p. 8 | Review and Herald, Vol. 88, No. 42. (10/19/1911)

Set for Watchmen

By C. M. S.

“Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.” In these words the Lord speaks to his people, laying before them a double duty,—a duty to him and a duty to their fellow men. He has a message to give to the world, and his people are his messengers, his watchmen. They are to do more than merely repeat words spoken to them; they are to watch also, and to watch as those who must give an account.

That duty which the Lord through Ezekiel laid upon his people anciently is laid upon us also, if we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. In every portion of this world the briers and the thorns of sin are wounding the lost sheep of the Master’s fold. In every marshy slough of despond some earnest souls are struggling for a secure footing. In every dark corner of the earth there are some honest souls struggling toward the light, and that light has been placed in our hands to carry to them. As God’s watchmen and light-bearers in the earth, none of us can lay upon the shoulders of others the solemn responsibility that rests upon us.

The message which we are to give is twofold in its nature. It is a message of warning against systems and doctrines that stand in opposition to God’s organization and his truth, and it is a message summoning to loyal obedience to God every child of earth. In this generation every soul is to have opportunity to make choice of God’s way and God’s truth, or rejecting that, to align himself with the deceiver of souls, and thus judge himself unworthy of eternal life.

It is only what would naturally be expected that the enemy of souls would summon every power of his domain to the work of opposing this last message from the Almighty. We may expect him to ensnare into his service every child of earth whom he can deceive with his counterfeit gospel. We have been warned that he is able to transform himself into an angel of light to make his deception the more complete, and as the climax of his deception, actually to impersonate Christ. We need not wonder, then, if we see mighty organizations that claim to be Christ’s chosen people setting themselves squarely against the truth of God, and even going so far as to lay plans which, if carried out successfully, would completely hedge up the way for the proclamation of God’s saving truth for this time.

Such organizations are forming in various parts of the world. Slowly they are being brought to that perfection which will be necessary for them to have at the time when it shall please Satan to institute the universal boycott of this message and its messengers. A formidable number of organizations have already committed themselves to the plan of enforcing the seal of the papal power and authority upon all the people. While we see these preparations which we have long predicted, actually in the process of making, and hear the declarations of the leaders as to what they intend to do, our duty in the matter is too plain to need to be pointed out. God has set us our task, and has warned us as to what the enemy would do. When we see the enemy doing just what the Word has all along declared he would do, it should not cause us dismay. The very seriousness of the times proves to us more clearly the dependableness of the divine forecast and the divine counsel.

We have seen the array of formidable organizations designed to force the whole world into the service of Satan, and our duty is clear. Every increase of earnestness and every perfection of plan on the part of the enemy should only serve to stimulate us to greater watchfulness and greater earnestness in the work given us to do, in order that honest souls may not be blinded while actually looking for the light. We must not only stand as watchmen, but we must be found carrying on active operations against the enemy’s works wherever we are, opposing every advance, and exposing every trap set for the destruction of souls. Through the proclamation of this message, the wheat of this earth will, in a way, winnow itself from the chaff. It will do that by proving its loyalty to God in the face of the bitterest opposition. By holding back the advance of the enemy, we keep open the door of opportunity a little longer for the honest in heart to hear and accept.

We have many plans of operation. So numerous are they at the present time that there is something for every one to do. No one needs to say, There is nothing I can do. There are weapons for this warfare lying about on every hand. The young and the old, the infirm and the robust, can all find something to do,—some way in which to help make known to the world this message that finishes the work of the gospel in the world. Very soon we shall find that a militant Romanism and an apostate Protestantism have their trenches dug across every line of our advance, and every move we make will be made against the most earnest opposition on the part of their combined forces.

The presence of the spirit of the dragon is already plainly evidenced in the published utterances of those who are consummating the federation of

forces to oppose the last work of God in the earth. The issue is plainly joined, and there is no neutral ground. The time has come when every Seventh-day Adventist, from the youngest to the oldest, should be actively engaged in some department of this work. God has a message ready for the world, and the world is ripe, yea, overripe, for that message; and yet the people to whom it has been committed are not half aroused to the importance of that message or the importance of their having a part in its proclamation. Is it not time for all to awake, gird themselves for the conflict, and throw themselves into it now while their efforts will count for so much more than they will in a little from now? Let us not permit the curse that God pronounced upon Meroz to fall upon any of us. C. M. S.

An Every-Day Standard

By Editor

Editorial

An Every-Day Standard

“If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever.”

An Every-Day Religion

By F. M. W.

A RELIGION every day in the week! This kind of religion is the only real, genuine kind. A religion which is put on for the Sabbath or for morning worship, or for saying grace at the table, and then laid aside for the rest of the day or the week, and kept apart from life’s practical duties, is no religion at all. It is but a sham, a make-believe, a hollow mockery.

But after all, this is the idea which many have of religion. To their minds religion is associated with sermons, with the study of the Bible, with attending prayer-meeting, with giving to missions, but is widely apart from the plain, ordinary, practical affairs of daily life. Such mistake the character and scope of Christian living.

Christianity is not a theory, a belief, a profession; rather it is a life dedicated to God. “Christ in you, the hope of glory,”—this constitutes Christianity in its practical manifestation. One possessing this experience will be an everyday Christian,— a Christian at home, as well as at the neighbors’; in the marketplace or shop or field, as well as at the prayer-meeting; in the kitchen, working over the hot stove, or training careless, noisy children, equally as at the mothers’ meeting.

Christianity is equal to every need. Its highest and sweetest revelation is in the little, practical things of life. In darkness, in obscurity, in the stress and storm of daily living, it shines the brightest. Let us seek for an every-day religion, one which will stand the test of every practical need. F. M. W.

He Taught “as One Having Authority”

By William Ambrose Spicer

One of the ancient sages of China, Mencius, said: “Instruction gives ideas, but not the power to carry them out.”

There is a vast difference between a merely true word and a living word. A man may speak true words. Only God can speak living words.

It is because God speaks the words of the Scripture that there is life in the Word. When Christ came, the people who heard him said that he taught “as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” There was divine power in his teaching; that made all the infinite difference between his teaching and the teaching of tradition and human philosophy. One means saved men’s souls, the other left them in bondage and death.

In an address at the opening of a Y. M. C. A. building in Japan, a little time ago, Count Okuma, head of a Tokio university, said:—

The springs of modern progress are to be found in the teachings of the Sage of Judea, in which alone is to be found the moral dynamic which can raise man above his sin and wretchedness.

It is a true word, because in Him is “the fountain of life.” The teaching of Jesus is no mere philosophy of life, as the students of comparative religions use the term. The teaching is life itself; and he who believes it receives a power divine that does not come from himself, but from God,—a power that works in the believer.

Another Japanese, Dr. Kato, said to be “one of the foremost of the thinkers of the Land of the Rising Sun,” declares that the evil fruits of Buddhism are becoming more and more apparent. He states:—

It is not the Buddhist religion that is bad, but its professors. As a religion, Buddhism is superior to Christianity, but Christian pastors are greatly superior to Buddhist priests.

He calls for a reform in the Buddhist ranks. But “by their fruits ye shall know them.” There is no life, no power, in Buddhism, because it is but a human religion. Men quote pretty sayings from the teachings of Buddha. So also students find good sentiments in the writings of the rabbis of the days just before the advent of the Messiah. Beautiful things were said in the Talmud of loving one’s neighbor, and of the blessedness of being peacemakers.

But these sayings did not bring love and peace and power into the lives of men. Nor has any saying of Buddha’s ever lifted the burden of sin from a sinner, or given one heart the joy of salvation. It is because there is none other name under heaven than that of Jesus that brings salvation. His words have life and power, for he is the living God and Saviour.

In the gospel teaching, by the living Word of God we come in touch with a living ministry for sinners in the heavenly sanctuary, with a living God who is actually working in the world, and with a living Spirit that brings righteousness and peace and power into the life, to cleanse from sin and to shed abroad the love and joy and hope of heaven.

The Jewish scribes had the Scriptures; but the trouble was that they had lost the living faith from their hearts, and taught the Scripture—when not teaching tradition—merely as a form of doctrine and as a philosophy of religion.

God forbid that we should teach his Word merely as a true philosophy. It is the precious, living Word that we handle that has power in it to work effectually unto salvation in those that believe it. W. A. S.

The World's Unrest

By Francis M. Wilcox

We have reached strenuous and critical times in the world's history. Particularly is this true in political affairs, where every movement of every nation is watched with jealous and critical eyes by its fellows. International questions present rapidly changing kaleidoscopic views, shifting the interest in quick succession from country to country and continent to continent. Threatened civil war in Mexico, with a massing of United States troops on the border, prepared, if necessary, for intervention; the great social and class conflict in England, followed a little later with a national commercial war; strained relations between Germany and France, reaching apparently almost the breaking point; and at the present time the hostile relations existing between Italy and Turkey,—these are but some of the stirring questions upon which great interest has centered during the last few months.

We know not what a day may bring forth. Every issue of the daily newspaper, in startling head-lines, announces some new sensation. Intensity fills the very atmosphere; it has taken possession of the hearts of men. Passion is supplanting reason; calm, unimpassioned thought is giving place to caprice and fitful impulse.

Speaking of this condition of affairs in the world at the present time, the United Presbyterian of October 5, says:—

Violence is on the increase. Public sentiment is becoming more tolerant of outbursts of passion and violations of law and order,—not only more tolerant, but more approving. Even when the most outrageous acts are committed, and men are hanged or shot, or even burned, there is little more than a passing expression of horror, with much indifference or a scarcely suppressed approval. No one is taken by surprise when strikers become a violent mob, destroying property and killing men. It appears to be assumed that violence is recognized as a legitimate weapon.

In cases of crime, passion burns with fury, and the mob becomes the judge and the executioner, it may be, with most barbarous violence; but public sentiment, horrified though it may be, contents itself with indifference, even making apologies for the mob by the easy-going declaration that the victim deserved it. Not long ago lynching was supposed to be peculiar to some of the Southern States, but now it has become a national crime, committed, defended, or apologized for, in sections where we most expect good order and safety. Pennsylvania can not cry out against Texas, for human passion is as violent in its bounds, and public sentiment as tolerant, as in the supposed most lawless parts. The flames of three bonfires of men have scarcely died out, but already the horrid scenes seem to be losing their effect, and the leaden feet of justice delay their coming. We do not speak too strongly when we say that lynching is coming to be recognized as justifiable and right. In a word, the mob is enthroned with but little effective protest.

This means the rule of anarchy, the destruction of law and right, the rule of violent passions. The public condone the crime. When the Coatesville horror was committed, it was commonly spoken of as a reproach, a blot on our fair name; the crime of it, the terrible crime, was little spoken of. We have reached that point at which the better conscience must be awakened, and must effectively express itself.

Similarly the New York Weekly Witness of September 27 speaks of the general spirit of unrest and instability existing in some of the nations of the Old World:—

Not since 1848 has Europe been so distracted by economic and political unrest as it is to-day. The ferment of popular discontent is not merely local or national, but is common to many countries, spreading beyond boundaries and passing from one capital to another.

Behind the sudden outbreak of strikes throughout Spain appears to be an organized

revolutionary movement. The government has been forced to meet it by suspending the constitutional guaranties, which is equivalent to declaring martial law. Neighboring Portugal, since the overthrow of the monarchy, has been in a state of constant turmoil, which at moments has rendered the existence of the republic precarious.

Hardly have the dock and railway strikes been settled in England than Ireland is visited by a railway strike that ties up traffic and increases the prices of foodstuffs.

As the result of the dear-food riots of last Sunday, Vienna is under martial law for the first time in sixty years. In the poorer quarter business is suspended. In Budapest there have been riots, and street fighting between the mobs and the police.

In France, after a year of dock and railway strikes that demoralized trade, a score of cities in the north have been the scene of food riots. After a season of severe drought and crop failure, the rising cost of living to the working classes is the most serious question of the day in France, Germany, and Austria. Germany has so far escaped similar disturbances; but as the national elections approach, the high price of food to the poor is bound to have important political effects. The growing strength of the Socialists has long been cause for great alarm to the ruling class. . . . The present unrest is too violent and wide-spread to be treated merely as a passing incident.

The Brooklyn Eagle emphasizes the far-reaching significance of the present unrest by pointing out some of the causes which have produced it:—

When the traditional calm of the most beautiful city in Europe is broken by “bread-riot” mobs two hundred thousand strong, and volleys are fired into such mobs and hundreds wounded, it is not merely Vienna, and not merely the Austrian government, that feels the shock. Bread riots, if they are genuine, are not quelled by shot and shell. Real starvation is reckless. One can die no harder death.

Such riots have been reported within the past two months, from points in Italy, and points in Spain, and points in Portugal, and points in France. The Social Democrats of Germany are emphasizing the high prices of food in appeals to a public that knows how high prices are. The great strikes in England have their real inspiration in the same conditions. And, even in the United States, where things are not quite so bad, it is more and more evident that the thought nearest to the minds of voters is the excessive cost of foods.

Everywhere excessive cost of government is an element in the situation. Without any great military establishment, the cost of the government of the United States is approximately two million dollars a day. And in every European country, whether republic or monarchy, the cost of government is greater in proportion to the resources of the taxpayers.

But back of this is another cause of universal bearing, the lessening of per capita production of foods. Statistics are incomplete, but sufficient for a general conclusion. More farming, better farming, is needed everywhere. On this depends the feeding of the world's masses. And on this depends in the last analysis the preservation of government and the public order in every civilized country. Nobody can reason with a man when he and his family are starving. All revolutionary movements can be placated or crushed, save those in which actual hunger is the moving cause. These defy logic and defy bullets. Desperation is insuperable.

Other journals make similar note regarding this state of unrest. The Lutheran of October 5, speaks of European conditions in the following words:—

Not since the great revolutionary year of 1848 has Europe been in such a state of ferment and unrest as to-day. One of the chief differences between that memorable year and the present is that in 1848 the revolt was political; it was an uprising against absolutism in government, whereas to-day it is economical or industrial; it is a rising against living conditions, against high prices and low wages. Within the last few weeks there have been serious strike riots in England, Ireland, France, Spain, and Austria, while at the same time the war-cloud seems to hang over Italy, Turkey, Germany, and France.

Well we may ask, as does the Lutheran, ‘What will be the outcome?’ No scheme of political economy, no philosophy of human government, will be able to provide a solution or a remedy.

The portent of these conditions we can only understand in the light of the prophetic word. Nor will these conditions materially improve; the great war between contending elements of capital and labor will be waged till the end of time. The sea of human emotion will grow more turbulent; more and more will passion and impulse and misrule bear sway. These conditions are unmistakable signs that we are living in the last days of earth's history. Sin is doing its baneful work; the only solution will be found in the coming of the Lord Jesus. Joel 3:9-16; James 5:1-8; Luke 17:26-30.

In such times as these, times so pregnant with intensity, excitement, and sensation, when thousands are losing their balance in life and the calm and peace of heaven from their hearts, the followers of the Master need to be on their guard. If we are not careful, we shall be swept away from our moorings out into the great sea of the world's unrest. We shall be filled with the spirit of the age, and forgetting God, plunge into the seething vortex of worldly pursuit which has engulfed the multitudes. We need to watch unto prayer; we need to study the blessed Word, and cultivate a closer communion with our divine Master. He has promised us his peace in the time of trial and disquietude. Let us take hold of the power from above, and not be governed by the power from beneath.

F. M. W.

The Passing of Darwinism

By W. W. P.

THAT particular phase of evolution usually designated as Darwinism appears to be on the wane. This may be a surprising statement to those who have not followed the trend of scientific discussion bearing upon this subject, but we believe that the facts warrant this conclusion. So dogmatic have been the claims of those who have advocated an apish ancestry for man, and the conclusions drawn from a selected group of phenomena have been asserted with such a perfect degree of assurance, that many of the laity in science have accepted these evolutionary theories without investigation or discussion, evidently thinking that it would be just as bad to be unorthodox in science as in religion, and that both were to be avoided.

Of late, however, there have been some very vigorous protests by men of standing in the scientific world against the teachings of Darwin and his disciples, and the weaknesses of the development hypothesis have been plainly pointed out. Among those who have taken issue with this doctrine is the author of a book recently published, who discusses the question at considerable length. We present herewith liberal extracts from a review of this book:—

The Russo-French physiologist, M. Elie de Cyon, for many years professor in the faculty of sciences and in the Academie Medico-Chirurgicale at the University of St. Petersburg, has lately published a book of essays entitled “God and Science,” . . . The last half of the book is a discussion of the decadence of Darwinism. This decline “predicted thirty years ago,” is now, he insists, an accomplished fact, “however partizans of these views may seek to hide from the public the whole extent of their defeat.” In 1909 there was held at Cambridge University a brilliant celebration of the centenary of Darwin’s birth, and just previously at Paris, a similar demonstration in honor of Lamarck. “The public at large,” writes M. de Cyon, “which follows movements in the scientific world with distracted attention, hardly realizes that these resounding festivals in honor of two noble savants were actually but solemn funeral functions in honor of dead theories. For the initiated, these pompous discourses were merely the passing bell of the hypothesis of descendance.”

M. de Cyon points out that theories of a mechanical evolution were opposed by a far larger group in the scientific world thirty years ago than is generally realized. Among the enemies of Darwinism were such men as Virchow, von Baer, Florens, Milne-Edwards, Claude Bernard, and Quatrefages. But their opposition was either too timid or too disdainful to be effective. “The atheistic evolutionary speculation found immense popular vogue among those who desired to see the Creator dethroned, who wished to be delivered from religion and the restraints imposed by the moral law on covetousness and human passion.” It found browbeating exponents in men like Haeckel, and succeeded, for the

time, in silencing objections. The two bases of Darwinism are the natural selection of the fittest and the hereditary transmission of characteristics acquired in the struggle for existence.

It is curious to note that these bases have been broken down by two evolutionists, H. Spencer and Weismann. The Darwinian system reduced to simple terms is the dogma of natural selection, which “loses all support if acquired characteristics are not inherited.” M. de Cyon goes on to say: “The theory that the marvelous operations involved in a transformation of species, are to be explained solely by the accidents of the struggle for existence and for procreation, is the most absurdly supernatural conception that has been brought forward since the days of Empedocles.” . . .

The theory of an apish ancestry for man, de Cyon declares pure assumption. He quotes Fraas, who devoted his long life to the study of fossil animals: “The idea that mankind has descended from any simian species whatsoever, is certainly the most foolish ever put forth by a man writing on the history of man. It should be handed down to posterity in a new edition of the Memorial of Human Follies. No proof of this baroque theory can ever be given from discovered fossils;” and Virchow: “I have never found a single ape skull which approaches at all the human one. Between men and apes there exists a line of sharp demarcation. If we compare known fossil men with men of today, we can boldly affirm that the individuals of a low development are much more numerous, relatively, among present-day men than among fossils.” In other words, the race is degenerate, rather than the fruit of an exquisite development! . . .

De Cyon is a master physiologist—one of the greatest, indeed, of our day. He was, in his younger years, professor of mathematics in St. Petersburg, and his book shows a well-traveled familiarity with the whole field of abstruse metaphysical speculation. It is interesting, then, to get this testimony to the religion of Jesus from a mind of such perfect training.

“What psychological truth or what historical fact has ever been demonstrated by experimental proofs approaching, even at a distance, those which demonstrate the divine origin of the gospel’s revelations? The culture of the entire civilized world, and the history of myriads brought out of ignorance and savagery to the light of faith and science, reply, ‘None.’”—Record of Christian Work, September, 1911, pages 564-566.

In this decadence of Darwinism we have another illustration of the uncertainty of human science, and of the danger of accepting too hastily man-made theories simply because they are backed by great names, or are labeled as the latest conclusions of scientific research.

We would by no means belittle the great value of those additions to human knowledge which have been the result of patient and conscientious investigation in the realm of science, and we believe that these discoveries have tended to give a more intelligent interpretation to the revelation of a personal God found in the Written Word. We do object, however, to that science, falsely so-called, which with a self-confident air claims to supersede all revelation, and to substitute the gospel of self-salvation for that salvation which is the gift of God through faith in Jesus Christ. The graveyard of science is filled with the decaying remains of many once robust theories which were opposed to revelation, but the truth of God still lives. A voice is still heard which says, “Put not your trust in man.”

W. W. P.

Italy and Turkey

By F. M. W.

ONE of the political sensations of the last few weeks has been the unexpected announcement of the outbreak of hostilities between Italy and Turkey. No misunderstanding was supposed to exist between the two nations. The motives which led Italy to make her sudden and unexpected attack upon the Turkish government are not yet fully apparent.

Tripoli is a little country in north Africa, containing about 400,000 square miles. It has a seacoast on the Mediterranean of about 1,000 miles. Its present population numbers over 1,000,000. There are only about 5,000 foreigners in the country; these are mostly Italians. Tripoli only in recent years has emerged from a barbaric state. A few decades ago its pirate ships scoured the Mediterranean, picking up merchantmen and trade vessels from every country which failed to pay tribute. These unjust demands were resisted by the United States and other governments, and such punishment was inflicted upon Tripoli as led her to desist from this barbarous practise. The government of Tripoli is so administered in a general way by the Ottoman government.

By the treaty of Berlin in 1878, it was agreed that Italy should have the right of “pacific penetration” of Tripoli. To this Turkey assented, becoming responsible for the safety of Italian settlers. Italy claims that proper protection of the lives and property of her subjects has not been guaranteed, that she has repeatedly made representations of these abuses to Turkey, but that Turkey has failed to effect such reforms as would bring about a more peaceful and stable condition of affairs in Tripoli. In consequence Italy claims that she has been forced to adopt the only remedy left her, and that is to effect a military occupation of Tripoli.

Accordingly on September 28, Italy delivered to the Porte an ultimatum announcing the purpose of the Italian government to occupy Tripoli. Turkey responded to this demand in a conciliatory manner, stating that to the best of its knowledge conditions in Tripoli were normal, and that ample protection was afforded the lives and property of Italian settlers. At the same time Turkey forwarded to the European powers a protest against the proposed invasions by Italy. Italy, however, not to be deterred from her object, began on the same day aggressive operations. The Italian navy instituted a blockade against the Tripolitan coast. Later Tripoli was successfully occupied with but little, if any, resistance on the part of the Turkish troops, who number about 10,000 in the province. October 10, the Turks, with the assistance of thousands of the natives, attacked Tripoli, but were repulsed with very heavy loss.

It is believed in many quarters that the demands of the Italian government have been made with full knowledge of the European powers. Up to the present writing no protests have been made by any of the leading governments of Europe against the occupation of Tripoli, although after Italy’s ultimatum, efforts were made by the German government through its ambassador at Constantinople, to bring about some terms of settlement. It seems very evident that over and above Italy’s claim of the need of greater security for her settlers in Tripoli, is her desire to possess herself of more territory. Tripoli is but 425 miles from the Italian coast. As France and Great Britain both have dependencies in north Africa, Italy herself evidently desires further advantages in the establishment of coaling stations there.

What the outcome of the present conflict will be, it is of course difficult to determine. No one can tell what new elements of danger will be injected into the conflict. The affairs in Europe are so sensitive, the nations are so keenly on the alert, the balance of power and peace so delicately poised, that it is difficult to say what effect may be produced by the next move of either one of the belligerent powers. While it is believed that no general complication will result, Europe always confronts a serious danger. Says the United Presbyterian of October 5:—

The danger of such an outbreak is great. If Turkey were embarrassed by a serious war, Greece would hardly let slip the opportunity to possess herself of Crete in accordance with the formally expressed wish of the Cretan local government to become a part of Greece. Bulgaria is expected at the first opportunity to take Macedonia from the Turks. The Macedonians themselves are showing many signs of restlessness under Turkish rule. Montenegro has long been looking for a chance to add northern Albania to her territory. The recently subdued insurrection in southern Albania is still smoldering, and would again blaze out with but little fanning. A general disturbance, such as is now threatened, would almost without questioninvolve Austria and Russia, and the long-dreaded war over the Balkan question could hardly be averted. Turkey is using the fear of such complications as a weapon to drive the powers to intervene in the Italo-Turkish war before it becomes too late. The French cabinet has called upon President Fallieres to inaugurate the movement for joint intervention by the powers.

As to the bearing which this present conflict will have upon the final expulsion of Turkey from Europe, no man living can say. That conclusion of her affairs is inevitable; it was foretold by the prophet, it is expected by the statesman. Just how long it will be delayed only the Molder of the destinies of all men, the great Ruler of all nations, can divine. This war, no doubt, and every succeeding conflict in which Turkey will engage, will hasten the consummation of her European history, and bring still nearer her final end, as well as the end of all earthly governments. These events bid us to watch and be ready, lest, sleeping, we be found unprepared for the coming of the great Judge.

F. M. W.

Jottings From Samoa

By Edith B. Howse

EDITH B. HOWSE

It is now over eighteen months since we came to work in Samoa, and many and varied have been our experiences. Strangers in a strange land, among a people of a strange tongue, we felt very helpless; but we had come at the bidding of One who said, “Go, . . . teach all nations,” and we knew we had a never-failing Helper.

At first we visited much, distributing many tracts, and by request teaching many native choirs our hymn-tunes. In this way we became acquainted with many of the natives, and won their good will and friendship. Two of these, a man and his wife, now meet with us regularly and are keeping the Sabbath. They are a fine, intelligent couple. Since the new year we have had their eldest girl, aged sixteen years, living with us. She is a great help to me, and promises to become a good and useful young woman.

A little over a year ago we took a child of seven years into our home. She now speaks, reads, and writes English readily, and is having a Christian experience according to her years. We also had a young man living with us for several months. He had elephantiasis in both legs, of a very painful and severe character. He rapidly improved on a vegetarian diet and two meals daily, so that from being able to walk only with pain and difficulty, he lost all pain and could walk and run with ease, and even climb the coconut-trees, a thing he had not done for years. The swelling also was much reduced. Mr. Howse had Bible studies with him daily, and he soon began to regard the Sabbath, and is still keeping it. He returned home after four months, and is doing missionary work for his own people. The family is interested in health principles.

Last February an epidemic of measles visited this place, the first in almost twenty years. Hundreds, mostly children and young people, took the disease, and a great many died through the ignorance and gross living of the natives. It was truly a reign of gloom and death for some months. Daily the children were buried; sometimes we would hear the bell toll as often as four times a day.

Frequently we were sent for to minister to the sick or dying, and in every instance God blessed the simple treatments we were able to give. At this time I had a school for the natives, but closed it for a month, as many of the children were ill. One of them, a bright girl of twelve, was brought very low through a relapse. We visited her daily, carrying nourishment, but one day we found her dying. She dearly loved her school, and had just been talking of it and of me, her mother said. We were asked to pray; and while we did so, she fell asleep in Jesus. The grief of the father and mother was sad to witness.

Another of my pupils, a child of seven, also had a relapse. Mr. Howse found her lying, weak and emaciated, in a room foul with the odor of tobacco, and needing apparently only a little more time in such surroundings to see her carried to the cemetery. We brought her to our home, and in less than a month sent her away, a healthy, happy child.

These experiences brought us into close contact with the people, and we know they have exerted an influence for the truth.

When I reopened school, the children came in until soon I had thirty-five of the most obedient, earnest, industrious young persons one could wish to teach. They ranged in age all the way from six or seven to sixteen years. How they delighted to come! And each day we sensed the presence of the One who loves the children, and I could see impressions were being made for eternity on each young heart and life.

But one day a government official came to investigate, and I was told to report the school. So Mr. Howse and I went to see the governor. He met us kindly, but said he must refuse permission for natives to be taught English, as

the instruction must be given in Samoan; and if any foreign language was taught, it must be German.

So, very reluctantly, I closed the school. It was a sad morning indeed for them and for me, when I had to dismiss all those dear children. When I have learned Samoan, I may keep school again. We find the language difficult, and do long for the time when we shall be able to teach the truth unhindered.

Our little paper, Tali Moni, which began to be printed with the new year, is a boon to us. Mr. Howse much enjoys taking it to the natives, as they are so eager for it. Many are yearly subscribers. At present we get five hundred papers, and could use many more.

A few weeks ago we were able to help another sick person, a fine girl of sixteen, one of my recent pupils. She had been lying for weeks in much pain, with a swelling on her back. She also had an ulcer on her arm. She was taking medicine six times a day, but was none the better for it. We brought her here, and simple treatments and healthful living cured all her maladies in a week, and she went home a very grateful girl. She was almost a slave to the tea habit, but has promised to discontinue its use entirely. She had been brought up a Catholic, or christened in that church; but while here she loved to read the Bible and “Christ Our Saviour” in Samoan. As a token of love and gratitude, she presented me with the finest Samoan mat I have ever seen.

These are a few of our experiences here. At present I am holding Bible studies with an intelligent half-caste woman, whose babe Mr. Howse was called to bury when the measles prevailed. She and her husband are good people, and have an interest in the truth through the labors of Brother Steed. Pray that this interest may deepen and ripen.

Another young woman, also a half-caste, comes to me twice a week for lessons in Bible and English. We have become much attached, and I feel sure that she is gaining a real Christian experience, which I trust will develop until she grasps and accepts the truth for this time.

Pray for us, brethren and sisters, in our work here, that God may use us abundantly to the glory of his name and to the salvation of many precious souls in this field.

Because I Am His Own

By Worthie Harris Holden

WORTHIE HARRIS HOLDEN

God knows; and though all others planned But ill for me, my Father's hand Would sanctify their vilest deed, And through its mire my footsteps lead To heights before unknown.

God cares; and though all friends may flee, His love protects me constantly; As Father, Brother, Saviour, Friend, He guards and keeps me to the end, To bring me to his throne.

God saves, and though some force of might Or demon-powers flood my sight, He snatches me from sin and strife, And meets my weakness with his life, Because I am his own.

So great God's power and majesty, Yet he delights to think of me; So high his thought and vast design, Still he inspires this soul of mine To live for him alone!

Portland, Ore.

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