AMONG the many "rights" which women are demanding and exercising to-day, the mother's right to forestall "reform" and make "criminal legislation" unnecessary, runs the risk of being overlooked. Our public-spirited women are doing, in many directions, good and noble work for fallen man; but it is a serious question with the thoughtful observer whether the average mother is not guilty of more corruption in the nursery than can be reformed by her sisters from the public platform.
That the smallest infant has hereditary tendencies from ancestors near and remote, whose influence precedes all exercise of a mother's power, none will deny. A father's strong influence for good or evil, all will acknowledge. The subsequent benumbing atmosphere of "society" cannot be forgotten. But closer than all these has throbbed the mother's heart, and in those earliest and only years in which man entertains absolute, unquestioning faith in human teaching, it is his mother who represents to him the law of life.
It would probably startle the great mass of well-meaning mothers to have the adult errors of their sons explained, as were those of the Hebrew king: "For his mother was his counselor to do wickedly;" and yet, let us see what close observation of the home rule of a large proportion of even so-called "Christian women" reveals.
While the writer was visiting the relatives of a celebrated clergyman, the distinguished man, who had not been in that part of the country for years, accepted an invitation to meet several friends informally. The seven-year-old son of the family, given to loud roaring whenever his wishes were crossed, was allowed to sit up, and was thus exhorted: "Now, Tom, you must behave well; for your uncle is a celebrated man, and I want him to admire you." Result: Tom, the most perfect of imitation gentlemen for that evening, while roaring and kicking as lustily as ever at breakfast the next morning, the conviction remaining with him that to seem and not to be is the important thing in life.
A mother, an active and prominent member of various public societies for "liberalizing thought" and "promoting reform," found it difficult to make her son rise on Sunday morning in time to be ready for church. She finally adopted the expedient of sending his little sister to tell him that it was half an hour later than it really was; and he, too indolent to look at his own watch, was thus beguiled by his mother's and sister's falsehood to a religious service to which all three of their lives gave the direct lie. Could the beauty of truth and the call of duty seem real to those two poor children? And yet by whose training were they made to seem unreal?
Again, still in the circle of the writer's immediate acquaintance, a mother went to confer with the teacher of a school to which the former had just sent her son. "I know your principle is to appeal solely to the higher nature, and to make pupils learn by inspiring an intellectual interest in their studies and a sense of duty in their souls. That sounds very beautiful, but you can do nothing with my son in that way. Appeal to his vanity, suggest to him to outshine others, and he will do all you wish. I thought I would give you a hint how to manage him." It is interesting to know that the teacher remained true to the higher standard, and that the second year saw the boy, who, according to his mother, could be moved only through his selfish vanity, an alert and interested scholar, holding excellent rank in a school whose motto was, "Do your best, and rejoice with him who can do better."
The writer's love for children leading her to make frequent visits to the luxurious nursery of a friend, she noticed that a sweet-tempered little fellow was constantly deprived of his playthings and generally imposed upon by his brother. The mother's attention being called to it, she said placidly, "It is so fortunate that Willie will submit to such treatment, for dear Phil is such a high-spirited boy that opposition would make him frantic." That amiability had any rights, or that a "high spirit" could be brutally selfish, had never occurred to her. In another nursery were the children of a gentleman who, with his brothers, was noted for violent outbreaks of temper on the slightest provocation, the theory of home discipline having been the common laisser-aller of the last two generations. The wives of these brothers could not conceal the bitterness brought into their own lives by contact with natures at once so violent and so ignorant of self-control. Yet in this nursery, where the mother spoke frankly of the intolerable strain imposed upon her by her husband's conduct, she still laughingly allowed her tiny sons to bite and kick and scratch each other, as if they had been little tigers, instead of creatures with a conscience to be reached and hearts to be touched. The little fellows happened to have hearts as warm as their tempers, and as quick perception of the right when it was put before them, so that this giving them over to the lower possibilities of their nature was as needless as it was wicked. When, at twelve years of age, the eldest boy had to be sent away to school because he was utterly unmanageable at home, he was as truly the fruit of his mother's training as of his father's sins.
On a railway train the writer noticed the entrance of a mother and little son who were unexpectedly greeted by a friend of the mother's. The friend was only going from one way-station to the next, while the others were on a long journey. There happened to be but one vacant double seat in the car; and into this the boy slipped, taking the seat next to the window. His mother, eager to improve the ten minutes with her friend, asked her son to give up his seat and take another for that little time, so that she could sit with her friend. "No, I won't; because I want to sit by the window, and all the other seats have people already at the windows."
"But, darling, only for ten minutes, and then you can sit by the window all day."
"No, I won't go. I want to sit by the window now."
"But, dear, not to give mamma pleasure?"
"No."
"Not for just ten little minutes, when mamma wants so much to talk to her friend, and you can sit by the window the whole day long?"
"No!"—with impatient emphasis. And in spite of humble entreaty from the mother, and good-natured urging from the friend, that home-nurtured bit of selfishness kept his place, the mother never dreaming of insisting on the right and courteous thing, but murmured gently that "Bobby did so enjoy looking out of the window." When seven-year-old Bobby becomes Robert the husband, his sad little wife will wonder, "Why is it that men have so little tenderness for their wives?"
Not for a moment would one seem to forget that there are wise and noble women whose children rise up and call them blessed, and whose influence makes for that righteousness whose fruit is integrity. But such mothers shine against a dark background of women who, without any distinct consciousness of the evil they are doing, are nevertheless training from the very nursery great numbers of men who, while keeping within the limits of respectability, are not only the mere shadows of true manhood, but also the tricky politician, the unscrupulous merchant, the shameless sensualist, and the elegant embezzler.—J. F. L., in the Century.
A CENTIPEDE GOING TO SLEEP.
By G. W. Dunn
A CENTIPEDE is afraid of a tarantula, and when he lies down to sleep he always takes the precaution to build a cactus fence about him. A tarantula will never crawl over cactus; and thus, securely hedged in his own corral, the centipede knows that he may sleep as long as he wants to, and his enemy can't get at him. It is laughable out on the Mojave Desert to watch the security of these cen77tipedes as they lie and sleep, while their arch enemies, the tarantulas, are looking over the garden wall, so to speak, trying to get at them. I have seen the tarantulas nose around for hours before giving it up. But the cactus is a sure barrier. When once they become satisfied that there is a complete barrier they go away, and cease to thirst for the gore of the centipede. The latter, however, always takes a careful look around before he removes the cactus and ventures forth.—G. W. Dunn, in San Francisco Examiner.
The Home Circle.
By Margaret Elizabeth Sangster
COMFORT ONE ANOTHER.
COMFORT one another:
For the way is growing dreary,
The feet are often weary,
And the heart is very sad.
There is heavy burden-bearing,
When it seems that none are caring,
And we half forget that ever we were glad.
Comfort one another:
With the hand-clasp close and tender,
With the sweetness love can render,
And looks of friendly eyes.
Do not wait with grace unspoken,
While life's daily bread is broken;
Gentle speech is oft like manna from the skies.
Comfort one another:
There are words of music ringing
Down the ages, sweet as singing
Of the happy choirs above.
Ransomed saint and mighty angel,
Lift the grand, deep-voiced evangel,
Where forever they are praising the eternal Love.
Comfort one another:
By the hope of Him who sought us
In our peril—Him who bought us,
Paying with His precious blood;
By the faith that will not alter,
Trusting strength that will not falter,
Leaning on the One divinely good.
Comfort one another:
Let the grave gloom lie beyond you,
While the Spirit's words remind you
Of the home beyond the tomb,
Where no more is pain or parting,
Fever's flush or tear-drop starting,
But the presence of the Lord, and for all his people room.
—M. A. Sangster, in Independent.
MEDICAL VALUE OF LEMONS.
"WHILE you are giving people simple rules for preserving their health, why don't you tell them about the use of lemons?" an intelligent professional man asked me the other day. He went on to say that he had long been troubled with an inactive liver, which gave him a world of pain and trouble, until recently he was advised by a friend to take a glass of hot water, with the juice of half a lemon squeezed into it, but no sugar, night and morning, and see what the effect would be. He tried it, and found himself better almost immediately. His daily headaches, which medicine had failed to cure, left him; his appetite improved, and he gained several pounds in weight within a few weeks. After a while he omitted the drink, either at night or in the morning, and now at times does without either of them. "I am satisfied from experiment," he said, "that there is no better medicine for persons who are troubled with bilious and liver complaints than the simple remedy I have given, which is far more efficacious than quinine or any other drug, while it is devoid of their injurious consequences. It excites the liver, stimulates the digestive organs, and tones up the system generally. It is not unpleasant to take, either; indeed, one soon gets to liking it."—Chicago Journal.
A KIND VOICE.
ELIHU BURRITT, speaking of the power of kindness, says: "There is no power of love so hard to get and keep as a kind voice. A kind hand is deaf and dumb. It may be rough in flesh and blood, yet do the work of a soft heart, and do it with a soft touch. But there is no one thing love so much needs as a sweet voice, to tell what it means and feels; and it is hard to get and keep in the right tone. One must start in youth, and be on the watch night and day, at work and play, to get and keep a voice that shall speak at all times the thoughts of a kind heart. It is often in youth that one gets a voice or tone that is sharp, and it sticks to him through life, and stirs up ill-will and grief, and falls like a drop of gall upon the sweet joys of home. Watch it day by day as a pearl of great price, for it will be worth more to you in days to come than the best pearl hid in the sea. A kind voice is to the heart what light is to the eye. It is a light that sings as well as shines."
A PRESIDENT'S FIRST SHOES.
MRS. GARFIELD, the President's mother, was very poor, and had great difficulty to make both ends meet. She lived with her children in a log-cabin in the backwoods of America.
In the spring of 1835 a family moved into the vicinity which proved of great benefit to the Garfields. They had sewing to be done, and Mrs. Garfield was glad of the opportunity to do it. A boy was also needed to plow and chop occasionally, and Thomas, the eldest son, found it a good opportunity to earn a little money for his mother.
It was an era when Thomas brought home the first money that he earned. A happier boy never crossed the threshold than he was when he handed the proceeds of his labor to his mother, saying:—
"Now, the shoemaker can come and make Jemmy a pair of shoes."
"Certainly," answered the mother; "and he will be indebted to you for the first pair of shoes he ever wore. You'll never be sorry."
"Jemmy ought to have had a pair a long time ago," replied Thomas, "and he would have had a pair if there had been any way for me to earn them."
"Well, you can send word to the shoemaker as soon as you please," continued his mother; "the quicker the better."
James was three and a half years old at the time, and the future President of the United States had not known the luxury of a pair of shoes—no, not even in winter.
Then in that part of the country shoemakers did not have shops of their own, but they went from cabin to cabin, boarding with the families while they were making shoes for the members. In this case the cobbler boarded with Mrs. Garfield, and his board paid part of the cost of the shoes.—Selected.
Health and Temperance.
By Editor
HOW TO CONQUER THE TOBACCO HABIT.
THE Rev. A. H. Quint, D. D., in the Congregationalist of December 13, has an article entitled, "Ten Years without Smoke," in which he discusses the various ways of breaking from the tobacco bondage. We quote from his article the following extracts, which we would commend to all Christians:—
I said to myself, "What shall I do?" The question was between a daily habit of many years, and an argument all against it. I decided. I have never since regarded it as an open question. Persons make a mistake in exercising their will power to determine not to smoke; that power should be exercised to refuse to consider the question itself. But I must add, the decision which I made was linked with my theology, namely, the absolute inability of human nature by itself, and the absolute sufficiency of the grace of God. Will one persevere in abstinence? This theology is the only promise.
In fact, it is a little difficult to see how one who exhorts others to that conversion which breaks the bondage of the whole nature, and believes that the grace of God is able to change the whole character, breaking up old habits and destroying old loves—should confess that that grace of God is, in his own case, impotent to destroy a single appetite, if he feels that the appetite is evil. Is it not a Christian belief and the principle of Christian work, that the power of God, while not at once removing what may be called the physical consequences of the violation of law, yet can and does change or remove the tastes for such violation? The consequences of the long use of narcotics may take a life-time to remedy; the craving for them may be conquered by the same grace which led Paul to say, "Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Therefore, the weak question sometimes found in the religious papers, "What substitute can I use?" is not exactly according to the preaching which holds that "the power of God unto salvation" is sufficient for all conditions. This kind of question, this looking for a substitute, is to my mind a secret of failure. It discusses the question with appetite. It tries to pacify a craving which must be extinguished and not coddled. It keeps the imagination still active and powerful. Most of all, it fails to see that regenerating power is perfectly competent to bring all things into subjection to the divine law. I am writing for Christian believers.
SLEEPLESSNESS.
By Hall's Journal of Health
SLEEPLESSNESS is the result of over bodily or mental effort. When a man works beyond his strength, or thinks or studies more than rest can restore, then, sooner or later, comes that inability to sleep soundly, that wakefulness, which is more wearing even than bodily labor, and which feeds the debility which first gave rise to it. The result is, a man is always tired, never feels rested, even when he leaves his bed in the morning; hence he wastes away, and finds repose only in the grave, if, indeed, insanity does not supervene. It is too often a malady, remediless by medical means. Avoid, then, as you would a viper or a murderer, all over-effort of mind or body; it is suicidal. Whatever you do, get enough sleep; whatever you do, take enough rest to restore the used energies of each preceding twenty-four hours; if you do not, you may escape for a few months, and if possessing a good constitution, years may pass away before any decided ill result forces itself on your attention; but rest assured the time will come when the too often baffled system, like a baffled horse, will refuse to work; it will not take prompt and sound sleep; it will not be rested by repose, and that irritating wakefulness will come upon you which philosophy cannot conquer, which medicine cannot cure, and, wasting by slow degrees to skin and bone, rest is found only in the grave.—Hall's Journal of Health.
THE LONGEVITY OF JEWS.
Dr. Benjamin Richardson, the leading sanitary authority of England, delivered a lecture recently before the Jews of London upon the "Vitality of the Jews, and the Mosaic Sanitary Code." After giving some interesting statistics as to the large proportion of Jews who reach old age, Dr. Richardson took up the causes of this longevity, chief among which was the observance of the laws of Moses. Its provisions, he said, form a marvelous collection of sanitary rules.—Hebrew Christian.
Suicide in Saxony
SAXONY has a larger number of suicides in proportion to her population than any other civilized State. Last year the number reached 1,104, or about 1 to 6,000 of the population. But startling as these figures are, the reason is not far to seek: Saxony has one distillery or brewery for each four square miles of her entire area.
SECULAR.
—Small-pox is reported from Oberlin, Kansas.
—Work still continues on the Panama Canal.
—It is understood that a pig-iron trust is being formed to control the output of Southern furnaces.
—An earthquake accompanied by a violent gale, occurred at Athens, Megaria, and Arachova, on the 22d ult.
—Seven persons were killed on the 22d ult. by the fall of a rock in a tunnel of the Rhondda Railway at Abergwynfi, Wales.
—A new kind of gunpowder has been invented, that in exploding causes no smoke, and can be soaked in water without damage. The strength of this new powder is almost once again as great as that of ordinary powder.
—It is reported that a plot is on foot at Stamboul to depose the Sultan. The plot is supposed to be due to Russian intrigue.
—A Government messenger arrived at Suakim recently and reported that both Emin Bey and Stanley are prisoners up the Nile.
—The Lower House of the Maine Legislature has refused to pass an order to prevent the use of tobacco on the floor of the House.
—It is said that many people of Seward County, Kan., are on the verge of starvation. Appeals have been sent to various places.
—The Charleston News and Courier says the cotton crop this year will be the largest ever made, and will approximate 7,500,000 bales.
—The stock of apples estimated in Lockport, N. Y., is 65,000 to 70,000 barrels, and about the same amount in other hands in Niagara county.
—An English missionary, named Brooks, and sixteen followers, were murdered on the 19th ult., near Saadani, by coast tribes and natives of Zanzibar.
—Representative Oates, of Alabama, is endeavoring to secure a change in the naturalization laws of the country, to make them more strict and severe.
—On the night of the 22d ult., a family by the name of Rudolf, numbering six persons, was suffocated by gas from a defective stove, at Crossen, Saxony.
—Owen Brown, son of the famous anti-slavery John Brown, of Kansas, died recently in Pasadena, Cal. He was the last survivor of the Harper's Ferry raid.
—At Ogelthorpe, Ga., on the 25th ult., four small children, who were left in a house by Mary Porter (colored), while she went to work, were burned to death.
—Nearly 3,000 men were thrown out of work on the 26th ult., in the coal regions of Shenandoah, Pa., by the suspension of all the Lehigh Coal Company's and individual coal quarries.
—The Arabs have made the evacuation of the coast by the Germans the first condition to the release of the missionaries captured by them recently on the East coast of Africa.
—A Philadelphia dispatch of January 25, says that the Norwegian bark Alf, Captain Bain, from Demarara, October 27th, for this port, with sugar, is undoubtedly lost, with a crew of thirteen men.
—The production of oats in the United States shows a great increase. In the last eight years the average crop has been 549,000,000 bushels, against an average of 314,000,000 for the ten years preceding.
—The Miners' Progressive Union had a meeting in Scottsdale, Penn., January 25, and agreed to go out on a strike on February 1, if their demands were not agreed to by the coke operators. Between 9,000 and 10,000 men met.
—A dispatch from Rome under date of January 26, says: "The Pope's health is causing great alarm. The Pope had a serious fit of unconsciousness to-day, lasting over half an hour. The College of Cardinals is prepared for the worst."
—Advices from West Africa say that eleven native policemen, headed by a British officer, in a conflict with a party of war boys at Sulyman, recently killed 113 of the enemy with a Maxim gun, and that the rest of the party fled in dismay.
—January 25 there was a general tie-up of all the cars on the Atlantic Avenue line, in Brooklyn, N. Y. The following day a gang of Italians went to the depot to take out the cars, and were set on by the old hands and badly beaten and driven away.
—A joint meeting of the Knights of Labor organizations in the Connellsville coke regions on the 26th ult. resolved to strike soon unless operators grant an advance approximating 10 per cent. In case of a strike, which appears inevitable, upward of 13,000 men will go out.
—Sunday night, January 20, a gang of about twenty White Caps whipped two men at Kingston, Ontario. One victim was a milk peddler, who presumably watered his milk, and the other was the janitor of the City Hall, who had in some way or other given offense to the regulators.
—At the railway works at Crewe, England, on the 25th ult., an immense crane carrying a ladle containing seven tons of molten steel, collapsed, and the ladle fell. Masses of steel flew like bullets in every direction, and twenty workmen were severely injured. The roof of the building was torn off.
—The gas area of Indiana is 165 miles long and 65 miles wide, and contains 381 paying wells. The daily aggregate flow of gas is 600,000,000 feet, of which probably 100,000,000 feet are wasted. The average flow of gas is 1,500,000 feet per well. Seventy-nine manufactories have located in Indiana in the past two years on account of the discovery of gas.
—The latest "war" is that of Germany against Samoa. A religious exchange likens the affair to—"a Goliath fighting with a very small baby in the nursery, which has not even a sling and a stone." The truth probably is, that Germany wants to annex Samoa. It is not at all likely, however, that this country will submit to any such arrangements.
—Public Opinion says that last year the North invested in Southern industries $168,000,000. Nearly $30,000,000 of this was invested in Alabama, which leads in mining and manufacturing enterprises in that section. Kentucky got $28,000,000; Texas, $18,000,000, and Georgia, $14,000,000. The least amount invested was $2,000,000, which went to Mississippi.
—January 25, striking seamen and firemen boarded the steamer Kansas, loading at Liverpool for Boston, and dragged ashore eight men who refused to strike. The following day a thousand strikers lined the quay and prevented men from shipping, assaulting them and throwing their kits into the water. A crew was however shipped for the steamer African, under strong police guard.
—Sunday, January 27, General Boulanger was elected to the French Chamber of Deputies from Paris by a large majority over both the other candidates. As soon as the result was known, it was asserted that the ministry would resign. It is not known at this writing what the result will be. Everything seems to point to Boulanger as the next president of the French Republic.
—Notwithstanding the wide-spread impression that the additions to the railway system of the United States during 1888 would be comparatively insignificant, the evidence is that the railway mileage of the country was increased during the year by no less than 7,120 miles of main track. While this is much less than the phenomenal increase in the years 1887, 1886, 1882, and 1881, when the new mileage was respectively 13,000, 9,000, 11,500, and 9,796 miles, the record for the past year exceeds that of every other year in history with the exception of the year 1871, when 7,379 miles were added. New track was laid in all but two of the forty-seven States and Territories, the exceptions being Rhode Island and Nevada.
—Bellite, a new explosive of great power, has recently been tested in England with a view to determine both its power and the safety with which it may be handled. A mass of iron weighing half a ton was dropped from a height of twenty feet upon a package of bellite cartridges lying on a thick iron slab, without causing an explosion. A pound of gunpowder was fired inside a bundle of unprotected cartridges, without igniting them. When thrown upon a hot fire, the bellite cartridges melted away, with hardly any appearance of burning. When fired by a detonating cap, however, it develops tremendous energy. Three pounds of it, exploded under ground, threw earth to a height of a hundred feet, and excavated a pit eleven feet in diameter and nearly eleven feet deep.
Obituary.
WALMSLEY.—Eunice Willard Walmsley, wife of Brother Palen Walmsley, died in Dayton, Nev., January 16, 1889, aged 27 years, 11 months, and 25 days. She was born in Amurst Island, Ontario, Canada, where she was first converted and joined the Established Church. Three years ago she married and came to this country; it was here she embraced the present truth and was baptized by Elder Colcord at the Dayton Camp-meeting. About nine weeks ago, under the labors of Elder Ings, she renewed her vows of consecration and determined to serve the Lord as never before. She died perfectly reconciled to the providence of God, and with the bright hope of having eternal life. She leaves two little ones motherless, one eighteen months old, the other but a few days. Words of comfort were spoken from 1 Cor. 15:26. FRANK HOPE.
TURMAN.—Died at St. Clair, Nev., December 28, 1888, of heart trouble, from which she had suffered fifteen years, Marrietta Turman, wife of Samuel H. Turman, aged 55 years. Sister Turman had been a member of the Baptist Church for sixteen years, and on the 26th of February, 1878, became convinced that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment was still binding; she was rebaptized, and joined the St. Clair (Nevada) church. She was one of our most devoted members, was beloved by all her acquaintances, and will be missed by all. She leaves a husband, three children, and many warm friends to mourn their loss. Words of comfort were spoken from 1 Thes. 4:13-18, by the writer. F. W. HARMON.
STANTON.—Died of scarlet fever, January 14, at Livingston, Montana, Eval L. Stanton, aged 6 years 10 months and 23 days. Also, January 17, of the same disease, Ralf H. Stanton, aged 11 months.
News and Notes.
RELIGIOUS.
—Denmark has only 4,000 Roman Catholics.
—The Methodist Book Concern will be a century old this year.
—A new church building, calculated to seat 2,000 persons, for the special use of the soldiers in garrison, is to be erected in Strasburg, Germany. It is to cost $350,000.
—It is seventy-five years since the first Sunday-school was opened in Boston. There are now 30,000 scholars in that city, under the care of 1,200 helpers, as they are called, of both sexes.
—In Germany the entire number of Sunday-school children amounts to about 230,000, with 11,000 teachers. Many of the German clergy still regard the Sunday-school as an unnecessary institution.
—The chaplain of the Evangelical Hospital in St. Petersburg was arrested recently for receiving into fellowship and administering the communion to the sexton of the hospital, who was a member of the Greek Church.
—Of the 650,000 colored people in Virginia, only 500 are Catholics, and that church is planning to win them to its communion, as in that way only, says the Catholic Review, can they be raised to the "Christian standard of virtue and morality."
—Two hundred Norwegian sea-captains have formed the "Brotherhood of the Sea," pledging themselves to have regular services on board, and to conduct everything on board and on shore in the fear of God. They are all of the Lutheran faith.
—The Moniteur denies that the Pope has admonished the American bishops on account of the progress of socialism among Catholics. On the contrary, the paper says, the Pope has eulogized the religious zeal and activity displayed by Catholics in America.
—The Methodists have already established homes in Chicago and Cincinnati for the members of their new order of Deaconesses. Homes will soon be established in other cities also. The order resembles somewhat that of the Sisters of Charity, and its work will be similar.
—It is proposed to liquidate the total debt on English Methodist property, by forming a sort of syndicate of the leading Methodist laymen, who shall issue bonds for one million sterling at three per cent., thus effecting, at once, a saving to the connexion of the sum of £8,000 annually, in the shape of interest.
—Alessandro Gavazzi, the great anti-Popery lecturer, died recently in the eightieth year of his age. Father Gavazzi, as he was familiarly known, having been formerly a Catholic priest, left that communion many years ago and spent the greater part of his life in exposing the monstrous corruptions and the blasphemous assumptions of the Papacy.
—A resolution was recently passed by the convention of the Reformed Church of Hungary, to the effect that all members of the lower order of clergy who have married, shall henceforth be ineligible for appointment to any living. The plain and unvarnished meaning of this action is, the celibacy of the clergy, which is a long step Romeward. The Reformed Churches are Calvinistic.
—A Presbyterian paper asks, "Are the days of short sermons passing?" and says: "It begins to look as if the turn of the tide was in this direction among our English and Scotch brethren. Principal Cairns adds to expressions already heard condemning undue brevity in sermons, and says that he would utterly despair of the pulpit, if sermons are to be compressed into less than half an hour.
VIEWS OF NATIONAL REFORM.
By Editor
PACKAGE NO. 1, 184 PAGES, 20 CENTS.
THIS package contains thirteen tracts treating upon the various phases of the National Reform movement, as follows:—
NO. PAGES.
Religious Legislation, 8
Religious Liberty, 8
National Reform and the Rights of Conscience, 16
The American Papacy, 16
Bold and Base Avowal, 16
National Reform is Church and State, 16
Purity of National Religion, 8
The Salem Witchcraft, 8
What Think Ye of Christ?, 8
National Reformed Constitution and the American
Hierarchy, 24
The Republic of Israel, 8
National Reformed Presbyterianism, 32
The National Reform Movement an Absurdity 16
The above package will be sent post-paid to any address for twenty cents.
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“Fathers of the Catholic Church,”
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
—By Eld. E. J. Waggoner.—
HISTORY • REPEATS • ITSELF,
Because human nature is the same in all ages of the world. Hence he who would know how to avoid error in the future must know how errors have developed in the past. The “FATHERS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH” shows the condition of the heathen world at the time of Christ, briefly states the principles of ancient heathen philosophy, which was largely responsible for the immorality of that time, and shows how the adoption of these principles by prominent men in the church, and the incautious lowering of the standard of pure Christianity to accommodate the heathen element, developed the Papacy, which was simply a new phase of Paganism. It shows that by the time of Constantine every phase of the Papacy was fully developed, and was only waiting for supreme power. The chapter on
—Sun • Worship • and • Sunday—
Is alone worth the price of the book.
The chapter on “The Apostolic Church” consists largely of quotations from Scripture, showing that grave errors both of faith and practice existed in the church even in the days of the apostles, so that the early existence of a practice proves nothing as to its correctness.
Then a chapter is devoted to each of the Fathers, and to his writings. The Sunday argument, so far as it is drawn from the Fathers, is completely demolished by the citation of other testimony from them in favor of some of the grossest evils of the Catholic Church.
Lastly, several chapters are devoted to “The Great Apostasy,” in which are traced the logical results of the teachings of the Fathers.
—Everybody • Should • Have • this • Book—
As all are constantly meeting quotations from the Fathers in behalf of Sunday. In these cases it is only necessary to show that the same Fathers believed in purgatory and prayers for the dead, to nullify their testimony.
The book is printed on fine tinted paper, neatly bound in cloth, with gilt side stamp, and contains 392 pages. Price, Post Paid, $1.00.
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THE AMERICAN SENTINEL.
AN EIGHT-PAGE WEEKLY JOURNAL, DEVOTED TO
THE DEFENSE OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS, THE PRESERVATION OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AS IT IS, SO FAR AS REGARDS RELIGION OR RELIGIOUS TESTS, AND THE MAINTENANCE OF CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS RIGHTS.
It will ever be Uncompromisingly Opposed to anything tending toward a Union of Church and State, either in name or fact. It is well-known that there is a large and influential association in the United States bearing the name of the “National Reform Association,” which is endeavoring to secure such a RELIGIOUS AMENDMENT to the Constitution of the United States as will “place all Christian laws, institutions, and usages on an undeniable legal basis in the fundamental law of the land.” While there are many persons in this country who are opposed to, or look with suspicion upon, this movement, there are few, outside of the party, who realize what the influence of this amendment would be. The object of the American Sentinel will be to Vindicate the Rights of American Citizens, which, we believe, are threatened by this association. It will appeal to the very fundamental principles of our Government, and point out the consequences which would be sure to follow should they secure the desired Amendment to the Constitution. Every position taken will be carefully guarded and fortified by sound argument. Due respect will always be paid to the opinions of others, but the rights of conscience will be fearlessly maintained.
TERMS.
Single copy, one year, for $1 00
American Sentinel one year and “Prophetic Lights,” paper cover, 1 50
Sample copies FREE.
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Address, AMERICAN SENTINEL,
1059 Castro St., Oakland, Cal.
