The disease called worry may be said to assume both a local and a general form. The sufferer from the former may take a cheerful view of every subject except one, but is under the thrall of a single wearing anxiety, which may in time come to poison her whole existence. Worries of this type, when lived with year after year, are apt to become the “fixed ideas,” or obsessions, common in some forms of nervous disease. The other type of worrier,—and it is she whom we know best,—instead of settling upon one chronic anxiety, has a fresh one every hour, and makes little distinction between the important and the trivial. She wakens early in the morning to worry lest the alarm-clock may not go off; she lies awake after retiring to worry over the possibility of unlocked windows and midnight marauders. Her forehead is chronically puckered, her nerves forever on the stretch; the thorns upon her roses of life have grown to such gigantic proportions as almost to hide the blossoms themselves.
Pernicious as the habit of worry is for any one, it is especially so for the wife and mother. It not only affects her own health and happiness, but it clouds the household serenity, infects the servants, and makes the home a less restful place for the tired head of the family. In addition, it has an especially bad effect7upon her children. In the impressionable early years of childhood, when the influences of environment are the strongest, and the imitative instinct is at its height, an atmosphere of serenity or of anxiety about a child may mean a molding of character that all the after-years spent in a different environment can not counteract.
It is by no means the case that the greatest worriers are always those who have the most cause for anxiety; often those who suffer most from the habit would be surprised to discover how little their state of mind depends upon their outward circumstances. It is not altogether a pleasing reflection, but it is none the less true, that our mental states, exalted or otherwise, are very strongly influenced by our bodily condition; and many victims of worry need more than anything else to ask themselves a few frank questions as to the sort of life they are leading.
The worrying woman is frequently the woman who does not have sufficient sleep, or who, though she may spend the proper number of hours in bed, fails to get the real rest that follows the thorough relaxation of the body,—letting the bed hold her, instead of her holding it,—and the emptying of the mind as far as possible of all active thoughts. Insufficient air in the sleeping-room at night has an injurious effect upon the mental as well as the physical health, and the same is true of the lack of open-air life and exercise during the day. Again, all work and no play is said to make Jack a dull boy, and it is quite certain to make Jill not only dull but nervous and irritable, and an easy prey to all manner of anxieties. Recreation, however, should be truly recreating and refreshing, not merely exciting or violently stimulating.
The state of the digestive organs also exerts a pronounced influence upon the mental and emotional condition; the worrying woman is often ill-nourished, and it is well worth while for her to seriously consider whether her meals are taken at regular and proper hours, whether she eats too scantily or too heartily, and whether her menu is a well-balanced and nourishing one, and her food properly cooked and attractively served. She should use special care to keep clear of constipation, in whose train come all sorts of nervous disturbances.
Reorganization of life along some of these lines would, in the case of many women, build up depleted nervous energy to such an extent that the control of the mind would become surprisingly easy. Many women, especially busy mothers, cut short their hours of sleep; eat hurriedly, injudiciously, or irregularly; sleep and work in close rooms; and take no exercise except what they get in their daily round of duties. Yet they are surprised when the resulting nerve-exhaustion begins to show itself in irritability and unnecessary anxiety.
The woman who, when she recognizes the need of rest, can lay aside her work, and drop upon her couch, relaxing entirely in body and mind, and rising in ten or fifteen minutes to resume her occupation with new energy, is using the strongest sort of preventive measure against the inroads of morbid anxiety. A condition of worry usually means fatigue somewhere; and if on the first approach of the state of anxiety, one would make use of this sane procedure, many attacks of worry would be nipped in the bud.
In spite of the energy with which the gospel of relaxation has been preached in the last few years, many women have no knowledge of how to relax, and are not even conscious of their own state of tension. To attain perfect relaxation, one should lie down flat on her back, arms dropping loosely at her sides, and the head falling back easily upon the pillow. Then, beginning with the muscles of the extremities, and thinking of the muscles of each part of the body in turn, she should proceed, by a direct act of will, to render each part limp and heavy, so that if an arm, for example, were lifted by a bystander, it would fall back as if it had no power of its own.
Physical relaxation paves the way for the mental relaxation which should follow,—the emptying of the mind, as far as possible, of definite trains of thought. These procedures may seem difficult at first, but they soon become easy; and their value in resting a tired body and mind, and as an aid in fighting unwholesome thoughts, can not be overestimated. The time spent in such self-repair is far from wasted; even if the housework and the mending-basket are clamoring for attention, the brief resting-space pays for itself many times over in the increased ease with which work is done, as well as in quieted nerves and lessened mental tension.
One of the greatest aids in curing the habit of unnecessary worry is the training of wholesome thoughts to dominate the mind, to the exclusion of mischief-making thoughts. There are plenty of fears and anxieties abroad, to come knocking at the door of our minds; but we can refuse to allow them to enter and take possession, by keeping our mind-house filled with thoughts of cheer and hope and courage. It is possible, to a greater extent than we often realize, to choose our subjects of thought. If, then, we choose those that are wholesome and optimistic, and, when a worry appears in the focus of consciousness, deliberately turn the attention to something else, the anxious train of thought, though we may be conscious of its presence at no great distance, will not get such a hold upon us.
Religious faith, with the ideas of trust, hope, serenity, courage, and Christlikeness that it inculcates, is the sovereign antidote to worry. If faith in a divine Power means anything at all for the life that now is, it ought surely to give one an assurance that above the chances and changes of mortal existence there is a beneficent Love, in the strength of which the soul may safely confide. The case of the worry-ridden woman, then, is by no means hopeless of improvement, if she will examine into the causes and the character of the anxiety that besets her. If her hours of depression are the result of an unhygienic or injudicious way of living, let her call a halt at once, before she has to face the difficult problem of a breakdown. If she is allowing herself indulgence in unwholesome broodings and fruitless speculations, let her summon to her aid all her force of will and all her strength of desire after sane thinking and rational living, and, by holding healthful thoughts deliberately before her mind, endeavor to drive out the morbid imaginings. And if the shadows are real and dark, let her teach herself to fix her eyes steadily upon what sunshine may remain, multiplying wholesome interests for herself, calling into action all her trust in the Heavenly Father, and, when the clouds fall so heavily as to cut off all else, face them with a brave front, and with an unfaltering confidence that there is no cloud without a rift somewhere, to one who seeks it with courage and in faith.—American Motherhood.
Bulwarks of Purity
SATAN can destroy us only when our hearts are allied to his. Jesus said, “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” Nothing to appeal to. What success can the devil have by appealing to avarice in a man who is destitute of that feeling?—Manifestly none. Hence a most effectual resistance to the devil is to erect bulwarks of purity in the mind. The purer the mind, the less there is in it which satanic magnetism can attract.
Here, then, is our problem: How may we get this pure mind?—First, by stopping every evil thought the instant it arises, as already indicated. Second,—and this, perhaps, should have been placed first,—by surrendering the heart wholly to Christ, renewing the surrender every day, and yielding the mind to the Holy Spirit to be purified by him. Even this, however, needs co-operation and watchfulness on our part. We may be “led” of the Spirit; but if led, we must follow. And that means effort. Gradually, as we refuse to give place in our minds to the evil, and yield ourselves only to the good, this will become a habit; and when Satan comes, he will find nothing in us that thrills to his call.—Selected.
Dangerous Finger-Nails
MANY persons do not seem to know that, as far as their health goes, it is worse to have dust under the finger-nails than to have it on the end of the nose or in the middle of the cheek; for some of the worst microbes may be packed away in the dust under the nails, and such microbes may enter any scratch or cut we have; they may also get into our mouths with the food we touch with our fingers. In fact, this is the most important reason for keeping the nails clean, though the second reason is the one that people think most about. They want their fingers to match their clean faces and their clean clothes. They are ashamed not to have one part of the body look as clean as another part. For the sake of beauty, therefore, they keep their nails well trimmed and cleaned. This is a good reason, too.
You can buy a stiff little brush with a wooden back at any grocery store for three or five cents. It will not be handsome, but the bristles will get under the nails as well as if it had an ivory back. For five or ten cents more you can buy a nail-file and nail-cleaner at any hardware shop.
Use the water, the soap, and the brush until your nails really look clean, or until the dust is so soft under them that the nail-cleaner will take it out without any trouble. Never clean the nails with a knife or scissors, or any sharp thing that takes out the dust by scraping the nail. Such treatment will make the nails rough, and it will be harder to get the dust out next time. Never scrape the top of the nail; to do so will make it grow thick and clumsy.—Good Health.
A Satisfied Customer Is the Best Advertisement
“A SATISFIED customer is the best advertisement.”
Second Fruits Among the Tamils in South India
By J. S. James
J. S. JAMES
It has been a number of months since I have contributed anything for the REVIEW from this part of the world. During this time much more has taken place than I can report in these columns, so the most important features must suffice.
The greater part of the past eight months we have tried to throw our energies directly into the channels of evangelistic work. In fact, there has been little else that we could do; for we have had no funds with which to create other enterprises that would call for our time. This is not to say that we have no need, nor that there is no place for such things in our work; for we feel the need of some auxiliaries very much. One can not carry forward school and medical work without some kind of equipment. A school without books is a possible thing; but in this country we have to have at least a shelter from the sun. We have been in dire need of a proper building both for a school and for a dispensary ever since the work started in this place. The buildings we now occupy are native bazaars. At best they are poorly adapted to the uses to which we are putting them, but in addition they are greatly dilapidated.
At the close of our general meeting in Lucknow, we were favored with a visit from Elder W. W. Prescott, who remained with us four days, speaking twice to the people, and counseling with us in our plans for the work. We all greatly appreciated this visit, and the counsel and encouragement given by one who has had so much experience in the work. During his visit the local committee decided to purchase a small tract of land, and erect a schoolhouse as soon as funds could be secured for that purpose. Since then the union committee has forwarded us some money; the land has been purchased; and the work of building is now going forward.
Early in December, 1910, a series of Bible studies for the public was begun on our front veranda. These studies were carried on entirely in the Tamil language by our Tamil evangelist, Brother Thomas. The meetings were quite well attended from the beginning. On Sabbath, February 11, these services were brought to a close by the baptism of sixteen persons in a lake near our mission. Thirteen of these came from practical heathenism and three from the Anglican Church. The latter have been teachers in our school for the past year and a half. For a long time they had been under conviction of the truth, but lacked courage to step forward until lately. It means a great deal for a woman in a country like India to obey the truth, particularly if she is unmarried. The women are brought up from babyhood to look upon the male sex, especially their husbands and brothers, as the lords of creation; and it requires a bold spirit to run counter to their wishes. It excites very little comment for a man to take a pestle (a piece of wood about the size of a wagon neck-yoke, used in every house for pounding rice), and beat his wife or daughter until she obeys him. This is frequently done in communities where civilization has had but little influence.
Photo by J. S. James
In these parts, marriage is contracted by the father of the girl, who buys the bridegroom. In other words, he must give a dowry of money or jewels sufficiently large to induce the man to marry his daughter. If the girl's father fails to raise the amount necessary, and if she is not married within the customary period, she is greatly disgraced in the eyes of the public. The reader can hardly imagine to what absurd lengths the father will go to avoid this sentiment. Custom is the giant wheel that grinds the neck of India's millions.
Of the sixteen persons baptized, eight are women. Three of these have husbands, who were baptized last year, two are widows, and three are unmarried. The fact that these women have taken a stand to obey the truth has created considerable talk and opposition from various sources. Such a thing has never before been witnessed in this locality. The feeling aroused by this step, with other events of the past year in connection with our work, has caused me much serious study and concern.
The vastness of the work to be accomplished is almost beyond human conception. Naturally, we crave those things with which we have been taught to work at home, and to use the same methods. Many times the absence of these causes us to feel that we are not sufficiently equipped to do successful work; but I believe this is a mistake. I have watched this principle carried out here on a small scale, and I believe it can be universally applied.
In our last public effort we had nothing to commend us to the people. We had no sanitariums, no colleges, no publishing-house. We had no books nor papers for the people to read. But we had the Word of God, which “is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” As I saw this weapon fearlessly and earnestly used night after night; saw it battling with the evil natures of men and women who had given themselves up to the lusts of the flesh; and saw it gradually lead souls out of the bondage and superstition of heathenism into the light of the gospel, I could not but adore the efficacy of its power, and long for a greater measure of it in my life. There is no other possible solution of this foreign conquest for the truth. We shall need money and consecrated workers to the close of the struggle. There will never come a time when our people will be denied the blessing of giving both, but we shall never be able in the remotest degree to equip these fields with the paraphernalia for work that we employ at home.
We must copy the great apostle to the Gentiles, and put on the whole armor of God. He was a missionary under conditions very similar to our own. He preached a few weeks at Lystra in South Galatia. Before leaving, he ordained presbyters and organized a self-supporting, self-propagating church. He had scarcely money enough to pay his traveling expenses. See Acts 20:13. Not a word is said about the treasury at Antioch being empty, or of his inability to raise up a church at Iconium, Derbe, or Lystra, because funds were short. We read of no publishing-houses, no schools, no hospitals, no tracts to scatter, save those written by Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy by hand, and sent to the various churches. But we do read of the gospel of God, that was preached with power in the midst of affliction, “in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness;” and we see that all this bore fruit unto life eternal.
We are endeavoring to train a number of young men as teachers and preachers, to locate in various out-stations. This is slow and difficult work, but it is the most effectual way of reaching the people. Elder and Mrs. G. G. Lowry have passed their first year's examination in Tamil, and are now able to talk and give Bible studies in that9tongue. Within the present year, we hope to open up another main station for the Tamil people. God has been very good to us in preserving our lives and in giving us health. We are all of good courage, and ask to be remembered in your prayers, that the word of God may have free course, and that many souls be gathered out for his kingdom.
Nazareth, Tinnevelli.
In the Mesopotamia of South America
By Louis Richard Conradi
L. R. CONRADI
AFTER my return from Chile, I stopped one night in Florida, near Buenos Aires, and found the new printing-press by this time in good running order. Next morning, November 24, I took the steamer for Diamante. Brethren J. W. Westphal, C. E. Knight, and E. Hartmann accompanied me. As we mounted the electric tramway for our boat, we met one of our sisters from Berlin, en route to the same destination. Steaming up the mighty La Plata River, we found its shores wooded, but learned that it was planted timber. In twenty-two hours we reached Rosario, which, with its population of one hundred fifty thousand, is the second city of the republic. Large ocean vessels were anchored in the river, and crowding the stone wharves, which are several miles in length; some of these boats were loading grain from a large modern elevator; others were taking on wood.
Gradually the river became narrower, and toward evening we saw the high bluff upon which the town of Diamante is situated. Here a team awaited us, to convey us ten miles to the colony of Camerero, where our institutions are established. It was now dusk, so we could see only the outlines of the country; but the rough roads revealed the fact that we were traveling through a farming land. For miles we could see a bright light in the distance; and this, the brethren said, came from our institutions. After being en route thirty-six hours from Buenos Aires, we arrived at the sanitarium, where I stayed during the five days of my visit.
When the sun rose the next morning, which was the Sabbath, I saw from my window a rolling farming country, with here and there a scattered farmhouse. The steamship-landing from Rosario and Buenos Aires being ten miles distant, and the nearest railway station, Crespo, eight miles away, this seemed rather a novel location for a sanitarium and a school. The explanation given was that in 1898 a good German brother had given the farm for school purposes. Later on, more property was acquired, until there is now a farm of 180 acres. Of this the school owns 120 acres, and the sanitarium the remainder.
About eight o'clock team after team began to arrive from the four corners of the compass; and by the time for the sermon, several hundred persons had gathered in from the surrounding country, most of them German-Russian farmers. Some of these I had known in Kansas, others in Russia, so I felt quite at home. I had already met Profs. W. C. John and C. D. Lude, also Dr. R. H. Habenicht, in the conference at Buenos Aires. There were some familiar faces from Union College, College View, Neb., others from Friedensau, Germany, and some I saw for the first time; but we were all happy in the thought of being the children of the Lord, and that his precious truth is our common heritage. Sabbath and Sunday I spoke to the people five times, relating what the Lord had done not only in crowded Europe, but also in dark Africa. Ere they left, the brethren showed their appreciation by a gift of about twenty dollars. This amount would have been greater had it not been for poor harvests, occasioned by the grasshoppers.
The next few days were busy ones for the River Plate Committee. We considered not only the institutions of that field in detail, but also their finances and organization. As the west coast had formerly been separated from this field by the lofty Andes, the River Plate Committee had been made up of members from Argentina and Uruguay; but since the new railway tunnel now connects the field, and Brazil was to be cut off, we merged this organization simply into the South American Union Conference.
The school building itself is a creditable structure, in keeping with the general style of architecture in the country. In the first story is the college chapel, with two schoolrooms, while above are the rooms for students. The brethren were so anxious not to go into debt that there is as yet no plaster ceiling, and the rooms above are simply boarded off. This school surely ought to have the promised money it is to receive from the $300,000 Fund, to place it in creditable shape. Besides this, the school has a number of connected one-story buildings, where the students board and room, and where some of the teachers also live. A garden is connected with the school; the brethren have tried for the last seven years to plant an orchard, but it has always fallen a prey to the grasshoppers.
Professor John seemed to be enjoying his work, and well competent to give Spanish instruction. Brother Lude looks after the German department, and Sister Lude has charge of the home. There were about eighty students of all ages in attendance, chiefly of the German and Spanish nationalities. During our stay we secured a competent farmer to look after the school farm, and hope that it may prove, industrially, a benefit to the institution. It was also decided to erect a small dwelling-house for the principal.
As for the sanitarium, I found a new two-story brick building nearly completed, with sufficient room for about forty patients. The kitchen and dining-room were very small. The floors were being laid in the new bath-rooms; but treatments were still given in a small one-story building attached to the dormitory for the nurses, which stood across the road. All this bath-room contained was a small stove to heat the water, a bath-tub, three massage tables, and a small dressing corner. With this meager equipment the room was crowded. The door opened directly outdoors; and when the wind blew, the patient felt it immediately. Notwithstanding all these drawbacks, the sanitarium was prospering. The operating-room and laboratory were two small rooms which in older countries, such as Germany or England, would not have been considered at all suitable for the purpose to which they were put. Still, during my short stay, I witnessed an operation.
The institution apparently serves a missionary purpose. The patients who came were those who needed medical help. They had not come from far-off cities to a pleasure resort, but they came from the surrounding farming country, with all kinds of diseases and troubles, to seek relief. Thus the physicians had their hands full with operations of all sorts, and the nurses had an excellent opportunity to gain a varied experience. The doctors are often called out into the surrounding country, and when I accompanied Dr. Habenicht on his calls, I noticed that everybody seemed to be acquainted with him; and from the hearty greetings received one could see that he was held in kind regard by Protestants and Catholics alike.
The nearest doctor is ten miles away, in Diamante; and as there is a scarcity of physicians in the rural districts, the institution has, for the present, bright prospects before it. The matron sought to make the patients as comfortable as possible, and the table was sufficiently supplied with plain and nutritious food. All were happy that their new quarters would soon be completed, and that then they could more suitably care for their patients. The money promised to this institution is surely needed; and when received, it will place the sanitarium on its feet financially.
While here, our committee also considered the needs of the mission fields on the west coast, as well as of Chile, and made up the budget for appropriations for 1911. Although my stay was short in the territory of the South American Union Conference, yet I was able to visit all the institutions; attend two general meetings in Chile, the conference in Argentina, and this large general meeting here; and to give attention to the needs and wants of this large field. I was pleased to notice that the committees worked together in perfect harmony, that we enjoyed the Lord's blessing, and that Elder J. W. Westphal had the full confidence of the brethren. The financial management has been a careful one; and if the money promised is forwarded, the institutions will be almost out of debt, and on a good earning basis. This will give the brethren a free hand to push the great gospel work among the twenty millions of this field.
Hamburg.
The Demands of “Public Interest”
By C. M. S.
A PROMINENT New York clergyman declares that “every law now existing that rests on religious grounds should be abrogated.” A writer in Harper’s Weekly, commenting on this statement, says: “That seems to be a sound conclusion. It would leave plenty of Sunday laws based, not on religion, but on reasons of economic expediency and public interest.”
But all laws which enforce a religious ordinance are based on religion, no matter what the pretended basis may be. We may claim that the law is based “on reasons of economic expediency;” but the claim itself is a mere expedient for keeping alive the pagan and medieval idea that religion and religious ordinances must be upheld and fostered and enforced by civil law. We may make the claim that Sunday laws are based on reasons of “public interest;” but the fact remains that they are based solely on such portion of the “public interest” as is of particular interest to those who wish a Sunday law—such portion of the “public interest” as is surrounded by some one’s conception of the “public interest.”
To one man the “public interest” would demand that all men everywhere should attend divine worship, whether it be in accordance with their own desires or not; and such a thing has been compulsory in America, and a movement now on foot will seek to make it so again. In years gone by there were those (and they exist at heart to-day) who considered that the “public interest” demanded that the general public should not read the Bible, nor hold opinions of their own concerning its teachings. The “public interest,” to their minds, demanded that they who did so should die—and they did die, millions of them. In certain portions of the world the “public interest” is thought to demand that no Bibles shall be sold; and thousands of those that are sold are gathered and burned by the chosen guardians of the “public interest.”
The “public interest” in various parts of the world has been interpreted to demand the whipping, burning, and hanging of “witches.” In other places it has been interpreted to demand that they who rest on “the Sabbath day, according to the commandment,” must also rest on the first day of the week, commandment or no commandment. And for the “public interest” Christ’s most loyal and humble followers have been whipped at the cart’s tail from town to town by those who professed to be able rightly to interpret “public interest.”
What are we taught by these sad and contradictory occurrences?—This: that “public interest” can be interpreted to demand anything that our individual feelings may urge us personally to demand. Our personal interpretation of “public interest” is not an impartial nor infallible judge in matters where private prejudice, private interests, or individual feelings and cherished dogmas are concerned.
No fallible man has a right to sit in judgment on the religious interests of other men, and compel them to live according to the decision which he sees fit to hand down. But that is exactly what is done when men are compelled by law to observe religious ordinances, even though they are professedly based on reasons of “public interest” or “economic expediency.”
The “public interest” does demand certain things. It demands civility on the part of all men everywhere, in order that none may trample upon the rights of others. It does not demand that the rights of any shall be sacrificed or violated in order that any ordinance, religious or otherwise, may be glorified above men, and perpetuated in oppression.
C. M. S.
Abide in the Ship
By F. M. W.
THE apostle Paul was on his way to Rome. He had appealed to the decision of Cæsar, and accompanied by other prisoners, with a guard of soldiers, was journeying by boat to the Roman capital. A terrible storm arose; the ship was tempest-tossed. For fourteen days it had been driven about by the wind, the sailors not knowing their location. Time and again it seemed that all was lost; hope had well-nigh fled from every heart. Finally there was reached a crisis so severe that even the experienced sailors quailed before it. They prepared to let down the boats to escape, leaving the prisoners in the sinking vessel; but they were prevented from taking this step by the words of the apostle. To the centurion he said, “Except these abide in the ship, ye can not be saved.”
Only by co-operation and united effort could they hope to weather the storm and reach the shore at last. Acting on Paul’s counsel, the soldiers cut the ropes holding the boats, thus preventing the seamen from making their escape. Inspired by the apostle’s faith and fortitude, through union of their efforts and the blessing of God, all finally escaped to land from their perilous situation.
On life’s tempestuous sea, it is necessary for us, would we reach the shore at last, to abide in the ship. Satan is seeking to engulf us; the waves of evil sweep in from every quarter. Our sky is so overcast that it seems at times that no star of hope pierces the gloom. In darkness and almost in despair we wage battle with the principles of evil; but let us not cast away our confidence nor forsake the work and truth of God. Unlike the ship on which the apostle Paul and his companions sailed, the old ship Zion will safely make the harbor at last. Her pilot and captain is the Lord Jesus Christ; he knows every dangerous reef and hidden shoal. At times shipwreck may seem to threaten; it may seem that the work of God will go to pieces, and we be left stranded and shipwrecked; but an unseen Intelligence is keeping watch over the destinies of God’s children. Not one humble, trusting soul will be lost. Let us be brave, courageous, and hopeful; soon we shall be sheltered within the harbor of eternal rest. Let us remain in the ship, be true to God and to his work, exemplify in our lives the principles of his blessed gospel, and trust him to lead us safely through to the end of the journey. We shall find that we have not labored in vain, nor trusted in vain. In the fulness of our joy every hope will be realized.
