Earlier text: A STUDY OF THE SOULOUR LONDON LETTER.
By M. Ellsworth Olsen
(From Our Own Correspondent.) Parliament and Its Work in Temperance and Religion—Mysticism and Superstition—New Phase of Spiritualism—Religious Matters in Scotland—Juvenile Inebriacy—Roman Catholicism and Divine Healing—Ever Changing Science. The Licensing and Welsh Coercion Bills.
London is taking her holidays. Parliament has arisen after rather a fruitless and unsatisfactory session. By making vigorous use of the closure, the licensing bill was forced through, but it is a bitter pill for temperance people to swallow. Purporting to be a temperance measure, it takes out of the hands of the local magistrates the power they have hitherto enjoyed, of refusing to grant a renewal of a certain license, if in their opinion the said public house is unnecessary. On the other hand, it does provide for a very slow reduction of the number of such houses, which every one says are at the present time altogether too numerous, compensation being allowed in all such cases from a fund to be supported by the trade itself. Perhaps the only other measure of importance is what is called the Welsh Coercion Bill, an effort to make the Education Bill of 1902 operative in Wales, where it has thus far been a dead-letter, owing to the various local authorities unanimously omitting to make the necessary appropriations. In other words, in Wales the authorities are themselves passive resisters; in England the authorities are trying to enforce the law, and the people, many of them, are offering passive resistance, by refusing to pay the rate. Palmistry, Astrology, and Clairvoyance.
One would hardly expect to find superstition thriving in London, yet it is only a few days since three prominent exponents of palmistry, astrology, crystal vision, trance clairvoyance, and other branches of the so-called “black art,” were arrested for practising in the very heart of the West End. They appeared before the magistrate, were remanded on bail of £50 each, and are awaiting trial. The charge against them was based on a witchcraft ordinance of 1735; they were also charged with attempting to obtain money under false pretences, it being generally known that their business has flourished exceedingly from a financial standpoint. The Daily Mail is credited with having instigated the prosecution; but these modern fortune-tellers do not require to be exposed by the papers; for they have carried on their nefarious business in the full flare of publicity, sandwich men with flaming posters proclaiming their mystic powers all over that part of London. Following upon this action in London, eleven prominent palmists have been arrested in Blackpool, under the vagrancy act, and fined varying amounts in the neighborhood of £25 each. Of course this action of the authorities will not put an end to the practice of palmistry and the allied arts; but it may lead to its “professors” adopting more quiet ways of working. The fact is that the country is witnessing a remarkable revival of so-called occultism, which is manifesting itself in many ways; and it is not the poor and unlearned, but rather the upper classes, who are being led away by these superstitions. How true it is that when people turn away from the truth, they are very sure, sooner or later, to resort to lies. New Phase of Spiritualism.
In this connection it may be said that Spiritualism is flourishing again, having adopted tactics especially suited to modern ways of thinking. In a recent North London address on “Why Does Spiritualism Command Attention?” the speaker took pains to declare that Spiritualism was not superstition; in fact, he entirely repudiated anything of the miraculous in his belief. The thought he endeavored to convey was that Spiritualistic manifestations were really revelations in science, and the cult as a whole a form of religion especially suited to the present needs of humanity. Of course the inherent goodness of man was touched upon, and the audience was reminded that Spiritualism contained no penal code, offered hope absolutely to all, etc. The address, so said the papers, was listened to with marked signs of approval. Scottish Religious Crisis.
Something like a crisis has been created in religious circles in Scotland by the action of the House of Lords in reversing the decision of the Scottish courts re the property of the Free Church. Some years ago the entire Free Church of Scotland united with the Presbyterian Church, with the exception of twenty-seven Highland ministers who all along have protested against the fusion. The House of Lords has decided that the entire property (churches, parsonages, etc.) of the Free Church has been forfeited by the large majority of the ministers and their congregations (something like a thousand) who have gone over to the Presbyterians, and must revert to the twenty-seven ministers who held out against the fusion. Public opinion is opposed to this decision, and it seems another case where the Upper House has let custom and precedent rule out justice and common sense. The situation will probably have to be dealt with now by act of Parliament. Four-year-old Drunkard Dies.
The awful curse of intemperance which rests on this country makes itself manifest in many ways. At an inquest held the other day on the body of a four-year-old, son of a butcher, the evidence showed that the poor little fellow had died of heart failure from alcoholic poisoning, succumbing to the effects of a jug of ale and half a tumblerful of rum which he had taken from a shelf, and swallowed all at once. The parents admitted that they used to give the child “little sips of beer occasionally.” Similar cases are frequently occurring. Women are actually taking their little babies with them into the public houses, and feeding them beer with a spoon, thus cultivating the thirst for strong drink. Roman Catholicism continues to gain in popularity, and Ritualism is scoring new successes daily, all under the leadership of the English Church Union, one of whose societies is said to have performed no less than 5,000 masses for the dead. A movement has recently been set on foot within the Established Church “to revive the teaching and practice of the early centuries concerning divine healing.” One of the chief promoters, on being interrogated, replied: “We have two principal objects. First, to study sympathetically and critically the movements of mental and spiritual healing, and to examine alleged cures; and, secondly, to develop and extend the knowledge of Scripture and church tradition on the subject.” Needless to say, if church traditions on this subject are to be developed, the members of this society will have their hands full. Of course it is evident that the study of tradition on this subject will bring the investigators into very close touch with the Church of Rome, and we believe the Guild, whose members will be limited to the Established Church, will, in time, prove a very efficient ally of Ritualism. The fact that they have already issued a small paper containing prayers, etc., formerly used in connection with anointing the sick, points in this direction. Yesterday’s Science Foolishness To-day.
The scientific event of the month has been the meeting of the British Association at Cambridge, where the prime minister presided as president elect, and gave the opening address. The author of “Philosophic Doubt” is a doubter par excellence, and when he dealt with some of the supposed scientific facts of only a few years ago, and showed that they were utterly discredited to-day, it was with considerable effect. Of course some criticisms have been offered by carping scientists, but the address has been received in the main with the hearty approval of those best qualified to judge, and is certainly a striking testimony to the unreliability of scientific explanations and conclusions. Later meetings of the session dealt with the Housing Problem, Scientific Feeding, Hygiene, and a number of other matters of general interest, some of which may be taken up in some future letter, as the various theories put forth are put to the practical test. POLITICAL CORRUPTION.
By Editor
Corruption in politics has become so common, so extensive, so notorious, so emboldened, that leading politicians themselves no longer try to hide it. Only a few men, whose profession makes it somewhat inconsistent for them even to go to the polls to help one or the other of the great contending forces, feel it essential to their standing to try to screen or apologize for the sinister methods employed in the various efforts to carry an election. The argument is made that it is the duty of those who know these things to select the best men and vote for them. But everybody ought to know by this time that no man can get a nomination for office, by any party having a shadow of a chance to succeed, who will even tacitly oppose the party's campaign policies and tactics. No party leader or manipulator pretends to deny, on the other hand they all openly urge, that millions and millions of dollars are necessary in order to win a national election contest. And it is conceded that much of this money must be used for the purpose of buying the support of wavering or “independent” voters. The so-called “independent” voters are largely a class who care nothing for the result; they simply take occasion to make a little gain out of the occasion—it may be a few dollars, or merely the promise of some future consideration. As indicating how leading politicians view the matter, we submit the following from the Nashville (Tenn.) American: Party managers are frequently staggered by the extravagant demands made upon them during a campaign. Money, judiciously expended, is more effective on election day than all of the campaign oratory and brass band displays of former days. In the rural districts of the north and west the farmers and their neighbors have heard about the vast sums of money expended to get out the party vote in the big cities. The result is, the farmer and his men require to be paid for leaving their work to go to the polls. It is astonishing to know how general this practise has become during the past ten or fifteen years. In the pending contest the dividing lines between the two parties, from a practical business standpoint, are so indefinite, that the independent vote this year promises to be unusually troublesome, and also expensive to both parties. It is difficult to estimate the cost of getting out the so-called independent vote. Even an expert like David Bennett Hill confesses that, since the days of Roswell P. Flower and Levi P. Morton, and their expensive campaigns for the governorship of New York, there is no way of calculating what it will cost to round up the independent voters on election day. In this connection Mr. Hill says that Mr. Flower, after securing the nomination for governor, determined to be elected if it cost him every dollar of his accumulated millions. In the Flower campaign it became known to the boys that “Uncle Roswell” was willing to pay for a big majority, and the result was that independent votes went to a high premium. When Levi P. Morton was the republican candidate for governor, he was ambitious to go to Albany with the biggest majority ever given to a New York Governor. It was understood that his treasure chest was wide open on that occasion, and ever since the price of independent votes throughout the country has had an upward tendency. To this we add some comment on this subject in the Commoner, whose editor is an acknowledged party leader:—9 Some are purchased to remain at home, while others are bought outright. As a rule, large campaign funds are collected from corporations that have favors to ask at the hands of the government, and the money is subscribed in return for assurances that make it impossible for the party receiving the same funds to do its duty to the people. Mr. Havemeyer, in the sugar trust investigation a few years ago, testified that the trust gave liberally to the Democratic Party in New York and to the Republican Party in Massachusetts. When asked about New Jersey, he said that that state was doubtful, and that he would have to look at the books before he could say to which side the trust contributed. It does seem that in recent years the use of large campaign funds gives a great advantage to the party which the corporations support. Addison put it well when he said: “A man who is furnished with arguments from the mint will convince his antagonist much sooner than one who draws them from reason or philosophy. Gold is a wonderful clearer of the understanding; it dissipates every doubt and scruple in an instant; accommodates itself to the meanest capacities; silences the loud and clamorous, and cringes over the most obstinate and inflexible.” History notes here and there men, and limited combinations of men, who exercised wonderful influence over the masses through the medium of money; but never was gold more potent in political affairs or more powerful in social circles than to-day. In the present national campaign men have seemed to base their judgment of the result upon the question as to which party should be able to raise the largest campaign fund—in other words, which could gain the greatest favor of the wealthy corporations, and thus have the most money with which to buy votes. The Spread of Opium and Morphine Addiction
Timothy, the organ of “The St. Luke Society,” makes the statement that there are 60,000 men and women in the city of Chicago known to be addicted to the use of morphine, and that 15,000 others are smoking opium. Of course no statistics of this kind can be absolute, but they are sadly I turned away I did not thoughtful people shudder no heart to work on the lines of efforts against the corruptions of perverted appetite. It is estimated that five per cent. of the population of hamlet, town, or city throughout this great country are addicted to the use of morphine or opium in some form. What per cent. of the population, then, is harmed by this addiction, directly and remotely, God alone knows. British-Tibetan Treaty and International Tensions
The published text of the British-Tibetan treaty shows that Colonel Younghusband drove a shrewd bargain with the Tibetans. The treaty practically gives the British a monopoly of Tibetan trade. The Tibetans are to pay an indemnity of $2,500,000 in annual instalments. Until this is paid, the British will maintain a garrison in the Chumsti Valley. This arrangement may prolong the British occupation indefinitely. Russia and all other foreign powers are barred out of Tibet by the obligation imposed on the Tibetans not to lease or sell any of their territory to any other power without Great Britain's consent. Besides this, the construction of roads, railways, and telegraphs, and the opening of mines is reserved to the British. This will doubtless result in a British protectorate over Tibet before many years. It is feared that grave complications may arise as a result of the carrying out of Russia's program for her Baltic fleet. Already England is protesting against the extraordinary concessions allowed these ships by Spain in the matter of coaling and victualing in Spanish ports. With Spain's assistance, the Baltic fleet would doubtless be able to reach the scene of operations in Chinese waters. Then Japan could call upon England for the assistance promised in the Anglo-Japanese treaty. This would create a crisis which would bring Germany's aid to Russia, in the opinion of many officials. A wave of popular agitation now prevails in France over what is termed the “yellow peril,” as a result of Japan's recent remarkable display of force. It is said that this apprehension is shared to a considerable extent in official circles, where it has been suggested that the danger might compel the European powers to consider the necessity of effecting a coalition for self-defense against the “peril.” Other nations having large interests in the East share the same apprehension. The recent French military maneuvers have demonstrated the terrible effectiveness of the new guns and shells used by the French. Each of the shells thrown burst into 240 deadly fragments, whereas the shells used in the Franco-German war burst into only 30. The present French shrapnel shells are calculated to scatter 400 deadly particles, whereas the former shrapnel scattered only 37. The French are using the old-fashioned black powder to create a smoke curtain to conceal the army's advance. The followers of F. W. Sanford of Shiloh, Me., self-styled Elijah, have been called to Shiloh, as the “place in the wilderness,” spoken of in the 12th chapter of Revelation. Here they are to have a refuge during the wrath of the dragon. There is a movement among Sanford's adherents to comply with the call, in spite of the fact that the scripture referred to was so manifestly fulfilled hundreds of years ago. Italy is reported to be on the verge of a civil war as a result of the general strike of the Socialists. Collisions have taken place between the people and the soldiers. Two classes of the reserves have been called out to re-enforce the authorities. Crowds of people are stopping trains by lying down in front of the engines. A Genoa correspondent reports the situation throughout Italy as most serious. There is now on foot a movement the purpose of which is to establish a world clearing house for the benefit of banks doing an international business. This, it is held, would do away with the large shipments of gold from one country to another, which always occasion expense and considerable risk. The Commander-in-chief of the Japanese forces reports the following trophies taken by the Japanese after the battle of Liao Yang: 3,578 rifles; 7,356 rounds of artillery ammunition; 1,297,870 rounds of small-arm ammunition; and large quantities of timber, flour, rice, forage, and telegraph apparatus. A deported Colorado miner, under arrest in Topeka, Kans., for burglary, has confessed to complicity in the work of dynamiting the Vindicator mine and in blowing up the depot platform at Independence in June last. In both these outrages many non-union miners lost their lives. There is a movement in the French Chamber of Deputies to refer the question of the separation of church and state to a vote of the people. The movement is not favored by the premier, who claims that the municipal elections sufficiently show that the country approves his policy. A new development in Dowieism is reported from Chicago. Mr. Dowie and eleven of his followers have been proclaimed “Apostles of Jesus Christ.” They are to hear confessions of sin from other members of the sect, even as do the priests of Rome. The Zeigler relief expedition, sent out to search for the Arctic exploration steamer America, has returned to Norway, having failed to reach Franz Joseph Land, on account of the large quantities of floating ice and the early winter. The Paraguay revolutionists are concentrating their forces at towns parallel to the railway, and have cut off all supplies and communication with the capital. They are planning to make an early attack on the capital. The Secretary of the United States Treasury reports a deficit for the month of August amounting to $6,300,000. There was also a deficit for the month of July amounting to $17,400,000. Prince Herbert Bismark, eldest son of the famous “Iron Chancellor,” died at Friedrichsruhe, Germany, on September 18. THOMAS A. EDISON is not only a wizard in matters scientific, but he has a keen instinct into dietetics. He said the other day that he ate anything he wanted, but in small quantity, adding that most people eat too much. “I know men and women who are food drunk all the time,” he declared. “Food drunk” is a happy invention to describe a notorious condition. Mr. Edison is not the only one who knows people who are continually gorged with food, with the result that their intellects are beclouded as truly as if the excess had been liquid instead of solid. Everyone has experienced the mental disturbance produced by occasional overeating. It is easy to see that the man who is continually gorged is continually off his mental balance. He is “food drunk,” as the sage of Menlo Park puts it—non compos mentis—rendered unstable in his head by the overwork which he forces upon his stomach. It is a common-enough saying that if you want a favor from a man you should approach him just after he has had a good meal. The philosophy of the advice is apparent enough. The man who has his stomach full of food is more or less stupefied. He is in the primary stage of the condition which is fully exemplified by the gorged snake. His faculties are blunted. Hence, he is likely to accede to requests which he would promptly refuse were he in full possession of his judgment. He is “food drunk.” Mr. Edison is right, and his theory is shared by a good many shrewd physicians nowadays. A man can fuddle himself with the contents of a beef platter as well as by emptying a wine bottle.—Chicago Chronicle. RELIGION IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
The question of religion in the public schools, which has been disturbing England of late, and with which France is wrestling, is also agitating Germany. In all these countries it is a church-and-state question of a bitter character. In England it is the government and the state church (Episcopal) against all dissenters from the state religion. In France and Germany it is a controversy between the Roman Catholic Hierarchy and the civil governments. In the German state of Prussia important concessions have been made, which encourage the Catholics to work and hope for more. According to a resolution recently adopted by the Prussian Diet, elementary schools, as a rule, are to be either of the Lutheran (or state) Church or of the Roman Catholic Church. In either case the teachers and pupils are to be of the same creed. Only in case of practicable size, may other religious bodies claim the establishment of a school of their own religious profession. In most localities this will shut out all others. For the supervision of elementary education, school boards are to be established on which the state church and Roman Catholics will be represented. This is essentially the same measure that was introduced twelve years ago, and which was so bitterly opposed by the National Liberals. But parties have so changed from that this proposition now has the support of the Liberals, together with the Conservatives and Clericals, as against the Radicals and Socialists. This is a decided victory for Rome, altho it is openly admitted that it is only an “instalment” of what is wanted and of what she expects to secure in time. What Rome is apparently losing (temporarily, of course) in France, she is gaining in Germany. She is not specially discouraged with the controversy in France, for the French people are Catholic, and there is before her the prestige of the reaction from the Revolution of 1798. And her gain in Germany during the last fifteen or twenty years, in overcoming the bitter Bismarckian opposition, with its Protestant and military and political backing, is evidence that the opposition of a Catholic country will eventually yield and humbly submit. Rome’s temporary deadly wound is fast healing, and her short career as a dominating world power, predicted in prophecy, is not far ahead. See Rev. 13: 1-10; 17: 12-18. After the great battle of Liao Yang, the Russian forces retreated to Mukden, closely pursued by the victorious Japanese. Since that time engagements between outposts have been continuous. It is reported that the Japanese, while remaining quiet on Kuropatkin's front, are working around to the rear of the Russian position in another attempt to surround Kuropatkin's forces. China has asked both belligerents to refrain from fighting at Mukden, where are the ancestral tombs of the Manchu dynasty. Whether they will accede to China's wish in this matter remains to be seen; but the Japanese do not intend to rest now. They will either force the Russians from Mukden or will surround Kuropatkin's forces there. Their plan of operations includes also the capture of Vladivostok, Harbin, and the great penal colony of Saghalin. The recent battle of Liao Yang is looked upon by many as one of the great, decisive battles of the world. The exact number of the killed and wounded on both sides is not definitely known, but by some has been placed as high as 40,000. Port Arthur still holds out, tho reports from there generally indicate that there is great scarcity of provisions, and some declare that there is lack of ammunition. The Japanese are said to be mining the forts for the purpose of blowing them up; but the distance they will have to carry their tunnels will make it a slow process. Terrific bombardments of the fortifications are frequent, and in this work the ships of the blockading fleet assist from time to time. The garrison is said to have been greatly reduced as a result of the bombardments and sickness. One ship of the Russian fleet has entered the harbor of San Francisco, and, not being seaworthy, has been sent to the naval station at Mare Island, where she is to be disarmed, and her crew paroled. At least one other Russian war-vessel is said to be off the Pacific Coast. PETTY JEALOUSIES IN THE HOME.
By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle
BY MRS. L. D. AVERY-STUTTLE. The first case of jealousy in the home, of which we have any account, was in the family of Adam, and led directly to murder. How it must have grieved our first parents to see this unlovely trait of character cropping out in their first-born son. Cain was jealous because the Almighty seemed partial to Abel. He did not receive the respect which in his opinion he, as the eldest, should receive. Nor could he see any justice in the Lord’s refusing to accept his offering of fruits,—so binding is sin. The Almighty attempted to reason the case with him, “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?” but he would not listen,—so hateful and unreasonable is jealousy. So, the more Cain thought about it, the more ill-treated he imagined himself. O look out for the first symptom of self-pity! Self-pity and selfishness are twins, and a more ugly pair never existed. Ever so many years ago there lived a family in which the demon Jealousy was cherished in the hearts of the children, until they also became little better than the murderer Cain. It was against their younger brother that all this hatred was cherished. One night the lad had a dream, and apparently never mistrusting, in his childish innocence, the deep hatred which his brothers felt for him, he told them what he had dreamed in a burst of childish confidence. But, instead of manifesting joy that their young brother was evidently destined by the Almighty to hold some high position of honor in life, O how hateful and angry they were! And then, there was that little coat! how bright and pretty it was, and I dare say it was very becoming to the youngster. But whenever he appeared with it on, it was like flaunting a red flag before an angry bull! O my young friends,—and I mean you, too, my middle-aged reader, and even you whose locks are no longer brown,—look out for the demon Jealousy, whenever you have a quiet hour for looking deep into your own hearts. Look out for the first approach of the green-eyed monster, when he undertakes to intrude his hateful presence into your home. One would think that surely old age should be exempt from such naughtiness. But no; Jealousy is no respecter of persons. I have seen one upon whose head rested the silver crown that should have been a glory, so unlovely and so morose from long acquaintance with this monster, that it was painful to spend an hour in the house. Then, the children are by no means exempt, either:— “I have a nice watch I would like to present to Mary,” said grandma to the mother one day. “It is very nice, but, really, grandma, unless you have one just like it for Jane, it will make a great trouble, and Jane will never get over it,” declared the silly mother. “Well, said the old lady, meekly, Mary is my namesake, and I always wanted to make her a nice present, because she is constantly doing things for me; and, besides, Mary is now old enough to take care of a watch, while Jane is not, and really, I can’t afford to buy two watches. I hope you will not allow jealousy to ruin Jennie’s disposition, will you?” “Well, what can I do! I’m sure it’s natural enough for the child to feel slighted unless she is treated like her sister.” “There is a poor family living near me, said Mrs. B., “and I would be glad to help them, if I could. But there are six children in all; and if I do not have quite enough of any one thing to go around, they wrangle so among themselves that it quite takes away all the pleasure of giving. The other day I gave Johnnie a hat; but, as I did not have six hats to go around, there was no end of trouble!” O, I am sure if we would only stop to think what an ugly, despicable thing jealousy is, we would fight it, tooth and nail, until it was dislodged forever from our hearts, and the God of love will surely help. You remember Haman? I suppose he was a remarkably smart man—a great diplomat. But jealousy was his ruin. There was no trouble with him when he was allowed all the honors, and the best of everything going. Zeresh, his wife, had learned to pat him on the back and call him a good fellow, instead of remonstrating with him when he laid his murderous heart bare to her. It was not enough that he enjoyed the supreme favor of the king; that the multitude arose to do him honor; that he was the first and greatest man in the kingdom, save the king; that he wore on his finger the royal ring, and on his body the kingly apparel. “Yet all this availeth me nothing,” he whines to his wife and friends at the dinner table, “so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.” O, his jealousy burned like fire! but how weak and ridiculous it looks to us now, doesn’t it? Well, his mother had not brought him up right. She had permitted him to indulge in selfishness when he was a child,—if she had not, if the mother of Haman had taught him self-control instead of self-pity and self-love, he would never have met the awful fate that finally overtook him in the midst of his brilliant career. “How do you know that? Aren’t you presuming a great deal?” Yes, I am presuming, and I dare presume when I have the word of the Almighty to lean upon. Don’t you remember the text that says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not—” “O, there you are! harping—always harping upon our duty to the children!” Yes; because I love them. There is something about innocent childhood that wonderfully appeals to me. Mothers, do you love them? Fathers, do you love them, too? Then are you going to allow them to grow up hateful and hating one another? Shall we forget the little coat, smeared with the blood of an animal, and held tauntingly before the eyes of poor old Jacob? I can not much wonder that he cried in bitterness of soul, “All these things are against me!” What if you were to be put in his place? Well, the green-eyed monster, Jealousy, has not changed any of his characteristics, and will cause as much misery as of yore in any family in which he is cherished. Sometimes affliction will unite a household which has been all but separated by jealousy, in the closest bonds of love. That was much the way it worked in the family of Jacob. Then welcome, thrice welcome, affliction, I say. The other day I was chatting with a friend of mine,—a blacksmith:— “I am anxious to understand how you can weld two pieces of iron together,” I said. “O, that’s easy enough; just put them into the fire and leave them there until they are pliable, and then beat them and pound them—skilfully, of course—and, presto! they are together.” “How do you know when they have fire enough and beating enough?” “O, I know—the smith can tell.” Ah, that’s it. The Lord, our Creator, who made each delicate nerve of our bodies, knows just when we have had affliction enough to weld our hearts firmly together. When the sons of Jacob were in sore straits because of the famine, they were ready to repent of their cruelty, and seek forgiveness. Sometimes it is necessary for God to bring us through the fires of affliction, to burn out the dross of self-love, that our hearts may be fit temples for His Holy Spirit, instead of low and groveling shrines of passion and hatred and jealousy. More of Thy Spirit, Lord,
More of Thy grace,
More of Thy blessed Word,
More of Thy shining face;
Less of my own poor heart,
Less of my stubborn will;
Bid jealousy depart,
Bless and uphold me still. Some years ago a lady who tells the story herself, went to consult a famous physician about her health. She was a woman of nervous temperament, whose troubles—and she had many—had worried and excited her to such a pitch that the strain threatened her physical strength, and even her reason. She gave the doctor a list of her symptoms, and answered his questions, only to be astonished at his brief prescription at the end:— “Madam, what you need is to read your Bible more.” “But, doctor,” began the bewildered patient. “Go home and read your Bible an hour a day,” the great man reiterated, with kindly authority. “Then come back to me a month from to-day.” And he bowed her out without a possibility of further protest. At first his patient was inclined to be angry. Then she reflected that, at least, the prescription was not an expensive one. Besides, it certainly had been a long time since she had read the Bible regularly, she reflected, with a pang of conscience. Worldly cares had crowded out prayer and Bible study for years, and, tho she would have resented being called an irreligious woman, she had undoubtedly become a most careless Christian. She went home and set herself conscientiously to try the physician’s remedy. In one month she went back to his office. “Well,” he said, smiling as he looked at her face. “I see you are an obedient patient, and have taken my prescription faithfully. Do you feel as if you needed any other medicine now?” “No, doctor, I don’t,” she said honestly. “I feel like a different person—I hope I am a different person. But how did you know that was just what I needed?” For answer the famous physician turned to his desk. There, worn and marked, lay an open Bible. “Madam,” he said, with deep earnestness, “if I were to omit my daily reading of this book, I should lose my greatest source of strength and skill. I never go to an operation without reading my Bible, I never attend a distressing case without finding help in its pages. Your case called not for medicine, but for sources of peace and strength outside your own mind, and I showed you my own prescription, and knew it would cure.” “Yet I confess, doctor,” said his patient, “that I came very near not taking it.” “Very few are willing to try it, I find,” said the physician, smiling again. “But, he pardons many cases in my practice. He strengthens wonders if they would mercy that He gives us a11 This is a true story. The doctor died only a little while ago, but his prescription remains. It will do no one any harm to try it.—Philadelphia Ledger. GOD'S GIFT.
By Benjamin Keech
A LITTLE, curly head of yellow gold,
A sweet, round face with kisses here and there,
Two dancing eyes that laughing sunbeams hold,
And rosebud lips more sweet than honey, rare. These are the treasures, merged complete in one
Dear little child that God has sent to me;
And golden locks, reflecting His bright sun,
And eyes that trust, both speak of Him to me. All earthly pelf, once held so dear, may go;
And care may touch me with its chastening rod.
It matters not, so long as I may know
The sacred sweetness of this gift from God. I am content. Mere gold can never buy
The blessed comfort of a baby's love,
Nor worldly glory ever hope to vie
With gifts like this, which come from heaven above. “Mother, mother!” cried little Willie, coming in upon me as I sat busily at work, “I have lost my arrow in the grass and can't find it.” He was ready to burst into tears at his mishap. “I am sorry, dear,” I said, as I went on with my work. “Won't you go and find it for me, mother?” he asked, with quivering lip, as he laid hold of my arm. “I am too busy, dear,” I replied. “Go tell Jane to find it for you.” “Jane can't find it,” said the little fellow in a choking voice. “Tell her to look again.” “She looked all over. Won't you come, mother, and find it for me?” The tears were rolling down his face, but I was too busy embroidering a little linen sack I was making for him, and that seemed of more importance than the happiness of my child. “There, there! Don't, don't, be so foolish as to cry at the loss of an arrow; I am ashamed of you! Go look for it yourself.” Willie went crying downstairs, and I heard him in the yard until my patience gave out. “Ellen,” I heard him say, “won't you make me an arrow? Here is a stick.” “No, indeed; I have something else to do besides making arrows,” said the cook. I felt vexed at Ellen. She might have done it. If I were not so busy I would make it myself, I thought, and sewed as before. Willie's heart was almost broken, but I was not in a mood to sympathize with him. The loss of an arrow seemed a very trifling thing to me. “Willie,” I called out of the window, “you must stop crying.” “I can't find my arrow, and nobody will make me one.” “Go find something else to play with. Come, sir, you must stop crying. I won't have the noise.” “I can't find my arrow,” he said with quivering lip. “Well, crying won't find it. Come upstairs.” Willie ascended to my room. “Now don't let me hear one word more of this. Take better care of your arrow next time.” There was no sympathy in my tones, for I felt none. I did not think of his loss, but of the annoyance of his crying. The little fellow stifled his grief as best he could, and throwing himself on the floor sighed and sobbed for some minutes. Before long he fell asleep. How instantly do our feelings change toward a child when we find it asleep. Tenderness comes in place of sterner emotions. I laid aside my work, and, taking Willie in my arms, laid him on my bed. Another deep sigh came from him as his head touched the pillow and was echoed in my heart. Poor child! the loss of an arrow was a great thing to him. I wish that I had put away my work for a few minutes and made him a new one. What is a little time taken from my work to the happiness of my child. I wish I could learn to think right at the right time. Dear little fellow, I stood for nearly five minutes over my child. When I turned away I did not resume my work, for I had no heart to work on the little garment. I went down to the garden, and the first thing that met my eye was the arrow partly hidden by a rose-bush. So easily found! How much would a minute have saved, given at the right time! We learn too late, and repent when repentance does not avail. The first notice I had of his being awake was his gratified exclamation at finding his lost arrow beside him. His grief was forgotten. In a few minutes he was out shooting his arrow again. But I could not forget it. I was serious for many hours afterward, for the consciousness of having done wrong, as well as having been the occasion of grief to my child, lay with a heavy pressure upon my feelings.—Selected.