ONE of the most saddening and humiliating exhibitions which human nature ever makes of itself, is in its greedy credulity touching all reports of the misdemeanors of good men. If a man stand high as a moral force in the community; if he stand as the rebuker and denouncer of social and political sin; if he be looked up to by any considerable number of people as an example of virtue; if the whole trend and power of his life be in a high and pure direction; if his personality and influence render any allegation against his character most improbable, then most readily does any such allegation find eager believers. It matters not from what source the slanderer may come. Multitudes will be influenced by a report against a good man's character from one who would not be believed under oath in any matter involving the pecuniary interest of fifty cents. The slanderer may be notoriously base—may be a panderer to the worst passions and the lowest vices—may be a shameful sinner against social virtue—may be a thief, a notorious liar, a drunkard, a libertine, or a harlot—all this matters nothing. The engine that throws the mud is not regarded. The white object at which the foul discharges are aimed is only seen, and the delight of the by-standers and lookers-on is measured by the success of the stain sought to be inflicted.
As between the worldling and the man who professes to be guided and controlled by Christian motives, this is all natural enough. The man bound up in his selfish and sensual delights, who sees a Christian fall, or hears the report that he has fallen, is naturally comforted in the belief that, after all, men are alike—that no one of them, however much he may profess, is better than another. It is quite essential to his comfort that he cherish and fortify himself in this conviction. So when any great scandal arises in quarters where he has found himself and his course of life condemned, he listens with ready ears, and is unmistakably glad. We say this is natural however base and malignant it may be; but when people reputed good—nay, people professing to be Christian—shrug their virtuous shoulders and shake their feeble heads, while a foul slanderer touches vitally the character of one of their own number, and menaces the extinguishment of an influence, higher or humbler, by which the world is made better, we hang our heads with shame or raise them with indignation. If such a thing as this is natural it proves just one thing, viz., that these men are hypocrites. There is no man, Christian or Pagan, who can rejoice in the faintest degree over the reputed fall of any other man from rectitude, without being at heart a scamp. All this readiness to believe evil of others, especially those who have been reputed to be eminently good, is an evidence of conscious weakness under temptation, or of conscious proclivity to vice that finds comfort in eminent companionship.
There is no better test of purity and true goodness than reluctance to think evil of one's neighbor, and absolute incapacity to believe an evil report about good men except upon most trustworthy testimony. Alas, that this large and lovely charity is so rare. But it is only with those who possess this charity that men accused of sins against society have an equal chance with those accused under the forms of law of crime. Every man brought to trial for crime is presumed to be innocent until he is proved to be guilty; but with the world at large, every man slandered is presumed to be guilty until he proves himself to be innocent, and even then it takes the liberty of doubting the testimony. Every man who rejoices in a scandal thereby advertises the fact of his own untrustworthiness; and every man who is pained by it and refuses to be impressed by it, unconsciously reveals his own purity. He cannot believe a bad thing done by one whom he regards as a good man, simply because he knows he would not do it himself. He gives credit to others for the virtue that is consciously in his own possession, while the base men around him, whether Christian in name or not, withhold that credit because they cannot believe in the existence of a virtue of which they are consciously empty. When the Master uttered the words, “Let him that is without sin among you first cast a stone at her,” he knew that none but conscious delinquents would have the disposition to do so; and when, under this rebuke, every fierce accuser retired overwhelmed, he, the sinless, wrote the woman's crime in the sand for the heavenly rains to efface. If he could do this in a case of guilt not disputed, it certainly becomes his followers to stand together around every one of their number whom malice or revenge assails with slanders to which his or her whole life gives the lie.
In a world full of influences and tendencies to evil where every good force is needed, and needs to be jealously cherished and guarded, there is no choicer treasure and no more beneficent power than a sound character. This is not only the highest result of all the best forces of our civilization, but it is the builder of those forces in society and the State. Society cannot afford to have it wasted or destroyed; and its instinct of self-preservation demands that it shall not be suffered. There is nothing so sensitive and nothing so sacred as character, and every tender charity, and loyal friendship, and chivalrous affection, and manly sentiment and impulse, ought to intrench themselves around every true character in the community so thoroughly that a breath of calumny shall be as harmless as an idle wind. If they cannot do this then no man is safe who refuses to make terms with the devil, and he is at liberty to pick his victims where he will.—J. G. Holland in Scribner’s.
The World's Expectation.
By Uriah Smith
Over fifteen years ago, Mr. David N. Lord, of New York, penned the following language:— “There has been no period for ages, probably, when there was so general an expectation among evangelical Christians of all classes, that either the advent of Christ is at hand, or else some great measure of Providence, by which a new era is to be introduced to the church; and what is equally remarkable, no time before in which other men of all creeds and classes—atheists, infidels, apostates, formalists, nothingists, were also looking as they are now, for a regeneration of the world after their several schemes of perfection and blessedness. Among the signals that Christ is at hand, one of the most striking is the skill and success with which Satan is working with all power and signs and lying wonders, and deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; and their abandonment by God to strong delusion, that they may show forth their true character as his enemies, and make the propriety manifest of the condemnation and destruction with which they are soon to be overwhelmed.”
The rapidity with which great and significant events are crowding in upon us has increased in geometrical ratio since the above was written. The working of Satan with signs and lying wonders, to which reference is made, has gone forward with long and rapid strides since that time. The development of evil has been so steady and constant that the world has become somewhat familiarized with it, and it makes less and less impression upon the general mind. But could there have been an instantaneous transition from the state of the world and society as it was thirty years ago, to what it is at the present day, all classes would have stood aghast, paralyzed and dumb with amazement at the terrible change.
The ranks of those who have pleasure in unrighteousness have greatly swollen in numbers; and some have so far thrown off the power of restraint and the mask of decency as to publicly avow, and defend their vile practices, glorying in, as Paul declares, and foaming out, as Jude adds, their own shame. Verily the Judgment of such cannot much longer linger, nor their damnation slumber.
With greater success than ever, Satan is working with his signs and lying wonders; and if fifteen years ago this was a sign that Christ is at hand, it is now evidence of his soon coming which cannot be overlooked nor mistaken.
Our Saviour said, “I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day; the night cometh, when no man can work.” John 9:4.
The period of Christ’s public ministry and miracles among the Jews was by the Saviour himself emphatically called their day. When as a nation they had rejected Christ, their night came, and we behold the Saviour lamenting their fate as he wept over Jerusalem and said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” Matt. 23:37, 38.
In the public mission of our Saviour we have a most striking illustration of a life of activity and toil, of journeying from place to place, enduring hardships and privations. Weary, faint, hungry—“not where to lay his head,”—but imbued with a sense of the magnitude and importance of his mission, he was ever active, improving every opportunity of doing good. How his time was employed is expressed by this one sentence; He “went about doing good.”
If we study his life we shall see him watching for opportunities to do good, taking advantage of the golden opportunities as they present themselves, and adapting his discourses and labors to the condition and circumstances of those he would benefit.
We are to learn from that life and example of our Saviour that “it is enough for the disciple that he be as his Master.” During the whole gospel day the Lord has demanded activity on the part of his servants; but now, in these last times, when fulfilling signs show unmistakably that the end of all things is at hand, our energies should be wholly devoted to the cause and work of God.
While the last message of truth is being proclaimed, and the world is being warned of its doom, how important that we work while it is day. When the solemn mandate shall be uttered in Heaven, “He which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still,” it will be too late to change their condition. Then, though they may “wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, to seek the word, of the Lord,” they “shall not find it.” Then night will indeed have come upon this generation, a night in which no man can work.
Now it is day. Now the fields are open everywhere, and now we have the golden opportunity to labor for the salvation of our fellow-men. Now, with our plan for missionary labor, there is an opportunity for every one to do something. Shall we have our hearts imbued with the Spirit of the Master? and shall we feel that we “MUSTwork” while it is day? If we have a disposition to labor in this cause there is no lack of opportunities. If we are ever on the alert and awake to observe the circumstances surrounding us, we may find opportunities to do good. It is not in debating with everybody we meet, whether they wish to learn or not, but it is in speaking a kind word to those in affliction and distress and caring for them, having hearts full of sympathy and love for perishing mortals, and conversing with them, praying for them, and seeking to lead them to Christ, that we can do the most good and receive the greatest blessing.
The reward of our labor is not measured so much by the amount we do as by the disposition and spirit with which we labor. If we are looking for opportunities to do great things only, those opportunities may never come. But we may perhaps overlook lesser opportunities and circumstances where a vast amount of good might be accomplished.
No opportunity or circumstance presented for doing good should be overlooked. We often see great results from those things which, in themselves, might appear, at first sight, to be insignificant. It was only last week that I learned of a person embracing the third angel’s message, whose interest was first awakened by reading a part of a torn leaf of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES, and the leaf was badly soiled at that. If such results are accomplished by a soiled piece of a paper, we certainly have abundant encouragement to take clean and whole copies and distribute them as freely as our tracts. Shall we arouse to the importance of the time, and “work while it is day.”
INSTRUCTION
It was voted at our last State Quarterly Meeting to issue extra copies of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES in the same manner as our tracts for general circulation. These may be not only mailed with the supplements, but we recommend to each district and church to have a good supply of these back numbers of the SIGNS, and let the members place a copy in the hands of any they may meet who show a disposition to read.
We have a good supply of SIGNS on hand, and will send them immediately to any district where they wish them, and where they will take hold of the work of circulating them. Let each director at once ascertain how many copies they wish, to be used in the same manner as our tracts, and they shall be sent to them at once.
A paper will be read many times when a tract would not be read, and although it may be used as wrapping paper, or thrown into the waste basket, still it will be read. Take hold of this matter, brethren, and let us hear from you at once. J. N. L.
The Barren Fig Tree.
By Arville B. Gardner
Nothing but leaves!
O Saviour! can it be
My worthless life
Is like that barren tree?
No ripened fruit appears;
Alas! the Spirit grieves
Over a life which yields
Nothing but leaves.
Lord, look in mercy down on me!
Spare thou, another year, this tree!
Nothing but leaves!
I've wrought no kindly deed,
No blessing brought
To those who are in need.
My hands have idle been;
I have no garnered sheaves;
My hoarded treasure all
Is naught but leaves.
Although no fruit doth yet appear,
Oh! spare this tree another year!
Nothing but leaves!
On me thy light is shed;
Thy blessing still
Is resting on my head.
But should the Reaper come
To gather in his sheaves,
My aimless life would yield
Nothing but leaves.
Lord, canst thou yet a season spare,
And let this fig tree be thy care?
Nothing but leaves!
Prune each unfruitful bough,
And rob the earth
Of all that charms me now.
Bright scenes of pleasure lure
My feet to turn aside;
From paths of truth and grace
I wander wide.
I would be thine, of thee I'd learn!
Earth yields but leaves, to Heaven I'll turn!
Nothing but leaves!
It shall no longer be!
A better way
By faith in Christ I see.
For me his blood was shed;
For me the Saviour grieves;
No longer shall my life
Yield naught but leaves.
Some precious fruit I fain would bring
To offer to the Heavenly King.
ARVILLE B. GARDNER.
The Old Man of Dartmoor.
THERE was an old man of Dartmoor, who for many years obtained his livelihood by looking after the cattle distributed over those wild moorland hills. At last, through infirmity and old age, and the constant and continual exposure to all kinds of weather, his sight entirely failed him, so that he had to seek an asylum in one of the West of England infirmaries to end his brief remaining days. While there he was frequently visited by one of his granddaughters, who would occasionally read him portions of the word of God.
One day, when this little girl was reading to him the first chapter of the first epistle of John, when she reached the seventh verse, “And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin,” the old man raised himself and stopped the little girl, saying with great earnestness :—
“Is that there, my dear?”
“Yes, grandpa.”
“Then read it to me again ; I never heard the like before.”
The little girl read again :—
“And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
“You are quite sure that is there?”
“Yes, quite sure.”
“Then take my hand and lay my finger on the passage, for I should like to feel it.”
So she took the old blind man’s hand, and placed his bony finger on the verse, when he said :—
“Now read it to me again.”
The little girl read with her soft, sweet voice :—
“And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
“You are quite sure that is there?”
“Yes, quite sure.”
“Then if any one should ask you how I died, tell them I died in the faith of these words :—
“And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
And with that the old man withdrew his hand, his head fell softly back on the pillow, and he silently passed into the presence of Him, whose “blood cleanseth us from all sin.”
—Sabbath Recorder.
Proper Education.
By Ellen G. White
God prepared for Adam and Eve a beautiful garden. He provided for them everything their wants required. He planted for them trees of every variety, bearing fruit. With a liberal hand he surrounded them with his bounties—the trees for usefulness and beauty, and the lovely flowers which sprung up spontaneously, and flourished in rich profusion around them, were to know nothing of decay. Adam and Eve were rich indeed. They possessed beautiful Eden. Adam was monarch in this beautiful domain. None can question the fact that Adam was rich. But God knew that Adam could not be happy unless he had employment. Therefore he gave him something to do. He was to dress the garden.
The Creator of man never designed that he should be idle. The Lord formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. It was the law of nature, therefore the law of God, that brain, nerve, and muscle should be in active motion. Young gentlemen and ladies that refuse to labor because they are not compelled to, and because it is not fashionable, are not guided and controlled by enlightened reason. Those who shun manual labor, cannot have physical stamina. In order for the young to enjoy perfect health and perfect happiness, every organ and function must be in perfect operation as God designed they should be. If all the organs act their natural part, life, health, and happiness, will be the result. Too little exercise and staying in-doors too much, will bring on feebleness and disease of some one or more of the organs. It is sinful to impair or weaken one of the powers God has given us. The Creator designed that we should have perfect bodies, that we might preserve them in health, and render to him the offering of a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God.
Exercise in useful labor will be carrying out the original plan of God, when he bade Adam and Eve to dress the garden. Life is precious, and should be preserved intelligently by regarding the laws of our being.
Fashionable idlers, who have plenty of leisure, fail to attain happiness. They have been educated to regard honest labor as only fit for the poor, while it would degrade the wealthy. They rob the brain and nervous system, by fashionable indolence, of a supply of animal energy that keeps the machinery of the body in healthful activity.
In order for the brain to have clearness and strength of thought, retentive memory and mental power, the muscles of the body should have exercise a portion of each day.
Adam was in glorious Eden. He was perfectly developed, and then set to work by his Maker that by exercise all his muscles should preserve their elasticity. Many young men and ladies are too proud, or too lazy, to engage in useful labor in the house or in the garden.
The world is full of women with but little vitality and less common sense. Society is in great need of healthful, sensible young women who are not afraid to work and soil their hands. God gave them hands to employ in useful labor. God did not give us the wonderful human machinery of the body to become paralyzed by inaction. The living machinery God designed should be in daily activity, and in this activity or motion is its preserving power. Manual labor quickens the circulation of the blood. The more active the circulation the more free will be the blood from obstructions and impurities. The blood nourishes the body. The health of the body depends upon the healthful circulation of the blood. If work is performed without the heart being in it, it is simply drudgery, and the benefit which should result from the exercise is not gained.
Toiling mothers who have given their children the advantages of education, and have brought them up without disciplining them to self-denial and physical labor, and have given them liberty to follow their own pleasure, will not receive much happiness and comfort from these children. In my travels I have seen that those women who entered upon married life wholly unprepared for domestic duties were not happy. They did not receive the training and the education in their youth that fitted them for the responsible position they had by most solemn covenant agreed to fill. The parents had made a great mistake. When children, they were excused from exertion in order “to enrich the mind.” They could play an instrument of music, but were not educated to take responsibility. They enjoyed burying their minds in novels, but had no love to keep their houses in order. They were as incompetent for the responsible position of mothers as a girl of fifteen years. Economy of means they knew nothing of, and yet these are the mothers that are bringing up children to take their place upon the stage of action, to act their part in the drama of life. The characters of youth should not be spoiled by over-fond mothers. Parents should consider that as they neglect to thoroughly educate their daughters in domestic labors and economy, they are giving characters to them which will make their future married lives miserable. There will be disappointed husbands and neglected children, because of inefficient wives and mothers.
E. G. W.
Religious Miscellany.
—Everywhere we hear of efforts being made to unite the different branches of the various churches, and also to unite the various denominations in some kind of union. We judge that this idea is meeting with much favor and is gaining ground. A convention for this purpose is called to meet in Suffolk, Va., May 5th.
—There are one hundred and six Unitarian churches in Hungary, or more properly Transylvania. Being poor they are helped quite largely by their American brethren. A considerable sum has already been contributed to assist the endowment of the university supported by these foreign churches, and the American Unitarians have also borne the expense of the translation of Channing’s works into the Magyar language.
—When the northern branch of the Kentucky Methodist Conference met at Louisville four years ago, it found the doors of the Southern churches closed to its members. The same conference has just been holding its sessions at the same place, to meet with a different reception. On the day it assembled, Bishop Kavanaugh, Dr. Schon, and several members of the Southern church, attended the Conference and cordially invited its members to occupy their pulpits on the next Sunday, which they did, the Southern ministers filling the pulpits of the Northern Churches in the city. Thus we see these two branches of that great and powerful body slowly but surely coming together.
—Father Boehm, the Methodist patriarch, lives to preach a sermon in his hundredth year. It was but ten minutes long, vigorous in thought, and was delivered in a firm voice before the Newark Conference in Jersey City on the 2d of April.
—As is well known, the German government is very hostile to popery, and, of late, the papists have fared hard at its hands. But it is very friendly to the old Catholic movement because it rejects the authority and infallibility of the pope. The German Old Catholics ask from their government to have a share in the regular Catholic church property. This they are likely to get. Reinkens, their bishop, moreover, is a loyal German, and has recently shown the utter fallacy of the pope’s claim to temporal power.
—Quite largely the reading of the Bible is being dropped out of the common schools. A letter in the Index states that the Rev. Dr. Gibbons, President of the “University of the Pacific,” in a lecture before a county teachers’ institute in San Jose, insisted on the necessity of retaining the Bible in the schools, and called upon all the teachers who used it in their schools to hold up their hands. One hand only went up. The Doctor said he hoped there was some mistake, and that his request was not understood. He would ask all who did not use the Bible in their schools to stand up. About seventy teachers responded. The Doctor said he was sorry to see there was no mistake; but he was greatly astonished and grieved at the state of things indicated. Evidently the rising generation have but little love or respect for the Bible.
—Another letter from Heaven in favor of Sunday! Somebody, as we learn from the Richmond Religious Herald, has imposed upon the superstitious credulity of the colored people in Charles City Co., Va., by circulating among them a printed sheet containing what purports to be a copy of a letter written by Jesus Christ in the Hebrew language, and found “under a stone both round and large, at the foot of the cross, eighteen miles from Iconium, near a certain village called Mesopotamia,” sixty-five years after the crucifixion. The letter relates chiefly to the observance of the Sabbath day.
—The property of taxing church property is coming to be extensively discussed. Some wealthy churches, as the Catholic, hold millions of dollars in such property upon which no tax is paid. Evidently, public opinion is coming to be in favor of taxing such property the same as other property.
—The Christian Union and “some clergymen,” are in favor of playing billiards at home as may be seen by the following question and answer:—
What do you think of the game of billiards for a home amusement?
In billiards, considered in themselves, there is no more harm than in the game of marbles or the game of croquet; the only difference being in the fact that billiards is immensely superior to any other game in which the sense of direction, the pre-judgment of force and resistance and skillful manipulation are brought into play. Billiards played in saloons are bad; they divert men from their homes, bring them into evil associations, tempt them to bet, lead to intemperance and other evils. Billiards are, however, coming to be exceedingly popular as a home amusement in all our large cities, and we know some clergymen who have become quite skillful at the game. We do not see any more harm in a game of billiards in a family than in a game of parlor croquet, while we doubt not those who understand it find the game much more amusing than croquet.
The fallacy and danger of such reasoning is too evident to need an answer. It shows where a fallen church is drifting.
—Great revival movements appear to be the order of the day. Moody and Sankey are preaching to audiences of from 15,000 to 20,000 in London. Pearsall Smith is doing about the same in Berlin, Germany. Mr. Hammond is very popular in a similar work in San Francisco and other large cities upon this coast. Mr. Earl and others are at work in the same style in the Western States. The sectarian churches generally go in with them. That they are productive of good is seriously questioned by the best of men wherever they are observed. That much evil grows out of them none can deny.
—Christian women in Calcutta are successfully using the weapon against the liquor dealers which has been so effectively employed by praying women here.
—A new church building has been erected by the Church Missionary Society at Jerusalem and has been placed under the charge of a native pastor.
—Trouble has broken out in Peru between the Bishop of Cuzco and the government. The bishop has attempted to enforce a papal brief without first obtaining the consent of the State. He will be brought to trial.
—Troubles in the Catholic church at Buenos Ayres seem to have culminated in the organization of an old Catholic movement. The reformers reject the papacy but retain the three primitive orders, bishops, priests and deacons, recommend the reading of the Scriptures, renounce transubstantiation, and uphold the reception of both elements in the Holy Communion.
—Cremation, or the reduction of dead bodies to ashes, has been authorized and legalized in Mexico.
—The Chicago Tribune says that “good, reputable Christian men” in that city rent rooms to well-known gamblers, and must be aware of the purpose for which they are used by the tenants, and it is the sheerest nonsense to feign ignorance. For instance: “Before the fire a prominent gentleman, who is authorized to use Honorable as a prefix to his name, was the owner of a block in the business center of the city. The basement was occupied as a lager beer hall, the first floor as a liquor store and drinking saloon, the second floor was used as a faro bank, and had rooms for other games of chance, and the other floors were tenanted by prostitutes, who plied their vocation with as much boldness as if they had been boarders at a brothel. This landlord was one of the most prominent members and officers of a leading orthodox church, and made himself conspicuous as a champion in maintaining the purity of the church against any innovations upon its ancient forms of worship.”
—The Jesuit College in Buenos Ayres has been burned by rioters. Some of the ringleaders of the riot have been arrested. Three persons are known to have died.
Uprightness and Truth
If you have a bright thought, express it in the simplest language possible. A diamond should have a plain setting.
It is easy to pick out brilliant men, generous men, martyrs, men of genius, heroes; but uprightness and truth are rare.
News and Miscellany.
INTERRUPTED TRAVEL.
Reports from the breaks in the Union Pacific Railroad are still unsatisfactory. At the ticket office in San Francisco ladies are advised not to take passage before the 1st of May. Persons arriving in San Francisco report that the trouble did not arise so much from the amount of water as from the road being insufficiently supplied with culverts. The road bed formed a complete dam which could not withstand the flood.
—There is still no prospect of settling the difficulties in the Pennsylvania coal regions. The miners of the Lehigh and Wilkesbarre companies are fully determined not to resume work unless their demand for an increase of 10 per cent. is granted. There are 10,000 men of these companies alone idle.
—The spinners' strike at Great Falls, N. H., is over—the men returning to work on the terms proposed originally by the employers.
—The strike of the cotton operatives at Blackburn, England, has ended.
PROVIDENCE, April 24.—The striking operatives at Natic and Arctic mills have notified the superintendents that they will return to work on Monday next.
—New York has a million inhabitants and ninety of them die of pneumonia every week.
—The New York Herald of March 25, gives an account of King Kalakawa's hotel bill for his eight days' stay in that city, as $6,286.91. At the same time there is reported more suffering from hunger in that city this winter than for the last thirty years.
GALVESTON, (Tex.), April 19.—A special dispatch from Corpus Christi says that a band of 35 or 40 Mexicans is reported to be robbing and burning houses between Brownsville and Santa Gertrude. All communication by telegraph is cut off from Brownsville. Firing was heard at Bareges last night, eight miles beyond Santa Gertrude. A courier reached here last night calling for help, and alarm bells were rung. Captains Clark and Culver have started to meet the raiders.
ANOTHER COLD SPELL IN THE SOUTHERN STATES.
CUFALA (Ala.), April 19.—A heavy frost prevailed here yesterday and continues today. About one-half of the coming cotton crop is up and has all been killed. There is considerable ice in this section.
CHARLESTON (S. C.), April 19.—A heavy frost here last night caused great damage to the cotton and other crops. The loss is estimated at $500,000.
DANVILLE (Va.), April 19.—The cold spell has destroyed nearly all the fruit and damaged the tobacco considerably.
RICHMOND (Va.), April 19.—Reports have been received from all the fruit growing sections between here and Greensboro. Fruits of all kinds have been killed by the cold spell, and the tobacco crop has also suffered severely.
OPIUM SMOKING.
Policeman Mahon, of San Francisco reports more than half a dozen opium dens in that city. They are visited all times of day and night by persons of both sexes who resort there for the purpose of smoking this abominable drug.
SAN JOSE, April 23.—At 3 o'clock this afternoon a small shed in the rear of the St. Joseph's Catholic church caught fire from some cause unknown. The fire communicated with the church totally destroying the building. The wind was quite severe, and at one time the southern portion of the city was threatened with destruction, but the fire was confined to the church. The total loss is about $40,000.
CINCINNATI, April 23.—Dispatches received here from New Orleans state that the large steamboats Exporter, Church, and John Kyle are now all in flames at a wharf in that city, and that they will be totally destroyed.
PETALUMA, April 12.—Reports incendiarism on Sunday morning are as follows: The first place set fire to was the railroad depot in East Petaluma, at about 12:30 A. M. The next was the hay and grain store of G. B. Williams, on Main, above Washington street, which was done about 2 A. M. Then the match was applied to the blacksmith and wagon shop of David Jay & Co., at about 3:45 A. M. From thence the incendiaries went immediately to Dr. Christy's place on Kentucky street, and to J. M. Lightner's on Kellar street. None of the attempts were well enough arranged to do much damage.
Directors' Meeting.
By John Norton Loughborough
At the close of the stockholders' meeting there was a meeting of the Directors as previously appointed. Full board being present consisting of James White, J. N. Loughborough, Wesley Diggins, Knud Brorsen, and J. L. Tay.
Voted, that the Directors purchase the site as recommended by the stockholders.
Voted, that James White, J. N. Andrews, and Uriah Smith be the editors of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES, for the coming year and that they constitute our committee on publication.
Voted, that O. B. Jones employ help on the office building subject to the counsel of the Directors.
Voted, that James White and O. B. Jones constitute a committee to decide upon the plan and specification of the office building.
J. L. Tay resigned his position as Treasurer, and Mrs. L. M. Hall was chosen to fill the vacancy.
Adjourned to call of the President.
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH, President.
Questions Answered.
Is it right to take the sacrament or the Lord's supper before being baptized? Please answer through the Signs of the Times.
P. G.
Ans.—We think it is not right. The order seems to be plain, according to the Scriptures. The Lord's supper is an ordinance to be observed by the church as a body; baptism is an individual duty without which no one is considered a member of the church. “As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” This is essential to the privileges of the church of Christ, which is his body.
To M. F.: Probably Matt. 19:30 has direct reference to the Jews and Gentiles, though it may also have an individual application. The resurrected saints will shout their victory over death and the grave. The righteous who are alive at the time of the resurrection will receive their reward then; all will be rewarded together. See 1 Thess. 4:13–18.
J. H. W.
Payment for Publications
By Editor
OUR publications are offered in Coin at the same prices at which they are sold in Michigan in Legal Tender. The difference between hard money and U. S. currency will simply pay freight from Michigan. Our friends will please pay for books and the SIGNS OF THE TIMES in coin value.
Tobacco Forbidden in French Schools
THE French Minister of Public Instruction has done a sensible thing, in our judgment, in issuing an order forbidding the use of tobacco in the public schools by pupils or teachers. If the young can be kept from this indulgence until they are beyond the school age, they are much less likely to contract the habit afterward.
THERE are forty-two catacombs in and around Rome, with galleries 587 miles long, and it is estimated that from four to seven millions of bodies have found sepulture therein.
Petaluma and Santa Rosa.
By John Norton Loughborough
SABBATH last I spent with the church at Petaluma. A goodly number assembled at the house of worship, not as many, however, as would have been present had they had a longer notice of my appointment. Some were necessarily away from the place. The Lord gave freedom in speaking, and it was gratifying to me to form acquaintance with several who had recently embraced the truth under the labors of Bro. Canright.
On First-day, after a brief discourse, a short business meeting was held. As the one who had occupied the position of elder of the church had been in the habit of absenting himself from the meetings, it was deemed necessary to elect another to fill the office of elder of the church. Bro. T. M. Chapman was chosen by the unanimous vote of the church as elder, and was ordained to the office by prayer and laying on of hands.
First-day evening I met with the church in Santa Rosa, and spoke to them about two hours concerning the Pacific Publishing Association, and our work in general upon this coast, also of the necessity of standing united in the work, and moving forward as one man. At the close of these remarks, an anxiety was manifested on the part of the church to express their sympathy and co-operation with the body. Bro. Hager said he desired to have an expression of the exact feelings of the church in these matters. It was voted unanimously by the church that their feelings were in harmony with the work, and the enterprises being carried forward to advance the work.
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.
Woodland, Cal.
By J. H. Waggoner
MEETINGS finally closed in Woodland, Sunday evening, April 25. The attendance was not as large after my return there; many, no doubt, had their curiosity gratified, which was all they attended for. Some fell away who had given encouragement that they would obey the truth. This was to be expected. Several more have embraced the truth, and some are still deeply interested of whom we entertain hope that they will yet obey.
The brethren and sisters, expressing their belief that decided good was done to the church, beside the accessions to their numbers, made a liberal donation to defray the expenses of the meeting. This is gratifying, as it shows that they appreciate the labor bestowed, and also leaves so much funds in the State Treasury for missionary and tent labor.
Most of the time during the last week I suffered with an unusually severe cold, and I had one chill; yet the Lord gave strength to fill every appointment, and blessed with liberty in speaking. My health is now restored, and I am feeling good courage for future work.
Those who recently embraced the faith show that their hearts are in the work. The responsibility upon the church there is increased, and I trust they will not soon forget the exhortations they have heard.
I shall ever remember with pleasure the season of my labor in Woodland, and confidently hope to meet a goodly number of the dear friends there in the kingdom of our Redeemer.