Dedication of the School Buildings at South Lancaster, Mass.
By S. N. Haskell
THE dedication of the South Lancaster Academy took place on Friday, Oct. 17, at one o'clock. Friends were present from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York; among whom were Elders A. S. Hutchins, A. O. Burrill, E. W. Whitney, J. B. Goodrich, and S. J. Hersum; also several ministers from Lancaster and Clinton, together with other friends of education living in the immediate vicinity. About three hundred met on the second floor of the new school building.
The meeting having been opened with prayer by Elder A. S. Hutchins, a few remarks of welcome were made by the writer, thanking the people for the cordial sympathy with our work existing in the community, and stating that whatever may be one's belief, education is a platform upon which all can unite. A brief history of the school was given by Elder D. A. Robinson. Its remarkable prosperity shows plainly that God has blessed the efforts put forth, and that he will continue to do so if we prove faithful to the responsibilities laid upon us. Brother J. Taber, the master builder, in presenting the buildings to the Board of Directors, stated that although difficulties had been encountered, it was evident that the providence of God had been over the work; that the cost of the buildings, including the grading that had been done, had not exceeded $19,000, and that the outstanding bills did not exceed $2,000. The expense of furnishing the buildings, and grading, when completed, will probably be $5,000. This added to the cost of the land, $13,500, will not exceed $37,500 for the entire cost of the Academy property, including work-shops, printing-office, store-house, etc.
Elder Smith, having been delayed on his way from Battle Creek by a railroad accident, arrived just in time to make the dedicatory address, of which the following is a partial report:—
"Those who are acquainted with Seventh-day Adventists know that they are nothing unless they are, or at least think they are, scriptural. They have an immense reverence and regard for that old volume which so many nowadays are inclined to regard as obsolete and outgrown, as it reveals Him who alone is the true light of the world, and teaches the fear of the Lord, which is the very beginning of wisdom. They look upon this book as the only one which has through all the ages stood abreast of the times, grasping, through its prophetic outlook, all the salient points of the world's great revolutions, the rise and fall of its kingdoms, explaining current phenomena, and shedding its light upon the future. This position it will occupy to the end of time; for it spans the whole duration of human history, and grows more full and explicit in its testimony as we draw near to the important point of transition between this dispensation and the final one soon to be ushered in.
"This wonderful book also contains instruction for the development of the body, and the cultivation of the intellect, as well as the purification and regeneration of the heart. If these had always been followed, we should not see the physical and mental degeneracy around us which we behold to-day. We might therefore expect to find upon its pages declarations appropriate to this occasion, as we have met to dedicate a new institution to the noble work of intellectual and moral culture. To one such we briefly call your attention. By the prophet Jeremiah (9:23, 24) the Lord says: 'Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.'
"Here are named the three attainments in which the heart of man most naturally and most commonly glories. And how much glorying there is in these after the worldly standard. Yet the Lord says that there is only one thing in which a man can appropriately glory, and that is in a knowledge of the Lord, and in the cultivation and exercise of those principles of loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in which he delights. The standard which the Lord here raises is not the world's standard to-day. What efforts are put forth for riches and might and worldly wisdom! but where is the knowledge of the Lord, and who is seeking for that? How has God's arrangement been reversed; and the knowledge of himself instead of being put first, is put last, or ignored altogether!
"It needs no other argument to show that some change is demanded; for whenever there is a clearly-defined issue between the practices of men and the teaching of the word of the Lord, there is a work to be done to bring back that practice into conformity with that word. Such a work clearly ought to be done in the educational world; and to this work we are committed. We do not expect to revolutionize the world; but within the limited sphere of our influence, and so far as our efforts may be able to affect others, we shall try to establish conformity to the divine standard, making the fear of the Lord, and the principles of his government, which should also be the principles of our lives, the great foundation, and all other accomplishments and attainments only accessories thereto. This is to be made the paramount object in all our educational institutions. Wisdom (even from a scientific standpoint alone), and might, and riches, are not to be despised; they are good so long as kept in their proper place, and used with the right motive, and for the right purpose. It is only when they are suffered to become the masters and not the servants, and man is led to prostitute his true nobility to the sordid ends of worldly ambition and lust for power, for his own selfish enjoyment and personal aggrandizement, that they become elements of evil and not of good. This has been one of the leading thoughts in the minds of those who have agitated the subject of education among this people."
Rev. A. P. Marvin, of Lancaster, gave a short history of the educational interests of the town. The long list of scholars he mentioned, whose names are famous in literature and art, and the many grand old associations connected with the place, make it appropriate that an institution of learning should be erected on ground that had been dedicated so long ago to the work of enlightening mankind. Rev. Geo. M. Bartol congratulated the managers upon their beautiful buildings, the success of the enterprise, and the prosperity that was attending the school. Remarks were also made by other prominent citizens of the place. Esquire Howe, ex-president of the First National Bank of Lancaster, and chairman of the Selectmen of Lancaster, congratulated our people on having such well-arranged and thoroughly well-made buildings. He pronounced them in all respects well adapted to the purposes designed. The building reflected much credit upon Brother J. Taber, who took charge of their erection.
Then came the dedicatory prayer, asking for God's guiding hand in the work, for his blessing to attend it, and that it may be the means of furnishing many God-fearing men and women to carry the last message of warning to the world. Thus the buildings were dedicated to the giving of instruction to those who feel a desire to connect with the work of God, in fitting men and women for the kingdom of Heaven. The tour of the buildings was then made by the visitors. The large and welllighted683rooms presented a very neat appearance, and many spoke of the ability manifested in the planning of the work. All seemed well pleased, and the visitors returned home feeling that the institution was a credit to the town. Thus closed a profitable day for the cause of God.
The Furnace of Affliction
By Colton
It is not until we have passed through the furnace that we are made to know how much dross there is in our composition.—Colton.
The Missionary.
By Charles L. Boyd
Result of Labor.
SOME of our missionary workers have been sending the SIGNS OF THE TIMES to, and corresponding with, parties residing in Clarke County, W. T. Brother Cole has been following up this work with colporter labors, and a good interest has been awakened in at least two different neighborhoods. I spent about two weeks in one of these neighborhoods.
The Master has blessed the efforts thus put forth in his vineyard. Eleven have signed the covenant, two of whom were baptized on the last day of the meetings. A Sabbath-school of nearly twenty members was organized; also meetings are to be held every Sabbath. Meetings closed with the largest attendance and the best interest which had been manifested.
May this company live so faithfully that their influence may lead many more to love and to obey God, and to seek salvation through a Saviour's blood. CHAS. L. BOYD.
North Pacific T. and M. Society.
By Chas. L. Boyd; Mrs. C. L. Boyd
REPORT FOR QUARTER ENDING SEPT. 30, 1884.
No. of members ............................................ 152
“ reports returned ......................................... 81
“ members added during quarter ............................. 11
“ visits made .............................................. 1,088
“ letters written .......................................... 413
“ pages of tracts and pamphlets loaned ..................... 18,856
“ “ “ “ “ “ given away .................... 19,750
“ “ “ “ “ “ sold ........................ 17,205
“ periodicals distributed................................... 9,707
Number of new subscribers obtained for the Review, 2; Signs, 28; Good Health, 5; Harold, 1; trial subscribers for Signs, 40.
Received on sales .......................................... $129 28
“ “ membership and donations ............................... 13 95
“ “ periodicals ............................................ 97 40
“ “ $5,000 fund ............................................ 67 00
“ “ tent and camp-meeting fund ............................. 120 30—$427 93
CHAS. L. BOYD, Pres.
MRS. C. L. BOYD, Sec.
France—Valence, Marseilles, and Corsica.
By D. T. Bourdeau
Since reporting last, I have visited isolated Sabbath-keepers; have attended a quarterly meeting and celebrated the ordinances with the church at Valence; have put the church books of the churches of Brauges and Valence into shape, much after the style of our church records and account books for tithes in America, and have done missionary work in Marseilles, a city of 400,000 inhabitants, which we regard as an important point because of its maritime position on the Mediterranean, by which it is brought into connection with all the countries of southern Europe, northern Africa, Palestine, southern Asia, etc.
While at Marseilles, I visited, and explained our prophetic chart to persons of high standing in the Protestant world, such as le pasteur Monod of the National church and of the celebrated Monod family. This Christian gentleman treated me with respect and great cordiality, as did also other members of his family and others whom I visited. While at his house one of his friends came in with anxiety and paleness marked on his countenance, and handed him a card, informing him that one of his teachers was having a serious attack of cholera, and wanted to see him immediately. The pastor expressed his regret at his having to leave, as he was deeply interested in the subjects of the chart. I said to him: “You are excusable. You and the afflicted have my sympathy and prayers. God bless you.” Thus ended a precious interview, which has left pleasant traces in my memory.
Such a scene as this makes one who is acquainted with present truth think of the sensations soon to be produced when we find ourselves amid the dread realities of the seven last plagues. God deliver us in that fearful time of his unmingled wrath.
While at Marseilles, I obtained addresses for our French and English Signs, and got the refusal of a furnished room at very reasonable rates, to be used by a colporter, and any one who may help and follow him up in his work. I am now in “quarantine” in the port of Bastia, Corsica, in the Mediterranean, for having come from Marseilles. But I shall be free to-morrow to step on terra firma again, and follow openings on the island of Corsica.
D. T. BOURDEAU.
Bastia, Corsica, Oct. 17.
My First One-Dollar Bill.
By James L. Hill
It seemed very beautiful to me. No other engravings looked like those that embellished its comely face. Being in constant fear lest I should lose it, I kept it locked up in an old hair-covered trunk. Several times a day I used to get away up-stairs that I might look at it, and be sure that it was there. On one or two memorable occasions I carried it out and showed it to the boys. The pocket-book in which it was secluded—a gift from my grandfather, who kept store—was of new leather and quite redolent, and the smell of it made me very happy. After holding my possession in reserve for some time, the question arose as to what I should do with the money. My father was very much interested in building a church. After the larger sums were all subscribed, a telling appeal was made for little gifts. Each child was asked if he could not contribute enough to pay for a brick. I began to be in pain. As quickly as a robin, when danger threatens, thinks of her little pets in the nest, so did my thoughts instantly fly to that dollar at home in the trunk. Should I give it? That was the question. My father saw that I was troubled. A hard fight was going on. Well, I gave it. I remember perfectly well where I stood in the room when I parted with it. I felt the loss severely for several days, but as often as I was present when the meeting-house was talked about, I felt as though I was one of the chief owners, and was glad, on the whole, that the generous impulse triumphed. Presently I noticed that I was picking up pennies rapidly, from blacking my father's boots, and from piling up wood in the shed. Family tradition has it that my father allowed himself to become superlatively interested in my handling of that dollar. He is said to have declared that as often as I gave it away conscientiously, he would devise ways by which, from unexpected quarters, it would again make its appearance. If I had been quicker to discover this determination on his part, I am now thinking what a free hand I might have carried in the matter of giving. Other churches I could have helped, and, if need be, repeatedly. To some poor families that to this day I remember, I might have given a portion of my treasure, only, in a few months, to find it perfectly restored. Doubtless my father preferred to have me give the money and have the experience of it than to bestow it with his own hand.
Now I am coming to believe that during a life-time men would have more money to spend if they gave more money away. There is some evidence that God continues still his sovereignty over temporal affairs. "God dealeth with you as with sons." No one doubts but that there are business chances and openings and combinations which may be termed providential. If these, at any time, begin suddenly to make in a man's favor, they will affect his circumstances and fortune more favorably than his industry and parsimoniousness possibly can. This fact grows interesting to us personally when it is shown that, fortunately, in instances easily authenticated, it is susceptible of proof that in monetary matters there is a mysterious process, analogous to that in nature, which tends to keep the basin of a bubbling spring just about so full, despite the stream that is running from it. Indeed, it can be shown that as a matter of good policy, considered simply in terms of the producing power of the spring, it is not well to keep, beyond a given point, the water from flowing off. I have a personal knowledge of a few men, the amount of whose fortune seems to have been set, as if by divine decree, and while attempts to store for themselves beyond that limit have proved unsuccessful, as often as they have dropped their fortunes down from that score by benevolence a mysterious reinforcement has set in. A man whose friendship I enjoy says that he has been made to recognize this principle in the conduct of his affairs. He declares that related as he is to the water supply, he can as well as not turn a faucet and give "a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple," get some incidental pleasure out of the act of doing good, and still find that the water pipes fill again and stand ready for service.
"From that day it seemed as if everything I touched was prospered," said the lamented William E. Dodge, as he referred to the fact that out of limited means, in his boyhood, he helped Henry Obookiah, who came to this country from the Sandwich Islands, and who was placed in the same school with him at Cornwall. And so, too, as I chance to know, the late E. Reddington Mudge, out of money already acquired, purposed in his heart to rear for a company of worshippers in this city the walls of the already famous St. Stephen's Memorial Church, and to this end deposited two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, only to be constrained to testify that no sooner was this void in his fortune made than unexpected and unusual sluice-ways of prosperity opened right toward him, so that before the builders brought forth "the headstone thereof, with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace, unto it," every dollar had been replaced. I remember, also, to have read that, when a child, Alexander the Great "was checked by his governor, Leonidas, for being over-profuse in spending perfumes, because, on a day being to sacrifice to the gods, he took both his hands full of frankincense and cast it into the fire; but afterwards, being a man, he conquered the country of Judea (the fountain whence such spices did flow) and sent Leonidas a present of five hundred talents weight of frankincense to show him how his prodigality made him thrive the better in success, and to advise him to be no more niggardly in divine service." The very best getting is in giving. The surest way "to have a large harvest is to have a large heart."
—Rev. James L. Hill.
Meetings in San Diego County.
By John Norton Loughborough, M. C. Israel
On the evening of October 21 we held a meeting with the church in Los Angeles, and on the evening of the 22d we took the steamer for San Diego, where we arrived on the morning of the 23d. Here, at the house of Brother and Sister Maynard, we met a sister who desired baptism. After her baptism, as we ascertained that we could not leave for San Pasqual until afternoon, we notified our people in San Diego City, who met for a discourse and social meeting at noon. This was a source of encouragement to the few there, being also an agreeable surprise to them.
Our meetings at San Pasqual commenced on the Sabbath, October 25, and continued day and evening until November 2. During this time we had fourteen discourses, six Bible-readings, two business meetings, two social meetings, and a meeting to attend the ordinances. After the forenoon meeting, November 2, there were five adults baptized. During our meeting there was an adjustment of some differences that had existed between some of the members, and nine new members united with the San Pasqual church, which now numbers thirty-six. Two of these were from other Seventh-day Adventist Churches, and the other seven came in on profession of the faith, and vote of the church.
We left the church of good courage, determined to press on with greater earnestness in the cause than ever before. May the Lord help them to perform their vows in this respect, and then the cause will surely prosper in their hand.
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH,
M. C. ISRAEL.
The Joy of Doing Good
Yes, there's a joy in doing good
The selfish never know;
A draught so deep, so rich and pure,
It sets the heart aglow;
A draught so exquisitely rare,
It thrills the soul with bliss,
And lifts it to a heavenly world,
Or makes a Heaven of this.
Living for Others
He who lives but for himself lives but for a little thing. Even the Son of God, by whom all things were created, lived not for himself.
The Picture—Art in Morals.
“SHAN’T go a step further!”
“Only just a little way—we shall soon be home now, and mother’s waiting.”
“I don’t care. I’ve made up my mind that I’ve walked too far already, and I’m just going to sit down and rest; they must wait, and I shall do as I choose.”
“But, father—”
“Now don’t you talk to me about ‘buts,’ Charlie, because I won’t have it. I shall sit down here, and you can go and tell your mother not to wait—not to wait,” the man repeated, raising his voice with the stupid anger of intoxication.
Still, in spite of threat and refusal, the child persisted in pleading that his father should go home; but his words only seemed to strengthen the man’s obstinacy, and all the boy could do was to get his father to turn aside from the high road into a field close by, where the man threw himself at full length on the grass, somewhat under the shade of the hedge, and in a few minutes he was sleeping heavily, whilst the child sat down at a little distance, with a strange kind of unchildish patience on his features to wait until his father should wake.
Rather more than half an hour had passed in this dreary waiting, and Charlie was beginning to find all his small sources of amusement fail him. He had watched a large bee that kept hovering over the convolvulus blossoms in the hedge, and wondered if he had not nearly finished his day’s work; had placed a snail out of harm’s way, and had been tempted to chase a beautiful, painted butterfly that flitted past him; but he began at last to lose his interest in bees and butterflies, for it was now supper-time, and Charlie was growing terribly hungry. Still he did not think of deserting his post, for no one but the child himself knew how often he had kept his tipsy father off the country road when carts or carriages were coming along, nor how he had managed to guide him in safety over the narrow bridge that led across the river to their cottage.
So Charlie sat there quietly, though he was growing more tired and hungry every moment, until the sound of a whistle at a little distance attracted his attention, the sound gradually coming nearer and sounding more distinct, until a young man jumped over the stile at the end of the field and approached the child, who then knew him to be a gentleman he had often met during the last few weeks, sometimes sketching, sometimes wandering about with his knapsack on his back and his portfolio under his arm. Indeed, a half acquaintance had sprung up between the young artist and Charlie—one attracted by the glimpse he had caught of the pictures contained in the wonderful portfolio, the other by the child’s wistful glances and his rustic beauty.
Busy with his own thoughts, and judging from his happy face they were very pleasant ones—perhaps dreams of the time when some wonderful picture of his should hang on the walls of the academy, and by so doing help him on the road to fame and fortune—Eustace Carroll had half crossed the field before he noticed Charlie and his father. Then his quick eyes told him the meaning of the little scene; the quiet, weary-looking child and the sleeping father, with his untidy clothes and collar, and necktie unfastened, and his face turned up to the blue sky that looked down upon nothing so debased as this man, whom God had made “a little lower than the angels,” and who, by his own vice, had thus degraded himself.
With the quick instinct of childhood, Charlie understood the look of disgust with which the young artist turned to him, saying kindly as he did so:—
“You are waiting to take your father home, I suppose?”
“Yes, sir,” replied the child, whilst a flush of shame spread over his face.
“Well, I think he is likely to lie there for hours yet. Can’t you leave him?”
“No, sir, he might be run over or fall into the river if I left him to come home by himself.”
“Oh!” said Eustace, as he glanced toward the sleeping man, and wondered if it would be much loss to any one, if he did fall into the river.
“Have you had your supper, boy?” he asked as he unstrapped his knapsack and took out a small parcel wrapped in paper.
“Mother will be sure to keep it for me until I get home, sir,” replied Charlie, too brave to complain to a stranger.
“That’s all right,” said Eustace, understanding and respecting the feeling that dictated the answer; “meanwhile, I shall give you this piece of cake, just to pass the time away. When I was a small boy, stray pieces of cake never prevented me eating my meals when they came, so your mother’s supper will not be wasted. Now you sit still, for I am going to make a picture, and when it is finished I will show it to you.”
Very few dainties fell to Charlie’s share in those days, and Eustace was highly amused at the manner in which he ate his cake, nibbling it off around the edge, so as to make it last as long as possible; and he succeeded so well that the picture was finished almost at the same time the last currant disappeared.
“Well, was it good?” asked Eustace, as he tied his portfolio.
“Yes, mother does not put currants in her cakes. Sometimes on our birthdays, when father has not been out, we have a cake; but then we have no seeds in it.”
“And those are not so nice?”
“Oh, no, sir, of course not!” answered Charlie, surprised that any one should ask such a question.
“Well, I am glad you like it. I am going back to the city in a day or two, but I shall put another piece of cake in my knapsack in case I meet you again before I go. Look here; do you know this?”
Charlie glanced at the little picture Eustace held out to him, and then he gave a scream of surprise.
“Why, it’s me and father!”
And so it was; and even though Eustace should live to be an old man, he will never succeed in making anything more true to nature than that hurried sketch. He had just caught the tired, wistful look on the child’s face, and it was all the more striking as it was brought into such contrast with the vacant countenance of the tipsy sleeper, who looked so thoroughly out of place beside the child, and the pleasant green background of the hedge, where the convolvulus blossoms mingled with the wild rose and blackberry bowers.
“Wait a moment,” said Eustace, and then he wrote at the bottom of the sketch three lines from a poem by Burns:—
“Oh, wad the power some giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us;
It wad frae mony a blunder free us.”
“There,” he continued, putting the picture in the child’s hands. “You shall have that, and if you like to show it to your father one of these days, do so; it may teach him a lesson.” And, before the child could make any reply, Eustace was off and away, tramping along the high road.685Five years had passed before the young artist had the time and chance to visit the quiet village again. In those five years he had done good work—had thought, and worked, and painted, until people had begun to believe in him, and talked of him as one of the most promising painters of the day.
Still, in the midst of all, he often remembered his little sketch, and wondered—without much hope in the wonder—whether his idea that it might do good had come to pass; and on the day he traveled down to Morston, the memory of the scene came clearly before him, with the thought of the grand old words, “Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days.”
“Such a little crumb of good though it was,” said Eustace to himself, “still I wonder—I wonder—and I’ll try to find it out, too.”
And, as it happened, Eustace did find it out more quickly than he expected, for that very evening, as he was returning from a walk, in the course of which he had visited some of his old haunts, there passed him on the road a man and a handsome boy of about thirteen.
“My little friend and his father,” suddenly thought Eustace, whose quick, artist eye seldom forgot a face or figure; and he quickened his pace in order to keep within a short distance of the boy.
So the three went on past the corner of the field where the sketch was taken, down the road, and across the bridge, till the man and boy reached a little cottage, the small front garden of which was gay with bright-colored flowers.
“That looks promising,” thought Eustace, “no drunkard ever had a garden like that,” and, determined to ascertain the facts of the case, he went up to the door with the intention of asking the nearest way to the next village.
Through the open door he caught a glimpse of the neatly-kept cottage kitchen, as Charlie came forward to answer the stranger’s question; but before half the right turns had been described, a bright smile broke over the boy’s face, and, half turning around, he exclaimed:—
“Father, it’s my painter!” and, to his surprise, Eustace found that in that household, at least, he was a hero; and the young artist never felt more reverence for his art than he did as he listened to the account of the good that his picture had done.
For some time Charlie had kept the sketch, and had been afraid to show it to his father, but the man found it by chance, one day, and “It was more than I could stand, sir,” he said, addressing Eustace. “I did not need any one to tell me what it meant, but although I wondered where it came from, I was ashamed to ask. Somehow I could not get the picture out of my head. I even used to dream of it at night until it fairly worried me so that I gave up the drink; and I had the picture hung up there, that I might not have the chance of forgetting what I dragged myself down to once.”
So the story ended; and in his heart Eustace Carroll is prouder of that little sketch, hanging in a common black frame over the mantlepiece of the country cottage, than he would be if he should paint a picture that would make his name famous throughout his life.—Selected.
THE SHADY CORNERS.
By Margaret E. Sangster
THE shady nooks and corners,
So quiet and so cool,
Where springs the crystal streamlet,
Where glooms the dusky pool,
I leave the path to seek them;
No dearer haunts I know
Than just the lonely places
Where patient mosses grow.
The shady nooks and corners
By forest brook and burn;
They hide in deep recesses,
The waving feathery fern.
And through their sheltered silence
Shy wings flit to and fro,
And bits of song are breaking
Where humble flowers blow.
The shady nooks and corners,
Apart from stir and strife,
And distant from the tumult
Of busy whirling life,
Where some of God's dear children
Alone are left and low,
There star-like, strong, and steadfast,
The lights of promise glow.
The shady nooks and corners
Wherein we dwell with God,
And conquer pain and weakness,
Sustained by staff and rod;
Perhaps in all earth's journey
Naught sweeter shall we know
Than just the sanctuaries,
Where hidden graces grow.
The shady nooks and corners
Screened from the glaring day—
Songs in the night he giveth
To those who watch and pray,
And blessing comes when leaving
The trodden road we go
To rest amid the shadows
Where living waters flow.
—Margaret E. Sangster.
Remuneration.
No AMBITIOUS or capable boy can afford to enter an office, a factory, or business of any description, and work at low wages unless he is acquiring a knowledge and experience that will count to him dollars and cents in the future. A boy without moneyed capital can only have mental capital, and mental capital is slowly accumulated. Brains are not sold in the stock market.
If a boy is gaining experience and knowledge that will be of practical value to him in the future, he can afford to work at the lowest possible figures consistent with his circumstances. If he has a home and parents who are able and willing to help him financially, it would be wiser and better for him to work for the knowledge he would gain, without money, than to give up a position where he is acquiring mental working capital that can be used in after years.
The curse of the present day to many men and women is that they work with an eye only to present remuneration, rather than to future benefit. There are few boys who are capable of seeing the advantage to be gained in the future by making use of every opportunity of the present; and there are but few parents who take the time to investigate and so point out to a boy the losses and gains attending his present position.
The complaint is often made that in this age of extravagance, when people marry, they wish to begin housekeeping where their parents left off; the complaint can be made with equal justice that many boys expect to command at the beginning the salary of a man who has spent years in acquiring the knowledge that enables him to command and hold his position of trust and responsibility. The men who have acquired prominence in their walk of life, whose position in the business world is desirable, are the men who as boys did each little duty given into their hands well and carefully, so that employers recognized their trustworthiness, and gave them larger opportunities and more important work, consequently more pay. Ability is eventually recognized and commands the best prices; it is useless to expect ten dollars' pay for five dollars' worth of service.—Christian Union.
Rome in the Last Century.
It was a labyrinth of winding streets, unlighted, unnamed, and unnumbered. Every trade kept to its own special locality, and, in lack of shop fronts, advertised its wares by painted signs and emblems. Cattle were herded in the colosseum and forum, and the Arch of Constantine was half buried in the earth. Justice was administered with circumstances of barbaric ferocity. It was a common sight to see unlucky coachmen publicly tortured in the Corso for no worse guilt than that of driving through the streets during the hours reserved for carnival frolics; and the erection of the gallows on the Piazza del Popolo, the first Saturday in Carnival, was, in fact, the signal of the opening of the season for public sports. And, the condemned criminals dispatched, the hangman's assistants would presently join the gay crowd in the Corso, disguised as clowns and pantaloons. Down to the first year of the present century malefactors were quartered and burned on the Campo del Fiori, and for many years the pillory and the wooden horse remained familiar objects in other parts of Rome, although both were temporarily abolished during the Napoleonic rule.—The National Review.
An Item for Boys.
It is not necessary that a boy who learns a trade should follow it all his life. Governor Palmer, of Illinois, was once a country blacksmith, and began his political career in Macoupin County. A circuit judge in the central part of Illinois was a tailor. Thomas Hoyne, a rich and eminent lawyer of Illinois, was once a book-binder.
Erastus Corning, of New York, too lame to do hard labor, commenced as a shop boy in Albany. When he applied for employment first, he was asked: "Why, my little boy, what can you do?" "I can do what I am bid," was the answer, which secured him a place.
Senator Wilson, of Massachusetts, was a shoemaker; Thurlow Weed was a canal boat driver; Ex-Governor Stone, of Iowa, was a cabinet-maker, as was also the late Hon. Stephen A. Douglas in his youth. Large numbers of men of prominence now living have risen from humble life, by dint of industry, without which talent is as a gold coin on a barren island. Work alone makes men bright, and it does not alone depend on the kind of work you have whether you rise or not; it depends, certainly, on how you do it.
No Use.
THERE is no use in putting up the motto, "God bless our home," if the father is a rough old bear, and the spirit of discourtesy and rudeness is taught by the parents to the children, and by the older to the younger. There is no use in putting up the motto, "The Lord will provide," while the parents are shiftless, the boys refuse to work, and the girls busy themselves over gewgaws and finery. There is no use in putting up the motto, "The greatest of these is charity," while the tongue of the backbiter wags in that family, and silly gossip is dispensed at the tea-table. There is no use in placing up conspicuously the motto, "The liberal man deviseth liberal things," while the money chinks in the pockets of the "head of the household," groaning to get out to see the light of day, and there are dollars and dimes for wines and tobacco and other luxuries, but positively not one cent for the church. In how many homes are these mottoes standing—let us say hanging—sarcasms, which serve only to point a jest and adorn a satire! The beauty of quiet lives, of trustful, hopeful, free-handed, free-hearted, charitable lives is one of surpassing loveliness, and those lives shed their own incomparable fragrance, and the world knows where to find them. And they shall remain fresh and fadeless when the colors of pigment and the worsted and the floss have faded, and the frames have rotted away in their joints.—Sel.
TEMPERANCE PACKAGES.
By Editor
We have put up in packages three different assortments of our health and temperance works which we will furnish, post-paid, at the prices named.
Ten Cent Package.
The smallest package contains 100 pages in thirteen tracts, as follows:—
True Temperance—Alcohol, What is it?—Our Nation's Curse—Cause and Cure of Intemperance—Effects of Intemperance—The Drunkard's Arguments Answered—Alcoholic Medication—Alcoholic Poison—Tobacco Poisoning—Tobacco-Using a Cause of Disease—Tobacco-Using a Relic of Barbarism—Evil Effects of Tea and Coffee—Ten Arguments on Tea and Coffee.
Forty Cent Package.
The second package, costing forty cents, post-paid, contains the above list and the following in addition:—
Pork, the Dangers of its Use—Diphtheria, its Causes, Prevention, and Proper Treatment. By J. H. Kellogg, M. D. This book should be in every household. Its instructions, if faithfully carried out, will save many a precious life.
One Dollar Package.
The third package, costing $1.00, post-paid, contains in addition to the above:—
Proper Diet for Man, price 15c—The Uses of Water, price 25c—Dyspepsia, Its Cause and Cure, price 25c.
The object in arranging these packages is to get them in a convenient form for sale and for selection.
Address SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
LIFE SKETCHES.
By Editor
THE EARLY LIFE, CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE, AND EXTENSIVE LABORS OF
ELDER JAMES WHITE,
AND HIS WIFE,
MRS. ELLEN G. WHITE.
THE production of this book was the last literary labor performed by Elder White. As nearly the whole of his active labor was performed in connection with the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, which he was largely instrumental in founding, the work is necessarily quite a complete history of that people.
The book abounds in interesting incidents, personal sketches, and religious experiences, some of which are quite remarkable, and altogether it forms a volume at once instructive and interesting.
416 pp. Price, $1.25.
Address
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
THE COMING CONFLICT;
By W. H. Littlejohn
-OR-
THE GREAT ISSUE NOW PENDING IN THIS COUNTRY.
By W. H. Littlejohn.
This book contains a complete history of the rise and progress of the National Reform Party, together with an exegesis of the last portion of the thirteenth chapter of the book of Revelation, assigning to the United States its proper place in prophecy.
EMPHATICALLY A BOOK FOR THE TIMES.
434 pages, in muslin covers, and will be mailed to any address post-paid, for $1.00.