A Chicago daily paper relates that a few months ago a member of the Illinois Legislature was offered a large sum of money to vote for a certain measure. He consulted a friend, to whom he told the many things so large a sum of money would secure for him—a farm which would support him for the rest of his days; an education for his children such as he had not been permitted to enjoy; comforts for his hard-working wife and his family. 'But,' he said, 'the thing I want to know is, if I take the money, can I sleep?' His friend replied, 'No, John; if you take it, you can't sleep.'
The reply describes the condition of every criminal. He can not sleep. With David he must say, 'My sin is ever before me.' He is always in fear lest he be discovered and forced to face the public disgrace and penalty of his crime. The penalty of the law is not so terrible as this haunting fear. No one knows so well as the criminal that retribution follows crime. There may be exceptions to this rule, but they are rare.—Northwestern Christian Advocate.
THE DECALOGUE.
By J. W. Watt
The Tenth Commandment.
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man servant, nor his maid servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's."
The word "covet" is defined thus, "To wish for eagerly, inordinately, or unlawfully, to long for, hanker after, lust after."
God has given us in the first nine commandments definite instruction in regard to what we shall do or refrain from doing. In this last precept we are taught that we must not desire that which belongs to our fellow-men. Covetousness is unlawful desire. Then the opposite would be a lawful desire, which would be to always desire the good of our fellow-men.
"Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness which is idolatry." Col. 3:5.
Covetousness, then, is idolatry. An idolater is one who worships something else beside the God of heaven. But the violation of this commandment is in the mind and heart—no overt act is spoken of. True, evil desire may lead to overt acts, but the thing is first conceived in the mind. Then can a man be an idolater in his mind and no one know anything about it but himself and God?—Yes. How?—By unlawfully desiring that which belongs to his neighbor. If he thus becomes an idolater, who is he worshiping?—Self. O, how much of this we find in the world to-day! Men have so far departed from the principles of heaven that they will remain awake nights when they ought to be sleeping, to plan that they may obtain property from their fellow-men without giving a just equivalent for the same.
"Wo to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it." Hab. 2:9-11.
The above scripture tells the story of a covetous man's experience,—he builds his house by taking from his neighbor unjustly. He trusts in his earthly possessions for safety; and by so doing he sins against his own soul. By and by the judgment comes, and his case is called for investigation. Then, as Abel's blood cried unto God from the ground, so the "stone cries out of the wall and the beam out of the timber" answers it, and the poor, covetous soul is doomed to eternal death. A faithful record of his life has been kept by the angels of God, and his unjust deeds caused by yielding to covetous desires condemn him.
But suppose the desire had been in his heart but had not appeared in deeds, would he be condemned in the judgment?—Yes; for God looks upon the desires of the heart as well as the acts which appear in the life as the result of covetous desire. Every act and every desire must be brought into harmony with the will of God before one is prepared to enter the kingdom of heaven. What a manifestation of the love of God we see in the instruction He gives us in His divine law! He is so anxious that we may be prepared to dwell with Him eternally that He informs us with reference to what is best for us not only in word and deed but in thought as well.
When Moses was leading the children of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, and it became necessary to choose leaders for the people, they were to be "men of truth, hating covetousness." Ex. 18:21. Thus we see that God can not use covetous men in His work. And as covetousness is selfish desire, all selfish desire of every kind must be laid aside before we can bear our part in the work of God, or truly be called the children of God.
As we have studied the law of God precept by precept, how broad, how deep these great principles appear, reaching every emotion of the heart and every act of life! And why is this so?—Because these holy principles are to govern all the universe of God. They are a transcript of the divine mind,—God's idea of what character should be, of what we must be if we gain eternal life, and what we can be through Jesus Christ our Lord.
While we have failed to reach this high and holy standard of life within ourselves, Christ has not failed. He has met every demand of the law, and has made it possible for us to meet the same in Him. He says, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." By His power, through faith, we meet the mind of God, and stand in the judgment uncondemned by the law of God. "The righteousness of the law" is "fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8:4.
May the Lord help both writer and reader to reach the divine standard set forth in the law. J. W. Watt.
TO-DAY—TO-MORROW.
By A. G. Craig
"Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
WILT Thou come, gracious Lord?
For Thy people are sighing
O'er the woes of to-day—
O'er the dead and the dying;
For to-day has grown old
In its sinning and sorrow,
And the plumage of hope
Is all spread for to-morrow.
Wilt Thou bring us the joys
So long heard of in story?
Wilt Thou banish our night
With the dawn of Thy glory?
Hasten, time; we are weary
Of sickness and sorrow;
Speed the hours of to-day
For the coming to-morrow.
For to-day is so dim
With the dust of the ages,
And our record so dark
On the world's musty pages,
That we long for the end
Of all sighing and sorrow—
For the death of to-day
In the birth of to-morrow.
A. G. CRAIG.
San Francisco, Cal.
Gods
By C. Meyers
GODS.—"Thou shalt have no other gods before Me," strikes a death-blow to the god of power and the god of money, and the god of profession, and the god of stomach, and the god of social life, and all the gods on the thrones of a big city.—Rev. C. Meyers.
Perseverance and Genius
By J. C. Fields
Perseverance can sometimes equal genius in its results.—J. C. Fields.
"AGAIN IT IS WRITTEN."
By Editor
THE devil can quote Scripture. He frequently does it. In his own sly, crafty, devilish, seductive way he quotes it, ever appealing to the selfish heart of man. He always quotes the Scriptures to pervert their meaning. He perverts their meaning that he may destroy souls.
We have an illustration of this in our Lord's temptation, set forth as a Sabbath-school lesson in this number. First the devil came to Jesus with a doubting remark as to His divine mission, "If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." He may have apparently asked it as proof of Jesus' divinity. At any rate, Jesus met the tempter as tho he were an honest inquirer. "It is written," said He, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." The spiritual is more than the temporal. The Word of God is more than mere temporal food, for it includes all.
Again the devil assaults Him. Taking Him to the pinnacle of the temple, he again asks proof of His divinity. He again appeals to the worldly, presumptuous ambition. Cast yourself down; gain glory by such an act, and show that you believe the Word of God; "for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee; and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time thou dash Thy foot against a stone." Matt. 4:6. The devil sought to make Christ believe that in seeking His own glory, in demonstrating His own mission, God's promises were effectual. So has the wily one deceived many a soul in the past.
But Jesus knew that that scripture was misapplied. He knew it because He knew other scriptures; because they were all laid up in His heart; that He might not sin against God. Ps. 119:11. Therefore He could meet the wily temptation and subtle suggestion of the adversary. "It is written" that God will uphold you in all things, suggested the enemy. "Again it is written," said Jesus, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."
God would instruct us that we may know His whole will, that may we do every duty. The injunction is that we may know "what the will of the Lord is." An inspired prayer is that ye may "be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." But that this may be, "the Word of Christ" must "dwell" in us "richly." Then, if the enemy comes with his shining counterfeits, we may know that the metal is base. The pure gold of the Word is a sufficient revelation that the counterfeit is base. Satan may pervert that Word so that it may seem to favor appetite, presumptuous ambition, or worldly glory, but the Spirit will call to remembrance the truth, and we will say, "Again it is written." To thus know the Word is to win victories.
THE Sabbath-school lesson printed in this paper is upon the temptation of our blessed Lord as revealed in the synoptic Gospels. Of the period of Christ's temptation Mark tells us: "And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts." Mark 1:13. We are told in the portrayal of artists' imaginations that these beasts were gentle, affectionate, and kind, and they are pictured as lying at the tempted Man's feet, even as a purring kitten lies by a child. The reality was doubtless otherwise. Jesus met His temptations as a man; met the noise and tumult and terrors of the wilderness, even as many of His followers have since had to meet them. To the fierce temptations were added the terrors of prowling beasts of prey clamoring for His blood, symbolical of the fiercer spiritual foes desirous of His eternal destruction. But these few words are written to introduce a little narrative, written by the Rev. William Ewing, in the S. S. Times of August 17, 1895, which graphically portrays what it means for Jesus to be "with the wild beasts." Mr. Ewing thus describes the finding of a lost attendant:—
All were very early astir. Just before mounting I scanned the plain with my telescope, and descried a coming horseman whose appearance resembled that of the lost man. His appearance caused no little excitement in camp; but, on a nearer view, there was no doubt of his identity. Both man and horse were utterly wearied, and Sa'id's garments were covered with blood. The tale he told of his experiences was terrible enough. On our departure he lingered a moment to see the muleteers ready and on the road; then, as he thought, he followed us, but, missing the way, he pushed straight southward, guided in part by the river, arriving on the Dead Sea shore just as the sun set. As he had ridden rapidly, he thought he might have passed us on the way; but, after waiting and careful search along the lonely beach, he despaired of finding us. He turned away in the twilight, hoping by instinct to hit upon some way leading to Jericho. Soon the night was filled with the horrid howlings of the jackals, all over that weary waste, and here and there the shrill laugh of the hyena fell on his ear. Pushing forward, he was speedily entangled among the sand-dunes. Climbing one after another, he sought to hit upon some landmark to guide him; but ever, on descending, his bearings were lost, and he wandered almost hopelessly. As the night closed in, he could see shadowy forms moving around, and the howlings came nearer and nearer. Suddenly, in the track before him, he saw a hyena glaring upon him. The natives believe that the hyena will not attack a man save when famished or grievously provoked. But in such moments one does not reflect much on these things.
Fortunately Sa'id had my gun and ball cartridge with him. Nerves steadied by something like despair, he aimed at the brute's head, and, the ball crushing through the brain, he rolled over with a groan. A momentary silence followed the report, and then the dismal noises broke out again. Riding onward he saw, and not a moment too soon, a leopard crouching for a spring. Aiming swiftly, he fired and the ball took effect in the leopard's neck; but withal the brute was able to spring, and almost to reach his mark. "Then," said Sa'id, his lip quivering, and an unaccustomed tear trembling in his eye,—"then I must have had strength given me from heaven; for, as the brute sprang, I reached forward, caught him by the neck, and hurled him back violently to the ground, where he lay stunned, and a second ball finished him." He attempted to carry the leopard on the pommel of his saddle, and this accounted for the blood-stains on his garments. But weariness and anxiety soon overcame his purpose, and the leopard was left to decay among its native wilds.
Finally, baffled by the darkness, and the intricacies of the labyrinthine windings, he climbed a little knoll, and, tying the horse's halter to his arm, stretched himself on the ground to sleep; but ever and anon, as the denizens of the desert drew near, the trembling creature tugged at the halter to awaken his master, and seemed to long for waking fellowship. At last he was overcome with sleep, and was only awakened when the horse had apparently come close up and whinnied in his ear. Then, rising bolt upright, it seemed to him as if the gloomy waste were all alive with moving shades, and vocal with dismal howlings. How he came out of that pandemonium he never could say; but erelong the dawn stole into the sky, and the wild beasts crept away into their dens. He found a poor shepherd, walking out with his flocks, who, seeing his forlorn condition, sustained the best traditions of desert hospitality by offering what he had for his day's food to the weary traveler. Then he was able to make out the direction of Jericho, and, ere the morning was well born, he was again with his companions, uttering perhaps the most sincere hamdu lillahs of his life. Ever since hearing this tale from the lips of that worn-out man, on the borders of the desert of Jericho, it has seemed that I could better realize what it meant for the Son of man when He was driven of the Spirit into the neighboring wilderness, and through the long nights was "with the wild beasts."
THE ACCUSER.
ONE of the titles of Satan is the "Accuser." "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." Rev. 12:10, 11. In this text Satan is not only called the "accuser of our brethren," but it is said he "accused them before our God day and night."
The evil one does his work through human agents. He employs men and women to do this accusing for him. And he arranges matters for them so that it is not such very hard work to accuse one another. In fact, his plan is to have people really enjoy his work of finding fault with their neighbors and acquaintances. To make it perfectly easy, so that one will feel free in accusing another, he sees to it that it is made convenient for the accusation to be made when the accused is not present. Then the wily adversary sets the tongue of accusation and slander to going. And how many words find utterance then that would be left unsaid if all this talk had to be in the presence of the one talked about!
Now it should not be lost sight of that all this accusing is simply and solely doing Satan's work for him. There are very few if any who would be willing to hire themselves outright to the devil to do his bidding, but when he comes slyly along with his temptations and gets persons to accusing and finding fault with others, he entraps them into his service just as effectually as tho they had deliberately and premeditatedly hired out to him. The work that he gets his deluded victims to do is the same precisely as if he had hired them at so much a month.
But the worst part of it all is that the pay he gives his servants is personal and complete ruin. Indeed, his object in getting one person to accuse and backbite another is that he7may injure the one doing the accusing rather than to injure the accused. For he who is really finding delight or any form of satisfaction in defaming another is doing it to build up self. By casting suspicion upon the fair name of another it is always with the thought, either conscious or unconscious, of making ourselves appear in a better light. Our supposed virtues, so the wily foe through the carnal mind gets us to believe, will shine with a brighter luster when contrasted with the failures of some one else.
Still there is a deeper purpose than this in the mind of the accuser. Satan knows full well the power of the scripture which says, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor. 3:18.
If we behold "the glory of the Lord," we "are changed into the same image from glory to glory." It is a never-changing and an unvarying law that whatever the mind continues to "behold" fashions the character. It is what we think about most that we love to talk about most. And what we think and talk about is that which shapes our characters. Says the Master, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me." John 12:32.
The character of Jesus commands the admiration of all. No Pharisee could find any fault with the Redeemer's perfect life. No skeptic has arisen who has not seen the matchless charms in the life of the Nazarene. There was nothing but beauty, and goodness, and grace, and love, in their infinite perfections, in all that Jesus said or did. And when that perfect life is kept before the mind, the individual is being drawn toward the same divine goodness.
Satan sees this, and would fain have men looking at him instead of Christ. He does not want the principles of righteousness that appear so clearly in the life of the Son of God to be reproduced in mankind. And he knows that unless he can keep men from beholding Christ, his cause is completely lost; for the Master's life draws men whenever and wherever it is permitted to shine out. But Satan can not get men to look at him direct. His life record is too hideous and repulsive. So he exerts all his powers in getting men to dwell upon the faults and failings of each other. And this serves his purpose perfectly; for all he desires is to keep men from looking at the virtues of Him who is perfect.
In the verses quoted at the beginning of this article, we not only learn of the work of the "accuser of our brethren," but we read of those who "overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony." Then in this vision which John had of the closing struggles of the church of Christ he saw those who did not yield to Satan's temptations and join the ranks of accusers. "They overcame him." And it is "by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony" that this overcoming is accomplished.
Satan tempts this company of "overcomers" to accuse the brethren. But they do not yield. They rely upon the blood of the Lamb. They are looking to Jesus. They are beholding Him, and consequently the "word of their testimony" speaks forth the praises of God and not the accusations of Satan.
Men have faults, and we can find plenty to accuse and complain about if we once set out for it. But this accusing and fault-finding works no good for any one. It is not the road to take if we would seek to reform a person. There is just one way to work reforms, and that is for us to fix our eyes steadfastly upon the perfection of Christ's life, and then seek to turn the attention of every one else to the same object. T.
"ASK, AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN YOU."
"ASK, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" Matt. 7:7-11.
The foregoing scripture presents a wonderfully strong appeal to the human mind. God gives the promises, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." It would seem that these promises are strong enough to inspire faith in any one. There is not a condition in them on God's part. The only conditions are with us. He bids us "ask." That is our part. But on His part God says, "It shall be given you." His promise is positive. It is unconditional just as soon as we do the asking.
He does not tell us He will give it to us if He can, but simply says, "It shall be given him." "For every one that asketh receiveth." It is not the specially-favored ones, not those merely who have wealth and influence, but "every one." And so it is with him who seeks. He has the unconditional promise that he shall find. "And to him that knocketh it shall be opened."
These promises place all the exhaustless resources of heaven at the command of the one who comes to our heavenly Father, asking, and seeking, and knocking. The Lord exempts nothing. He reserves nothing. All of God's great universe of "good things" is our bank account, and when we make our demand, when we ask, the cashier is always ready to honor the check. There is never any protest, but the cheerful giving of the thing asked is the invariable rule of our divine Father.
But I hear you say, "I have often asked God for things that I did not receive; then how can the promises be always and invariably true?" Perhaps you asked our heavenly Father for something He did not possess. Observe in the last part of the scripture quoted that it is only "good things" that the Lord has. What you asked for seemed to you, no doubt, to be good. But our human perceptions are so defective that we can not always be sure of what is purely and truly good. And if we have not received what we have asked, it is because we have asked for something that is not good.
Earthly parents often give things that are not for the best to their children because they tease for them. They know when they are making the gift that the child would be better off without it; but their misguided affections give way under the importunity of the child, and he is allowed to have that which is an injury rather than a benefit. And how often in after years have those children been forced in bitterness to say, "How sorry I am that father and mother allowed me to have my own way! I wish they had stood for the right, and not yielded to my clamors."
But we can trust our heavenly Father; for He has nothing but "good things" to give. He deals in no other kind of wares. And "every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."
Questions and Answers
By Editor
Question Corner
From time to time we will reply under this head, if deemed advisable, to such candid inquiries as may be sent us. Correspondents wishing a reply to their questions must give their full name and address, not for publication unless they wish, but as an evidence of good faith on their part, and to give us opportunity to reply by letter if deemed best. It is always well to inclose stamp. Let the questions be short and pointed, and such as may be answered in limited space. The questions will be numbered continuously
904. The Land and Her Sabbaths.
By George E. Butler
2 Chron. 36:21; Jer. 25:11, 12, and Dan. 9:2 speak of the land of Palestine enjoying its sabbaths seventy years. When did this time begin? Was the land occupied during this time? What connection has this with the great prophecy of Dan. 8:14?
G. E. B.
The seventy years' captivity of Israel began B.C. 606 and ended B.C. 536. The land was not occupied by Israel during this time. Tribes of mixed people, as the Samaritans, were there; but as a general thing, the land was idle and a desolation. It was not occupied by those to whom God gave it. This period has naught to do with the 2,300 days of Dan. 8:14. Of course, when the captivity ended the steps toward the restoration of Jerusalem began; but the decree for its restoration did not fully go forth till B.C. 457, the seventh year of Artaxerxes Longimanus.
Eph. 2:12 names "the covenants of the promise" (R.V.), not the promises of the covenant. The promise is life, salvation, and kingdom through Jesus Christ. There are various covenants, as that with Adam, Noah, Abraham (Genesis, chapters 13, 15, 17), with Israel, with David; but all these are included in the new covenant in Christ which is "the everlasting covenant." Heb. 13:20. It is called the new covenant because the last one ratified, by the death of Christ. Gen. 13:14-18 takes in the promise of the kingdom, as also Rom. 4:13; Acts 7:1-6. Gal. 3:29 shows that all must be fulfilled through Christ; and Acts 26:6-8 is proof that it involves the resurrection of the dead.
906. Why to the Gentiles?
By Editor
PLEASE explain Deut. 14:21: "Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself; thou mayest give it unto the stranger that is within thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto a foreigner; for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God."
The reason why Israel should not eat of such meat is stated; they were a holy people. They should do nothing to injure the body, God's temple. Yet, they could give or sell such beasts to others. Was this wrong? They did not sell it declaring it to be good. They did not deceive. They were to give or sell it for just what it was. The stranger and foreigner ate such meat, and esteemed it good. They received it or bought it knowing what it was. What is there wrong about it? Of course it would have been wrong if an Israelite misrepresented the matter; but there is nothing to indicate that he did.
It is too long for this department. Articles will appear on this subject in future numbers. In the meantime consult the works, "Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation," "Marvel of Nations," and "The Seal of God and Mark of the Beast," Bible Students' Library No. 130.
THE MIRACULOUS IN HEALING.
By W. N. G.
THERE is no avenue through which satanic deception can so readily reach the human mind as through a supposed miraculous demonstration. And it is through the means of wonderful feats of healing that the strongest grasp is secured. The reason that Satan has chosen this means of deceiving the world is that the ministry of Christ was made notable by His extensive healing of the sick. Because of this fact everything that appears to be supernatural is supposed to be of God. And everything that is incomprehensible to the human mind is deemed miraculous.
So through this means a double deception is worked,—on some minds the works of Satan through his agents are imposed as the work of Christ, while the real miracles of Christ through His accredited agencies are discredited because they are in a measure counterfeited by evil and even professed anti-christian persons. The same principle is still in vogue that was manifested when Moses and Aaron worked miracles before the king of Egypt, and his magicians imitated some of them.
The gift of healing is one of the spiritual gifts that Christ gave to men when He ascended on high. See 1 Cor. 12:1-13 and Eph. 4:7-13. And Satan's work is and always has been to imitate the work of Christ and draw to himself the honor and worship due to Christ. All false worship, including all idea of sacrifice, originated in imitation of true worship and sacrifice, and all false worship, of whatever character, is devil worship, for the reason that Satan is the real author of it all. The whole purpose of it all was manifested when he proposed to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for the worship of himself.
Regarding the many deceptions in the way of healing, in these days, when nearly every one is ailing and ready to grasp at any straw that promises relief, we note some pointed remarks of Dr. E. R. Dille, of this city, on the subject of Christian Science. The following is from the Tribune's report:—
"The body never suffers. How much easier it would be for the Associated Charities this winter to send Christian Science teachers among the poor and convince them that hunger and cold are only illusions—that, as Mrs. Eddy, Christian Science's high authority, says, 'Heat and cold are the products of mortal mind, and food neither strengthens nor weakens the body.'"
"I know of a Christian Science healer who had a daughter upon whom some friends called, and the mother met them at the door and said, 'Helen can not come down; she has a belief in a boil.'"
"Tho she eats with relish, Mrs. Eddy scouts the idea that matter is anything more than an illusion. Tho she has fires in her fine mansion, she says that heat and cold are the products of mortal mind. Mrs. Eddy has a school where she trains Christian Science practitioners, who, not having to waste their time upon such gross and unspiritual things as anatomy, hygiene, physiology, materia medica, or therapeutics, are turned loose on society with great rapidity. For the first course of twelve lessons she charges 300 good hard dollars. So you see that the principles of Christian Science can not yet be applied to commercial transactions. If you call in a Christian Science healer, she will tell you to think you are well and you are well; but if in harmony with these beautiful principles you tell her to think she is paid, she is liable to have you arrested."
"Christian Scientists say that their cures prove that Mrs. Eddy's system is divine. Then the relic cures at the Catholic shrines prove that they are genuine and that the Roman Catholic Church is divine, and Schlatter's and Dowie's cures prove them to be right. These cures effectually neutralize each other so far as any individual value is concerned. There has never been a great delusion on earth that has not been attested by healing wonders."
"For every cure wrought by it I will bring you 100 wrought by the bones and relics of Roman Catholic saints; by healers like Schlatter, who healed thousands in Denver; by Dowie, who has a great establishment in Chicago and shows thousands of testimonials (and he says that Christian Science is an invention of Satan), by clairvoyants, quack doctors, and every quackery and nostrum under the sun. There is not a healing humbug in the world that can not get all the testimonials he wants."
If the adversary of souls can not draw men directly to himself, he will endeavor to confuse their minds so that they will not know the difference between his work and that of Christ. By getting them to discredit everything in the line of miracles, his purpose in forestalling their salvation is accomplished anyhow. W. N. G.
SOME COSTLY DOGS.
By Editor
IN the group of pictures on this page we present some rather high-priced dogs, and incidentally a chicken that is claimed to be worth $2,500. The chicken, perhaps, would not rank so high did he not belong to the pugilist fraternity. He won a bet of a hundred thousand dollars for his owner in a single contest. Of course I hear you say that it is barbarous and degrading to fight chickens in this way and bet on them; but that is not to be accounted of when sport is to be had and any money is to be won. Games and races and the brutal ring-fights of men, birds, and beasts, and the accompanying gambling, are prevailing vices of the age. And to the thinking mind there is nothing that will indicate more clearly how madly this generation is driving down the decline into certain ruin than this selfsame craze for gambling and games and races.
Six thousand five hundred dollars was actually paid for the dog that stands by himself in our engraving. The supposed value of this cur consists in certain "marks" that they say make him a perfect type of his kind, and an English "nobleman" was willing to pay that large sum in order to be able to say that he had the one "perfectly-marked collie."
The group of four dogs in our cut is owned by an American capitalist. He has some sixty of this kind of dogs in all, but values these four at $10,000. These sixty dogs have their fine kennel to live in, the basement of which is the kitchen, where their food is prepared. Choice beef and mutton are cooked for them regularly, and such other dishes as may be thought palatable and wholesome for the favored canines are given to them from time to time by the man who is hired as a servant to dogs.
Dogs such as are shown in our engraving are supposed to belong to a sort of canine nobility. They are not only better than common dogs, but are much better, so they say, than common people. They require human servants to wait upon them, seeing that they are luxuriantly fed and bathed and combed and taken out day by day for proper exercise. But, after all is done, what does it amount to? No amount of care will make these animals anything more than yelping, barking curs.
There is something homelike about seeing a dog roving over the farm or lying in the yard. But when it comes to spending days and nights in caring for dogs, and when seemingly the larger share of a person's affections is bestowed on these brutes, it would appear that it should be below those who are endowed with human reason.
How many poor children there are who have no homes, no one to feed them, to love them, or teach them, or save them from ruin! And why is it that those who have such vast fortunes will not turn their means to account by helping their fellows, rather than bestowing their substance upon dogs—just nothing but dogs? There is the most touching, the most absolutely destitute poverty in the world. Our great cities are burdened with it. And if the men and women who have means with which to relieve this distress continue to lavish it upon dogs and kindred objects, they will soon be aroused from their useless follies to encounter the dread realities of the worst time of trouble this world has ever known.
Men are now having opportunities to relieve distress and help the poor. But if these opportunities are slighted, it will be only a few years till they would gladly give their lives to have these same opportunities return. It is better to see these things now and act upon them than to have our lives snuffed out amid bitter lamentations in the revolutions that are surely and hastily coming unless the present order of things is most speedily changed. T.
"LEST WE FORGET."
THE sun will set to-night for the last time on a Spanish flag floating over soil of the Western Hemisphere.
It is the last day of the last remnant of a once imperial domain—almost all of two great continents.
When Scipio Africanus was watching the destruction of Carthage, the demolition of the ruins of the imperial city that had only a few years before overtopped Rome, he surprised his jubilant brother officers by suddenly bursting into tears. They looked inquiringly at him. He said, "O my country, this may some day be thy fate!"
He realized even at the moment when young and vigorous Rome was just starting upon her imperial career that the vices of arrogance and luxury and contempt for justice which had laid low her great adversary were already at work upon her.
It was a long shadow of foreboding that fell upon him from across the centuries. But it was a real shadow. It was the shadow of that day of reckoning when fate settled with his country for forgetting the lessons of experience, for shutting her ears against the warnings of her patriots and thinkers, for drinking herself drunk on the strong wines of wealth and power and prosperity.—New York World.
