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Signs of the Times, Vol. 26, No. 36.

THE LAND OF THE PYRAMIDS
Earlier text: IS PHYSICAL RESTORATION ALWAYS A MIRACLE?

MARCH OF EVENTS IN CHINA.

A DESPATCH from Canton, China, of August 15, states that all is quiet there; but a later despatch shows that the situation there has become serious, and the Boxer sentiment is spreading rapidly. At Swatow the agitation against the Christians and missionaries is said to be alarming. In view of the uncertainty of the situation at Shanghai, the United States cruiser New Orleans has gone to that port. After the capture of Yang Tsun, the foreign commanders decided to push on to Peking at once. On August 14 the allies captured the city of Chang Chi Wan, with slight loss. The Chinese fled, leaving 500 dead on the field. The city of Peking was attacked on August 15, and the gates blown open with guncotton, the allies entering from three directions. After some street fighting, the allies marched to the various legations for their protection, and established strong guards around them. The imperial Chinese army retired within the sacred walls of the “forbidden city,” where they are bombarded by the allies. Reports conflict as to the whereabouts of the empress dowager and the emperor, some stating that they are still in the “forbidden city,” and others that they have fled to the province of Shan Si. The loss to the attacking allies was considerable, and the Chinese also lost heavily, making in some places a stubborn defense.
China is again making appeals through Li Hung Chang for a cessation of hostilities on the part of the powers, but it is not thought that any attention will be given to this new appeal, as the Chinese earl has no power to control his hostile countrymen. A council of the nations to determine the future of China is what is now being proposed by some of the powers interested, and it seems quite possible that this step will soon be taken.
Russia continues her independent operations in Manchuria. At Medua Chi the Russians defeated the Chinese on August 12, and advanced to Yak Shi, where they captured an abundance of stores. At Aigun the Russians found a force of 9,000 infantry and cavalry, with 12 guns, in a strong position. After a stubborn resistance, the Chinese were compelled to withdraw. Another battle occurred at Chingan Pass on August 16, which is reported to have been a bloody engagement. The Chinese suffered heavily and lost a number of cannon.
The day before the capture of Peking the Chinese made a final attack on the legations, which the ministers declare was carried out by the imperial Chinese troops. Minister Conger states that the Chinese Government is directly responsible for all the attacks the legations have sustained.
WHEN it was first announced that Great Britain would land troops at Shanghai, the consuls of all the powers at that place protested. England prepared to withdraw, and the English at home were much displeased. The conditions at Shanghai, however, became menacing, and there was a willingness that the English troops land. Now Japan, Germany, and France are also preparing to land troops, ostensibly to protect their local interests, but really to prevent England's absorption of the commerce of the Yang-tse Valley. Thus are the foreign powers already ranging themselves against one another for the final settlement. The Japanese press is urging that, as Japan has borne the principal burdens in the operations in China, she must see to it that the future of China is not determined merely by the pleasure of the Western powers. They are pointing out that determined action on the part of Japan, England, and the United States will be able to avert the danger of the partition of China. Semi-official Japanese papers even go so far as to state that if occasion arises, Japan can send 50,000 troops on short notice, and if the powers are determined to play a selfish part, she will take special measures to prevent it. The situation grows more alarming with each new day's developments.
ADVICES from South Africa state that the British garrison at Elands River has been relieved by Lord Kitchener after an engagement with the Boers. The escape of the Boer general, De Wet, when so nearly surrounded, is causing considerable anxiety in England. The tact of De Wet in eluding his 80,000 pursuers, capturing detachments of the English, breaking up their line of communication, and securing warm clothing for his whole army of about 7,000 men, is winning the admiration of the military world. A special despatch from Pretoria states that De Wet camped within five miles of that city on August 21, and conducted a brisk engagement with General Mahon. Lord Roberts has issued a proclamation to the effect that all burghers who break their oath of neutrality will be punished by imprisonment or death.
THE Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions has received a cable message from Chefoo stating that all their missionaries at Pao Ting Fu have been killed. The Congregational missionaries at this place have also been killed. A number of these missionaries were from Portland, Maine. The Protestant (German) missions at Tie-chi, Chin Namon, and Luk Hang have been totally destroyed. These were in the northern and southern parts of the province of Quang Tung. A cablegram has been received at the office of the China Inland Mission, Toronto, stating that seven members of that society have been killed while trying to reach a place of safety.
THE Roumanian Government, according to a special despatch from Vienna, has addressed a sharp note, almost amounting to an ultimatum, to Bulgaria, demanding the arrest of the president of a certain revolutionary committee and the suppression of that organization. Bulgaria's reply was couched in most aggressive terms, and she is moving her troops toward the Roumanian frontier. Roumania is also mobilizing her army, and the king has warned his officers to be ready for war, which might come at any moment. The report states that Roumania's minister to Bulgaria will be recalled immediately.
FRANCE has taken alarm at England's gigantic fort and harbor preparations at Dover, only twenty-one miles from the French coast, and is planning for equally massive fortifications at Calais, and an equally commodious harbor for war ships at Bologne, and is planting guns that will dispute with England for the command of the entrance to the Channel. When war comes, as both powers expect sooner or later, there will be a terrible clash in the narrow Strait of Dover.
THE capacity of the great electric power plant established on the American side of Niagara Falls is to be doubled. The work is now in progress. Possibly an enlargement of the plan on the Canadian side will follow. It is certainly within the range of the possibilities of the next ten years that the entire volume of the waterfall will be diverted for the transformation of its energy into electricity. If so, one of the world's greatest natural wonders will thus become extinguished, in obedience to the demands of this utilitarian age.—S. F. Chronicle.
FOR a number of days the city of Kalamazoo, Mich., has been experiencing a plague of grasshoppers and crickets. At the twilight hour swarms of them invade the business districts, and these and other insects fill up the arc-light globes and smother the lights. Residences and stores have been invaded by them, and restaurants have been compelled to close while the insects were driven out. The pests are of an extraordinarily large size, and the noise they make at night is said to be deafening.
In the trials connected with the murder of William Goebel, the contestant for the governorship of Kentucky, former Secretary of State Caleb Powers has been found guilty as an accessory before the fact, and condemned to life imprisonment in the State penitentiary. Powers still maintains that he was never guilty of connection with the conspiracy to kill Goebel. The attorneys for Powers will move a new trial, and, failing that, will take an appeal.
AT the meeting of the International Typographical Union, held at Milwaukee, August 16, it was voted, 131 to 19, to so amend their constitution as to provide for a censorship of all labor papers or pamphlets. This was for the purpose of preventing the printing of matter reflecting on the standing or character of members of the union in union publications. The labor editors, however, have promised to ignore the legislation.
FOURTEEN hundred Cuban school-teachers have been visiting America to observe American school methods. That few of these were Protestants may be guessed from the fact that the whole 1,400, according to report from Washington, attended a requiem mass at St. Patrick's Church before their departure from the capital.
A YOUNG inventor of Amherst, Mass., has succeeded in perfecting a process for waterproofing or parchmentizing any kind of paper. Heretofore this has only been possible with certain rag or cotton paper. It is regarded as a very valuable discovery, as paper thus treated is impervious to water or grease.
MEMORIAL services for the late King Humbert, of Italy, were held in St. Mary's Catholic Church, at Washington, on August 19. The service was attended by the President and his cabinet, officers of the army and navy, the ambassadors and ministers of foreign countries, and many in civil life.
THE population of the city of Chicago, according to the returns of the twelfth census, is 1,698,575. Altho this is an increase of over fifty per cent., Chicago is disappointed, and claims that the returns should have shown a population of over two million.
ENGLAND is much worried at the present time over the unfitness of her militia for service, as shown in Lord Wolseley's verdict, which applied to some 30,000 men whom he was reviewing, a whole army corps.
THE army transport Warren sailed from San Francisco August 16 with 762 members of the Ninth Cavalry and a large quantity of ammunition. These troops and the ammunition are for service in China.
The list of awards to American exhibitors at the Paris Exposition was made public August 17. American exhibitors secured in all 1,981 prizes, nearly every form of art and industry being exhibited.
THE buildings of the Kelly Ax Manufacturing Company, at Alexandria, Indiana, were burned on August 19. The property loss is placed at about $800,000, besides $150,000 worth of finished stock.
ON the 15th and 16th of August serious anti-negro riots occurred in different parts of the city of New York, and many negroes were injured. Several attempts at lynching were barely frustrated.
A SEVERE wind-storm struck the city of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on August 20, destroying more than 200 buildings. Altho the property loss was more than $300,000, no fatalities are reported.
A WIND and hailstorm visited North Dakota on August 16, and, according to the report, destroyed 40,000 acres of the finest wheat in the State.
A YOUTH of twenty was arrested at Leipsic on August 16, who admits having been appointed by lot to kill King Albert, of Saxony.
RECENT floods in Japan are said to have destroyed much railway and other property, and caused a loss of life aggregating 200.
THE population of the city of New York, with all that is now included in that name, is 3,437,202.

The Rich Man's Son

By W. S. Sadler

DEMORALIZATION OF THE YOUNG MAN. No. 9.

[All rights reserved.]

The Rich Man's Son.

LET us look for a moment at the son of wealthy parents, surrounded with abundance, refined, cultured, highly educated, reared in luxury. As to his attire, that may be faultless, but let us inquire concerning his character.
What part of his character has been developed and made stronger by his home influence and surroundings? Is the young man of wealth, by his life of ease and freedom from toil, better qualified to meet the stern realities of life in later years? Has the experience of ease and plenty provided the necessary discipline and training so essential to the development of purity of thought, nobility of purpose, and excellency of conduct? Has his moral character been strengthened and made more capable of resisting temptation? Has his spiritual discrimination been made more keen and sharp to detect the cunning plottings of the enemy of his soul? Have his physical tastes and moral appetites been so trained by what he has partaken of at the family board and in the family library as to develop within him that abhorrence of evil that will lead him instinctively to flee from every source of physical and moral pollution? or have these luxuriant surroundings of wealth and culture only tended to weaken his moral resistance, dwarf the development of character, and actually decrease his real worth? It is a well-known fact that but few sons of millionaire parents ever rise to a point of real eminence or practical usefulness in the world.

The Son of the Well-to-do Parent.

The sons of the well-to-do parents, as we often speak of them, may be found applying themselves in a variety of avenues. The young man of this class as a rule has more or less regularity in his daily habits. Quite often he is blessed with having to perform a number of regular daily duties, such as bringing in coal or wood, and caring for the furnace, or building fires. These all help in the formation of those habits of regularity which are such a valuable safeguard against the increepings of vice and intemperance in later years.

The Son of the Laboring Man.

We deplore the fact that the son of the workingman is often deprived of what the world terms higher educational advantages. But has it not been the young men of this class who have risen to the greatest heights of moral usefulness? From the days when it was written of Christ that 'the common people heard Him gladly,' until the present time, the reformers, preachers, and teachers who have stirred the world, have been men of humble birth; men who early learned habits of industry, thrift, and integrity; men who in their youth found it necessary to practise the strictest economy, and whose parents taught them at every step in the development of manhood the lessons of honesty, temperance, trust, and loyalty to truth.
But the conditions and sentiments of modern society have met with sad reverses. To-day, the young man who must labor and toil, either to assist in the support of the family, or to obtain his own education, has come to regard his lot as one of hardship, and with envy he looks upon the son of the wealthy parent, longing to enjoy what to him appears to be the great advantages, social and educational, that accompany the possession of wealth. And yet these sons of the poor are daily learning lessons in a school that teaches the reality of life. Every struggle with poverty and unfavorable circumstances is indelibly impressing this great and essential truth upon their young minds, so that when they shall have reached the years of maturity and find great and oftentimes holy responsibilities resting upon their shoulders, they address themselves with vigor to the task at hand, and a life-work so humbly begun is crowned with true success.
Honest labor, of whatever sort, is truly honorable, and the young man who will, with a spirit of faithfulness and cheerfulness, do whatsoever his hands find to do—with all his might, as unto the Lord—may be assured that each day he is adding to his character the elements of stability, nobility, and reliability. Idleness is the crowning curse of this sinful age.
W. S. SADLER.

EXERCISE OF THE LUNGS.

By Ruth Bryant, M.D.

If you would know how exhilarating and invigorating a good draught of oxygen is, just go out-of-doors as soon as dressed in the morning, and fill the lungs to their utmost capacity repeatedly, taking in a deep inspiration slowly through the nostrils until complete, then holding the breath and tapping the chest. This will open many air cells that in ordinary respiration remain closed, and make room for more air. It is surprising how much the lung power may be increased by this simple means; and there is no better time to develop the lung power than before breakfast, when the stomach is empty, and the body is refreshed from sleep.
The exercise may be continued from a few minutes to begin with, up to half an hour at a time. If the person is feeble, it may be taken in a recumbent position on the bed, taking care to remove all heavy covers and to open all the windows and outside door, if there be one.
This exercise is applicable to all classes of individuals, the well to preserve health, the sick to restore health, especially to those who have diminished lung power, those who are shut up long hours in offices, and that large class of pale blue and yellow dyspeptics who never breathe deep enough to thoroughly oxygenate the blood and burn up the waste matter in their bodies. If those half invalids who feel weak and faint in the morning, and think they must have a cup of tea or coffee before arising, will put their heads out of the window and inhale a full measure of fresh air for a few minutes, they will doubtless be surprised to find they will need no further stimulant. The trouble is we forget that oxygen in the air has even more to do with the nutrition of the body than food in the stomach, and we shut out and ignore the life-giving principle that is trying to gain access to our dwellings by every crack and crevice, and even go farther and keep it out of our bodies by constricting the lungs by tight clothing.
In order to perform the exercise with benefit it is needless to say the clothing should be loose and light enough not to interfere with the free expansion of the chest. Of course this would raise havoc with the narrow, tapering waist; so those young ladies who prefer to live half the length of their days, and be muddy-skinned, shriveled-up wasps, would better keep on drawing up their corset strings tightly to keep out the intruding oxygen. But the other class, who are satisfied with God's creation, and prefer roses in their cheeks to faded leaves, may gladly receive the gifts which God proffers, and freely inhale the breath of life He so bountifully bestows.—Ruth Bryant, M.D.

VEGETARIANISM AND INTEMPERANCE.

By David Paulson, M.D.

It seems remarkable to us when we read that seven times were the devils cast out of Mary Magdalene, but modern missionary experiences furnish parallel cases. I am personally acquainted with a man who, during the last few years, has given his heart to God and backslidden to the drink habit thirty-three times.
He finally stumbled into our Medical Missionary Dispensary, bound down as effectually by this demon as ever were the men who wandered about the tombs on the hills of Gadara. The man made marked improvement under rational remedies properly applied, and then his most pathetic inquiry was, "Who shall deliver me from this body of death?" I told him how spices, condiments, and meats were creating a fiery thirst in him, that even God had not promised to quench. It was a new idea to him.
He went away determined to try the force of the truth that I had sought to impress upon his mind. For a number of days he worked about Chicago without the slightest desire for liquor. Then, upon visiting with some of his friends, they persuaded him to dine with them after the "old style," and that meant to that poor man an invitation card to return to his old life. The result was, it was beer in the evening, whisky in the morning, and then a week of profound drunkenness.
Sorrowful, miserable, and penitent, the man returned to our dispensary, and said he had demonstrated the truth of what I told him, and asked me, for God's sake, to help him upon his feet once more. This I gladly did in the name of the Master, who continues to pity and forgive our shortcomings, even beyond the "seventy times seven."
Twenty weeks have passed away. That man has lived carefully upon the natural products of the earth, has not felt one desire for liquor, and, physically, he is another man. He has learned the valuable lesson that in physical things, as well as in spiritual, God works in harmony with the laws He has instituted. If a mustard-seed plaster is applied externally to even a converted man, it will raise a blister, just the same as it would on a sinner. The same amount of mustard sprinkled upon meat and applied inside will just as surely create a thirst that water can not satisfy. God Himself has established this relation.
Providence has opened a way for this man so he has secured a fine position, at a high salary; and his testimony when he comes to the mission, has an intelligent inspiration in it that has encouraged many a poor mortal to seek to investigate the cause for the fetters that seem to fasten him to a life of sin.
DAVID PAULSON, M.D.

EARMARKS OF AN EXQUISITE GIRL.

By Margaret E. Sangster

An exquisite young woman is she whose dress and hair and skin indicate the most scrupulous attention to the daily toilet. We have learned that bathing and rubbing and care for personal cleanliness, the nicety which distinguishes the lady, and adorns her for her station, are the handmaids not of health alone, but of beauty, and where is the young girl
who despises beauty? For the business girl, for the girl whose daily employment is close and confining, nothing can be better than that she emulate the dainty girl in her every-day care of her dress and appearance, and in frequent cleansing of the skin by thorough bathing and vigorous friction, and by keeping herself and all her belongings as dainty as she possibly can.—Margaret E. Sangster, in the Ladies' Home Journal.

THE TIDAL WAVE SALOON.

By C. M. Snow

WHERE drink is sold, I passed one day, With senses all attune To the ruin wrought, and read this sign, "The Tidal Wave Saloon." O, what a truth was written there In that repellant sign, As they might tell whose ruined souls Went out on the flow of wine!
That flood I've seen, and felt its swirl, Whose murderous, rushing flow Has crushed the earth six thousand years With cruel, crying woe. Methinks I see through vistas dim, Where hope and beauty bow, The bitter wrecks that strew its course From Noah until now.
There's cowering shame where beauty reigned; Despair, where hope had stood; And rampant evil, raging round, Has practised as it would; A beggar's rags where wealth had been, A beggar's crust for food; In homes where all was joy and peace Now want and woe intrude.
The foaming torrent rages on. Its roily, rolling wave Has wrecked full many a humble home, Formed many a nameless grave. The mother with her wretched dead A lonely vigil keeps; The father mourns a blasted hope; The infant orphan weeps.
A sister stands with saddened brow And views the ruin wrought; A widow kneels in tears for grace To bear it as she ought— A ruined home, a ruined name, A ruined hope and trust; The brightest joys of human life All trampled in the dust.
Yet on it sweeps; it will not wait, Nor heed th' imploring cry. What recks this foe that women weep And famished children cry? The mother's, wife's, imploring arm Is crushed beneath its tread. An hundred years would not suffice To number all its dead.
This burning flood, this cruel woe, This sin-soaked caravan, This world-wide-rolling Juggernaut, This enemy of man, Six thousand years has rumbled on, Till every land has shed Its sacrificial blood and tears, And bartered for its dead—
Yea, bartered; for the dead that fall By rum-directed hand Are but the toll the rum fiend takes To desolate the land. Man names the price, and grants the right To spoil the human race; Rum pays the golden bribe, and flings Our dead men in our face.
Our ninety thousand drunken dead, Which heaven's books record, Are sold to fill a traitor's purse, As Judas sold his Lord. And still we sit, and still we dream Of peace and duty done, While this gigantic tidal wave Rolls westward with the sun.
Then fling the temperance banner out Between the earth and sky. Your battle-field is here below, Your Captain is on high. The hosts of God are with the right, And right shall victor be; And some shall sing that victor song Through all eternity.
O, haste the day when love shall reign; When wickedness shall cease; When this old earth shall know again The blessedness of peace! That glorious morning will not wait; 'Tis coming swift and soon, When God Himself shall reckon with "The Tidal Wave Saloon."
Oakland, Cal.

TWO COLLEGE BOYS.

Two boys left home with just money enough to take them through college, after which they must depend entirely upon their own efforts. They attacked the collegiate problems successfully, passed the graduation, received their diplomas from the faculty, also commendatory letters to a large ship-building firm with which they desired employment. Ushered into the waiting-room of the head of the firm, the first was given an audience. He presented his letters.
"What can you do?" asked the man of millions.
"I should like some sort of a clerkship."
"Well, sir, I will take your name and address, and should we have anything of the kind open, will correspond with you."
As he passed out, he remarked to his waiting companion, "You can go in and 'leave your address.'"
The other presented himself and his papers.
"What can you do?" was asked.
"I can do anything that a green hand can do, sir," was the reply.
The magnate touched a bell, which called a superintendent.
"Have you anything to put a man to work at?"
"We want a man to sort scrap-iron," replied the superintendent.
And the college graduate went to sorting scrap-iron.
One week passed, and the president, meeting the superintendent, asked, "How is the new man getting on?"
"O," said the boss, "he did his work so well, and never watched the clock, that I put him over the gang!"
In one year this man had reached the head of a department and an advisory position with the management, at a salary represented by four figures, while his whilom companion was "clerk" in a livery stable, washing harnesses and carriages.—Selected.

WHAT A SIGH MEANS.

SIGHING is but another name for oxygen starvation. The cause of sighing is most frequently worry. An interval of several seconds often follows moments of mental disquietude, during which time the chest walls remain rigid until the imperious demand is made for oxygen, thus causing the deep inhalation. It is the expiration following the inspiration that is properly termed the sigh, and this sigh is simply an effort of the organism to obtain the necessary supply of oxygen. The remedy is to cease worrying. One may be anxious, but there is no rational reason for worrying. A little philosophy will banish worry at once. Worry will do no good; it will rob one of pleasures when blessings do come, as one will not be in a condition to enjoy them.—Ladies' Home Journal.

HOW TO PACK EGGS FOR LONG KEEPING.

THE yolk of the egg spoils much quicker than the white. For this reason it is important that the yolk should be surrounded with a layer of the white. If the egg is placed on the side or large end, the heavy yolk will settle to the bottom and come in contact with the shell, which admits the air. If it is placed on the small end, it will always have a layer of white between it and the shell. Eggs absorb odors easily, therefore only odorless materials should be used when packing them.—Ladies' Home Journal.

Saved Souls Will Not Be Idle

DREAMS of the golden future, however roseate, are only thin mist clouds which the first rays of the risen sun will dissipate in thin air. No soul that is truly saved will ever be idle. His gratitude and love for the inestimable blessings which have been made his will prompt the grateful response, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits to Me?"—Selected.

Do Not Forget

By Editor

That on and after October 1, 1900, the subscription price of the Signs of the Times will be $1.50 a year instead of $1.00 as heretofore. The unavoidable necessity for making this change in price has already been fully set before our readers.
Until October 1, subscriptions will be received at the old price of $1.00 a year
Many of the old subscribers to the paper are sending in their subscriptions for two or three years in advance. There are advantages in receiving these long-term subscriptions that make it profitable to the Signs, and we would encourage as many as are situated so they can do so, to place their subscriptions ahead several years between now and the first of October. We have tried to advertise this change in price as extensively as possible and we hope that all of our readers are made fully aware of it, so that no one can say that due notice of the change has not been fully given. The striking events which are so remarkably fulfilling prophecy in these times, and which are commented on from week to week in the Signs, will make it all the more indispensable as the days go by. Every subscriber should continue to take it, and should do all in his power to extend it to others.
Address all orders and communications to the

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

OAKLAND, CAL.

SOUTH AFRICAN WAR VS. MISSIONS.

PERHAPS we ought not to be surprised, but, nevertheless, the fact is sufficiently distressing, that the demands made upon the public for the war, and the famine, and other things, have had this year a very adverse influence on the funds of many of the missionary societies. Even the greatest of them all—the Church Missionary Society—has, to meet current expenses, been obliged to draw largely on the extraordinary resources provided at its centenary. The Bible Society is £20,000 behind. The Irish Church Mission has been called on to meet an expenditure of £21,000, with an income of £12,000. And the London Missionary Society has been almost equally unfortunate. Its account at the 31st of March showed a deficit of £17,000.—Free Church Monthly.

THE CHINESE.

By MRS. SUSAN BIRDSALL ROBERTS.

IT was our pleasure to listen to a returned missionary not long since, and I should like to tell the little boys and girls some things he said. You have no doubt seen Chinese idols, and have been sad to think there are people so ignorant of the knowledge of the true God as to worship them. This missionary said that these idols are all over the country, not only in houses and shops, but by the roadside. In some places there are many together, the middle one the tallest, and the smaller ones ranging along the row. The Chinese will not enter a shop where there is no idol.
The Five Idols in the Joss Temple of Lung Gong, Chinatown, San Francisco, Cal.
The Five Idols in the Joss Temple of Lung Gong, Chinatown, San Francisco, Cal.
Superstition covers the whole empire like a pall. The people do most absurd things to appease evil spirits. They have in many places no horses, or mules, or beasts of burden of any kind, the men and women being their own burden-bearers; consequently they have no roads, but only foot-paths, which they make very circuitous indeed, in order to cheat the evil spirits, who, they think, are ever on their track.
Now would you not like to tell them the true way to escape evil, that is, to keep in straight paths morally? They can do this by accepting the dear Redeemer, and by keeping close to His side in prayerful living. I am sure I hear you say, "Yes, indeed." You can tell them by denying yourself some things, and thus saving the money, which is so much needed to send the Gospel to them. Some of you can go yourselves and teach them, when you are older. They are eager to learn, and when converted make very earnest Christians. They believe in a Great Spirit, that He is omniscient and omnipresent; but they know so little about Him! How pleasant it seemed to this missionary to break to them the bread of life, to explain to them the truths of the Bible, as he journeyed with them in their boats to and from market, and sat in their shops, mingling with them, and seeking opportunities to do them good, as did the Saviour when He was here among men! Until only a few years ago China kept her doors closed against foreigners, and the Gospel could not reach her people. Now the missionaries may preach and teach, without lot or hindrance. O, how white the fields for the harvest!
The Chinese are reverential, but very superstitious. If they find a stone that they can fancy bears any resemblance to a person with arms folded, they count it good luck, and make it an object of worship.
Only think of the difference the Gospel makes in our condition. To it we owe the best that we have,—schools, churches, and all the blessings of a Christian civilization. Even the common comfort of a bed the Chinese do not enjoy. A lady physician who has spent much time in observation says they sleep on shelves, almost packed in, and that one smokes his pipe of opium until he drops asleep, when another takes it up and smokes it, and so it passes on. "Not very fastidious," you say. No; but with the Gospel they receive our ideas of cleanly and sanitary habits, as well as of morals and religion. A missionary said long ago that when a native was converted, the first thing he wanted was a clean shirt.
The refining, elevating tendency of the Gospel is felt in all lands wherever it is known. It is, indeed, heaven-born, yet so condescending, ever reaching down to the poor and degraded, but ever to lift them up, to bring them into a higher life, a life above mere animal enjoyment—even eternal life, already begun in the soul, with all its sweet and hallowed influences, joys, hopes, anticipations, and expectations. How anxious we should be to bear some humble part in this great work of spreading this glorious Gospel, and cheerfully give up some of our superfluities!
If half these, with the diamonds and other jewels so needless for our comfort, went into the treasury of the Lord, how soon would the heathen world rejoice, and blossom as the rose!
MRS. SUSAN BIRDSALL ROBERTS.

WHO GIVE?

"It's curious who give. There's Squire Jones, he's put down $2.00; his farm's worth $10,000 and he's money at interest. And there's Mrs. Brown, she's put down $5.00, and I don't believe she'd had a new gown in two years, and her bonnet ain't none of the newest, and she's them three grandchildren to support since her son was killed in the army, and she's nothing but her pension to live on. Well, she'll have to scrimp on butter and other luxuries, but she'll pay it. She just loves the cause; that's why she gives."
These were the utterances of Deacon Daniel after he returned from church the day the pledges were taken for contributions to foreign missions. He read them off, and I took down the items to find the aggregate. He went on:
"There's Maria Hill, she's put down $5.00; she teaches in the North district, and don't have but $20 a month, and pays her board, and she has to help support her mother. But when she told her experience, the time she joined the church, I knew the Lord had done a work in her soul, and where He works you'll generally see the fruit in giving. And there's John Baker, he's put down $1.00, and he'll chew more than that worth of tobacco in a fortnight. Cyrus Dunning, $4.00. Well, he'll have to do some extra painting with that crippled hand, but he'll do it and sing the Lord's song while he's at work."—Missionary Meeting.

The Set of the Sails

By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

One ship sails east and another sails west, With the very same winds that blow; 'Tis the set of the sails, and not the gales, That tells us the way to go. Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate As we voyage along through life; 'Tis the set of a soul that decides its goal, And not the calm or the strife. —Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

Choosing Missionaries for Foreign Fields

By Editor

Missionary work prospers not because of the extraordinary capabilities of the workers, but rather, in the language of an experienced leader, because of “the exceedingly ripe condition of most mission fields.” Still it is a mistake to send out as missionaries a class of preachers who have proved failures in the churches. Occasionally, but rarely, a poor pastor may become a good missionary, but the safest way is to send out the strongest preachers and the wisest leaders into the mission fields. Take the church at Antioch as an example. When, under the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit, they selected men for the foreign field, they chose Barnabas and Saul, the two most eminent teachers and preachers in their community, and the two who seemed to be the most needed at home.—Selected.

No Respect of Nations With God

THERE is no respect of nations with God.

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REMINGTON Standard Typewriters

are used in the twenty leading office buildings of San Francisco than of all other makes put together.
Remingtons, 413 All Others, 405
New Models Nos. 6, 7, and 8 (Wide Carriage).
WYCKOFF, SEAMANS & BENEDICT, { SAN FRANCISCO PORTLAND LOS ANGELES
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