HE who would really understand the problems confronting Christianity in Japan, must know not only the redeeming and victorious power of Christ's life and words, but must also know the environment which this new life is to affect. It is of prime importance that the Christian Church, which sends eight hundred missionary men and women here, should be acquainted with the conditions under which they are working, in order that their work may not end in embarrassments. The great elements that make up the Japanese environment are four: [We omit the fourth.—Ed. S. or T.]13
1. The Intellectual Environment.
Christianity can not thrive in an atmosphere of ignorance. Its great victories heretofore have been among the peoples who were the most enlightened of their times. And to-day we are in the presence of a nation of 46,000,000, among whose characteristics is now, and always has been, the very marked one of love of knowledge. No sooner were the doors of seclusion opened, than the coronation oath of the present emperor was taken, containing these impressive words, "Knowledge shall be sought for throughout the whole world."
Ever since then the one conspicuous trait of this people has been its burning love of new truth and its great sacrifices to win priceless knowledge. Especially are the young men of Japan intensely eager to acquire all possible information. They really hunger and thirst after knowledge as the young men of no other nation ever did. Schools abound all through the empire. Newspapers and magazines are read by nearly everybody. The scholars of Japan have won names of international interest. Truly, in spite of seeming streaks of narrowness and abiding superstitions, it must be said that the Japanese are the most open-minded people that ever existed, welcoming truth, honoring all, natives or foreigners, who can bring to them the treasures of knowledge.
Now, how can Christianity enter successfully such an environment? Without knowledge it is impossible to win the confidence and respect of these lovers of knowledge. No matter how firmly we believe in the deity of Christ, unless our message can be presented in terms that reveal the possession of up-to-date, modern knowledge, however the spirit of the missionary may affect a few individuals, it will not touch the national life and thought. It is now, as it always has been and ever will be: no religion can arouse the emotions and permanently hold the heart, unless it also convinces the intellect. In every crisis of the church it is not men of faith alone, but also of consecrated knowledge, who have saved the church from corruption and superstition, and made it in some measure the light of the world. So here in Japan, where knowledge is prized, and its possessors are revered, the extension of Christianity by missions, so as to affect the national life and pervade the national thought, is impossible without high grade schools and trained thinkers, who are familiar with the language.
2. The Political Environment.
Never before was there a great non-Christian nation in which the people had such perfect liberty of religious faith as is permitted in Japan. And wherever religious liberty prevails, there also exist the other great liberties of speech and press, of civil and political and educational freedom. Christianity never before had such an opportunity.
There are those who sometimes venture to think that Christianity flourishes best under oppression and persecution. Well, look at Russia and Turkey; if intolerance and violence make a good environment for Christianity, there are ample fields yet remaining for enthusiasts who never feel quite right unless they are persecuted. True, out of persecutions have come a few splendid Christian heroes, whose blood has been indeed the seed of the church. But the vast crop of hypocrites and renegades and pitifully weak people who have been produced by persecutions, who can estimate? Where, throughout the world, has Christianity risen to its highest grades and done the widest missionary work? Only where there is liberty, is the Spirit of God able to elevate and inspire the hearts of nations.
3. The Moral Environment.
I used to think that all non-Christian nations were necessarily rotten, and that they were truthfully represented in those sweeping words in the first chapter of Romans. But I have come to see that the horrible catalog of wickednesses recorded in Romans can be found to some extent in every great city of the Christian nations; and I have learned that the "virtues of the heathen," which have been called "splendid vices," are, rather, splendid fragments of the "light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world."
In ethical life, the world now ranks Japan much higher than so-called Christian Russia. To be sure, the history of Japan reveals glaring immoralities, side by side with lofty virtues. Her commercial and sexual immoralities are known all over the world. Yet it is her virtues, not her vices, that have controlled the destiny of the nation. Everybody knows the place occupied by Chū-kō, Loyalty and Filial Piety. But the manifestation of these virtues lies in the spirit of self-sacrifice for others, even unto death. The path of moral progress is blazed with the precious names of men and women who have unhesitatingly and lovingly given their lives to save others, or to vindicate a righteous purpose.
It is because of this that the people so highly appreciate the ethics based on the love that Christ taught, and the righteousness that is dearer than life. The nation that produced Sakura Sogoro, who incurred death by crucifixion in order to save his friends from ruin, is providentially educated to see the eternal truth that shines forth from the cross of Christ.—Missionary Herald.
THE DARK BEFORE DAWN.
By Edith M. Thomas
O, MYSTERY of the morning gloam,
Of haunted air, of windless hush!
O, wonder of the deepening dome—
Afar, still far, the morning's flush!
My spirit hears, among the spheres,
The round earth's ever-quickening rush!
A single leaf, on yonder tree,
The planet's rush hath felt, hath heard;
And soon all branches whispering be!
That whisper wakes the nested bird—
The song of thrush, before the blush
Of Dawn, the dreaming world hath stirred!
The old moon withers in the east—
The winds of space may drive her far!
In heaven's chancel waits the priest—
Dawn's pontiff-priest, the morning star!
And yonder, lo! a shafted glow—
The gates of Day-spring fall ajar!
—Edith M. Thomas.
LITERARY NOTICES.
By Editor
“The Story of the Congo Free State.” By Henry Wellington Wack, F.R.G.S. 634 pages, 125 half-tone illustrations and one large map of Central Africa. Cloth, price, $3.75, post-paid. Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York and London.
This work purports to give the social, political, and economic aspects of the present system of government in Central Africa, particularly in the Congo Free State. The real purpose of the book, however, is to defend the Belgian administration of the Congo against the attacks of its accusers. For some time, accusations of most flagrant mismanagement and terrible cruelty have been made against Congo officials; and the king of Belgium, who is the sovereign also of the Congo State, has been accused of exploiting that territory for his own private benefit, and holding the natives in a sort of slavery to enhance his profits. His officials are accused of mutilating the natives when they have not brought in the amount of raw rubber designated by the state. Mr. Wack takes issue in the strongest manner with all these accusations; he makes the king of Belgium appear as a much maligned and disinterested philanthropist, pouring out his private fortune solely in the interests of the people of the Congo Free State; he declares the mutilation stories pure fabrications, so far as Belgian officials are concerned; and the exacting of a certain amount of labor each month is represented as simply a matter of light taxation, one of whose purposes is to inculcate habits of industry on the part of the native. Mr. Wack lays upon certain Protestant missionaries and envious British merchants the chief blame for the stories of Congo atrocities; and declares that, as the guardian of the welfare of its people, the Congo Free State has nothing to learn, either in theory or practise, from the most enlightened governments of the world. He has certainly presented a strong brief in the case. How strong the case that has been or can be presented by the other side, we do not know. It is plainly apparent that the Congo Free State is partial to the Roman Catholic religion and its exponents; and, altho Protestant missionaries are admitted by this author to have been in the Congo country earlier than the Catholics, no illustration of Protestant missionaries, or Protestant enterprises, or Protestant missions or schools are to be found in this work, while such illustrations in connection with Catholic propaganda are numerous. Catholic missions and missionaries are specially favored by that government; the criticisms of that administration do not come from Catholic missionaries. There is much interesting history given in this work regarding the establishment of the Congo Free State, and the suppression of the slave trade by Belgian officials. But before accepting as truth all of Mr. Wack’s statements concerning King Leopold’s disinterested benevolence, we advise our readers to obtain and read the publications of the Congo Reform Association, 721 Tremont Temple, Boston, Mass.
“Forgery; Its Detection and Illustration.” 300 pages, copiously illustrated. By Daniel T. Ames. Ames-Rollinson Co., New York City.
The above is the title of an interesting and instructive book which has been laid upon our table. The author is one well qualified to speak. For more than twoscore of years Mr. Ames has been a student of handwriting, as teacher, author, publisher, and expert. He was the founder, and for twenty years the editor, of the Penman’s Art Journal, of New York, which has stood the recognized authority in all phases of the art of writing.
Furthermore, the author has for years made handwriting a special study for the one object of distinguishing between genuine and forged or simulated writing. He has given expert testimony in more than 1,200 cases in all parts of this country, and in England and France. Over fifty of the most noted cases appear in this book, amply illustrated, showing the methods by which forgery is detected. Among these are the Fair case, the Morey-Garfield letter, the Molineaux case, the Dreyfus case, and others of world note. There is also a chapter on the celebrated Junius letters.
But the book is of interest as indicating how character can be judged by handwriting, as perhaps by no other one thing. There are also two chapters on inks and papers.
We confess after reading this book that our respect for true handwriting experts is greatly augmented.
“What a Young Man Ought to Know.” By Sylvanus Stall, D.D. Revised Edition. Price $1.00. Vir Publishing Company, Philadelphia, Pa.
This is one of the “Self and Sex Series,” which we have before noticed and commended. Certainly Dr. Stall has treated these avoided subjects with exceptional skill, delicacy, and strength. Some of these books have been translated into European and Asiatic languages; and large editions have been sold. It is a good book to place in the hands of young men over eighteen years of age. It is a good book for fathers to read with their sons.
“Tor, a Street Boy of Jerusalem.” By Florence Morse Kingsley, with illustrations by F. A. Eckman, Price 50 cents. Henry Altemus Company, Philadelphia.
It is an interesting story of just what might have been in the days when our Lord was upon the earth. Tor is healed by Jesus, and there is born into his heart a desire to bring others to the Saviour.
MY CREED.
By Eben E. Rexford
BETTER a smile than a tear or a sigh,
Better a laugh than a frown,
Better an upward look to the sky
Than always a sad look down.
The joys we find in each little day,
Perhaps, may seem few and small,
But better these little joys, I say,
Than to have no joys at all.
Keep faith in the love that blesses men
As the sunshine does the sod.
Let us do our best, and trust the rest
To the Father-heart of God.
—Eben E. Rexford.
AMERICAN RIGHTS IN TURKEY.
IN February, 1903, the American Minister at Constantinople filed with the Turkish Government a list of American religious, educational, and benevolent institutions in the empire, and demanded for them the same rights and privileges already accorded to similar institutions under France, Russia, and other countries. Over a year and a half passed without any exception being taken to the list as filed, thus tacitly recognizing the tabulated institutions as American. During the presence of the American fleet in the harbor of Smyrna last summer, his majesty the sultan repeatedly assured the United States Minister that these institutions already had all the rights and privileges accorded those of other nations, and that a formal declaration of that fact in sealed documents was not necessary. These documents, however, were promised, and upon the strength of the promise the fleet was ordered away. No documentary recognition was given. In October of last year, under instructions from Washington, Mr. Jay, the chargé d’affaires at Constantinople, declared that all of the institutions on the list presented in 1903 are now considered as having been officially recognized, and “by virtue of that recognition are entitled to the same treatment, privileges, and immunities in their respective classes that are accorded to similar institutions of other nationalities. Among these privileges is that of exemption from taxation.” The various heads of these several institutions were instructed by Mr. Jay not to pay taxes, but to refer all demands to the Legation. The situation is simply this: that our Legation has taken the sultan at his own word, and it devolves upon him to show why these American institutions should not act upon the belief that he spoke the truth when he declared them as already recognized, and thus exempt from taxation. The burden of proof and action now rests upon him.—Missionary Herald.
PUBLICATIONS WANTED.
LATE, clean copies of Signs, Instructor, Little Friend, and Life Boat, and any of our tracts for free distribution. Publications in Spanish and Mexican can also be used. Address, prepaid, Robert Sawyer, Box 308, National City, Cal.
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THE LOVE OF SISTERS.
SISTERS usually love each other, but not all love as did two little waifs in the orphanage. They knew that they could not always stay in the great building which had opened kind doors to receive them, when there was nowhere else for them to go; but they hoped to find a home together.
One after another of their little mates went away. Some were glad to go. Others wept aloud at parting with so many playfellows, and clung to the neck of the matron. For days after such partings, Georgiana and Jessie were more sober than usually. Their little hands sought each other, and their eyes met oftener. One day—O joy of joys!—two of the older girls went out together into the same home.
"There! didn't I tell you?" said Georgiana.
Jessie, who was never quite as brave and bright as Georgiana, looked up into her taller sister's eyes, and shook her head.
Not long after this the head nurse came into the room. "O, here you are! Georgiana, make yourself very tidy, put on a clean apron, and go into the reception room at once. Mrs. Mason wants a lady to meet you."
The hearts of both little girls stood still for a moment. Then, as the nurse hastened on, they looked at each other. "Come on," said Georgiana, brightly. "I'll fix you up first."
"But Mrs. Mason doesn't want me."
"Don't you know that she always calls me when she wants us? I'm older than you. She knows I'll bring you. We are always together. If she hadn't wanted you, the nurse would have said that she only wanted me."
So they hastened to the lavatory, and soon were standing at the door of the reception room, hand in hand.
"Come in, Georgiana!" said Mrs. Mason.
Jessie held back, but her sister drew her into the room.
"This is our little Georgiana, Mrs. Arden," said the matron.
Mrs. Arden held out her hand. "How do you do, Georgiana?" she asked, tho not feeling quite sure which one would answer her question.
Both went forward—for Georgiana would not let go of the little hand. Indeed, so tightly did she hold it, as to hurt the little fingers. But Jessie did not care for that, for her heart was beginning to hurt much worse. Georgiana bowed slightly, laid her right hand on the one held out to her, and said, "Thank you, Mrs. Arden, I am very well." Then, in the next breath, and with a pleading look at the matron, she added: "And this is my sister Jessie. She—she's quite big, too."
"Georgiana is very gentle and affectionate," said the matron, with a smile. Indeed, this very act of the child was adding greatly to the favor with which the ladies were regarding her.
"Are you fond of children, Georgiana?" the lady asked.
"O, yes; and I love my little sister very much."
"What a pleasant voice! Would you like to help take care of a sweet little baby in my home?"
"Very much; wouldn't we, Jessie?"
Jessie turned very red, and nearly cried, but she nodded her little head so hard that the pigtail braid at the back flopped against her shoulder. The two ladies looked at each other and smiled. "You may run away now," said the matron. "This afternoon, at two?" they heard her ask, as they went out.
"There! what did I tell you?" said the older sister. But Jessie only shook her head.
After a while the matron sent again for Georgiana; and when the two appeared together, she told them she wished to speak only to her, for a moment or two. Then it was that the child learned the pitiless truth. No tears, no pleading, could change it. The lady did not want two little nurses; she only wanted one. And that one was Georgiana.
"Now, don't cry, and make your sister unhappy! You are a good child. Be brave! You may come every week and see Jessie. Think how nice that will be!"
The little girl stole into a dark closet, and sobbed until she could sob no more. Then a beautiful hope came to her. She went out, bathed her face, and looked for her sister. Jessie was not far off. Her eyes and nose were very red. It was plain to see how she had passed the time since going upstairs.
"I must go first," said Georgiana. "Maybe they won't like me. If they don't, I'll come back. But if they do—why, you know that two little girls can sleep in one bed. And, if we're very careful, we can make our clothes last just as long again. And—and we aren't very big eaters!"
"N-not always," said Jessie.
So brave little Georgiana helped her sister to bear the parting. She believed, truly, that she could win the way open for Jessie, and went away with her little heart full of new hope. As the days went by, how brave she was! How hard she tried to please! Every week, when she went to see her sister, she cheered the lonely heart by saying, "I'm getting the place ready for you, dear."
After a time Georgiana grew thin and pale. She thought in her poor, lonely heart that she would show them how very little it took to feed a girl. So she ate but lightly. And as her slight hints were not taken about Jessie's coming to join her, she grieved more and more.
One evening the cook came to Mrs. Arden. "It's breakin' th' heart av me, mum, t' hear th' prayers an' th' cryin' av th' new little nurse gurrul. It's scolded an' threatened thet Oi hev, mum, an' almost punished av her mesilf; but it matthers naught. Jist come for yersilf, mum, an' hear th' goin's on av her."
The two went up the back stairs softly.
A muffled sobbing came to their ears, with occasional sentences: "O, Jesus! I don't see how I'm going to live without my sister. And she wants me, too. And there's bread and things thrown away, every day, that would more'n feed her! And, O! if You'll only bring her here, or send us away together, I won't bother you so much. But I have to do it, You see. Don't You see how it is? I just have to, dear Jessie!"
Cook looked at Mrs. Arden. The two went down the stairs, soft little sobs following them.
"There! how kin Oi kape from goin' chrazy! Bayloike ye kin ohndhersth-and now what has been th' matther wid th' cookin' these days. Oi don't want th' house turned intil a norpunige; but ayther Oi must give wahrnin', or she. An' Oi'm sorry for th' spalpeen, Oi am, mum."
"Cook, I feel wicked for separating those children."
"Dade, an' it's mysilf as is goin' t' do pinnance th' mohrn, for shakin' av her th' noight, mum."
"Suppose I take the smaller girl to amuse the baby, and keep this one to help you? Do you think you could be prompt with the meals, then? Mr. Arden has been annoyed lately."
"Ef th' ither wan is on'y loike to this wan, Oi'm sure av it, mum."
"Then I'll go and tell her," said Mrs. Arden. "My husband said it was too bad to part the sisters, when she first came." She hastened up the stairs, calling, "Georgiana! I am coming to tell you something very pleasant!"
The little girl sat up in bed, her white face showing in the moonlight.
"You and I will drive over after Jessie to-morrow. Mrs. Mason will let her come and live here, if you tell her that you like to be with us. She can amuse baby, and you can do little things to help cook, who is getting old, and needs some good bright, little girl like you. Would you like it, Georgiana? And I'll have the governess give you two little sisters lessons, from half past seven until nine, three evenings in the week. How is that?"
"O, how beautiful it all is! O, how beautiful you are!" said Georgiana, very softly. "I won't have to bother Jesus now—'cept just to thank Him. Mrs. Arden, may—may I kiss you?—just a teeny, weeny kiss?"
"Dear little girl!" said the lady, "we will kiss each other."—Christian Advocate.
THE EASTER LILY.
By Maidie E. Barnitz
BY MAIDIE E. BARNITZ.
O LILY, golden-hearted,
O flower born of light,
The sign of hope supernal,
A splendor waxen white.
The eyes of earth responsive,
Turn to that light on high,
The sign of life transfigured,
And hope that can not die.
Ah, not in the clear bright heavens,
But deep in the dark alone,
No life or light beside it,
That crown of light was grown.
Its faith, forever feeling
On to the larger light,
Has kept it reaching up to
The miracle out of sight.
On, on, through all opposing,
The dark, the mire, the clay,
To find its fuller being,
Within the clearer day.
So, not for its rarer radiance,
We claim that symbol white,
But the faith which knew its portion
Was one with the endless light.
Berkeley, Cal.
A TOUCHING STORY.
A touching story is told of three young men who stood with tear-filled eyes by a bedside on which a white, still form was lying.
"She has gone," was the unspoken thought of all.
"Never three sons were blessed with a better mother," said one.
The closed eyes opened once more, and with a look of unutterable love the white lips spoke these words, "Never mother was blessed with better sons."
Mother's last words and such words!
Will they ever be forgotten?
Years have passed, and amid the turmoil of busy life, the white lives of those boys tell that those precious words are not forgotten.—Selected.
LET THE LITTLE DOGS ALONE.
A MAN set out to walk a hundred miles. Two days later another man followed on the same road and on the fourth day overtook the first man. The latter remarked: "This is the worst road I ever traveled. There is the greatest lot of barking little dogs I ever saw, and it has taken half my time to drive them off."
"Why," said the second man, "I didn't pay any attention to them, but came right along as if they weren't there."—Selected.
A Good Name
By Restitution
Secure a good name to thyself by living virtuously and humbly; but let this good name be nursed abroad and never be brought home to look upon it. Let others use it for their own advantage—let them speak of it if they please; but do not thou use it at all but as an instrument to do God glory and thy neighbor more advantage. Let thy face, like Moses', shine to others, but make no looking-glass to thyself.—Restitution.
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(1) “I AM the true Vine, and My Father is the Husbandman. (2) Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit, He taketh it away; and every branch that beareth fruit, He cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit. (3) Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. (4) As the branch can not bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in Me. (5) I am the Vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for apart from Me ye can do nothing. (6) If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. (7) If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (8) Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and so shall ye be My disciples. (9) Even as the Father hath loved Me, I also have loved you; abide ye in My love. (10) If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. (11) These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. (12) This is My commandment, that ye love one another, even as I have loved you.”
Golden Text.—“Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.” Verse 8.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) What symbol does Christ use to represent Himself in this lesson? Then what position does the Father hold? Verse 1. Note 1. (2) What does the Husbandman do with unfruitful branches? And what with those that bear fruit? Verse 2. Note 2. (3) With what does the Lord cleanse, or sanctify, His followers? Verse 3; chapter 17:17. Note 3. (4) What instruction is then given to believers? Wherein lies the importance of this instruction? Verse 4. Note 4. (5) How is this instruction emphasized in Verse 5? Note 5. (6) What is the consequence of not abiding in Christ? What is done with branches that are cut off from the Vine? Verse 6. Note 6. (7) What blessing and privilege comes to those who abide in Christ? Verse 7. Note 7. (8) How can believers best glorify the Father? Verse 8; chapter 8:31. Note 8. (9) How strong is Christ’s love for His disciples? Then where should they abide? Verse 9. Note 9. (10) How may they abide in His love? In this what example do they follow? Verse 10. Note 10. (11) Why does Jesus speak these things to us? Verse 11. Note 11. (12) What comprehensive commandment does He give to us? Verse 12. Note 12.
NOTES.
1. Israel was a vine brought out of Egypt, and planted in Palestine; but it was plucked by strangers, and ravaged by wild beasts (Ps. 80:8-16); and the Lord permitted its burning and cutting down because it brought forth “wild grapes” (Isaiah 5). But here is introduced the true Vine, whose fruit will be “unto life eternal” (John 4:36).
2. The fruit that is expected of a branch of the true Vine is the “fruit of the Spirit,” which we are told is “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control.” Gal. 5:22, 23. It often takes considerable pruning to produce such fruit in the human life; but a meek submission will be amply repaid in happy results. And a branch that can not be made to bear good fruit would better be cut off.
3. Jesus had been cleansing and purifying His disciples for three and a half years, through teaching them the Word of God and exemplifying it in His life.
4. To abide in Christ is to cling tenaciously to the Word which He taught. It contains the instruction of His Spirit, which He has given for our guidance in the truth and for our comfort in trouble.
5. Apart from Christ is the condition of one who deviates from the Word. The enemy is ever placing before us the temptation to modify the Word of God—to take something away here, or add something there—to make it more in harmony with our natural inclinations. This temptation is especially strong in connection with the commandments of God, and the ordinances that Christ has instituted.
6. Verse 6 makes personal application to the individual. The man that abides not in the Word by which he is purified for good works (Titus 2:14) will be literally cast into the fire. Mal. 4:1-3; Rev. 20:7-9.
7. Verse 7 contains the secret of effectual prayer. With the wisdom of the Word, and the promptings of the Spirit, will come the knowledge of how to ask and for what to pray.
8. Bearing an abundance of the fruit of the Spirit will always glorify God in presence of those with whom we associate. This verse 8 is equivalent to Matt. 5:16: “So let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
9. The intensity of Christ’s love for His disciples is well expressed in verse 9. It is even as that of the Father toward Him. We can not comprehend or fathom such love, yet it is accessible to the disciple of Christ. Surely it is worth seeking, and worth abiding in when found.
10. In verse 10 we have the secret of abiding in the love of Christ. It is found in keeping His commandments. His commandments are the same as the Father’s commandments; for He did not come to destroy even “one jot or one tittle” of these (See Matt. 5:17, 18; Rom. 3:31); and, “I and my Father are One” (John 10:30).
11. The Lord designs that His people shall be a joyful people. This is possible by entering into His joy through a hearty obedience of His Word. Remember that it was through disobedience that our first parents lost this fulness of joy, and it is made possible to us again through the obedience of Christ (Rom. 5:19). So if obedience was essential to Adam’s fulness of joy, it is none the less essential to the Christian’s joyfulness to-day.
The Sabbath-school lessons have been discontinued. The Lesson Quarterly may be obtained, containing three months' lessons and notes, for five cents. Address, Pacific Press, Mountain View, Cal. The Sunday-school lessons will continue.
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