There is a much greater work devolving upon the individual members of the church than they realize. They are not awake to the claims of God. The time has come when there should be devised every means that can aid in preparing a people to stand in the day of God. We must be wide awake, refusing to let precious opportunities pass unimproved. We must do all that we possibly can to win souls to love God and keep his commandments. Jesus requires this of those who know the truth. Is his demand unreasonable? Do we not have the life of Christ as our example? Do we not owe the Saviour a debt of love, of earnest, unselfish labor for the salvation of those for whom he gave his own life?
Many of the members of our large churches are doing comparatively nothing. They might accomplish a good work, if, instead of crowding together, they would scatter into places that have not yet been entered by the truth. Trees that are planted too thickly do not flourish. They are transplanted by the gardener, that they may have room to grow, and not become dwarfed and sickly. The same rule would work well for our large churches. Many of the members are dying spiritually for want of this very work. They are becoming sickly and inefficient. Transplanted, they would have room to grow strong and vigorous.
It is not the purpose of God that his people should colonize, or settle together in large communities. The disciples of Christ are his representatives upon the earth, and God designs that they shall be scattered all over the country, in the towns, cities, and villages, as lights amid the darkness of the world. They are to be missionaries for God, by their faith and works testifying to the near approach of the coming Saviour.
The lay members of our churches can accomplish a work which as yet they have scarcely begun. None should move into new places merely for the sake of worldly advantage; but where there is an opening to obtain a livelihood, let families that are well-grounded in the truth enter, one or two families in a place, to work as missionaries. They should feel a love for souls, a burden of labor for them, and should study how to bring them into the truth. They can distribute our publications, hold meetings in their homes, become acquainted with their neighbors, and invite them to come to these meetings and Bible readings. Thus they can let their light shine in good works.
Let the workers stand alone in God, weeping, praying, laboring for the salvation of their fellow men. Remember that you are running a race, striving for a crown of immortality. While so many love the praise of men more than the favor of God, let it be yours to labor in humility. Learn to exercise faith in presenting your neighbors before the throne of grace, and pleading with God to touch their hearts. In this way effectual missionary work may be done. Some may be reached who would not listen to a minister or a colporteur. And those who thus labor in new places will learn the best ways and means of approaching the people, and can prepare the way for other laborers.
A precious experience may be gained by one who engages in this work. He has upon his heart the burden of the souls of his neighbors. He must have the help of Jesus. How careful he will be to walk circumspectly, that his prayers may not be hindered, that no cherished sin may separate him from God. While helping others, such a worker is himself obtaining spiritual strength and understanding, and in this humble school he may become qualified to enter a wider field.
Christ declares, “Herein is my father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.” God has endowed us with faculties, and has entrusted us with talents, in order that we may use them for him. To every man is given his work,—not merely work in his fields of corn and wheat, but earnest, persevering work for the salvation of souls. Every stone in God’s temple must be a living stone, a stone that shines, reflecting light to the world. Let the laymen do all that they can; and as they use the talents they already have, God will give them more grace and increased ability. Many of our missionary enterprises are crippled because there are so many who refuse to enter the doors of usefulness that are plainly opened before them. Let all who believe the truth begin to work. Do the work that lies nearest you; do anything, however humble, rather than be, like the men of Meroz, do-nothings.
We shall not be stinted for means if we will only go forward, trusting in God. The Lord is willing to do a great work for all who truly believe in him. If the lay members of the church will arouse to do the work that they can do, going a warfare at their own charges, each seeing how much he can accomplish in winning souls to Jesus, we shall see many leaving the ranks of Satan to stand under the banner of Christ. If our people will act upon the light that is given in these few words of instruction, showing that they sincerely believe the truth which they profess, we shall surely see of the salvation of God. Wonderful revivals will follow. Sinners will be converted, and many souls will be added to the church. When we bring our hearts into unity with Christ, and our lives into harmony with his work, the Spirit that fell on the disciples on the day of Pentecost will fall on us.
How the Lord Instructs His People
By John Norton Loughborough
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.” Heb. 1: 1, 2.
In a former article we called attention to three ways by which, in ancient time, the Lord communicated with his people. These were by audible voice, by visitation of angels, and by prophets. He said of the latter class, “If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.” Num. 12: 6.
The visions given to the prophets were of two kinds. One of these was called “open visions,” when the prophet could be seen while in the vision, and the people have opportunity to know something of the power that accompanied the vision. The other class was called “night visions.”
In the case of the child Samuel, reference is made to the “open visions,” in these words: “The word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.” 1 Sam. 3: 1. There were prophets at that time who received instructions from the Lord, but their visions were not, it appears, given to them openly, before the people. In the chapter previous to that in which we have the record of Samuel’s vision, at the same date,—1165 B. C.,—there came “a man of God”—a prophet—unto Eli, and told him his wrongs, and predicted the fate of his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, that they should both die in one day, etc. 1 Sam. 2: 27, 30, 34. In the same chapter where it is said, “There was no open vision,” is found the record of the vision given to the child Samuel. It was “not an ‘open vision,’” not even Eli saw Samuel in the vision. The Lord taught Samuel the tidings he must bear to Eli. The record of the next morning reads, “And Samuel feared to show Eli the vision.” 1 Sam. 3: 15. Samuel at that time had a vision from God, although it was not an “open vision.” It must, then, have been of the character designated in the Scriptures as “night visions.”
In the book of the prophet Ezekiel is an account of one of his visions which could well be called “an open vision.” We read, “And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me. Then I beheld, and8lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the color of amber. And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy. And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.” Eze. 8: 1-4. This vision he said was in the presence of the elders—“an open vision.”
According to the record, one of Daniel’s visions began openly, before his associates, who might have seen him in the vision had not they in their fright run away to hide themselves. Of this vision we read, “I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision.” Dan. 10: 7, 8. The men over whom Daniel was placed were Chaldeans—heathens—idol worshipers. They knew not the Spirit of God. And when in mighty power it fell upon Daniel, in their presence, it filled them with terror, and they ran to hide themselves from this power unknown to them.
There are many cases of “night visions” recorded in the Bible. When Jacob was journeying from Canaan to Egypt, “God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation.” Gen. 46: 2, 3.
When the wise men of Babylon were sentenced to death for failing to tell the king, Nebuchadnezzar, his wonderful dream which he had forgotten, it is written, “Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision.” Dan. 2: 19. He recognized this as direct instruction from the Lord. And, as he came in with all confidence before the king, he uttered these words: “The secret which the king hath demanded can not the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king; but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. . . . The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” Dan. 2: 27, 28, 45.
Daniel’s wonderful dream of the four beasts, recorded in the seventh chapter of his prophecy, is another instance of “night visions.” The record reads, “Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea,” etc. Again we read, “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came in the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom.” Dan. 7: 1, 2, 13, 14.
An account is given in the New Testament of the call for Paul to visit Macedonia, in these words: “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; there stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.” The apostle seemed to have all confidence that this was a heaven-sent call; for Luke in recording it says, “And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.” Acts 16: 9, 10.
When Paul had come to Corinth, and was laboring at his trade of tent making for his support, and preaching every Sabbath to the people, the Jews raised a tumult against him, so that he was obliged to adjourn his meetings to the house of Justus, close by the synagogue. It looked to outward appearance as if his way was hedged up. “Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.” Acts 18: 9, 10. The efforts of the Jews, shortly after, to defeat the work of Paul, and how they were defeated by the speech and course of Gallio, as recorded in the same chapter, is a confirmation of what was told Paul in that “night vision.”
Then, again, there is the account of that memorable night in Jerusalem, when the apostle was confined in the castle, and more than forty of the Jews had banded themselves together “under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.” “The Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.” Acts 23: 11, 12.
Shortly after this, at Cæsarea, Paul was brought before Festus. There he appealed unto Cæsar. This was no hasty move on the part of Paul,—not a move simply by which he thought to secure some personal favor; but rather the accomplishment of the instruction he had received concerning his preaching the gospel at Rome. He well knew that in order to have his case brought before Cæsar, he must personally go to Rome. When there, he would improve the opportunities that might open up to fulfill the commission to preach the gospel in Rome.
When on his way to Rome, and when the ship was in the midst of that awful tempest, “and when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and . . . all hope that we should be saved was then taken away . . . Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Cæsar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.” Acts 27: 20-25.
Paul had “abundance of the revelations” from God. He had the prophetic gift. The Lord had said, “If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.” Num. 12: 6. Such dreams and night visions are of a different character from those of which Solomon spoke when he said, “A dream cometh through the multitude of business” (Eccl. 5: 3); these are from a higher source; they are of a character entitling them to the highest credit as coming from God. From the instances cited, one is led to conclude that “night visions” should be regarded as having the same force and origin as the “open visions.”
Peace
By J. H. Smith
On ocean’s surface storms arise,
And angry surges threat the skies.
And many a vessel, tempest tost,
Amid the waves is wrecked and lost,
While deep within his mighty breast
The quiet waters are at rest;
For in the regions far below
No storms his silent caverns know.
So on the sea of human life
Arise the waves of care and strife;
And griefs and troubles often sweep
Across the surface of life’s deep,
While in the constant soul resides
A peace untouched by sorrow’s tides,
A steadfast peace, an inward joy,
Which nothing earthly can destroy,—
The boon a gracious heaven imparts
To faithful souls and willing hearts.
— J. H. Smith.
Ananias and Sapphira
By G. B. Thompson
G. B. THOMPSON
The inspired narrative in the book of Acts concerning Ananias and Sapphira contains instruction for the church to-day. It is a brief, but terrible history. It was certainly a great sin which caused the Lord to interpose in so marked a manner, and remove from among his people those who through selfishness were led into hypocrisy. We should study, and heed the lesson well, that in these closing hours of probation we may not commit a like offense.
With many others Ananias and his wife heard the gospel preached by the apostles with power. The selfishness of their hearts was subdued, and the spread of the gospel for a time took precedence in their hearts. Led by the Spirit, they made a vow. The Lord had given them some of this world in trust, and they made a pledge to give to the Lord a certain amount. It was no doubt done after prayer and special seeking of the Lord to know his will in the matter.
This vow God heard. An angel from the heavenly court made a record of their pledge in the archives above. Doubtless this pledge was made in about the same manner that the servants of the Lord make pledges now. As we have listened to appeals from the servants of God touching the needs of the field, and heard the call for men and means to finish the work in this generation, that we might see our Lord and enter into our eternal rest, under the powerful influence of the Holy Spirit we have vowed that we would give a certain amount, or have devoted a certain thing, to the Lord's work in the earth. Perhaps we have given ourselves to the work, or pledged before the Lord more faithfulness in the payment of tithes than in the past.
Ananias and Sapphira did the same, and no doubt they were honest in their intentions. But Satan came in; he made suggestions which they entertained. They began to question the matter, and wonder if they had not really been too hasty. Their own needs came before9them, and a desire to reconsider their apparently hasty vow entered their hearts. They talked the matter over between them, and finally reached the decision that they had been entirely too liberal in their pledge, and that they would withhold a certain amount, yet pretend they were giving the entire amount pledged. But while they might easily deceive man, they could not deceive the Lord; he knew the wickedness of their hearts, and summarily removed them from the church. Instant death was visited upon them; two graves in the cemetery told the sequel. What an awful object lesson! And God has not changed!
Have we made pledges to the work of God, and not paid them? Have we, after making a pledge, thought we were too hasty, or that Brother—made a stronger appeal than the situation really demanded, and repented, and given only a part of the price? Have we vowed that we would give ourselves to the work of God, to some particular branch of the work, perchance, and have not done it? Have we vowed that we would pay an honest tithe, as the Word of God teaches, vowed before the Lord that we would give him his own, and at the end of the week, month, or quarter, brought in a part of the price, laying it down, saying, “There is my tithe,” yet knowing that it was not our tithe, but only a portion of it? What is the difference between this transaction and that of Ananias and his wife? “A warning was thus given to all who professed Christ at that time, and to all who should afterward profess his name, that God requires faithfulness in the performance of vows. But notwithstanding this signal punishment of deception and lying, the same sins have often been repeated in the Christian church, and are wide-spread in our day. I have been shown that God gave this example as a warning to all who should be tempted to act in a similar manner.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. IV, pages 463, 464.
Surely we each should take this lesson to our hearts, examine our stuff, and see if we are faithfully fulfilling the vows we have made. Time is short; the heavenly court is in session, and we each have a case pending. The Lord is our friend; let us not seek to deceive him. Remember Ananias and Sapphira.
Spiritual Reckoning
By A. H. Rogers
“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom. 6: 11.
But to do this we must be ready reckoners in the school of Christ.
To become dead to sin, subtraction is to be applied to the life. “But now ye also put off [or subtract] all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off [subtracted] the old man with his deeds; and have put on [added] the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” Col. 3: 8-10.
This is the restoring of the divine image in man. The individual will continually work on the plan of addition. “Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1: 5-8.
When the individual works by this rule, God will work for him by the rule of multiplication. “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.” Verse 2.
O for men and women who will become “ready reckoners,” “lightning calculators,” in the things of God! “Then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday;” “and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”—A. H. Rogers.
A Grand Concert
WHAT a blessed concert that will be when the mountains and the hills break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field clap their hands in applause! Who would not like to be there to hear and see? “But,” says some wise objector, “that is all figurative; it is not meant to be taken literally, because the mountains and the hills can not sing, and the trees can not clap their hands; indeed, they have no hands to clap.” O, foolish wisdom, which knows so much that it shuts out all knowledge! Even so the disciples of Jesus wondered what he meant when he said that he should rise from the dead. They were sure that his words could not be taken literally, because they thought they knew that he could not die, and rise again. But they were mistaken. If instead of “reasoning” as they did, they had believed his words, they would have been saved much shame and confusion. Suppose that instead of disputing with the Word of the Lord, we allow it to teach us. He says that the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing, and therefore we believe that they will do so, and that we shall hear them. We shall then learn something about music, which the greatest composers of earth can not teach us.
There is light which human eyes can not see, and there are many sounds which human ears are too dull to hear; but God both sees and hears. When we become so spiritual that we are worthy to have spiritual bodies, then we shall be able to see and hear things that have never yet come within man's comprehension. These things are made known to us by the Holy Spirit; let us therefore yield ourselves to him, that we may be made wholly spiritual, and thus be able to attain true wisdom, the wisdom of God. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.”—Present Truth.
Make Every Day Count
By O. S. M.
THE man who starts out in the morning with a determination to do something during the day that will amount to something, that will be distinctive, that will have individuality, that will give him satisfaction at night, is a great deal more likely not to waste his day in frivolous, unproductive work than the man who starts out with no plan.
Begin every day, therefore, with a program, and determine that, let what will come, you will carry it out as closely as possible. Follow this up persistently, day after day, and you will be surprised at the result.
Make up your mind, at the very outset of the day, that you will accomplish something that will amount to something, that you will not allow callers to chip away your time, and that you will not permit the little annoyances of your business to spoil your day's work. Make up your mind that you will be larger than the trifles which cripple and cramp mediocre lives, and that you will rise above petty annoyances and interruptions and carry out your plans in a large and commanding way.
Make every day of your life count for something, make it tell in the grand results, not merely as an added day, but as an added day with something worthy achieved.—O. S. M.
A Wealth of Pictures
By John Kendrick Bangs
THERE'S a wealth of lovely pictures in
this blessed world of ours:
There's the rainbow in the heavens after
spring and summer showers,
With its wondrous hues prismatic, with
its perfect arching grace,
From the zenith of its beauty to its distant
misty base.
There's the sunrise o'er the mountains in
the simmering August days;
There's the sunset in the valley in a veil
of bluish haze;
There's the river flowing gently from the
upland to the sea,
Now all golden in the sunlight, in the
shadow silvery.
There's the meadow full of clover, and
the cattle grazing there—
All is silent, all is peaceful, all is free
from every care.
There's the vista through the woodland,
with its gorgeous autumn hue;
There's the twinkling star a-peeping
through the deepening evening blue.
There's the vast, unrestful ocean, 'neath
a fair, unclouded sky;
There's the dancing wave a-winking as
the ships go sailing by;
There's the garden with its flowers, with
its roses all ablow;
There's the very soul of purity, the first
fresh fall of snow.
—John Kendrick Bangs.
Joseph Forgiving His Brethren
“Joseph forgiving his brethren is greater than Joseph filling the storehouses.”
The Little Armchair
By Margaret E. Sangster
NOBODY sits in the little armchair;
It stands in a corner dim;
But a white-haired mother, gazing there,
And yearningly thinking of him,
Sees through the dust of the long ago
The bloom of her boy’s sweet face,
As he rocks so merrily to and fro,
With a laugh that cheers the place.
Sometimes he holds a book in his hand,
Sometimes a pencil and slate,
And the lesson is hard to understand,
And the figures hard to mate;
But she sees the nod of his father’s head,
So proud of the little son,
And she hears the words so often said,
“ No fear for our little one.”
They were wonderful days, the dear,
Sweet days
When a child with sunny hair
Was hers to kiss, to love, and to praise,
At her knee in the little chair.
She lost him back in the busy years
When the great world caught the man,
And he strode away, past hopes and
fears,
To his place in the battle’s van.
But now and then in a wistful dream,
Like a picture out of date,
She sees the head with a golden gleam
Bend over a pencil and slate.
And she lives again in the happy day,
The day of her young life’s spring,
When the small armchair stood just in
the way,
The center of everything.
—Margaret E. Sangster.
The Gymnastics of Housework
By Mrs. E. E. Kellogg
MRS. E. E. KELLOGG
Housework ought to be so regulated that health shall be the first consideration—the health of the worker, and also the health of all for whom the work is done. For the worker, one of the first requisites is a working garb, permitting of perfect freedom of action, and so short and light in weight as not to restrict any movement. To attempt to work in the long skirt of the prevailing fashion is to make every task more toilsome. Tight collars, corsets, and bands should find no place in the worker's uniform.
In nearly all departments of housekeeping, thought and planning will make possible the saving of labor and energy to a greater or less extent.
Housework as ordinarily performed involves much standing at a table, range, or sink, with consequent weariness of body. Most of such tasks may be done as well and with far more ease when sitting, and a chair or stool with back of proper height, with foot rest if needed, should form a part of the equipment of every kitchen, for use when washing dishes and preparing food. Hundreds of women suffer with aching backs because their workbench, table, or range is fitted so low that in dish washing there must be a constant stooping or bending of the body, of greater or less degree, during the entire task. This should be obviated by having the necessary furnishings of such height as will admit of standing erect and maintaining a proper poise while doing the work. Every housekeeper should plan to have her work-table of such height as to meet her own individual needs. The regulation height at which tables are ordinarily manufactured is very commonly too low for women above medium stature. Blocks of wood may be placed under the table legs, and in this way its height be so adjusted as to adapt it to the worker's stature, and make it possible for the worker, whether standing or sitting during the task, to maintain a correct poise. On the maintenance of correct poise depends very largely the ease with which the housework may be accomplished. Correct poise is nature's plan for the conservation of energy, for making lighter the strain of physical exertion. With the body in the natural poise, the chest uplifted, and with firmly held abdominal muscles, each of the internal organs maintains its proper adjustment; but when an incorrect position is assumed, there results at once pressure and strain, so that the body must act under a disadvantage and mechanically.
If one has formed the habit of standing, walking, or sitting incorrectly, it may require considerable effort to correct the poise, and at first it may seem more fatiguing to keep the proper position than to do the work in the old way. But one should persevere until the correct posture becomes a habit; not only because the work can be done with greater ease, but because it should be every woman's aim to attain as near to physical perfection as possible.
The correct standing poise should be such that a straight line will pass upward from the ball of the foot directly in front of the shoulders, dividing the head just in front of the ear.
The following is a simple rule for getting a good standing position: place the back against the wall (a door is best, as there is no baseboard in the way), press the heels against the wall, then the hips, shoulders, and finally the head, taking care not to bend the head backwards. This will straighten the body, and in part correct flatness of the chest. But one step further is necessary to acquire the correct standing attitude. Keeping the heels and the hips against the wall, bend the head backward, allowing the chest in the meantime to be pushed forward. Holding the chest and trunk in position, raise the head forward to the natural erect attitude, and the body will be in a correct standing poise. Now, while holding the trunk rigid, step forward from the wall, swinging the arms slightly, and one will thus find himself in correct walking poise. If this position seems a little awkward and stiff at first, it will with practice become easy and natural, and the erect, vigorous carriage will give dignity to the physical bearing, which may contribute not a little to one's influence and usefulness, as well as add immensely to one's vigor and endurance.
With the body in proper poise, the movements necessitated in the sweeping of a room afford excellent exercise for the development of the arms and chest, provided, as has been previously stated, both sides of the body are given an equal chance. Keep the chest elevated, and make the arms, and not the back, do the work.
In performing any tasks which require bending of the body, it should be remembered that the hinge of the body is at the hips, and not at the waist.
In bed making, as in sweeping, the correct poise should be maintained, depending upon the arm movements for the real labor, bending when necessary at the hips, and making of the throwing of each of the covers an opportunity for deep breathing, drawing in the breath as the arms are raised.
With a work-table of such height that one can stand erect while at work, dish washing and bread kneading afford an opportunity for splendid arm and wrist movements.
The area which must be traversed in performing the multiplicity of duties devolving upon the housekeeper, is likely to afford ample opportunity for exercise of the leg muscles, and within reasonable limits is a means of health preservation. Too much exercise at housework is of course detrimental, as is overexertion in any way. Even the stairs, which in some houses must be ascended so many times a day, are not the unmitigated evil they appear if one learns to maintain the correct poise while ascending and descending steps. To climb stairs without fatigue, one must avoid stooping. Incline the body slightly forward, and keep the chest erect, as it were lifting one's self with the chest. The work is thus done with the legs, and not with the back. Plant the whole foot firmly upon the step. Breathe through the nose, taking deep inhalations. If one has a burden to carry, it is well to stop once or twice during the ascent for rest and deep breathing. Never run up-stairs.
In going down the stairs, keep the body perfectly erect, touching the steps with the ball of the foot, and yielding at the knee.
It is a matter of consequence to every housekeeper to understand the principles which underlie physical culture, not only that she may know how to carry herself while performing her daily tasks, but also to know how to relax and rest the fatigued muscles between tasks.
True Rest Is Complete Relaxation
TRUE rest is complete relaxation.
Handsome Is That Handsome Does
A WOMAN, famous as one of the most kindly and lovable among leaders of the best American society, once said: “If I have been able to accomplish anything in life, it is due to a word spoken to me in the right season when I was a child, by my old teacher. I was the only homely, awkward girl in a class of exceptionally pretty ones, and being also dull at my books, became the butt of the school. I fell into a morose, despairing state, gave up study, withdrew into myself, and grew daily more bitter and vindictive.
“One day the French teacher, a gray-haired old woman with keen eyes and a kind smile, found me crying. “‘Qu’ as tu, ma fille?’ she asked.
“‘O, madame, I am so ugly!’ I sobbed out. She soothed me, but did not contradict me.
“Presently she took me to her room, and, after amusing me for some time, said: ‘I have a present for you,’ handing me a scaly, coarse lump, covered with earth. ‘It is round and brown as you. ‘Ugly?’ did you say? Very well. We will call it by your name, then. It is you! Now you shall plant it and water it and give it sun for a week or two.’
“I planted it, and watched it carefully; the green leaves came first, and at last the golden Japanese lily, the first I had ever seen. Madame came to share my delight.
“‘Ah,’ she said, significantly, ‘who would believe so much beauty and fragrance were shut up in that little, rough, ugly thing? But it took heart and came up into the sun.’
“It was the first time that it ever occurred to me that in spite of my ugly face, I, too, might be able to win friends and to make myself beloved in the world.”—Northwestern Christian Advocate.
A Happy Home
By J. R. Miller, D. D.
REALLY the making of the home begins before the home is set up—it begins when two agree to unite their lives in marriage. The marriage ceremony does not necessarily ordain happiness. There are lives wedded which never blend. Marriage should not be entered upon hastily, heedlessly, but always reverently, discreetly, prayerfully.
When the marriage tie has been formed, each has a sacred part to perform in making the home one of happiness, of love, of blessing. The husband has a share. Not every man who assumes this relation thinks of the responsibility he accepts when he takes a young girl away from the shelter of parents’ love, the warmest, softest nest in the world, and leads her into a new home, where henceforth his love is to be her only shelter. No man is fit to be a husband who is not a good man. He need not be great, nor rich, nor brilliant, nor clever, but he must be good. His love must be so true that it will not fail in any experience, and will continue strong as ever when both have grown old; and it must be so warm and tender that it will never weary in its thoughtfulness and kindness. The love a true woman’s heart craves is gentle as well as strong, affectionate as well as true.
Home is a woman’s kingdom. There the wife must be strong and beautiful. There she must be her best, and always bring her best. She may do good things outside, in church and society, if she can do them without slighting the duties that are hers within her own doors. But if any calls for service must be declined, they should not be the duties of her home. These are hers, and no other one’s. Whatever may be the share of others, the happiness of the household, in the last analysis, depends upon the wife. Her spirit gives the home its atmosphere; her heart makes its warmth. And the end is so worthy, so noble, so divine, that no woman who has been called to be a wife, should consider any price too great to pay in order to be the light, the joy, the inspiration, of a home. Men with splendid gifts think it worth while to live to paint a few pictures which shall be admired for generations; or to write a few songs which shall sing themselves into people’s hearts. But the woman who makes a sweet, beautiful home, filling it with love and prayer and holy inspirations, is doing something finer than aught else her hands could find to do beneath the skies.—J. R. Miller, D. D.
Effects of Anger
BENJAMIN W. RICHARDSON, M. D., in his “Diseases of Modern Life,” says that, of the passions which act most severely upon the physical life, anger stands first. As this is a state of mind that may not be wholly unknown among our readers, it may be wise to quote the grave effects of the unrestrained influence of this passion upon the heart and brain:—
“He is a man very rich indeed in physical power who can afford to be angry. The richest can not afford it many times without insuring the penalty, a penalty that is always severe. What is still worse of this passion is that the very disease it engenders feeds it, so that if the pulse go many times unchecked, it becomes the master of the man.”
The effects of passion are brought out entirely through disturbance in the organic nervous chain.
We say a man was “red” with rage, or we say he was “white” with rage, by which terms, as by degrees of comparison, we express the extent of his fury. Physiologically we are then speaking of the nervous condition of the minute circulation of his blood; that “red” rage means partial paralysis of minute blood-vessels; that “white” rage means temporary suspension of the action of the prime mover of the circulation itself.
Such disturbances can not often be produced without the occurrence of permanent organic evils of the vital organs, especially of the heart and brain.
The effect of rage upon the heart is to make its action intermittent.
Dr. Richardson gives a striking example of this more severely.
Many persons die in one or other of the two stages I have named. They die in the moment of white rage, when the cerebral vessels and heart are paralyzed. Then we say they die of faintness, during excitement. Or, they die more slowly, when the rage has passed and the congestion of reaction has led to engorgement of the vessels of the brain. Then the engorgement has caused stoppage of the circulation there, or a vessel has given away, or serious fluid has exuded, producing pressure, and we report that the death was from apoplexy, following upon excitement.—The Household.