Earlier text: THE EARTH RESTOREDCHRIST IS THE ROCK.
By E. J. Hammer
"AND I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church." Matt. 16:18. These are the words of our Lord to Peter at the time Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ. The Catholics make this text the foundation for their claim that the Church of Rome is the true church of Christ, and the pope the divinely-appointed successor of Peter, holding that Peter is the rock upon which the church is built. A little study of Scripture will show the falsity of this claim, and that Christ alone is, and no other could be, the rock meant in the words above quoted. Christ said, "Thou art petros," which is the Greek word for a stone—what we understand by a small bowlder, or stone, which alone is of little use, but placed with others like it in a wall, serves as part of a great building. Peter, then, was one of a considerable number upon whom the house of faith is erected, as stated by Paul, "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone." Eph. 2:20. Peter, also, himself testified before the rulers and elders, "This is the stone [Christ] which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of the corner." Acts 4:11. Hence, Peter could not be the rock which Christ meant when he said, "Upon this rock I will build my church." When the angel announced to Mary the birth of the Lord, he said, "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." This is said to be a fulfillment of a prophecy which said, "Behold, a virgin shall . . . bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel; which being interpreted is, God with us." Matt. 1:23. Compare this with the statement, "For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour" (Isa. 43:3), and we have it direct from Inspiration that Christ is our God. Christ, then, is our God, and it was of him that Moses spake when he said to the children of Israel: "Ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock." Deut. 32:3, 4. David also said, "The Lord is my rock" (2 Sam. 22:2); and again, "My God is the rock of my refuge." Ps. 94:22. Paul also testifies, in speaking of the wanderings of Israel in the wilderness, that "they did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them [margin, "went with them"]; and that rock was Christ." 1 Cor. 10:4. But this is not all the evidence we have. Away back, 1,700 years before the first advent, Jacob utters a prophecy concerning Joseph, that "his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob (from thence is the Shepherd, the stone of Israel)" (Gen. 49:24); and Christ declares, "I am the Good Shepherd" (John 10:14). Is not this enough to prove that Christ's church could not be built upon Peter? He was a sinner, dependent on Christ for salvation, while the church must be founded upon that wherein no unrighteousness existed, in order that it might be permanent, and endure throughout the ages. So David says, "The Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him." Ps. 92:15. The word our Saviour used in his address to Peter beside petros, a little stone, was petra, a great rock, or bed rock, if you please, upon which immense buildings might stand solid and secure. How appropriate this representation is may be seen in many scriptures, where God is represented as a secure refuge, a secret place, under the shadow of which we may defy the assaults of all enemies. "In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge is in God." Ps. 62:7. Can we not, then, vanquish the enemy of souls by a "Thus saith the Lord"? For it is written, "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1 Cor. 3:11. How true, then, is the statement which Peter quotes, "Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious;" and he adds, "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious; but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient." 1 Peter 2:6-8. Let us, then, permit the Holy Spirit to work in us, that we, as "living stones," may build on the true Rock, Christ, by faith, a solid structure, which will stand the test by which every man's work will be tried, that it may be made manifest of what sort it is. How SHALL we live harmoniously with incompatible people, with those that fret us and are naturally disagreeable? A large part of the secret of it consists in just settling down to their peculiarities as one would to the heaviness of lead, expecting nothing else, taking it for granted that they cannot or will not alter, ceasing to make efforts to have them, accepting their ways as their right, and simply studying how to turn the inevitable to some good account as a means of grace, a chance for winning victories and perfecting one's own character. When we once make up our mind to a thing and fully consent to have it so, it is amazing how much blessing we can get out of it, and how much good we can see in it. The sooner we come to the conclusion that we cannot change people much after they are grown up, the better it will be for our peace of mind.—Zion's Herald. KEEP COOL.
By O. C. Godsmark
AS THE heated season has now fully come, the question of how to keep cool is one not altogether out of place. When we consider the fact that we are composed of the food we eat and the fluids we drink, it becomes apparent that the nature of this food and drink must, in a great degree, affect our powers of enduring the extremes of heat and cold. In order that we may pass through the heated season with a moderate degree of comfort, it is highly important that we avoid the use of highly seasoned foods and greasy gravies. The use of pepper, mustard, ginger, pepper sauce, salt in large quantities, and other spices used by so many to make their food relishable, and perhaps to whip along an already worn and lagging stomach, is the very thing to cause us to feel most sensibly the heat and depression of the summer months. When food, or, rather, condiments of this sort—for they cannot properly be termed foods—are taken into the system, they immediately set up an irritation in the stomach, which calls for large quantities of water or other cooling fluids to allay the inflammation they have there produced. The whole system feels the irritating effect of food thus seasoned, and is fired up to expel the intruder. Were the same amount of pepper, mustard, pepper sauce, or whatever the condiment may be, taken into the mouth, and there allowed to remain for some time, say from one to three hours—the time it remains in the stomach—the irritating effect upon the mucous membrane lining the mouth would be readily realized; and were this to be continued from two to three times each day for some years, we would hardly be surprised at the result. Then how can we expect the stomach and other digestive organs to remain in a healthy condition so long as we compel them to submit constantly to the same treatment? The effect of such a diet, as a rule, is to make the individual peevish, irritable, and nervous; and why should it not be so? The stomach in its irritated condition conveys this irritation to the brain, whence, through the sympathetic system of nerves, it is carried to all parts of the body, affecting the mind as well as the various other organs. Stomach, liver, kidneys, and intestines are all excited to an unnatural degree. Flesh foods, especially those containing much fat, should be avoided during the summer months. The process undergone by fat taken into the system is so nearly like that seen in the burning of grease of any kind that the result is practically the same,—that of producing an extra amount of heat in the body. In the colder climates, where the people are exposed to the severe cold and rigors of the long Arctic winters, the consumption of larger quantities of fat may be more admissible; but where the heat is to be met and endured, the less of this highly carbonaceous food taken into the system the better, as it only has to be burned up in order to be gotten rid of; and the less we add of this unnatural heat to the body, the more endurable will be the heated season, and the less we will suffer thereby. Let the food be plain, simple, and free from all irritating condiments. Providence surrounds us, at this season of the year, with a bountiful supply of fruits, grains, and vegetables, of which our Heavenly Father said, "Ye may freely eat." And when these are prepared in a healthful, inviting manner, they form, with milk, the very best diet. The sponging of the whole body, or a simple wet-hand rub, upon first rising in the morning, relieves the skin of its coating of oily matter that has been deposited during the night and the previous day, and so relieves the body of this extra covering. By thus opening up the pores of the skin, it can breathe more freely, the evaporation take place more readily, and thus tend largely to keeping the whole system in a more comfortable condition. Attention to some of the simple laws of health, mixed largely with a good degree of straightforward good sense, will do much to alleviate the ills of life and avoid many of the diseases with which we would otherwise suffer.
North Adams, Mich. SPEAKING WITH THE FINGERS AND TOES.
PEOPLE in the East, when in their houses, do not wear sandals, consequently their feet and toes are exposed. When guests wish to speak with each other so as not to be observed by the host, they convey their meaning by the feet and toes. Does a person wish to leave a room in company with another, he lifts up one of his feet; and should the other refuse, he also lifts up a foot and then suddenly puts it down on the ground. When merchants wish to make a bargain in the presence of others without making known their terms, they sit on the ground, have a piece of cloth thrown over the lap, and then put each a hand under, and thus speak with the fingers. So we read in Prov. 6:13, "He speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers." Nothing is more common to-day in the East, on parting, than to express mutual good will by putting the forefinger of the right hand parallel to that of the left, and then rapidly rubbing them together, the opposite party doing the same, and repeating the words "right, right," or, in common acceptation, "together, together." It is in this manner that persons express their consent on all occasions, on conducting a bargain, on engaging to bear one another company, and on every kind of friendly agreement or good understanding. This passage may also serve to explain the phrase, "Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth." Matt. 6:3. So much is said in the Old Testament of speaking with the eyes, hands, and even feet, that it is scarcely understood by most readers. They should see the expression and numerous gesticulations of foreigners when they converse; many a question is answered, and many a significant remark conveyed, even by children, who learn this language even sooner than their mother tongue. Perhaps the expression of Solomon, that the wicked man "speaketh with his feet," may appear more natural when it is considered that the mode of sitting on the ground in the East brings the feet into view nearly in the same direct line as the hands, the whole body crouching down together, and the hands, in fact, resting upon the feet. It is remarkable to what excellent uses the toes are applied in the East. They are often called the feet fingers. In his own house a Hindu makes use of them to fasten the clogs to his feet by means of a button, which slips between the two middle toes. The tailor twists his thread with them. The cook holds his knife with his toes while he cuts fish, vegetables, and other things. Everyone, indeed, finds a score of different uses for the toes. When a man follows another in the path so closely as almost to touch the feet of him who goes before, it is said "his feet hath laid hold of his steps," intimating that the men are so near to each other that the feet of him who follows, like unto the fingers of a man's hands, seize the feet of him who goes before. The figure is no doubt taken from the great adroitness that the natives of the East have in taking hold of anything with their toes. If a man is walking along the road, and he sees something upon the ground which he wishes to pick up, he does not stoop down, as an American would do, but he at once picks it up with his toes.—Christian Work. THERE can be no doubt that the use of cows' flesh and of unsterilized cow's milk is one of the most widely active causes of consumption, and one which has been very aptly designated "the great winter plague of civilization." This fact has been known to the medical profession for many years, and yet no very radical measures have been taken with reference to the suppression of this cause of disease, which is accountable annually for many times more deaths than cholera or any other of the epidemic diseases. Beefsteak is consumed in greater quantities than ever, owing to its present cheapness, and cows' milk is swallowed at all times, and at all places, without the slightest inquiry into its antecedents, and without the application of any means for the destruction of mischievous microbes which the lacteal fluid may contain. Dr. E. F. Brusch calls the cow "the wet nurse of consumption," and makes the following interesting observations concerning the relation of cows to this dread disease:— "Scrofulous females in the human race usually secrete an abundance of milk, because in scrofula there is an unusual tendency to glandular enlargement and activity. As the mammary is the highest type of glandular structure, it is stimulated to increased action. A scrofulous cow is usually the largest milker, and the closest kind of consanguinity has been practiced by cattle breeders, with the object of producing a scrofulous animal, not because she is scrofulous, but because the particular form she represents are the largest yielders of milk. We find, too, that consanguineous breeding has been alleged as one of the causes of tuberculosis in the human race, where it never can be conducted with so close and intimate blood relatives as in the dairy animals." "The absence of phthisis in high, dry, mountainous regions has been accounted for634by reason of the altitude and absence of moisture in the atmosphere; but here occurs a somewhat curious fact, namely, that the cow does not thrive in high, dry, mountainous districts; but in the low, swampy, moist region, where the succulent and lush grasses grow, is the place where the cow flourishes, and it is in these regions, also, that tuberculosis abounds in both the bovine and human subjects."—Annals of Hygiene. THE fire upon the hearth is low,
And there is stillness everywhere;
Like troubled spirits, here and there
The firelight shadows fluttering go.
And as the shadows round me creep,
A childish treble breaks the gloom,
And softly from a further room
Comes, "Now I lay me down to sleep." And, somehow, with that little prayer
And that sweet treble in my ears,
My thought goes back to distant years,
And lingers with a dear one there;
And as I hear the child's, "Amen,"
My mother's faith comes back to me;
Crouched at her side I seem to be,
And mother holds my hands again. Oh, for an hour in that dear place!
Oh, for the peace of that dear time!
Oh, for that childish trust sublime!
Oh, for a glimpse of mother's face!
Yet, as the shadows round me creep,
I do not seem to be alone—
Sweet magic of that treble tone,
And, "Now I lay me down to sleep."
—Selected. Brother Fitzgerald, writing in the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine, on "The Negro Preacher before the War," among other interesting matter gives the following incident, one of many which cast a ray of sunlight among the somber and sometimes lurid shadows which overhung the pathway of those who were in bonds:— The ante-bellum negro preachers were the product of the times, and differed from the mass of their race only in the fact that they were shrewder and more eloquent. Among them were many men of piety, good sense, and burning zeal. In others there was a combination of cunning, superstition, excitability, and volubility almost indescribable. To the former class belonged a noted negro preacher of Culpepper County, Virginia—an old man of blameless life and venerable appearance, who so commanded the confidence of the white people, and whose influence with his own race was so wholesome, that no one thought of enforcing against him a statute then existing, which required that at any gathering where six or more negroes were assembled a white man should be present. Despite this statute, Uncle Jack came and went as he pleased, trusted by the whites, and venerated by the blacks. At one of his meetings a party of mischievous young white men planned to have a little fun at the old man's expense. Waiting near the door of the rustic chapel until the service was concluded, the party approached the old preacher, and their spokesman said: "Old man, we are officers of the law, patrolling this beat. You have violated the law, and we are going to whip you for it. Come along with us." They led the way to a thicket near at hand, Uncle Jack following in silence. "Have you nothing to say, old man?" asked the spokesman. "Nothing, marster," said Uncle Jack. "Perhaps you think we don't really intend to whip you," said the young man; "but we will. Have you nothing to say to that?" "No, sir," said Uncle Jack; "I have nothing to say. The fact is, marsters, I have often wondered that I have never been whipped before. St. Paul was a much better man than I am, and they whipped him almost everywhere he went. I have preached much longer than he did, and never had a whipping in my life. Seems to me, young marsters, that I ought to have at least a few licks." The young scapegraces looked at each other in confusion, and it is needless to say Uncle Jack was not whipped. "A soft answer turneth away wrath;" and a little of Uncle Jack's humility might be useful to many a preacher.—The Christian. EXPERIENCES OF SOME BAPTIST MISSIONARIES.
MISS CAMPBELL writes to the Helping Hand, from Chin-phin, China:— "Miss Ostrom, my brother, and I have come up here for a few days to try the temper of the people, and see if it would be feasible for Miss O. and me to come here for work, after my brother goes home. We do not intend to be at all aggressive this time, but just live quietly among them for a time. No foreign woman has ever been here before. Chin-phin is thirty miles north and a little east of Ka-yin-chu. We came through by chair in one day, being well out of the city before sunrise, and coming in here by moonlight. The city is situated in a lovely and populous valley, through which a beautiful river winds, and the land is very fertile. The city is six hundred years old. The wall is most picturesque, going up hill and down, partly in ruins, and beautiful with mosses and ferns. The valley is as completely surrounded by mountains as Ka-yin-chu. This was the last place visited by the rebels in '67 or '68, who almost entirely exterminated the inhabitants. They were followed by a fire, and the fire by a pestilence, so that not more than five per cent of the population was left, and people came in from other districts to occupy the vacant houses and lands. But now the small remnant has so increased that the intruders are being driven out. At the time there were so few inhabitants, the Catholics bought up large tracts of land, which they now rent in small fields to their members. There are, perhaps, a thousand members, and they and the Germans here have chapels in sight of each other, several miles south of the city. But we are the first to enter the city itself. It635is a great coal district, and in the city a great deal of paper is made. We find the people quiet and friendly. This being the time of wheat harvest, the women are very busy, but in the two days we have been here, thirty women have called, and a good many children." Miss Annie Buzzell writes from Sendai, Japan:— "It is just a year to-day since I reached Japan, and as I look back and try to count all the blessings of the year, I find it an impossible task, for the Lord's blessings have been countless, and great and rich. To-day I can only thank and praise his holy name for all the way in which he has led me, and for all the happiness he sends. I believe there is not a happier missionary than I in all Japan. Last week my own personal teacher came to me with a new joy in his face and shining from his eyes, and he told me how, while he was sick in bed, the Lord revealed himself to him in a precious way, and, from being a mere believer, with a faith not strong enough to lead him to follow the Lord even in baptism, he has become a rejoicing, happy Christian, ready and anxious to follow his Lord everywhere. This alone was enough to fill me with joy, but the Lord had more blessings in store for me. Last Sunday the young man who has helped me much in Sunday school was sick and could not come. There was a class of women without any teacher, and I had no interpreter. I could not let them go untaught, so I asked the Lord to help me, and, to my great happiness, the language, so far as I had a vocabulary, came readily to my lips, and I could make them understand me. And so I taught my first lesson in the Japanese language, and from now on I shall prepare the lesson in Japanese, and teach that class of women every Sunday. Miss Mead and I had a praise meeting that night." Miss Mead writes from Sendai, Japan:— "It seems to me if our straits were known some friends would gladly help us out, and if you could see our thirteen dear girls, you would say they were worth helping. I have been teaching a class without an interpreter this fall, and, although I make mistakes, I have greater freedom than with him sitting by. These hours are my five best hours during the week. I have hoped and prayed that the impulse for work would come from their own desire to serve God. They have, of their own accord, one by one asked to go out to the house-to-house work at every opportunity. God has given us such unmistakable blessings in these girls we do not feel we can give them up, but if we must, we will try to feel that it is ordered of the Lord. Our girls at present are studying and doing Bible woman's work." It was Gail Hamilton who said that civilized people were like an onion—peel them off, and, as layer after layer is removed, you find at heart the primitive savage. Some people have no more than just one thin coat of civilization. "Scratch a Russian, and you will find a Tartar," is an old saying. Crack the veneering of civilization, which constitutes society politeness, and you will find underneath the uncontrolled animal, who is looking out for himself, and letting the fiend take everybody else. Look at a party on a pleasure tour in a railway train. They may be the cream of refinement and politeness, the quintessence of grace and courtesy in manner. They may be chatting in the sweetest, merriest way. Let the dining car steward put his head in the door and announce dinner. Instantly the layers slip off every one of the human onions. Each man makes a dive to outstrip his neighbor and get the first and best seat. If another shoots in ahead of him in this rush to the feed trough, he glares at him as at his worst enemy, though a second before you would have thought them the dearest friends. There may be, and usually is, abundance of food to go around, and at worst it is only a half hour's waiting. But the exquisite gentleman is transformed for the time into a ravening monster. The man who gets left has, for a brief flash, something very like murder in his heart. If carriages are provided for the party, there is not even a pretense of assuming the veneering. A rush, a jostle, and a jump, without so much as, "I beg your pardon." Every gentleman and lady of them makes a scramble for the best places, for all the world—shall we say it? yes, come to think, we will—for all the world like cattle at a drinking trough on a hot day. Like cattle at a drinking trough, too, the weakest and slowest get left. The immediate animal wants being satisfied, the stomachs being filled, or good seats in the carriage once obtained, it is truly astonishing how quick the veneering slips on again. The animal becomes once more the gentleman, with the manners of a chevalier, when good manners are no longer especially called for. The minute it is no longer of any consequence, every man becomes at once solicitous for his neighbor's welfare.—Selected. QUARRELING is impossible in the presence of sweet unselfishness. Charles Kingsley tells a true story which exemplifies the spirit of renunciation for others, which is the very opposite of the selfish spirit. It is that of two hermit monks who had lived together in closest friendship for years, with no thought of envy or selfish rivalry in the mind of either. At last it occurred to them to try the experiment of a quarrel after the common fashion of the world. "How can we quarrel?" asked one. "Oh," said the other, "we can take this brick and put it between us and each can claim it! Then we'll quarrel over it." And that plan was agreed on. "This brick is mine," said the one. "I hope it is mine," said the other gently. "Well, if it is yours, take it," said the other, who could never hear his companion express a wish for anything without having a desire to get it for him. So the quarrel failed through the unselfishness of both.—Selected. TEST QUESTIONS ABOUT AMUSEMENTS.
Do THEY rest and strengthen or weary and weaken the body? Do they rest and strengthen or weary and weaken the brain? Do they make resistance to temptation easier or harder? Do they increase or lessen love for virtue, purity, temperance, and justice? Do they give inspiration and quicken enthusiasm, or stupefy the intellectual and harden the moral nature? Do they increase or diminish respect for manhood and womanhood? Do they draw one nearer to or remove one farther from Christ?—The Advance. INDIA'S AWAKENING.
By J. F. Dodd
[May be sung to tune of "Missionary Hymn," or "Webb."] FROM their dark night awakening,
To greet the opening day,
Lo, India's anxious thousands
With earnest longings pray;
For faithful gospel heralds
Have borne the message there,
Revealing God's great purpose
To save them from despair. The star of hope is beaming
O'er all the hills and plains,
Proclaiming by its brightness
That Christ, Messiah, reigns;
That now, the truth receiving,
As taught within his word,
Led by the Spirit's teaching,
These souls shall know their Lord. This forward movement, telling
The triumph of our King,
Inspires us now to rally
And larger offerings bring.
Thus shall all souls, rejoicing,
In him and by him blest,
Press onward, still victorious,
To heaven's eternal rest. Then He will smile upon us
To whom our love was shown,
And all shall take their places
Before the Victor's throne,
While, through the endless ages,
With praise and holy songs,
We'll crown Him King eternal
To whom all power belongs. A LADY writes from Jaffa as follows:— “When we reached Ramleh, Abou Ibrahim went to look for the lepers in their different haunts, and collected them together under some trees outside the town. A stone in the center of the circle was spread with a red pocket handkerchief for me to sit upon. I had been told there were ten of them, but I only counted nine. ‘Who is missing?’ I asked. ‘Only poor Fatmeh,’ they replied; ‘her place of begging is rather far away, and she cannot walk much, for she has hurt her leg.’ ‘Cannot someone help her?’ I said; ‘I want you all together.’ “There was a little hesitation. At last a man got up. ‘It is rather difficult, lady,’ he said, ‘and the day is hot, but for your sake I will try.’ Off he went, and after some time returned, heated, panting, breathless, carrying the old woman on his back, she looking as overcome as himself with the exertion of holding on. If I had known how difficult it was going to be for both, I fear I should not have insisted on Fatmeh’s presence. However, she had come, and the circle was complete. There were ten of them, ‘and they were lepers.’ “All forms of the disease were exhibited among them. The blurred features, the mutilated hands and feet, the hoarse, rasping voice, the hidden wounds. Some, like Hussain, who carried Fatmeh, bore no outward tokens; others were painfully disfigured. One poor woman laughed mournfully as she told me her name, ‘Shellibiah—beautiful.’ Her face was attacked by the disease, and, if she had ever merited her name, all traces of comeliness had long ago disappeared. One of the number was a little boy, apparently about fourteen. Fatmeh was a middle-aged woman, who had been there thirty years, fifteen with her husband, and fifteen after his death. “One of the men had lately come, and one, Salah, had just left them for the leper hospital in Jerusalem. He had become quite blind and very helpless, so at last he consented to give up his free, open-air life. He was a Protestant, and could read; the others were all Moslems.”—Selected. WHAT IS TO BE FOUND IN SOUTH AFRICA.
By Editor
When so much is heard of the prospects of South Africa as a field for emigration, it cannot fail to be of benefit to know just what is to be found in that country. The following letter from Ed Russell, who formerly resided in this city, is very interesting:— "The labor market is now overdone in Johannesburg. Lots of men are lying around who have been unable to secure employment for months. Many of them are from Australia, and they have to borrow money to return home. A great many Americans also find it difficult to get anything to do, although they are preferred to almost any other class, especially in the mines. This is probably due to the fact that the principal mines are owned by Americans and operated by American managers. The only class of men safe in coming here are machine men—good drill machine men, I mean, and good blacksmiths, of course. Carpenters, bricklayers, etc., might find work, but they are better away, if they know when they are well off. Railway men are 'not in it,' as wages are low. I will say, however, that I think prospects will be better later. At present the best thing to do is to stay away. If one does want to venture, let him go to Natal, Deligo Bay, or some other East Coast town. There the chances are much better, for the simple reason that everybody comes direct to Johannesburg. "As to the climate, if you went to sleep in Arizona and woke up anywhere on the road between here and Cape Town, you couldn't tell the difference. About 300 miles from here you strike a splendid grazing country, all the world like Northern California and Southern Oregon. The soil is rich red loam, and the climate similar to that of California. Johannesburg is 6,600 feet above the sea level. We are now enjoying the rainy season, which is called summer. The winters, they tell me, are very dry and dusty, and heavy frosts are frequent. The country hereabouts is as level as a prairie, but New Johannesburg lies in the center of a hilly spot. This ridge is the much-talked-of gold reef, and is wonderfully full of free-milling ore. Dozens of mills are already in operation, and more are being erected. In a few years Johannesburg will be full of such mills, and there will be employment for thousands of men. "The reef is 60 miles in length and runs north and south. Only the outcroppings have been worked so far, but arrangements are being perfected to work the lower levels, where the ore is said to run much richer. Each claim is 400 feet square. Those located on the outcroppings of the veins are fast being worked out, owing to the dip of the veins, so that owners of claims on the deeper levels will have to work under the greater expense. I understand that the majority of the mining claims and mills are owned by the Rothschilds; but be that as it may, there will be plenty of work for the poor man in the future. Just think of it—a city of 60,000 inhabitants, of which one-half are whites, formed in six years, and a very fine city at that. "The blacks are industrious fellows, too, and do all the common labor at from $15 to $20 per month. The much-talked-of war is over for the present. The scene of action is about 600 miles from here, so that news reaches us very slowly. The impression prevails that just as soon as the dry season sets in and the floods subside, the head chief will be on the warpath again. "With the advent of the dry season there will be a grand rush for Matabeleland, which is reputed to be the richest gold district in South Africa. It is said to be a dangerous trip, on account of the fever in the lowlands, through which one must pass in order to reach the promised land. The charter company is trying to get control of the entire district, and already lays claim to one-half of all mineral found there. The government backs it up, and is making it warm for prospectors and locators. "In this city good board can be obtained for $7.00 per week. The bill of fare includes plenty of beef and mutton, but very few vegetables. The Boers are too lazy to raise vegetables, and the result is that potatoes are worth from $4.50 to $5.00 per cent. Ham costs from 60 to 75 cents per pound, and eggs 60 cents per dozen."—Morning Times, Oakland, Cal. "SIVA NARAYAN, a Rajput, flourished in India, during the reign of Mohammed Shak, A.D. 1735. He was a voluminous writer, and founded a sect of unitarian Hindus known as Sivites, who offer no worship to any of the objects of Hindu or Mohammedan veneration, and admit proselytes from all religions." The Zulu Church's Temperance Rule
AFRICA can teach some lessons to the nations that are seeking to civilize her. Among the by-laws of the Zulu Church, recently organized, is this: "No member shall be permitted to drink the white man's grog." WHILE we deplore the weakness of some of the native races among the islands of the Pacific, it must not be forgotten that among these tribes some most beautiful and saintly characters have been developed. It will be remembered that Lanien, a Marshall Island preacher, was kept in prison, last year, for three months, at Jaluj, because he had persisted in Christian work at Mejuro, against the wish of the German commissioner. He was released when the Morning Star was at Jaluj, and when he was asked by Mrs. Pease if he were lonely while in prison, or if it seemed a good time for prayer and reading, he looked down at the Bible which he held in his hand, and quickly replied:— "Oh, it was a good time to teach me many things!" Subsequently he asked Mrs. Pease if there were to be any embargo placed on his preaching the gospel; "because," said he, "that is the one thing I want to do. I cannot live any other way. If they are going to prohibit that, tell them they had better take a rope and hang me at once." Mrs. Garland adds that "the face of the good man was radiant when he was told that he could return to Mejuro."—Missionary Herald. "BEWARE OF COVETOUSNESS."
JESUS warned the people, "Take heed, and beware of covetousness; for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do; I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." He then addressed his disciples, "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment." These warnings are given for the benefit of all. Will they improve the warnings given? Will they be benefited? Will they regard these striking illustrations of our Saviour, and shun the example of the foolish rich man? He had an abundance; so have many who profess to believe the truth, and they are acting over the case of the poor, foolish rich man. Oh, that they would be wise, and feel the obligations resting upon them to use the blessings that God has given them in blessing others, instead of turning them into a curse! God will say to all such, as to the foolish rich man, "Thou fool." Men act as though they were bereft of their reason. They are buried up in the cares of this life. They have no time to devote to God, no time to serve him. Work, work, work, is the order of the day. All about them are required to labor upon the high-pressure plan, to take care of large farms. To tear down and build greater is their ambition, that they may have wherewith to bestow their goods. Yet these very men who are weighed down with their riches pass for Christ's followers. They have the name of believing that Christ is soon to come, that the end of all things is at hand, yet they have no spirit of sacrifice. They are plunging deeper and deeper into the world. They allow themselves but little time to study the word of life, and to meditate and pray. Neither do they give others in their family, or those who serve them, this privilege. Yet these men profess to believe that this world is not their home, that they are merely pilgrims and strangers upon the earth, preparing to move to a better country. The example and influence of all such is a curse to the cause of God. Hollow hypocrisy characterizes their professed Christian lives. They love God and the truth just as much as their works show, and no more. A man will act out all the faith he has. "By their fruits ye shall know them." The heart is where the treasure is. Their treasure is upon this earth, and their hearts and interests are also here.—Testimony for the Church No. 20.