Earlier text: IN THE FUTUREWHERE EQUAL RIGHTS MAY BE EXPERIENCED.
By G.
The doctrine of equality of rights among men is one of the beautiful theories of which many love to talk. It is very popular as a theory, but in practise it never did obtain to any great extent. It is an enchanting sentiment, but for the most part it ends in sentimentality. It was the basis of the Declaration of Independence, but it never has been the practise in the government of the United States. Eighty years after the Declaration was adopted, Abraham Lincoln made this appeal:— Let us discard all this quibbling about this man or the other man, this race and that race, and the other race being inferior, and therefore they must be placed in an inferior position, discarding the standard which has been left to us. Let us discard all these things, and unite as one people throughout this land until we shall once more stand up declaring that all men are created equal. But as yet equality of rights is only a theory, a sentiment. The practise is becoming more and more conspicuous as an exception, and the exception is not merely as between race and race, but as between class and class, within the race circles. Why is it so?—Because of the innate selfishness of the natural man. Equality of rights is a Gospel principle, and “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” To-day our government is farther from the Declaration of Independence than ever it was. Men in high official position do not scruple to treat it with disdain, as a measure suitable for the occasion and the then present purpose, but impracticable as a permanent policy. In fact the Congress of to-day deems it expedient to impose more oppressive taxes upon the Filipinos—without representation—than were imposed upon the American colonies by Great Britain, and against which they revolted.9 Of course all the so-called “great powers” are encroaching more and more upon the weaker ones, and taxing their subjects beyond all reason to carry out their absorbent policies; but we have alluded especially to our own government, because here we have made such great pretense in the matter of equal rights. Here is the crowning evidence that the law of equality—“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”—never can obtain in a human government. Only in the kingdom of God is such equality recognized as a practical theory. “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye [the subjects of Christ’s kingdom] shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.” It is only in such a kingdom that we ever will find the ideal conditions of equality and love, of which men are wont to talk so glibly. And the message of John the Baptist and of Jesus of Nazareth is still going to the world: “Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Anticipating Riots.
By Editor
For some reason the Federal Government is apparently looking for trouble from the populace. It can hardly be that attention to the “sure Word of prophecy” has set the War Department to devising means for putting down riots in the States. So it must be that the political or the industrial horoscope reflects omens of further causes of dissent from prevailing conditions. Whatever the cause, the following press despatch from Washington, under date of February 23, is significant:— The War Department has sent notices to the governors of all the States that it is prepared to supply them upon demand and according to their legal allowances with “riot cartridges.” This is a new form of ammunition prepared by the experts of the ordnance bureau to enable officers of the law and soldiers to repel rioters with the least possible loss of life to the innocent spectators. The shell is like the regular shell used in army rifles, with the important exception that instead of the long, nickel-plated and steel-clad bullet two balls are inserted in the mouth. The design was apparently to secure something of greater range than buckshot, yet not dangerous to persons at a distance. The cartridge is charged with about thirty-four grains of smokeless powder. The balls are made of a mixture of lead and tin in the proportion of sixteen to one, and are slightly coated with paraffine. The diameter of the ball is 3/8-inch and the weight is forty-two grains. The regular primer for smokeless powder is used. The cartridges have sufficient accuracy for effective use at 200 yards. The National Reformers make much of the claim that the right to rest needs the protection of law. That is correct because in this sinful, selfish world every God-given right needs the protection of law. That is why we have civil government. But it must not be forgotten that the right to work is as dear and as important as the right to rest. In many respects rights are best protected by letting them alone. Too much law is often worse than no law at all. A law that frustrates the exercise of one right can not be a real protection of another right. Protection of law does not mean the regulating of every right and privilege and function by special statute. Such a course is liable to prove oppressive rather than protective. The right to rest does not involve a law compelling one to rest whether he so desire or not, or whether he so need or not. It does not call for a law compelling one to rest at a certain time, or compelling all the people to rest simultaneously. Such laws are in direct violation of the right to rest. So with the right to work; it does not call for the “protection” of a law dictating when men shall work and when they shall not work. The right to rest or to work implies volition, not compulsion. The compulsory idea in respect to either tends to slavery and not to freedom; it is domination, and not protection. The National Reform idea of a right to rest is that every one shall be compelled to rest one day in seven, regardless of age, or condition, or occupation, or inclination, or personal need. And, moreover, that the one day of rest must be on Sunday. No matter how many days one may have been obliged to rest during the week from various unavoidable causes, he must have an enforced rest on Sunday in order to enjoy his right to rest! His right to work, or his need of work, is not taken into consideration when enforced Sunday rest is being urged. The National Reform idea is that people who do not rest on Sunday do not know what is good for them; that they are incapable of judging for themselves how much rest they need, or when they need to take their rest; and therefore the National Reform combination must needs suggest laws to the government for their protection. The most tyrannical measures ever injected into human government have been on the plea that the masses did not know what was good for them, and would have to be dominated by their moral and intellectual superiors. It often occurs that men assume quite inconsistent positions when they endeavor to hide their real purpose. The object of the National Reform Association, and its many auxiliaries, is to gain a religious domination in the governments of the nation and of the States; and the securing of enforced Sunday observance is part of the scheme. Hence the subtile pleas of civil right to rest, physical necessity of rest, etc., all focused on enforced Sunday observance. There is never a suggestion of the right to rest, or the need of rest, or the importance of uniform rest at other time than on Sunday. It is well to beware of these beneficent (?) moves that have a purpose beyond what is expressed. The abandoning of agriculture as a calling, and the country as a place of residence, is bearing its terrible fruit in greater quantity every year. God designed men to till the soil for a living, and discouraged city building in its very incipiency (Genesis 11); but in these last days, the prosperity of a country is reckoned by the growth of its cities and the wealth of its corporations. But this false estimate is continually enticing people—especially the youth—away from the honorable pursuit of agriculture and its auxiliary enterprises to the uncertain, dependent occupations of the cities. Most of these are in competition with one another for subservient positions, and this condition, together with the temptations to debauchery and the commission of crime, deprives many of employment, when they suddenly find themselves stranded, helpless, discouraged, and utterly unfitted for any independent course of life. The results, to be seen to a greater or less extent in every city, are thus portrayed by a London correspondent of the Philadelphia Press:— Since the first of January every day at dawn the great army of London's unemployed has taken the road and displayed itself along Mile End Street and Battersea and in Hyde Park. From the last named rendezvous they have gone forth toward evening to file through the brilliantly lit streets of the city, dragging slowly, gloomily through Trafalgar Square and the Strand. All ages of men walk in the ranks, healthy men and men who still bear the marks of diseases brought from the Transvaal. It has not been a pleasing sight in London, nor one of which she could be proud. On the flanks of the column as it marches walk men collecting alms from the passersby. They carry small market baskets, empty cigar boxes, battered hats, anything and everything into which pennies may be dropped. When the line halts from time to time these men gather along the curbs, carrying their petitions to the curious and the charitable alike, who have stopped to see this peculiarly twentieth century procession. There has been much prospective boasting for the twentieth century, but so far as the condition and prospects of those in the common walks of life are concerned, retrogression and depression are strongly indicated. Criminality is increasing, the oppressors are becoming more oppressive, and the poor are becoming more dependent. And it is all because of departing from the plan devised by the Creator for the maintenance of the race, and departing from His wise, expedient law, to “love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and thy neighbor as thyself.” Probably nothing that the Czar of Russia has done has caused more comment and commendation than the reform decree issued recently at St. Petersburg. This decree grants, to all sects under Russian jurisdiction, religious liberty. The Jewish faith is not mentioned specifically, but it is understood to apply to the Jews as well as to the exponents of other religions. The decree is general enough in its language to cover freedom of religious teaching in all parts of Russia by the various denominations. Whether it will be so interpreted by the conservative officials charged with carrying it into effect is a matter for future development. While the decree grants, in a measure, local self government and the freedom of the peasantry from enforced labor, with certain other reforms, yet the portion of the decree which interests the world most is that pertaining to religion. The language of that portion of the decree is as follows: “We are irrevocably decided to satisfy the needs for which the State has become ripe, and have deemed it expedient to strengthen and decree the undeviating observance of tolerance laid down by the fundamental laws of the Russian empire, while recognizing the orthodox church as the ruling one, to grant to all of our subjects of other religions and to all foreign persuasions, freedom of creed and worship; and we are further resolved to continue the carrying out of the measures for the improvement of the material position of the orthodox rule and clergy, while enabling them to take a larger share in intellectual and public life.” The work of carrying out this decree has been placed in the hands of the czar’s ministers, and much depends upon the way in which they relate themselves to it. It is feared that the ecclesiastical authorities, which are very powerful in Russia, may find a way to modify the tolerant features of the decree. If the decree is carried out according to its spirit, it will do much to quell the enmity of the peasantry toward the government. We believe also that it is one of the opening providences of God to enable the Gospel to be preached unhindered in the Russian empire. Labor Matters.—At Kansas City, Mo., on the 12th inst., an injunction was granted by the United States District Court against the Team Drivers International Union, and in favor of the Kansas City Transfer Company. The Chicago Brass Manufacturers have agreed to a nine-hour day for employees, without reduction of wages. The conditions are that there shall be no strike nor lockout during the life of the agreement, and that all differences shall be settled by arbitration. This arrangement affects 20,000 workmen. The strike of millmen at Colorado City, Colo., has been settled in behalf of the Telluride and Portland mills. Eight hours is to constitute a day’s work, except in the sampling works, where ten hours will be the standard. There is to be no discrimination between union and non-union men. Another feature of the agreement was the immediate withdrawal of the troops. No agreement was reached between the owners and employees of the Standard Mills, up to the 16th inst. The Western Federation of Miners has another contest on hand in British Columbia. No sooner had the Western Fuel Company, of Nanaimo, come to an agreement with its men, and the outlook for a big coal output this year taken on a favorable aspect, than James Dunsmuir, owner of the large coal fields at Extension and Ladysmith, came to open war with his men. Dunsmuir has caused consternation by declaring that he will close the mines indefinitely rather than be “at the mercy of a lot of agitators.” The Superior Court (Judge Elmer), of Waterbury, Conn., has granted an injunction against the Trolley men's Union, and other unions in the city, restraining them from boycotting or otherwise impeding the work of the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company. Articles of Incorporation of the Jook Lim Chinese Workingmen’s Union of California has been filed with the county clerk of San Francisco. The union is to exist forty-nine years. A Vancouver, B. C., despatch of the 14th inst., says: “The members of the United Brotherhood of Railway Employees to-day announced their acceptance of the offer of the Canadian Pacific Railroad to arbitrate. The offer was made ten days ago and was at that time declined. Now the company declares that as the offer was refused, it has since been withdrawn. More of the striking clerks returned to work to-day and the company announced that as permanent positions had been given to those who had replaced the strikers, no question of mediation or arbitration would now be considered. The company claims that the strike failed of its purpose.” President Castro, on March 9, announced the re-establishment of the blockade of the Orinoco River, which had, of course, been suspended during the continuance of the blockade of the Venezuelan coast by the allied powers; but on the 13th the announcement was made that this blockade had been raised. This was due to pressure from Great Britain, who threatened, through her representative at Washington, to recognize the Venezuelan rebels as belligerents, thus putting them in a position to charter war-vessels, borrow money, and conduct the war on a much larger scale. Great Britain also threatened to deny the Venezuelans the use of British ports in that vicinity for their warships. The government forces report a victory over the rebels and the capture of the rebel position at Coro. The rebels, on the other hand, claim to have utterly defeated the government forces. It seems certain that a battle was fought, at least. In Honduras reports indicate that the newly elected president, Bonilla, is overcoming the forces of the former president. Persons arriving in Gulf ports from Honduras are of the opinion that Bonilla will soon be in control of the government. The forces of the late president were defeated with heavy losses at Ceiba, Honduras, recently. Admiral Coghlan, of the American navy, has been ordered to proceed with the Caribbean squadron to the coast of Honduras to protect American interests there. A Week of Crime and Gambling
The week has had its usual amount of murders, suicides, swindles, and gambling transactions by persons of high and of low position. The German Government reports its lottery gains for the year as over $12,500,000, and seeks in the announcement to justify its participation in this method of gambling, at the same time advising the people to invest in the game of chance. It is reported that the Prince of Wales, in one evening, lost $35,000 at a card table, and that the king will ask for an additional $100,000 a year to enable the prince to live in the style befitting his rank. To such examples as these much of the prevalence of the gambling spirit is due. A fugitive from English justice has just arrived at New York and been arrested by the New York police, the crime for which he is arrested being a gigantic mining swindle involving millions of dollars. The American treasurer of the Rizal province, Philippines, is reported to have attempted suicide when informed that he would be prosecuted because of the condition of his books, tho he is not personally charged with the embezzlement. The record of one week's affairs of this character (of which the above is not a tithe) give one food for serious thought, and give a sad denial to the assertion that the world is growing better and working toward a glorious future. Britain’s Unprecedented Naval Estimates
The British navy estimates for the next year provide for an expenditure of $179,184,205. The Admiralty proposes to complete this year six new battle-ships, eleven armored cruisers, and eighteen other vessels from cruisers of the second class down to submarine torpedo-boats. The Admiralty will this year begin the construction of three battle-ships of a very formidable type, four first-class and three third-class cruisers, and twenty-nine smaller craft including torpedo and submarine boats. In making his report to the House of Commons, the secretary of the Admiralty remarked that the estimates were unparalleled in peace or war, and while as a private citizen he regretted the great competition and rivalry in naval armament, yet he considered the great expenditure necessary. England does not expect peace. Germany’s program also is an elaborate one, but the Reichstag is pruning it considerably. Earthquakes.— A number of sharp earthquake shocks have been experienced during the week in various parts of the world. Two shocks were felt in the mountainous regions of Montana, on March 15, of sufficient violence to throw dishes from shelves, crack mantels, and cause the people to rush from their dwellings in fear of their collapse. Two days previous two sharp shocks swept over western Washington, rocking buildings and throwing down dishes, but without doing any considerable damage. Vesuvius is again active, throwing up ashes and explosive incandescent globes. Various other seismic manifestations have been reported, but in all of these the damage has been slight. In the Balkans.— The situation in the Balkan States, where so much disturbance was anticipated, and where a conflict between larger powers seemed possible, if not probable, has quieted down within the past two weeks, and there is a prospect now that the trouble will be averted for another year at least. Turkey continues to send more troops into the affected region. This doubtless accounts for the fact that so little news is now coming from those localities. Just what is being done there is matter for speculation. The troops will probably be kept there until Turkey’s purpose in sending them is accomplished, unless interference comes from outside. In China.—Latest advices from China indicate that the government forces have met another defeat at the hands of the Kwangsi rebels, suffering heavy losses, some high government officials being among the slain. The governor of Hunan reports that the rebellion has reached a dangerous state in his province, and requests the government to mobilize troops in that and other provinces as a precaution against emergencies. The Chinese Government seems to be making efforts to increase the size of its army and to render it more effective. The Japanese ambassador at London, in a recent interview, is quoted as predicting that as soon as the forces of the Chinese rebels are organized, they will overthrow the present government. He believes it is a revolt against over-taxation and the dishonesty of officials. In the Senate.—The Senate has, it is believed, practically killed the Cuban reciprocity treaty by so amending it as to make the approval of both houses of Congress necessary to its ratification. As the other house is not in session at the present time, this blocks the treaty until Congress shall again convene. It is reported that the President will call Congress in extra session on or about October 1, for the purpose of having a joint concurrent resolution passed approving the reciprocity treaty. The canal treaty is now under consideration in the Senate, and a vote is anticipated February 17. The majority have signified their intention of permitting no amendments, and it is believed that the treaty will be ratified on that date. In the Philippines.—The managing editor of the Manila News, who has recently returned from the islands, states that Americans are leaving the islands as fast as they can get away. He states that less than 6,000 Americans are now in the islands, that is, of course, outside of the army; and he predicts that this number will be rapidly diminished because of the depression in trade. An American firm has just secured a franchise for thirty-five miles of electric railway in Manila and suburbs. The same firm will build a large electric light and power plant in Manila. There is a possibility that the negotiations for the purchase of the holdings of the friars in the islands will fail because of the excessive prices asked by the religious orders for their land. The prices asked are double the price for which they were offered last year at private sale. The government is anxious to purchase the holdings, but is not willing to pay excessive amounts for them. Unions Abandoning the Sympathetic Strike
Even union men are coming to realize that at least some of the features of radical trades unionism are not expedient. A press item states that “two powerful trades unions, that of the architectural ironworkers and that of the bricklayers and stone masons of Chicago, have taken a very important step in advance that leads to the abandonment of the sympathetic strike among all the building trades. The unions named have signed agreements with the employers’ association, in which the interference of outside parties to prevent carrying out the agreements is expressly repudiated and forbidden. Any difference arising between the unions and the employers’ associations that can not be settled by conference is to be settled by arbitration.” The Sacramento Record-Union, itself an employer of union labor, commenting on the aforesaid action, says: “The sympathetic strike is bad for employer and workman alike. It injures hundreds of innocent parties who have no relation whatever to the original contestants. Let us hope that unionism is approaching close to that point when the sympathetic strike will be wholly and everywhere abandoned.” Advices from Cabul say the Ameer of Afghanistan has divorced all but four of his wives. The divorced women are allowed to remarry at their pleasure, and the ameer has promised a life-long support to those who do not marry again. He has also decreed by beat of drum that none of his subjects shall hereafter have more than four wives, and that all in excess of this number must be divorced. The ameer is also suppressing evil-doers with an iron hand. In a recent proclamation he ordered that any one convicted of taunting another on account of his religion shall be blown from a cannon’s mouth. This punishment has already been inflicted. Robbers are placed in cages, which are hung prominently in the thoroughfares, as a warning to others. Another proclamation of the ameer, evidently aimed against those who attempt to corner grain, decrees that every one possessing grain, in excess of what is absolutely necessary for the support of his family for four months, shall sell it. If he fails to do so, his whole supply will be taken by force. A trust magnate would be a criminal in Afghanistan. The pope has spoken a benediction into a phonograph, and the records have been multiplied for the reproduction of this benediction in phonographs all over the world. It will now be possible to drop a nickel in the machine and get the benediction—a system similar to the prayer-wheels of the Orient and just as effective. Oil Train Explosion at Olean
Fourteen persons were burned to death and nearly thirty seriously burned at Olean, N. Y., on March 9 by the explosion of burning cars of oil. An oil train had been wrecked, and while a crowd was watching the burning oil, several cars exploded, scattering burning oil in every direction. WHICH? OR WHAT THE SUN SAW
By HELEN A. STEINHAUER
A BOY on a bicycle. Two old ladies standing talking to each other on an elevated sidewalk at the corner of two streets. The younger of the two, standing at the edge of the walk, was not far from sixty years of age. The other must have been older still, as her hair was snowy white; she stood directly in front of the boy, who evidently had no intention of stopping, as he rang his bell and rode ahead quite unconcerned that she neither saw nor heard him, for her back was toward him, and she was hard of hearing. Seeing this the younger lady said, pleasantly:— “Jump off, my boy; don't make old ladies get out of your way.” At this the elder lady started, and taking in the situation, stepped off the sidewalk into the road, while the boy rode on triumphantly, and passed her without swerving an inch from his course. Then a strange thing happened. The boy turned the corner, and when in the middle of the crossing, beyond dismounted, and facing the two old ladies, an ugly sneer disfiguring what might otherwise have been a comely countenance, exclaimed, with an offensive drawl:— “Old ladies! I guess old ladies ain't as great as they think they are!” and having thus freed his mind, remounted and rode off; leaving the astonished old ladies gazing at each other in mute amazement,—they having been brought up to regard such conduct much as the prophet Elisha might have done. (See 2 Kings 2: 23, 24.) A bright morning in June. Two boys seated on the side-porch of their rented home, heads close together in boyish confab. Presently one of them, glancing up saw an old lady of the neighborhood approaching,—probably on her way to church, as she had her hymn-book in one hand, while the other held her sun-umbrella. A pleased look flitted across the face of the younger boy (they seemed to be brothers) who nudged his companion in the side, and said in what was meant to be an undertone:— “Don't she look nice!” and then as she came nearer, removed his cap from his curly head, and sang out, boy-fashion, and with a beaming smile: “How d'y do?” The old lady smiled back and returned a cheery, “Good morning!” His salutation made the pleasantness of the day just that much more apparent to her; for old people who keep their hearts green never lose their loving appreciation of friendliness in the young. Altho no Jew this lad had unquestionably been reared in accordance with the Spirit inculcated in Lev. 19: 32 and Prov. 23: 22. Now, lads and lassies, I leave it to you to answer the question. Which was the gentleman, the rider of the bicycle, or the boy who doffed his cap? THE STRAWBERRY OR WINTER CHERRY.
By Mrs. P. A. Halbert
I wish to recommend a valuable fruit called “strawberry or winter cherry,” “husk tomato,” and sometimes “ground cherry.” It is described in seed catalogs in connection with the tomato, but it is not like the tomato either in growth, form, or taste. Like the tomato, it is easily and quickly grown in one season, and is a fruit of which we can have bushels at trifling cost, and yet it is little known. Those who raise it prize it highly. It is enormously productive. The cherries are less than an inch in diameter, of a strawberry shape, a beautiful, bright yellow or purple color, of a delicate, sweet flavor, and inclosed in a husk, which is easily removed from the fruit. When ripe they drop to the ground. They begin to ripen early if started in time, and continue to ripen until killed by frosts. Last fall, after frosts came, I counted as many as six or seven hundred cherries yet on the vines, in all stages of development. One could gather a bushel of the fruit from ten good plants. It is well worth growing for canning purposes, both on account of its fine quality and its immense productiveness. The pretty, bright yellow fruits also make a handsome dessert dish, and they are excellent to eat raw. They are as pleasing to the eye as to the taste—both as a fresh fruit and also when cooked. It will keep nicely in the husk until January, when it may be put into cans, the sauce being as beautiful as the Crawford peach. In experimenting with the cherry we find that it combines nicely with stronger flavored fruits, such as the raspberry, grape, elderberry, or with the sour fruits, such as the plum, currant, gooseberry, etc. A quart of the cherries cooked with two quarts of raspberries make what appears to be three quarts of raspberries. [The above was printed in the Review and Herald last spring, and the seed offered free of charge to any one sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope.] From a letter by the daughter of Mrs. Halbert—with whom Mrs. H. lives—we take the following:— “We have a large quantity of seed again this year, and would like to send it to readers of the SIGNS. Over 1,200 readers of the Review sent to us for seed last spring, and letters have been coming ever since. It has made us much work, and we have been glad to do it, but our circumstances are such that it will hardly do for us to send seed free this spring. My mother and myself are both widows and penniless. She is about 78 years old, and is sick much of the time, and always very feeble. We have two young children to care for, and I have to work very hard to do all that is required. I do not feel able to take the time to send out seed free this spring, but I will be very glad to send seeds of the yellow and also of the purple variety to any one who will send ten cents and also a self-addressed, stamped envelope. The purple variety has a much larger fruit than the yellow, and some like it better for cooking purposes. “The plants of both kinds are easily grown. Treat just as you would tomatoes. Sow as early as possible in the house or hot-bed. Very early transplanting is good. When warm enough set in the open ground three feet apart. “I have some very valuable recipes that will save housekeepers much time, hard work, and money. I will send them free of charge to any reader of the SIGNS who will send ten cents for these two kinds of seed.” [Those who send for seed will not only get their worth in seeds, but will help these two worthy widows. Please do not forget the self-addressed envelope stamped. Address, Mrs. P. A. Halbert, Taylor, Cortland Co., New York.] Boys, have you read the biographies of the men who have made their mark in the world,—risen to distinction among men? Do you not always read what good mothers they had? Very little is said about the fathers; mothers get the praise. Their mothers might have been the noblest of women, and yet never have been heard of had not those sons risen to “call them blessed.” Whether they had, or not, exceptionally wise or good mothers, these men, by drawing the eyes of the world to their own achievements, have also shown the mothers behind them, colored by their sons’ characters. And the world goes down onto its knees and does homage to these dear old white-haired ladies whose sons have wrung honor and fame from its reluctant grasp. But some of the tenderest and truest mothers in the world go down to their graves, their virtues unsung because of their sons’ dishonor. The world never knows of them; if it meets them, it turns aside. “Who is she?” “O, she can not be much—such a one is her son; and he’s anything but an honor to the community.” Dishonored because of her son’s dishonor! And after these sweet and tender hearts break because of the ignominy heaped upon—not themselves! They have asked no praise, sought no recognition; but upon the head their poor lips have kissed when he was a little boy—the little white-souled boy, now a man, spotted with shame! So you see, the verdict is always the same—like his mother. Be he good or bad, mother stands just behind him—mother “reaps as she sows.” This is the verdict of the world, whether just or unjust. And mother—mother who believes in him, when all other faith has failed, who sees the little, white-souled child always, through all the mucky shroudings of guilt and shame; mother, who kneels and kisses his feet, no matter what mire clings to them; and who, no matter how low in vice and crime the hardened man may have sunken, sees only “her boy”—O, the loving, hoping mother who prayed for him; who always prays for him as she prays for no other, and who never will give up that there is no good in him—that he will yet show that she knew him best! Poor, yearning, clinging-hearted mother, how pitifully hard it is for her when the world scorns her because of her scorned son!11 Boys, did you ever think of this? You have no friend in all the human world like this one north star love to which you may always turn, sure of finding it when it is sought. If your mother can say of you before the world, “I can trust my boy,” no heart in all the world will be so light, so joyous as hers. Tho she may be poor, and toiling, and careworn, no wealth would tempt her to exchange with the mother, who, having all other good, is yet so poor if she have cause to be ashamed of her son; the son who might have crowned her old age with the lilies of distinction, yet who buried her spotless name beneath the deadly nightshade of his own shame and dishonor.—The Commoner. I ask, O Lord, that from my life may flow
Such gladsome music, soothing, sweet, and clear,
From a fine-strung harp to reach the weary ear
Of struggling men,
To bid them pause awhile and listen; then
With spirit calmer, stronger than before,
Take up their work once more.
I only pray that, through the common days
Of this my life, unceasingly may steal
Into some aching heart strains that shall help to
heal
Its long borne pain,
To lift the thoughts from self and worldly gain
And fill the life with harmonies divine;
O may such power be mine.
Thus would I live; and when all working days
Are o'er for me,
May the rich music of my life ring on
Eternally. —Wesleyan Magazine. Don't hurry. “Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.” “Simplify! Simplify! Simplify!” Don't overeat. Don't starve. “Let your moderation be known unto all men.” Court the fresh air day and night. “O, if you knew what was in the air!” Sleep and rest abundantly. Sleep is nature's benediction. Spend less nervous energy each day than—you make. Be cheerful. “A light heart lives long.” Think only healthful thoughts. As a man “thinketh in his heart, so is he.” “Seek peace, and pursue it.” Work like a man; but don't be worked to death. Avoid passion and excitement. A moment's anger may be fatal. Associate with healthy people. Health is contagious as well as disease. Don't carry the whole world on your shoulders, far less the universe. Trust the Eternal. Never despair. “Lost hope is a fatal disease.”—Good Housekeeping. [From “The Cruelty of War.”] In the spring of 1812 Napoleon gathered together on the frontiers of Poland an enormous army of 680,000 men. On June 22d war was proclaimed. The French pressed towards Moscow, spreading destruction on every hand, while the Russians retreated, setting fire to the towns. By September, Borodino was reached, and here was fought a terrible battle. Before daybreak, on September 7th the two armies were set in array. Think of it! Picture it! 260,000 men—whom God had made brothers—are waiting only for a signal to commence slaughtering each other! At 6 o’clock that signal is given, the roar of artillery is heard and ere long the battle rages everywhere. Two hundred cannon are mowing down whole battalions and enveloping both armies in smoke. The wounded are being crushed by the horses’ hoofs or mangled beneath the wheels of artillery. So the bloodshed continues till darkness closes the scene. Let us view the field on the following day. Here are nine square miles covered with slain; in many places the bodies are in “heaps.” In yonder ravines some of the wounded have crawled, and lie there weltering in blood and uttering groans. Realize all this. Shrink not from the task. ’Tis the “glory” of war! In the next few days the neighboring towns are plundered. The soldiers acted like demons. They sacked the houses, disregarding the piteous appeals of the inmates. Mothers holding little ones in their hands knelt imploringly to be left unhurt, but in vain. The very clothing was stolen from them, as well as the household goods. Soon the terror-stricken inhabitants were seen coming from the places where they had hidden. Sons carrying sick fathers, mothers with infants and weeping children, fleeing before the flames. Aged people, whose weakness prevented their flight, lay down to die. The hospitals, containing more than 12,000 sick, began to burn, and nearly all the inmates perished. Night came on and the fire still raged. The French, maddened by strong drink which they had discovered, rushed into the very midst of the fire and smoke to procure plunder, literally “wading in blood and trampling o’er corpses.” As the French moved onward in various places where battles had been fought, the slain lay, as they had lain for weeks, unburied on the plain. Twenty thousand corpses were lying where they had fallen. Such is the history of one expedition. Do not forget that these terrible details which fill us with such horror are facts which we can not gainsay. In this expedition 450,000 lives were lost in 173 days! And all this wanton bloodshed was to gratify the ambition of one man.