THE doctrine of the second coming of Christ is believed by thousands of people. Many also believe that the event is near at hand. Those who hold these views are not of the unlearned only, but of the educated and of those holding important and high positions. But as to the manner of his coming there is much difference of opinion. The most popular and commonly received view is, that his coming is spiritual. But this view is contradicted by the plain reading of the Scriptures. The Saviour warned his disciples against giving heed to any teaching that would answer to the saying, Lo, he is in the desert or in the secret chamber. He especially declared that "as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." The disciples beheld him as he ascended, and the cloud received him out of their sight. On that occasion the angels of God appeared to them and said, "This same Jesus that is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner." They had been with him on the earth forty days after his resurrection. He had told them to handle him and see that it was he himself. This same Jesus is to return in like manner as he went away.
But there are taken two other views of the second coming of Christ, that I wish to mention. One is that he will come to all as a thief, in a still and quiet manner, and take his saints out of the earth, and no one will know anything about it save those who are taken away. Then at the end of the thousand years, which commence at this time, he will appear and destroy the wicked. They also hold that during the thousand years he will, with his saints, reign over the wicked on this earth. The other view is that when he comes every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, the dead will be raised, the wicked then living be destroyed, and the saints go to Heaven, where they will dwell with Christ for one thousand years.
We wish to state briefly some reasons why we do not indorse the former view, but rather the latter. The Saviour warned his disciples not to receive anything as his coming unless they saw him personally. He places them on their guard against being deceived by the doctrine of those that will say, "Lo here" or "Lo523there," or that will say, "See here" or "See there." Of all such the Saviour says, "Go not after them nor follow them," but he adds the following words, "For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day." This testimony is very positive as to the manner of his coming. The light which will emanate from the Son of man when he comes will be visible to the inhabitants of the earth, as the lightning is seen in a dark night. Thus his second coming and his personal appearing are identical and will take place when he comes in the clouds of heaven.
Secondly, the events connected with his coming will be as visible as his personal appearance. The Thessalonian brethren were thrown into great perplexity because some of their number had died. The apostle instructed them as follows: "I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope; for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so [in like manner.—Webster], them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." From what place will he bring them? From where they are sleeping in their graves, as Christ was brought from the grave. It is thus evident that the resurrection of all the righteous dead will take place and the change of the righteous living will be accomplished in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, yet it will be as visible as the resurrection of Christ.
Thirdly, the effect of his coming on the wicked will not only be visible but as really destructive. "Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." The wicked cannot endure the coming of the Lord. They behold the light, and it destroys them.
Fourthly, it is explicitly said that the earth will be made desolate at his coming. The prophet Jeremiah describes it to be as it was at the creation, without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. These are the words of the prophet, "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger. For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end." The Lord expressly says that this is one thing which he has purposed and that he will not repent, neither turn back from it. When the Lord appears the atmospherical heavens pass away, and are destroyed. "So man lieth down, and riseth not; till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." Job 14:12. This is the appointed time. It is then the voice of the archangel (Christ) will be heard, and Job will answer. Jeremiah refers to it when he says: "Then shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black." David also alludes to it in the following words: "The earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken; . . . he bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet." Peter also declares: "The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat." It is well known that it is the reflection of the light of the sun upon the atmosphere that causes light. When this atmosphere passes away, as a matter of course there will be darkness; man will cease to live. The righteous at this time will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and so be forever with him. We cannot therefore see the reasonableness or the consistency of separating the second coming of Christ from his appearing. The coming as a thief is not to translate his people as though he was ashamed to be seen, and so steal his saints from this earth unknown to the inhabitants of the world. But "every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him." This is when he comes with clouds, accompanied by the holy angels, "the second time without sin unto salvation." When the saints are raised, "He shall send his angels with a trumpet and a great voice [margin] and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Thus it is that Christ will fulfill the promise he made to his disciples as he left them 1854 years ago. "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
S. N. H.
From Auckland to Melbourne.
By John Orr Corliss
In the minds of many, doubtless, New Zealand and Australia are very near neighbors; but it is a fact, however little it may be appreciated, that they are as far removed from each other as the western extremity of Africa and the most eastern point of South America. An islandless ocean stretches between their nearest points for more than a thousand miles. Naturally, there is no similarity or connection whatever between the two countries. The Maories of New Zealand are nearly identical with the natives of Fiji and the other South Sea Islands, while the Bushmen of Australia are more like the natives of Africa. But notwithstanding this great natural distinction, and the broad expanse of water that flows between the shores of these lands, their interests have become identical in the great commercial world, through the numerous lines of steamers that ply between their ports and the marts of other countries.
At Auckland many passengers left us for a tour through the islands of New Zealand, and others embarked at that place for Australia. On the evening of June 1, our vessel steamed out among the islands that stand like so many sentinels to guard the harbor, and nearly all the next day we sailed northward, along the eastern coast of the North Island. The shores about the entire distance, present a bold, rugged front, and the country inland is much broken. It is probably well adapted to that purpose for which it is used, namely, sheep raising.
After passing the group of islands at the northern extremity of New Zealand, known as the Three Kings, we saw no more land till the shores of Australia were sighted. The roughest weather and the largest waves of the entire voyage were encountered after leaving the shores of this island colony. But the distance being short, the unpleasantness was soon over; on the morning of June 6, a little before daylight, we came to anchor in Sydney harbor. At 9 A. M. the anchor was weighed, and in a little more than two hours our noble ship was safely moored to the wharf. Our company, with the exception of Elders Haskell and Israel, who were to remain in Sydney a few days, was immediately transferred to another steamer, and sailed at one o’clock for Melbourne.
While moving down the harbor, we had opportunity to notice the beautiful scenery of the bay and the natural advantages of its situation. Port Jackson is certainly one of the finest havens in the world. After passing in by the heads, we found ourselves in a perfectly land-locked bay, with hills rising on every side, and projecting their promontories into the water, until, like the legs of a spider, the inlets of the bay extend inland at nearly every point of the compass. Much of the city of Sydney lies on these numerous projecting headlands, and communication between the different points of the town, is kept up by means of small steam ferries which run in every direction.
But the smooth water of the harbor was soon exchanged for that of old ocean again, this time for a coasting voyage southward of little less than six hundred miles. A few minutes after leaving the entrance of the harbor, we passed very near to Botany Bay, the place so famous in early days as a place of banishment for English convicts. From our position, it looked the very picture of desolation, being only an indenture in the coast, lined with a long, dreary stretch of sand, and having a few huts erected upon it. It seems, even now, to bear the marks of its early associations, and few care to go there, except for an aimless stroll or from idle curiosity. I believe that a portion of Sydney extends in that direction, and to within a short distance of the place.
On account of head-winds and a heavy sea, our vessel was nearly three days reaching Melbourne. The city itself is situated inland some seven miles from the mouth of a small, and very crooked stream, called, in this country, a river, and bearing the name Yarra Yarra. It is not navigable for large vessels, and these stop at Williamstown, a suburb of Melbourne, which lies near the head of Port Philip, and at the mouth of the river. Our steamer being small (650 tons measurement), it ascended the river without much difficulty, and our destination was at last reached on the twenty-ninth day after leaving San Francisco.
The city of Melbourne has a fine, commanding appearance. It is thoroughly American in its stir and bustle, and in many of its customs. Anything that can be procured in a large city like London or New York, may be purchased in the stores and shops of Melbourne. Its streets are broad and straight; and most of the business blocks are very substantial structures. Its public buildings are as fine as in any city of America, and in some respects, the spirit of public enterprise is truly commendable, one feature of which I will here mention. The Melbourne Free Library holds a commanding eminence in the heart of the city, and is built of stone and brick. It has a frontage of about 250 feet, and a depth of more than 200 feet, and contains 120,000 volumes. It is said to be, with one exception, the largest free library in the world. There are also other places of like character, though much smaller, in the city and its suburbs.
The people here are not so conservative as in England and the countries of Europe. Nearly all seem sociable, and willing to listen to the views of others. It is not so good a time now to get the public ear, on account of being midwinter, which is a rainy season similar to that which yearly visits the Pacific Coast in America. While waiting for the more favorable season of the year, our company are all of good courage, and busily engaged in missionary work, canvassing, etc., hoping in the meantime to become better acquainted with the people, and also to gather some precious souls into the truth. J. O. CORLISS.
The Nineteenth Century.
THE learned tell us that the nineteenth century requires advanced thought. We are told that this is too sensible a century to need or accept the same gospel as the first, second, or third centuries. Yet these were the centuries of martyrs, the centuries of heroes, the centuries that conquered all the gods of Greece and Rome, the centuries of holy glory. And all this because they were the centuries of the gospel; but now we are so enlightened our ears ache for something fresh, and under the influence of another gospel, which is not another, our beliefs are dwindling down from Alps to ant-hills, and we ourselves from giants to pigmies. We will want a microscope soon to see Christian faith in the land, it is getting to be so small and scarce.—Sel.
Two Ways of Managing Harry.
By Lucy S. White
FIVE-YEAR-OLD Harry sat at the dinner-table, between his father and mother. The dinner was plentiful and good, and a large company had gathered to do it justice. Everything was going pleasantly; there was a cheerful buzz of conversation, mingled with merry laughter, when suddenly Harry spied the pickle-dish. "I want some pickles!" he announced, in a loud voice, breaking in unceremoniously upon the conversation.
"No, dear," said his mother, "pickles are not good for little boys."
"I tell you I want some!" This with a decided whine.
"Well, I tell you, you can't have them," said the mother, with not a little sharpness.
"I will have them! I won't eat any dinner if you don't, so now." This was followed by a snarl to which pen and paper can do no justice, and at the same time he began a lively tattoo with his feet.
"Harry, keep still!" said his father, angrily.
The only effect of this admonition was to give redoubled vigor to the kicking, while Harry's plate was angrily pushed from him, and the snarl gave place to a howl, interspersed with wrathful exclamations: "I will have some! Ow! I won't eat my nasty dinner! I want some pickles!"
"Harry, if you don't keep still, I'll take you away and punish you," exclaimed his mother. Increased volume to the howls.
"Harry, do you hear?" from the wrathful father.
"No!" screamed the irate youth, beginning to bang the table with his fists. The mother pushed his chair away from the table, and started to lift him out.
"Oh, oh, I will be good, I will!" screamed Harry. "Don't spank me. I'm sorry. I will be good!"
"Well, be good, then!" said his mother, as she replaced the chair.
No sooner was she back at the table than the howls, kicks, and banging recommenced, with redoubled force, if possible. Then the father started away with him. The pleadings for mercy and promises of reformation were repeated, and once more prevailed, only to be followed by renewed howling. This performance was repeated four times, till finally the parental forbearance gave way, and Harry was borne into the next room, whence various sounds issued giving evidence that the promised "spanking" was in process of administration. After a time he was brought back, tearful and repentant, to the table, whence all joviality had long been banished by the noisy and dismal drama. After he had again sat down, he said, "Mamma, now can't I have some pickles?"
"Well," replied his mother, "I don't know as they'll really hurt you," and she helped him to a liberal supply.
This was one way of managing Harry.
Harry's mother was sick. "And she'll never get well as long's that child's around," said the doctor, grimly. So Harry's Aunt Lou offered to take him with her on a visit she was about to make, and the offer was thankfully accepted.
The first few days flew by most pleasantly, and the sunny-faced, well-behaved little boy was a joy to all. But, alas, that sunshine cannot always last! The day came when Harry did not think he liked the pudding which was set before him.
"I don't like that old pudding, and I won't eat it," said Harry, audibly, as he pushed the plate from him.
"Harry," said Aunt Lou, in the low, gentle, but firm tone that he had learned to know, "do not speak in that way; it is not gentlemanly. Now think twice before you say you won't eat that nice pudding."
"Well, I won't. It isn't nice."
"Very well, dear, just as you choose," said Aunt Lou, pleasantly, and she pushed the plate out of his reach, and went on with the conversation in which she had been engaged, paying no further attention to Harry.
That young gentleman maintained the silence of utter amazement for a few minutes. Was he not to be coaxed? Presently he said, "I want that pudding."
"You can't have it, dear," replied Aunt Lou, cheerfully. "Auntie gave you a chance to think. You made up your mind, and now you must stick by it."
"But I want it, now," whined Harry. Aunt Lou paid no attention to this remark. Harry stared. Plainly, Aunt Lou was obdurate, yet he would try his powers. So he began a dismal scream, accompanied by a steady drumming with his heels.
"Harry, dear," said Aunt Lou's pleasant, even tones, "you can take your choice—either stop all noise or leave the table."
The noise increased. Aunt Lou arose, excusing herself, lifted Harry from his chair, ignoring his pleas, "I will be good! I'm sorry! I won't be naughty any more!" and led him to her room, where she left him, still screaming.
After dinner she went back to him, and was met by a very penitent little boy who put loving arms around her neck, saying, "Auntie, I'm sorry. Please forgive me."
"Auntie was sorry too, dear, and she gladly forgives you. Now whom else must you go to for forgiveness?"
"Aunt Sue," cause I was impolite 'bout her pudding."
"Yes, but some one else is still more grieved."
"Jesus?" whispered Harry.
"Yes, darling. Let's tell him all about it now."
Pardon having been asked of those against whom he had most sinned, Harry's face was bright again.
"Now you'll give me the pudding, won't you, auntie?" he said, joyfully.
"No, dear," answered Aunt Lou, sorrowfully. "I can't; I wish I could; but do you really think I ought to, Harry?"
Harry's face fell, and his lip quivered. Then he said bravely, "No, 'cause you'd be fibbing then!"
That one struggle over, Aunt Lou never had another with him. And this was another way of managing Harry.—Lucy S. White, in Congregationalist.
The Home Circle.
By Frances Ridley Havergal
THE SECRET OF A HAPPY DAY.
Just to trust, and yet to ask
Guidance still;
Take the training or the task
As he will;
Just to take the loss or gain
As he sends it;
Just to take the joy or pain
As he lends it.
He who formed thee for his praise
Will not miss the gracious aim;
So to-day and all thy days
Shall be moulded for the same.
Just to leave in his dear hand
Little things;
All we cannot understand,
All that stings;
Just to let him take the care
Sorely pressing,
Finding all we let him bear
Changed to blessing.
This is all! and yet the way
Marked by him who loves thee best,
Secret of a happy day,
Secret of his promised rest.
—F. R. Havergal.
Love Is Strong as Death
"Love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave; the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame."
Plead the Cause of the Poor
"OPEN thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy."
Not to Be Envied.
By A. L. Noble
"How those three little chaps do enjoy playing together!" said John Evans to his wife one day, as he stood watching his Ned play ball with Charley Willard and Edgar Perry.
"Yes," returned Mrs. Evans, soberly; "they are all on an equality to-night, but ten or fifteen years from now how will it be? Then Charley Willard will be worth his thousands, and our Ned will be his shoe-maker may be."
"If he is, I hope he will make the best boots in the market."
"Think of that little fellow being heir to a quarter of a million," continued Ned's mother, gazing at Charley wistfully.
"Mary, I am honestly glad for Ned's sake that I am a poor man. I would not have my boy, while a boy, heir expectant to any such an amount for all his future is worth."
"Nonsense, John."
"Well, Mary, if we live, you remember what I say, and ten or fifteen years from now see if I am right. I believe the poor man's boy has a better chance than the rich man's son."
"Chance of what?"
"A chance to achieve real success, through industry, economy, and self-control; a better chance to keep a sound body, good brain, and honest heart—a better chance, in short, to secure true manliness."
"You talk like an old fogy, John."
The next week Ned wanted a ball of his own, and began to tell how Charley Willard bought everything he wished just when he wanted it.
"Earn it yourself, my boy, then you will have strength to throw it higher than if it had dropped into your hand," said his father. And that was always the way after that. What Ned had he must work for, what Charley wanted he had for the asking. Soon it was a question of costlier things than balls. Both boys wanted a pony and new school-books. Ned could not have the pony, so he took the books and studied them well. Charley could have both, but the pony was the most entertaining, so he let the books alone.
When the boys were eighteen, one was very popular, and naturally it was the one whose pocket-book always held enough to treat a crowd to whatever fun was going. Ned had friends, but their sports had to be inexpensive. They skated instead of driving fast horses; they spent their evenings in one another's homes, or at lectures, while Charley's comrades could afford theaters and saloons. Of course it came to be principle, and there was a time when Ned, with twice Charley's money, would not have had Charley's tastes; but after all, in the beginning, money made the difference. Ned from a little boy knew he must earn his in the big crowded world if ever he had any place worth having. Charley grew each day to realize that he possessed everything that gold could buy, or the means to acquire it. Ned did not like shoe-making, so he studied law. Charley "read" it too, but first he traveled around the world and saw what there was "to be seen."
The Evanses forgot his existence, until one day Ned—who was a man of wealth and influence—Ned, now "Judge Evans," said to his mother: "Poor Charley Willard! do you remember him?"
"Why of course I do! What of him?"
"He died to-day of apoplexy, brought on by fast living and hard drinking. Poor fellow! he had too much money; everything came to him without work, and life was all play to him."
"Yes; if he had fought his way up as you had to fight yours, Ned, he would not have wasted his strength and his manhood," said Ned's mother, forgetting entirely that night, years before, when she had thought Charley very fortunate.—A. L. Noble, in Banner.
Plain Speech to Mothers.
PROFESSOR SIMPSON, of Edinburgh, who has had a large and long experience in the medical treatment of mothers and children, gave a public address lately on matters of hygiene. He spoke most plainly to mothers, who send their children to the grave by exposing arms and legs, while other parts of the body are warmly dressed. Mothers, he continued, commit child-murder, and then wonder how God could be so unkind as to take away their darlings. They not only murder their children, but in his opinion commit suicide themselves, by exposing their own necks to the cold air. It was a puzzle which he could not understand, that women should cut off the top of their dresses and appear with bare bosoms, in refined society, while that part of the dress which should protect the heart and lungs and other vital organs, is trailing in the mud.
Not to speak of health at the present moment, he would remark that the exhibition of a semi-nude bust seldom approaches to the classical standard of harmonious proportions of parts and fullness of outline, and is rarely suggestive of beauty and loveliness. The inquisitive observer feels himself quite at a loss to know the precise line of division between the part which fashion claims for exposure and the rest which modesty would conceal. The boundary is too changeable. More ought to be left to the imagination and less to be condemned by good taste. But if mothers and full-grown daughters insist on being the victims of fashion, children ought to be exempt from its insane and cruel requirements.—Sel.
Adjustment.
WHY is it that women suffer so much from nervous irritation? Many women before they have lost the bloom of girlhood display decided wrinkles between the eyes, and have a harassed, worried look that is distressing to the observer. Women of the average condition in life are the greatest sufferers from nervous irritation, and it is largely due to themselves.
In beginning their married life they make plans for perfect housekeeping, according to their individual standards. As soon as they have begun their new life of responsibility they begin in a greater or less degree to worry because they are not succeeding as they had determined.
The servant will not prove amenable to all the rules and regulations of the young housekeeper; failures will occur in the experimental trials of the newest rules of cookery; the household machinery will not run smoothly; and the worry begins, because there has been no margin left in the housewife's plans for interruptions and disappointments. Women do not take up the business of housekeeping as their husbands do the business of bread-winning—expecting a certain amount of disappointment, defeat, and successful rivalry, and adapting themselves to them when they come, and accepting them as a part of their business life.
Then, too, the indulgent husbands are somewhat to blame for this state of affairs. When they are met by the worried face, and forced to listen to the tale of woe, they are very apt to agree with the narrator, that never woman suffered like this woman, and frequently help to develop a martyr who suffers from an imaginary cause.
Many women refuse to adapt themselves to the conditions surrounding them. Carry your housekeeping cares, and refuse to be pushed and shoved by them; when making plans, leave a margin for the inevitable interruptions and mishaps, and when these come you will find yourself meeting them calmly and making plans to mitigate the results. The secret of successful living, in any sphere, is the power to adapt ourselves to the circumstances and conditions that surround and meet us at every step.—Christian Union.
Husbands Should Confide in Their Wives
A CASE was recently decided in the United States Supreme Court to which all men under matrimonial bonds will do well to give heed. A man living in a Western city was offered a lucrative position by telegraph. He was not at home when the messenger arrived with the dispatch, and it was left with his wife. She did not know her husband's whereabouts, although the clerks at his office did. During the delay that ensued before the telegram reached the man for whom it was intended, the place offered him was filled by another. The telegraph company was sued for damages by the disappointed husband, but the case was decided against him. The judge held that the delivery was right, and added a bit of sage advice for husbands in general, that they "should be on very confidential terms with their wives." This advice is not new, but, so far as we know, it has never before had behind it the authority of the United States Supreme Court.—N. Y. Observer.
The Rising Waters of Great Salt Lake
GREAT SALT LAKE is twelve feet higher than it was in 1850, and is four feet above the level of last year. The rise the present summer is caused by the unusual amount of snow which fell upon the Wahsatch last winter. By the increased depth of water, some of the finest bathing places have been ruined and others have been sought out. Besides, the salinity of the lake has been so reduced by the floods of fresh water, that bathers can scarcely float. Instead of almost thirty per cent of salt in solution, as at Fremont's visit in 1842, it is doubtful if more than ten per cent. exists now.
Health and Temperance.
Scavengers—Not Food.
SWINE are scavengers; they were designed to destroy the filth which might accumulate on the surface of the ground and pollute the atmosphere. In northern latitudes, scavengers are not much needed, and nature makes no great provision for them. In the warm parts of our country, where all growth is rank, and decomposition takes place more rapidly, they are more abundant. The death of a creature in the fields or woods will soon fill the air with buzzards. Did the people generally pay regard to sanitary rules, scavengers (if not raised by man) would hardly be known north of "Mason and Dixon's line."
But when swine are raised and fattened for gain, they are the very opposite of scavengers; they are not destroyers, but makers of filth. There is no greater nuisance in a village than a pig-pen. And the farther the owner puts it away from his house, the nearer of necessity he puts it to somebody else's house. Nothing else so loads the atmosphere with corruption. Even the tobacco nuisance has its intermissions, for people cannot smoke when they sleep. But in the still hours of the night, when the atmosphere is damp, and not generally agitated by winds, then the hog-pen sends forth its most intolerable smells, which find their way into the neighboring sleeping rooms, if the occupants have dared to risk a proper ventilation in the vicinity of such an abomination.—Pacific Health Journal and Temperance Advocate.
Fashions in Waists.
IN the April Magazine of Art, Richard Heath discourses on "Fashions in Waists," and among other things tells of the way the great naturalist, Cuvier, attempted to impress the evils of tight lacing upon a young lady who was a victim thereof. Walking with Cuvier one day in the Jardin des Plantes, she admired a plant whose elegant stem was adorned with a bloom of lovely color. Looking at her thin, pale face, he replied, "You were like this flower once; tomorrow it will be as you are now." Next day Cuvier led the young lady to the same spot, and bid her look at the flower. It was drooping and dying. She asked the cause. "This plant," said he, "is an image of yourself. I will show what is the matter with it;" and the great naturalist pointed out to her a cord which was bound tightly around the stem. "You are fading away exactly in the same manner, under the compression of your corset, and you are losing by degrees all your youthful charms just because you have not courage to resist this dangerous fashion."—Sel.
Rough Handling of Children.
By The Lancet
THE causes of joint diseases in childhood are frequently obscure, but this much is certain, that the rough handling which children receive at the hands of ignorant parents or careless nurses has much to do with the matter. Stand on any street corner and notice how children are handled. Here comes a lady with a three-year-old girl; she is walking twice as fast as she should, and the child is over-exerting itself to keep pace; every time the child lags the mother gives it a sudden and unexpected lurch, which is enough to throw its shoulder out, to say nothing of bruising the delicate structures of the joints; a gutter is reached; instead of giving the little toddler time to get over in its own way or properly lifting it, the mother raises it from the ground by one hand, its whole weight depending from one upper extremity, and with a spring, which twists the child's body as far around as the joints will permit, it is landed, after a course of four or five feet through the air, on the other side.
Here is a girl twelve years old with a baby of one year in her arms. The baby sits on the girl's arm without support to its back. This would be a hard enough position to maintain were the girl standing still, but she is walking rapidly and the little one has to gather the entire strength of its muscular system to adapt itself to the changing bases of support, to say nothing of adjusting its little body to sudden leaps and darts on the part of its wayward nurse. Sometimes during a sudden advance you will see a part of the babe a foot in advance of its head and trunk, which have to be brought up by a powerful and sudden action of the muscles of the trunk and neck.
Probably not one child in one hundred is properly handled.—The Lancet.
Hot Water for Wounds.
An exchange contains the following: "In a paper by Dr. Varick, read before a county medical association, the use of simple hot water as a dressing for wounds is strongly recommended. During an experience in its use of six years in cases of acute surgery, such as railroad accidents, etc., he has had no death from septicæmia or primary or secondary shock."
The value of hot water in dressing severe wounds of all kinds is well known to those who are acquainted with the uses of water. Broken limbs heal kindly and in a remarkably short time when so treated. Nothing like it to reduce inflammation.—Pacific Health Journal.
The Damages of the Liquor Traffic
The $200,000,000 that might be earned by the incapacitated patrons of liquor dealers, are so many dollars taken from families and dependents whose bitter sufferings, on this account, can never be told. But a still greater damage resulting from the idleness caused by the liquor traffic, is the awful amount of serious accidents and criminal deeds for which it is responsible, either directly or indirectly.
Stolen
"STOLEN waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there." Prov. 9 : 17, 18.
North Pacific Conference.
By Charles L. Boyd
LAST Tuesday evening I had the privilege of meeting with Brethren Starr and Ward in the tent at Vancouver, and addressing an attentive audience on the subject of Conversion.
From the first there has been a good attendance at the tent, and already quite a number have commenced the observance of the Sabbath, while others are in the valley of decision. An interest has been awakened a few miles distant in the country, and an urgent call is given for the tent to come to that locality.
Brother Reed reports a good interest at Highland, where he is holding meetings.
A company of three will soon start for the southern part of the State, to engage in the canvassing work. Pray that God may crown their efforts with success, and that through the printed page many may be instructed in present truth, and led to see that all their boasted interests are soon to pass away.
Last Sabbath and Sunday I spent with the Salem church. I found them in a very hopeful condition. The officers of the church told me that never before had so much of the sweet Spirit of God been enjoyed in their meetings as now. On account of the closeness in money matters, some feared that the twenty copies of SIGNS taken by the missionary society would have to be decreased. At our last meeting this subject was presented, and in a few minutes a club of thirty-three, including as many Supplements, was provided for. A member not present also takes a club of seven copies.
I am now on my way to Corvallis and other points south and southwest. C. L. BOYD.
August 14, 1885.
Educational Bequests.
JOHNS HOPKINS gave $3,148,000 to the university which bears his name; Judge Packer, $3,000,000 in all to Lehigh University; Cornelius Vanderbilt, $1,000,000 to the Vanderbilt University; Stephen Girard, $8,000,000 to Girard College; John C. Green, and his residuary legatees, $1,500,000 to Princeton; Ezra Cornell, $1,000,000 to Cornell University; Isaac Rich, $700,000 to Boston University; Amasa Stone, $600,000 to Adelbert College; W. W. Corcoran, $170,000 to Columbian University; Benjamin Bussy, $500,000 to Harvard; Samuel Williston, William J. Walker, and Samuel A. Hitchcock, between $100,000 and $200,000 each to Amherst; Whitmer Phœnix, about $640,000 to Columbia; J. B. Trevnor, $179,000 to Rochester Theological Seminary; Matthew Vassar, $800,000 to Vassar College; Gardner Colby, $170,000 to Colby University and $100,000 to Newton Theological Seminary; J. B. Colgate, $300,000 to Madison University; George I. Seney, $450,000 to Wesleyan University, and the Crozer family have given $300,000 to Crozer Theological Seminary.—Sel.
The Bible and Free Thinking
By Watchman
SOME men grow so wonderfully broad that there is not room for their vast minds between the covers of the Bible. To be sure, David found that God's word was exceeding broad; so broad that he found himself walking at liberty when he was keeping God's precepts. But many have thought themselves wiser than David or Daniel either. When a man's mind swells in what he calls "free-thinking," he very soon finds the Scriptures to be an obstacle to him. A little girl planted some potatoes, and following her own ideas, put them very close to the wall of the house. By and by, she came to her mother with a rueful countenance, to say: "O mamma! my potatoes have grown so large that the house is in the way." Haec fabula docet—the ten commandments will be very much in a man's way if he is trying to climb over them. But if he loves to live in them, he shall find that they have room like the spaces between the stars.—Watchman.