DEATH OF ELDER JAMES WHITE.
By Editor
LAST Sabbath the intelligence came to Oakland by telegraph that Eld. James White was very sick and probably dying. This was speedily followed by other telegrams which gave hope of his rallying; but again grave symptoms returned, and before the sun went down we received the sad tidings of his death. The news of this event filled our hearts and our houses with gloom. For us, who had stood so long connected with him in the work of the third angel's message, it was impossible to bring ourselves to the belief that he would die in this sickness; and now, it is hard to realize that he is no longer one of our number. Twenty-nine years ago we began to correspond with him in the Review, which was then small but eagerly hailed by every Sabbath-keeping Adventist, and twenty-six years ago we became associated with him as Corresponding Editor of that paper. Almost the full period of an active life we have stood together in this work. Last winter, while in his room in Battle Creek, we called his attention to the fact that very few whose names appeared in the early volumes of the Review, were yet remaining with us. One by one they have fallen. We both felt that it was an admonition to us, but we did not then imagine that he would be the next to pass away. James White was born in Palmyra, Maine, August 4, 1821; at his death he was two days over his three-score years. In his youth he gave himself to the service of God, and most of his life has been spent in the ministry. One of the first to embrace the truths of the third angel's message, the providence of God placed him in the forefront of the work in which he literally spent his life. It was often remarked by those who were associated with him more than a quarter of a century, that we never knew a man whose being and personality were so entirely identified with his work. He was a man of strong and ardent feelings. Consequently his disappointments, especially in individuals, were almost overwhelming to him. His position as leader in a work which was "everywhere spoken against," subjected him to the complaints and criminations of opposers and the murmurings of the disaffected. He often suffered most keenly by these assaults of the enemy, knowing that these efforts were made to put down, not him, but the cause which he represented, and which was dearer to him than life itself. No man ever occupied a position where the careless would more readily misunderstand his motives. It was to his credit that they who stood with him the longest, and were most intimately acquainted with him, clung to him the closest and trusted him most fully. About fifteen years ago he was stricken down with paralysis, which brought him very near to the grave; and as slighter shocks followed the first one, he never fully recovered from their effects. They who knew him only since that time cannot realize with what strength and energy he labored in this cause previous to that time. Coming from a strong and long-lived family, his afflictions made him appear like a man of fourscore years while he was yet in, what might have been, the prime of his life. He needed rest. He sleeps in peace. Our words of sorrow cannot reach his ears; his eyes cannot perceive our tears. If it shall be our happy lot to meet him at our Redeemer's side, we believe our association in this work will not be forgotten by us, even amid the joys and glories of the kingdom of God. But it is not possible for us to express our feelings at this time in a mere obituary. His memory does not need our words. His memorial is engraven on faithful hearts all the way from Maine to California. The deep sympathies of all at the Office of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES go with Bro. and Sister W. C. and M. K. White as they take their journey homeward to attend the funeral of their father. Our prayer is that God will sustain the stricken family, and especially our dear sister E. G. White, upon whom this visitation falls so heavily. We feel assured that He who has guided and upheld her in so many trials in life, will not desert her in this hour of her heart's anguish. And we know that the "pioneers" in this work will appreciate our feelings as we ask God to deal tenderly with our dear Brother Andrews, who, in the midst of his other afflictions, can but be sorely stricken by the tidings of the death of his life-long associate in the faith and work of the present truth.