Earlier text: An Appalling StatementOur Responsibility to God's Work.
By Ellen G. White
SOME have excused themselves from aiding the cause of God because they were in debt. Had they closely examined their own hearts they would have discovered that selfishness was the true reason why they brought no free-will offering to God. And some will remain in debt. Because of their covetousness, the prospering hand of God will not be with them to bless their undertakings. They love this world better than they love the truth. They are not being fitted up and made ready for the kingdom of God. If a new patent passes through the country, men who profess to believe the truth have found a way to raise means and join the enterprise. God is acquainted with every heart. Every selfish motive is known to him, and he suffers things to arise to try the hearts of his professed people, to prove them, and develop character. In some instances the Lord will suffer men to go on, and meet with an entire failure. His hand is against them to disappoint their hopes and scatter what they possess. Individuals who have really felt an interest in the cause of God, and have been willing to venture something for its advancement, will find it a sure and safe investment. Some will have a hundred-fold in this life, and in the world to come life everlasting. But all will not receive their hundred-fold in this life, because they cannot bear it. They would, if intrusted with much, become unwise stewards. The Lord withholds it for their good; but their treasure in Heaven will be secure. How much better is such an investment as this! The desire that some of our brethren possess to earn means fast, leads them to engage in a new enterprise and invest means, and their expectations of making money are not realized. They sink that which they could have spent in God's cause. There is an infatuation in these new enterprises. And notwithstanding these things have been acted over so many times, and the example of others is before them who have made investments and have met with an utter failure, yet they are slow to learn. Satan allures them on, and makes them drunk with anticipated hopes. When these hopes are blasted, they suffer many discouragements in consequence of their unwise adventures. If means are lost, the person looks upon it as a misfortune to himself, as his loss. But he must remember that it is the means of another that he is handling, that he is only a steward, and God is displeased with the unwise management of that means which could have been used to advance the cause of present truth. The unfaithful steward must give an account of his stewardship at the reckoning day.—Mrs. E. G. White. Experience of a Seaman.
By C. R. Robbins
I AM desirous of relating a few items of my experience. Am forty-seven years of age. My home has always been in Tiverton, Nova Scotia. I have followed the high seas for about twenty-six years. While at my home about four years ago, I heard the Third Angel's Message, and kindred truths, presented by Bro. J. R. Israel, who was at that time living near my home. In theory I accepted these truths, but did not obey them, thinking I could not do so and follow my occupation. But the truth weighed heavily upon my mind, and when I returned home again, after a long voyage, I began the observance of the Sabbath of the Lord. In the spring of 1883 I again went to sea. I shipped as chief mate to make an Eastern voyage. In October of the same year, while at Hakodate, Japan, loading for San Francisco, California, I was taken very ill with rheumatism. For long weeks I was a great sufferer, being at times entirely helpless. Recovering somewhat, my captain kindly had me carried from the hospital to the ship, and brought me to San Francisco. Left Japan November 20, and reached San Francisco December 29. Having learned of the Rural Health Retreat at St. Helena, I decided to go there at once. I am happy to say that I experienced great relief after the first treatment. After a stay of four weeks I can report a decided improvement in many respects. My lameness has disappeared. My suffering is gone. My general health is greatly improved, and I can now climb the surrounding mountains with ease. I would be truly grateful to God for directing me to this good place. I feel that I cannot speak too highly of the kindness shown me, and of the advantages here offered to the afflicted. It is a beautiful situation; all the surroundings are so pleasant and charming. I think the afflicted cannot do better than to go to the Rural Health Retreat. C. R. ROBBINS.
Woodland, Cal. Christian Work in Turkey.
WHEN the church inaugurated its great work of missions, no field was regarded so unpromising as Turkey. Perhaps, for that very reason, it was among the first selected, and it is really astonishing how much attention has been paid to that Empire by the Christian churches of the West. The United States and Great Britain have vied with each other in pressing Christianity in that field, and to-day there are no more prosperous missions than those which bear the American name in Turkey. There are now in the Turkish Empire, as gathered from recently published statistics, thirty central mission stations, five colleges for giving ordinary education, and others for theological purposes, 121 churches, 400 preaching stations, 900 pastors, teachers, and other Christian workers, 60,000 regular attendants at their places of worship, of whom 10,000 are communicants. These figures mark a high degree of success, and are every way encouraging. But it is well to remember also, in this connection, that the population of European and Asiatic Turkey is not less than 25,000,000. Still, it was the grain of leaven that leavened the entire mass.—Sel. Not a Correct Measurement.
By Lyman Abbott
You cannot measure your work by its present fruitfulness or fruitlessness. You cannot measure God's will by present obstacles. You cannot conclude that you have chosen the wrong path because it is apparently hedged up before you. You cannot justly conclude that you are to stop because you cannot see how to go forward. The ashes of Huss were scattered over all Europe by the hands of Luther. The exile of Moses for forty years in the wilderness prepares him to be leader of Israel for forty succeeding years through that same wilderness. Joseph finds the road to the palace lies through the pit and the dungeon. Paul enters Europe with a bleeding back and through a Greek dungeon. God, who selects a parcel of Galilean fishermen and a Galilean tax-gatherer to be his apostles, selects a Jewish working-woman and a Greek jailer to be the first converts in his European church, and inspires the first of all the magnificent choral praise which has gone up from choir and cathedral to ascend from the underground dungeon of a Greek jail. The first European song of Christian praise is a song in the night.—Lyman Abbott. Our Work.
By R. F. Cottrell
NEVER was a more solemn and important work committed to men than that to which the Lord has called his people in these last days. The time has come for the last warning to be given to the church and to the world. On the reception or rejection of this warning hangs the destiny of each individual to whom it comes. A reception of the warning is something more than a mere assent to its truth; it implies a thorough preparation, in the light of the whole truth of God, for the Judgment that is at hand. Soon the time in which lost men can be saved will be past, forever past. In view of this the Master calls to us who believe, Go, labor in my vineyard. But who is sufficient for these things? Our sufficiency must be of God, by the gift of the Holy Spirit. If we consecrate ourselves to God and his work, he will supply the necessary help. Who will take a part in this sacred, solemn, and important work? The prophetic commandment to all the people of God now is, "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples." Those who engage in this work must have the law of God in their hearts. That law requires us to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we love our neighbor, we will labor for his good. We will not feel called upon to quarrel with him; but with the love of the truth in our heart, and with the single desire for his salvation, we will labor to bring him to God. Labor thus put forth for the honor of God's law and for the salvation of men will not be in vain. The sealing message is rising like the eastern sun. The earth is fast being enlightened by the glory of this message. Who will take a part in the work? No half-hearted workers are called for. A whole consecration alone can answer the demand. Whatever the talent is which God has put in our hands, whether it be moral influence, mental ability, or worldly goods, all must be consecrated to God, all laid upon the altar, and be put to use in the cause of human salvation, the cause for which the Son of God poured out his soul unto death. Many are hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Our efforts will be repelled with scorn by many; but nothing should discourage us in the work. Our work is of God; and he will crown our efforts with success. Jesus was rejected and reviled. All manner of indignity and abuse was heaped upon him by those whom he came to help. He was despised and rejected of men. But still his mission was a success. He shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. And we, my brethren, may enter into that joy of our Lord. Our mission will as surely be successful. The fruit of our labor, put forth according to the will of God, will surely be seen, though it may not immediately appear. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." Well may we afford to labor on in this cause, so evidently the cause of the Lord. Time and means given heartily and perseveringly in this cause will not be lost. Those to whom God has given talents of means may invest in a way in which it is impossible to lose. It may be transferred to the bank of Heaven, a bank that cannot fail, and which no thief can plunder. And those who freely give their time, without hope of reward in this life, will by the improvement of time, gain eternity. Those who will forego earthly honors and pleasures, for the Lord's sake and for the salvation of those for whom he died, shall receive instead heavenly honors and pleasure forevermore. Courage, brethren, courage in the Lord! The time to labor is short, the reward is near. Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Work While There Is Opportunity
Work while there is opportunity. Judging Men by Their Past
WE cannot judge what men are, by what they have been formerly; nor what they will do by what they have done; age and experience may make men wiser and better. They that sold Joseph would not afterward abandon Benjamin. Heavenly Love and Earthly Love
WHERE heavenly love is allowed the right of way in the heart, earthly love will thrive as never before. A Plea for the Little Ones.
It has often been a surprise to me that mothers, even those most solicitous for the happiness of their children, are not more careful to conceal their own griefs and troubles from the knowledge of these sensitive little ones. As the minds of young children are not mature enough to express the effect which the sorrows of others have upon them, we are prone to suppose that they feel nothing, save a momentary interest and sympathy in the matter; so we indulge our grief in their presence without restraint, thus weighting the tender little hearts with a burden of sympathy mingled with terror proportionate to their inability to comprehend. It may be said, and with truth, that sorrow is evanescent with young children, that they weep one moment and smile the next; happily this is true, but none the less is it true that no child can indulge in a prolonged fit of weeping, or be worried in any way, without being a loser in vitality, and as a sequence in ability to resist disease. It is painful to witness the spasmodic sobs and languor of a child who has been thus excited; it has been with them a retrograde movement alike to mind and body, and nature's forces, which should have been used in developing, must now be spent in recuperating. "Does your head ache, mamma?" inquired one of these little ones. "No, darling; mamma's heart aches," was the reply. "Poor mamma!" said the child, tears of sympathy coming into the tender eyes, while the quivering lips pressed a kiss upon the mother's hand, and she sighed like one acquainted with sorrow. A delicate and nervous neighbor of mine had a little daughter as delicate and nervous as herself, who possessed one of the most sympathetic and affectionate natures I have ever seen in a child. One evening in summer the mother dressed the little girl neatly and prettily, as was her custom, and I thought I had never seen her look so sweet and happy as she chatted merrily on the steps of their dwelling with her little companions. In the meantime, the mother had sent her eldest son, a lad of about eight years, upon an errand to the residence of the family physician, many squares away. It began to grow dark and the boy had not returned, and the mother in consequence was nervous and alarmed;141wept, wrung her hands, and walked the floor in an agony of distress. The physician being absent from home, the boy, using the best judgment he possessed, had waited for him. It was but one hour from the time his mother expected him until he came, but what a change had come over that little daughter in that one hour! I doubt if any grown person could realize the terror and distress which had tortured the little breast—a distress too deep for tears. Her face that evening did not regain its color, the dark circles under the eyes did not disappear for many hours afterwards, and her sleep that night was broken and unrefreshing. The child had suffered unnecessary injury. It was a case in which she could offer no remedy, therefore should have been exempt from all knowledge. "I never had a childhood," remarked a middle-aged friend to me a short time ago. "I never knew what it was to be free from care. I am aged before my time." There was no need of explanation; I knew all there was to tell. Her father had been intemperate, and the most of the providing for the family had fallen upon the mother, who had looked upon her little daughter, her eldest, as her great comforter and helper. She never knew to the day of her death, that her struggles and despondencies had saddened the life of her child; that she had crushed out the buoyancy which should be an attribute of youth; that she had warped the development, and as the daughter had expressed it, "made her old before her time." O mothers! the path of life may be thorny enough for those tender feet in the time to come. Let them have a child's joys and pleasures while they are young enough to enjoy them; at least, let us be womanly and bear our own crosses and trials, and not lay upon the weak shoulders of our little ones burdens which we in our maturity feel are too heavy to bear.—Sel. Show Your Love. Tell It.
By H. M. Brooks
You love your children? I know you do. But the children do not know it. Tell them you love them. The fact that you provide for them food, clothing, pretty toys; the fact that you care for them continually; why, these facts might teach them that you love them, if they comprehended the facts. But they have never felt the keen want of comfortable clothing, the sharp gnawing of hunger unappeased or half-appeased; they have no knowledge of the value of money or of labor, they cannot realize how great is the kindness which keeps their necessities supplied. Do you desire that they should suffer in order that they may acquire this knowledge? Surely not. There is a better way, which time and nature will duly provide. But, for the present, all these things seem to them matters of course; they have never given them a thought. Years hence they will interpret them correctly, but now—now they need your tender kiss, your loving word, your kindly caress, your declaration of love, to show them that you love them. If they do not receive these, and do experience, though only occasionally, the bare toleration of indifference, or the actual repulse, when, glowing with interest, they come to you for sympathy; if they are refused again and again, and yet again, the much-desired favors they ask, and cannot understand the reason of the refusal; if they are often reprimanded—sometimes punished—when they "didn't think of doing any harm;" if they are blamed for shortcomings, and their errors carefully pointed out when they have taken especial pains to do a task well, what must they think—that you love them or that you hate them? Try the Golden Rule. What would you think in like circumstances? Unfrequent favors, surlily or petulantly granted; incessant fault-finding (think how often a child errs), the oft-recurring admonition to "run out of the way," to find amusement, occupation, society, somewhere else; how far would these conditions go to assure you of the love of a superior upon whom you were dependent? What assertions of this could convince you that you were very dear to him, that your welfare and happiness were the prime objects of his existence? Do not expect your children to be wiser than you could be. The natural language of affection they will understand, intuitively. And this exceptional child—the one that is so often wrong, that is so impatient of restraint, that so resents the punishment which yet must be administered; this child that is so ready to think himself the unbeloved one of the family: this child needs special love and special exhibitions of tenderness; he should have devoted to him, alone, little seasons of friendly communion, seasons of giving and receiving confidences, seasons when he is taken near to your heart and made to see and to feel that he has a sure possession there. Then he may be taught to believe that your chastisements, no less than your gifts, are bestowed in love. Then you may reason with him, always lovingly, and he will accept your reasoning; you may exhort him, and he will hear your exhortation; you may warn him, and he will heed your warning. One such exercise will not make him a model of childish virtue, it is true; but each one will help to bring him into unison with you, and that is your aim. And nothing is more lovely than the free and spontaneous expression of affection between parents and children. Yet I have seen people so warped by false ideas of propriety that they look upon all tenderness, whether of manner or of speech, in this relation, and, indeed, in all others, as eminently silly and improper. Once, when my little boy came to me with a kiss, saying, simply, "I love you," a friend who happened to be present, said, "Aha, he has an ax to grind, I suspect." Of course I promptly disclaimed that sort of thing, and explained to her that such manifestations were quite common and sincere between us. I suppose she had never had a similar experience, and yet she had been really a faithful, affectionate, and self-denying mother. One of the most beautiful little incidents that ever came under my observation, occurred in the house of a friend. A relative had written for the young daughter of the family to come and spend a few weeks with her, as there was illness in her family, and she needed some assistance. "We will see what father says," said the mother, after reading the letter. So when the father came in at evening the letter was brought for his perusal, the elder daughter kneeling beside him, intensely interested, and leaning on his knee to hold the light for him, while the younger children clustered near. "Would thee like to go, Sarah?" he asked, smiling, when the letter was finished. "Oh, yes, father," and the eager, childish face, full of hope, was raised to his. "I think thee had better go. Thee can be of use there, and it will be a pleasant trip for thee. But," he continued, after a little pause, "what will father do for lamb-girl and egg-girl when thee's gone?" The expectant face grew doubtful. "We'll manage to get along; the little ones can do those chores, but we shall miss thee, Sarah." The kindly look with which he had been regarding her deepened into exquisite tenderness, beautifying all the rugged features, while the glad eyes of the young girl drooped modestly to the floor at the implied praise of her father's glances and words; the color in her cheeks deepened, and a grateful smile curved her pretty lips. The words spoken were not many nor fine, but the look and the manner of both made one of those pictures which live long in the memory of the beholder. The love that is not told is, to the recipient, as if it had never been, and its material benefits had come from some other source. The very expression of love intensifies its action; the response elicited increases its power and influence; nothing else makes your child so completely your own as the conviction that he is very precious to you. And you cannot afford to loosen your hold upon him; you cannot afford to lose any opportunity to influence him for good. "Precious girl," "darling little son," should be often on your lips; why, they live in your heart, and "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." You may remain undemonstrative, but others will not; and by and by their young hearts, hungering and thirsting for the words, the looks, the caresses you should give but do not, will turn from you to cling to the stranger who does give them. What more natural? The Home Circle.
By Oliver Wendell Holmes
OH, for one hour of youthful joy!
Give back my twentieth spring;
I'd rather laugh a bright-eyed boy
Than reign a gray-haired king. Off with the wrinkled spoils of age,
Away with learning's crown;
Tear out life's wisdom-written page,
And dash its trophies down. One moment let my life-blood stream
From boyhood's fount of flame;
Give me one giddy, realing dream
Of life, all love and fame. My list'ning angel heard the prayer,
And calmly smiling said:
"If I but touch thy silvered hair
Thy hasty wish hath sped. "But is there nothing in thy track
To bid thee fondly stay,
While the swift seasons hurry back
To find the wished-for day?" Ah, truest, best of womankind,
Without thee what were life!
One bliss I cannot leave behind;
I'll take—my precious—wife. The angel took a sapphire pen,
And wrote with morning dew:
"The man would be a boy again,
And be a husband, too. "And is there nothing left unsaid,
Before the change appears?
Remember all those gifts have fled
With the revolving years." Yes, for memory would recall
My fond paternal joys;
I could not bear to lose them all;
I'll take—my girls—and boys. The smiling angel dropped his pen—
"Why, this will never do,
The man would be a boy again,
And be a father, too." And so I laughed,—my laugh awoke
The household with its noise,—
And wrote my dream when morning broke,
To please the gray-haired boys.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes. THE oldest bank notes are the “flying money,” or “convenient money,” first issued in China, 2697 B. C. Originally these notes were issued by the treasury, but experience dictated a change to the banks under Government inspection and control. A writer in a provincial paper says that the early Chinese “greenbacks” were in all essentials similar to the modern bank notes, bearing the name of the bank, date of issue, the number of the note, the signature of the official issuing it, indications of its value in figures, in words, and in the pictorial representations in coins or heaps of coins equal in amount to its face value, and a notice of the pains and penalties of counterfeiting. Over and above all, was a laconic exhortation to industry and thrift, “Produce all you can spend with economy.” The notes were printed in blue ink on paper made from the fibre of the mulberry tree. One issued in 1399 B. C., is preserved in the Asiatic museum at St. Petersburg. The Leaning Tower at Pisa.
PISA, which is a walled city of Tuscany, in Italy, is celebrated for its famous leaning tower. The height of this remarkable tower is about one hundred and seventy-eight feet. It is inclined from the perpendicular so much, that the upper story overhangs the base fourteen feet. It is ascended by three hundred and fifty-five steps, and contains seven bells. It stands alone, unconnected with any building, and was probably intended as an ornamental belfry. It is built of white marble and granite, and has eight stories, and seven columns, and divided by cornices. Its form and proportions are graceful, and its whole appearance is remarkably beautiful. When approaching the city, which is situated on an extensive plain, at the distance of a few miles, the effect, when the tower is seen over the tops of the trees, between two others which are perpendicular, is so striking, that the spectator feels almost inclined to doubt the evidences of his senses. It was erected about 1174, by Wilhelmus, a German architect, assisted by two Pisans. From the inclination of the stairs, it seems to a person going up or down hastily to roll like a ship. This beautiful structure, notwithstanding its inclination, seems to have withstood the ravages of time with more than usual success, as it has now stood for more than six hundred years without any fissure or the slightest perceptible sign of decay. Travelers, antiquaries, and the learned in general, have been perplexed and divided in opinion with respect to the cause of this deviation from a perpendicular line. Some have thought it the result of design; others have believed it to be accidental. Dr. Arnott, in his popular work on the “Elements of Physics,” says it was built intentionally inclined to frighten or surprise; but he was probably mistaken. Among the paintings in the Campo Santo, which are supposed to have been executed about the year 1300, more than one hundred years after the tower was erected, is a large painting of the now leaning tower, where it is standing perfectly upright. It may, therefore, now be considered as certain that the inclination was caused by the gradual sinking of the earth, as in many other instances in Italy. This opinion is confirmed by the circumstances of the lowest row of pillars being sunk deep in the earth, the mouldings not running parallel with the horizon, and the inclination of the stairs. Pisa is the capital of a province of its own name, situated in a marshy but fertile plain, on the river Arno, seven miles from its mouth. It is no wonder that in so many hundred years such an immense structure as this tower should settle as it is now seen, especially as its foundation is on marshy land. Very accurate models of this leaning tower are frequently beautifully made in alabaster and marble. Pisa has many very elegant edifices built of marble. Its cathedral is one of the noblest ecclesiastical structures in Italy; and a marble bridge, which crosses the Arno, is one of the finest in Europe. Pisa was the birth-place of Galileo, of which the present inhabitants often boast.—Sel. HEALDSBURG COLLEGE.
By Sidney Brownsberger
A Model Institution for General Culture. Instruction Given in the Branches of the Usual College Curriculum.
Special Attention to Common Branches and the Elements of Learning.
Physical Culture and Experience in the Most Common Affairs of Practical Life, and the Useful Trades are Combined in This College with the Study of the Regular School Branches. This College Is Very Successful in the Education of Youth, Because It Is Founded on Correct Principles. 1. The Bible is made the Text-book of Morals and Religion, and nearly every member of the school has Daily Recitations in Biblical History. 2. The union of manual and mental labor among the students will secure to them habits of industry, as well as a knowledge of the most common methods of obtaining a livelihood, and will thus make of them practical men and women. 3. The strong Moral and Religious influence finds its equal in no other institution of the kind. 4. The expenses of Students for Board, Tuition, etc., come within the ability of all. 5. The Discipline is rigid, and the Instruction is thorough and Practical throughout. One of the most prominent features of Healdsburg College is the effort to impress upon its students the claims and benefits of morals and religion. Any one of known evil habits, who is exerting a pernicious influence upon his fellow-students, is not tolerated in the school. During the year 1883 there was completed a large building called Upon a tract of five acres of ground, the whole designed for a Students' Home, where will be afforded the best home influence, and an opportunity for combining manual labor with study. No other institution offers so favorable facilities on so reasonable terms. To those who wish to obtain instruction in the Bible, Old and New Testament History, &c., special inducements are offered. A class will be opened at the beginning of the Spring Term, for old and young. Is connected with the College to accommodate those children whose parents desire to place them under the instruction and moral influence of the school. The Spring Term began January 2, 1884, and closes May 29, 1884. Any information, and calendar sent on application. Address, S. BROWNSBERGER, A. M., President, Healdsburg, Cal. THE YOUTH’S INSTRUCTOR.
By Editor
AN ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY PAPER FOR YOUTH AND CHILDREN, DEVOTED TO MORAL, MENTAL, AND RELIGIOUS CULTURE. THIS paper is not devoted to insipid stories and religious fiction, but is filled with a great variety of that kind of reading which tends to the healthful development of the youthful mind. Its pages are made bright by the choicest illustrative pictures, and its columns are always full of useful information. As a Sabbath-school and Lesson paper, it is suited to the wants of scholars and teachers, and is calculated to increase the interest of all who read it, in thorough Bible study. The Sabbath-school Department contains two series of lessons, one for children and one for youth. TERMS, ALWAYS IN ADVANCE.—Single copy, 75 cents a year; Five copies to one address, 60 cents each; Ten or more copies to one address, 50 cents each. SPECIAL PREMIUM OFFER.—THE SUNSHINE SERIES.
For every new subscription, accompanied with 35 cents, we will give “The Sunshine Series,” consisting of a package of ten beautiful pamphlets of 32 pages each. These comprise a choice collection of sketches, stories, poems, etc., adapted to the wants of children, and contain more reading matter than can be found in many dollar books. Remember, the whole series, 320 pages, and the INSTRUCTOR for a year, for 85 cents. Address, YOUTH’S INSTRUCTOR, Battle Creek, Mich.
Or, PACIFIC PRESS, Oakland, Cal. Damascus, the Oldest City
DAMASCUS is the oldest existing city in the world. It remains to-day what it was more than 3,000 years ago—a center of trade and travel. White House Furniture Wear
MANY people wonder why it costs so much to keep the Executive Mansion in good order. Colonel Rockwell says the wear and tear of the furniture exceeds that of any hotel in the country. The people, to the average of 500 a day, insist upon seeing the White House. They must tread upon the carpets and rest themselves in the tempting chairs. They must examine, with their eyes and fingers, all the upholstery and drapery. When it is remembered that this is repeated every day in the year, it will cease to be a matter of wonder that the wear is so rapid. “My dear boy,” said a father to his only son, “you are in bad company. The lads with whom you associate indulge in bad habits. They drink, smoke, swear, play cards, and visit the theatres. They are not safe associates for you. I beg you to quit their society.” “You needn’t be afraid of me, father,” replied the boy, laughing. “I guess I know a thing or two. I know how far to go, and when to stop.” The lad left his father’s house, twirling his cane in his fingers and laughing at the “old man’s notions.” A few years later, and that lad, grown to manhood, stood at the bar of a court, before a judge, which had just brought in a verdict of “guilty” against him for some crime in which he had been concerned. Before he was sentenced he addressed the court, and said among other things: “My downward course began in disobedience to my parents. I thought I knew as much of the world as my father did, and I spurned his advice, but as soon as I turned my back upon home, temptations came upon me like a drove of hyenas, and hurried me to ruin.” Mark that confession, ye boys who are beginning to be wiser than your parents. Mark it, and learn that disobedience is the first step in the road to ruin. Do not take it.—Sel.