to-day,
Oh! let him teach us what he will,
In his own most gracious way,
Till, sitting only at Jesus’ feet,
As we learn each line,
The hardest is found all clear and sweet.
—Good Words.
Obituary Notices
“Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth.”—Rev. 14:13.
Thompson.—Died of consumption, near Russiaville, Ind., Nov. 1, 1884, Sr. Gertrude, wife of Luzerne Thompson, aged 24 years. Sr. Thompson and her mother (Sr. Windsor) embraced the truth at the same time, the former being about fourteen years of age. She was baptized in 1879. Her husband and invalid mother mourn greatly their bereavement, and the church their loss, as she was a zealous Sabbath-school worker. The writer frequently conversed with her concerning her hope in Christ, and believes she sleeps in Jesus. The funeral services were held in the Christian church Nov. 2. Bro. Rees gave a discourse from Isa. 25:8, 9, to a large and appreciative congregation. Wm. Covert.
Peck.—Died of consumption, Sept. 21, 1884, at the residence of her brother, in Richmond Center, O., Betsey Peck, aged 67 years and 6 months. An only daughter and many friends mourn their loss; but their loss is her gain, for she had a glorious hope of the first resurrection. C. T. Sunbury.
Allen.—Died at Bull City, Kan., Oct. 28, 1884, of summer complaint, Clarence Leroy Allen, aged 1 year and 6 months. His parents sorrow not without hope. Words of comfort by the writer, from Hosea 13:14. J. S. Thorp.
Cornell.—Died after a short illness, in Akron, Ill., Oct. 12, 1884, Clara, eldest daughter of Daniel and Matilda Cornell, in the 16th year of her age. From a little child, Clara took great delight in learning sacred truth. She had implicit confidence in God and his word. She was baptized and united with the Princeville church some time ago. Her devotion to God and earnest desire to know and do his will assure us that she sleeps in Jesus. We wept that one so true and lovely should so rudely be taken from us by the destroyer, and that a form so beautiful must be consigned to the cold, damp earth; but we shall see her in the resurrection. This hope sustains the friends of the deceased. Funeral services were held in the Seventh-day Baptist church at West Hallock. B. F. Merritt.735
Richmond.—Killed Sept. 23, 1884, by an accident on the Whitehall and Brattleboro R. R., near West Dummerston, Vt., Bro. Frank Richmond, aged 51 years. The car in which he and his family were traveling was thrown down an embankment and trestle work of twenty feet. His wife and adopted daughter were badly injured, but will probably recover. Bro. Richmond embraced the truth through reading when about twenty-seven years of age, his attention being called to it by publications sent to him by his mother. It now seems as though Bro. R. had for some time been fitting up for the change. At the time of the accident, he and his wife were on their way to open the missionary work in Brattleboro, Vt. His remains were taken back to his home, Jamaica, Vt., where Eld. Rowell (Baptist) made appropriate remarks to the sorrowing friends and relatives, from John 14:1–3. A. O. Burrill.
Hendric.—Fell asleep in Jesus Nov. 1, 1884, our dearly beloved sister, Emma May Hendric, wife of Arthur E. Hendric, aged 22 years and 5 months. Her death was caused by consumption. She was anointed and prayed for at three different times, receiving a blessing each time; but she felt that God in his kind mercy thought best to lay her away while she was prepared. For eleven months she had been ill, and was confined to her room five weeks before she died. At times her sufferings were severe, but she bore them with marked patience, always thoughtful of others’ comfort even during the most severe part of her illness. She talked of death with composure, and to the last she fully trusted in God’s promises. When too weak to speak, almost the last moment, when asked if she was happy, she answered with a bright smile. She selected the text and hymn to be used at her funeral. She leaves a husband, mother, brother, three sisters, other relatives, and many friends to mourn their loss. May they all so live that they may be as fully assured of taking part in the first resurrection. She desired that Sr. E. B. Lane should preach the funeral sermon; but on account of her being absent at General Conference, H. P. Blake (Methodist) officiated, using her selected text, John 14:1–3. M. C. Thayer.
Gaskell.—Died in Richmond Center, O., Oct. 5, 1884, Bro. James Gaskell. He embraced the truth under the labors of Elds. Underwood and O. F. Guilford in 1881. He was zealous for the cause, admonishing all with whom he mingled, and conversing often on present truth. A wife and four daughters mourn the loss of a kind husband and father, and the community a kind neighbor and friend. C. T. Sunbury.
