Review and Herald, Vol. 21, No. 24. (5/12/1863)

Review and Herald

May 12, 1863

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 12, 1863

Extraordinary Doings in Michigan.—"Supernatural Fires."

[BRo. WHITE: The following-described wonderful phenomena commenced the day before I came from St. Charles to Owasso; and as I passed the house where these fires broke out and have had an opportunity of conversing with eye witnesses of the fires, men of candor, I would say that the following agrees nearly with what was told me; and still greater wonders were also related. Is not this a prelude to the miracles of Rev. xiii, 13? "Maketh fire to come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men." I have no doubt this is the work of spirits of devils.

J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.]

A friend residing in this city, but who is on a visit to Owasso, Michigan, informs us of a very singular and unaccountable affair, that is now transpiring in Bush Township, five miles north of Owasso.

A farmer named Stearns, residing in that town, has an adopted daughter by the name of Freeman, who is ten years of age. While this little girl was sweeping the sitting-room, about a week since, she discovered the carpet to be on fire, and the inmates having put out the fire, undertook to learn its origin. There had been no fire built in the room that morning; no light had been carried into the room, nor could the family in any way account for the fire. In less than an hour flames were seen issuing from some rags in another room. The same day the girl's clothes caught fire, and the next morning a damp towel that Mrs. Stearns had used in wiping her face, upon being hung on a nail, commenced burning. The last occurrence took place in the presence of some twelve persons, some of whom are among the most respectable citizens of the place. Next a straw stack near Mr. Stearns' house, was consumed. At one time, when a number of persons were in the house, the falling of some heavy substance was heard in the chamber directly over their heads. Upon going up stairs it proved to be a bag filled with books and rags, and suspended by a cord to a beam. The bag was on fire, and the string was also burning when the parties entered the room.

Mr. S. and family became so alarmed by these movements that they left their home. When the furniture was being moved, a trunk, said not to have been opened for more than a year, was discovered to be on fire, and when opened, the flames burst forth, consuming all its contents. The family are now living in a house some three miles distant from their farm, but the mysterious torment, is bound to stick by them like a brother. No sooner had the girl entered her new home than her clothing took fire in three different places. And now, another family, where she has visited, are as badly tormented as Mr. Stearns'.

In Owasso, as well as in the adjoining village of Carma, the excitement is most intense. People are flocking from all directions to witness this truly wonderful mystery. Some of the most profound scholars of the State, among whom are Dr. Tappan, Chancellor of the University of Michigan, President Fairchild, of Hillsdale College, and others, have been to "see the sights;" and all agree that there are hidden mysteries beyond the depth of the closest observers.—Cleveland Herald.

Spring Suggestions in Regard to Health.

W. W. Hall, M. D., editor of the Journal of Health, says:

"Do not take off your winter flannel sooner than the first of May, but then change to a thinner article of the same material. They are wisest and healthiest who wear woolen flannel the whole year. Arrange to have a fire kept up all day in the family room, however warm it may be out of doors, until the first of May; and in the morning and evening daily, until the first of June. The editor has lived in the most malarial region in the world perhaps, and when the thermometer was a hundred and twelve at noon, a fire was regularly kindled at sunrise and sunset in his office, and sat by. Disease, malignant fever, and death reigned in every direction, and yet he had not a second's sickness. It is because a brisk fire not only creates a draft, and thus purifies a room, but so rarefies the deadly air that it is carried to the ceiling where it cannot be breathed. The simple precaution of having a fire kindled in the family room at sunrise and sunset in late spring and early fall, is known by eminent names in the army and navy surgery to be the most efficient preventive of all forms of fever and ague, and spring and fall disease; in flat, wet, warm countries, it is almost a specific against those diseases.

"No man would be considered sane who should keep up as hot fires in his house as the spring advances as he did in mid-winter.—Food is the fuel which keeps the human house—the body—warm: hence, if as much is eaten in spring as in winter, we are kept too warm; we burn up with fever; we are oppressed; we suffer from lassitude. All nature takes a new lease of life with spring but man. It is because he alone is unwise. The brute beasts, the cow, the horse, the ox; these turn to a new diet and go out to grass, to crop every green thing; they would never come to the stable or barn-yard of choice, to eat the "heating" "binding" oats and corn, on which they luxuriated during the winter; they eat watery food which is light and purifying. Not so with man; he continues his meats and fats, his greases and his gravies, as at Christmas. Watchful nature takes away his appetite for these, and because he does not "relish" them as he did a few weeks before, he begins to conclude that something is the matter, and measuring the amount of his health by the amount he can send down his throat, he begins to stimulate the appetite, thinks he must use some tonic, readily assents to any suggestion which includes bitters and whiskey, especially the latter; in addition, he puts more mustard, and pepper, and catsup on his meats, seasons every thing more heavily, until nature has been goaded so that she will bear no more, and yields to the fatal dysentery or bilious colic, or happily relieves herself by a copious diarrhea. Does not every reader know that fever, and flux, and diarrhea

are common ails of spring? But you did not know one of the two chief causes, man's gluttony, as above described! Tens of thousands of lives would be saved every spring, and an incalculable amount of human discomfort would be prevented, if early in March, or at most by the first of April, meat and grease and fried food of every description were banished from the table wholly, at least for breakfast and supper. If meat will be eaten for dinner, let it be lean; use hominy and "samp" largely, have no fries, eat but little butter; use eggs, celery, spinach, vinegar; keep the body clean, spend every hour possible in the open air, snuffling in the spring; but by every consideration of wisdom and of health, having a good fire to come to and sit by, with all your garments on, for eight or ten minutes after all forms of exercise; otherwise you will wake up as stiff as a bean pole and as "sore" as if you had been pounded in a bag, to the effect of your exercise having done you more harm than good; and concluding that work don't agree with you, however beneficial it may be to others, you take no more for weeks and months. Man is certainly the biggest mule that ever was created. For the sake of giving some general idea as to how much sedentary persons should eat in spring, particularly those who are most of the time in-doors, it may be well to name the bill of fare. At breakfast, take some cold bread and butter, with one or two soft-boiled eggs, and nothing else.—Twice a week, a bit of ham or salt fish may be used in place of the eggs, but then no meat should be eaten for dinner that day. If there is no appetite for eggs or the salt meat, it is because nature needs nothing more but the bread and butter and the drink, and nature is wise. When there is not much inclination to eat, a baked or roasted potato, with a little salt and butter, is a good substitute for an egg or piece of ham.

Substitutes for these again are found in roasted apple or in stewed fruit or cranberry sauce. Dinner, half a glass of cold water, cold bread and butter, and a piece of lean meat, of any sort, with baked or roasted potatoes, or some other vegetable; as dessert, stewed fruits or berries of any sort, and nothing else. Supper some cold stale bread and butter, and nothing else whatever; any 'relish,' as it is called, whether in the shape of a bit of dried beef, or cold ham, or sauce, or preserves, or cake, is nothing less than an absolute curse. This is strong language; but such things do give millions of persons restless nights."

Christ is Coming.

By H. JENKINES.

CHRIST is coming, let creation Bid her groans and travail cease. Let the glorious proclamation Hope restore, and faith increase, Hallelujah, Come thou blessed Prince of peace.

Earth can now but tell the story Of thy bitter cross and pain ; She shall yet behold thy glory, When thou comest back to reign, Hallelujah, Let each heart repeat the strain.

Though once cradled in a manger, Oft no pillow but the sod, Here an alien and a stranger, Mocked of men : but owned of God, All creation, Yet shall own thy kingly rod.

Long thine exiles have been sleeping, Far from home and thee, but they Then shall rise in glory shining, Soon they shall thy glory see, Hallelujah, Hail the joyous jubilee.

With a blessed hope before us, Let no harp remain unstrung ; Let the mighty advent chorus Onward roll from tongue to tongue, Hallelujah, Come, Lord Jesus, quickly come. H. JENKINES.

Don't Murmur, Christian!

By Brooks

Chrysostom propounds this question: "Was Job miserable when he had lost all that God had given him?" and gives this answer:—"No; he had still that God, who gave him all." And is not Christ thy treasure? is not Heaven thine inheritance? and wilt thou murmur? Hast thou not much in hand, and more in hope?—Hast thou not much in possession, but more in reversion? and wilt thou murmur? Hath not God given thee a changed heart, a renewed nature, and a sanctified soul? and wilt thou murmur? Hath not God given thee Himself to satisfy thee, His Son to save thee, His Spirit to lead thee, His grace to adorn thee, His covenant to assure thee, His mercy to pardon thee? and wilt thou murmur? Hath he not made thee a friend, a brother, a son, a bride, an heir? and wilt thou murmur? Hath not God often turned thy water into wine, thy brass into silver, thy silver into gold? and wilt thou murmur?—When thou wast dead, did not he quicken thee? and when thou wast lost, did not he seek thee? and when thou wast wounded, did not he heal thee? and when thou wert falling, did not he support thee? and when thou wert down, did not he raise thee? and when thou wert staggering, did not he establish thee? and when thou wert erring, did not he reduce thee? and when thou wert tempted, did not he succor thee? and when thou wert in danger, did not he deliver thee? and wilt thou murmur?—What! thou that art so highly advanced, and exalted above many thousands in the world.—Murmuring is a black garment, and it becomes none so ill as saints.—Brooks.

What a Volcano can Do.

Cotopaxi, in 1738 threw its fiery rockets 3,000 feet above its crater; while, in 1744, the blazing mass, struggling for an outlet, roared so that its awful voice was heard a distance of more than 600 miles. In 1797, the crater of Tunguragua, one of the great peaks of the Andes flung out torrents of mud, which dammed up rivers, opened new lakes, and in valleys of 1,000 feet wide made deposits of 600 feet deep. The stream from Vesuvius which in 1737 passed through Torre del Greco, contained 33,600,000 cubic feet of solid matter; and in 1794, when Torre del Greco was destroyed a second time, the mass of lava amounted to 45,000,000 cubic feet. In 1679 Etna poured forth a flood which covered 84 square miles of surface, and measured nearly 100,000,000 cubic feet. On this occasion, the sand and scoria formed the Monte Rossi, near Nicholosa, a cone two miles in circumference, and 4,000 feet high.

The stream thrown out by Etna, in 1810, was in motion, at the rate of a yard a day, for nine months after the eruption; and it is on record, that the lava of the same mountain, after a terrible eruption, was not thoroughly cool and consolidated ten years after the event. In the eruption of Vesuvius, A. D. 79, the scoria and ashes vomited forth far exceeded the entire bulk of the mountain; while in 1660, Etna disgorged more than twenty times its own mass. Vesuvius has sent its ashes as far Constantinople, Syria, and Egypt; it hurled stones, eight pounds in weight, to Pompeii, a distance of six miles, while similar masses were tossed up 2,000 feet above its summit. Cotopaxi has projected a block of 109 cubic yards in volume, a distance of nine miles; and Sumbawa, in 1815, during the most terrible eruption on record, sent its ashes as far as Java, a distance of 300 miles of surface, and out of a population of 12,000 souls, only twenty escaped.—Recreative Science.

Free Thought.

Now a days when so many are thinking, and so many are writing; at a time when great thoughts are shaking the social world; when olden creeds are paling in the searching light of dawning science, it ill becomes any one to set up the bounds of thought and expression. Whenever and wherever a word is to be said or a thought to be uttered, 'tis a gross and miserable assumption that dictates its reception. Much as we prate of freedom—intellectual freedom—freedom of thought, will, and action, but few, very few, dare bring out their own true thoughts to the open light; for should they do violence to popular sentiment, the sect, the order, the crowd, the populace, are all down upon them with an avalanche of denunciation.

Hence, while we boast of liberty, we are generally slaves—slaves to popular sentiment. A man must think just so, or be branded as a barbarian; and speak just so, or be denounced as a bigot, a heretic, or a traitor. Woe! to the man that dares to raise his voice against modern orthodoxy, however corrupt or mixed up with error and superstition. As terrible thunders will be fulminated against him as ever issued from the eternal city against Wickliffe, John Huss, or Martin Luther. He must knuckle down like a whipped cur and sanction the system of every ignoramus, no matter how repugnant to truth or common sense.

It would seem that reason had forsaken her throne, and superstition with all its dark train of absurdities had taken her place; so that under the name of orthodoxy we are wont to sit and listen with approbation to the most palpable absurdities, worthy only of the dark ages.

For this reason so few genuine writers are among us; and while so many are babbling and warring among the tombs and shades of unmeaning dogmas, but few dare proclaim the truthful inspirations of their own hearts. But true lives exist; true thought is growing. It will one day find a tongue and will speak out and be regarded; for men are not all bad—cowards and conformists by custom; by nature, noble, strong, and independent. A web of circumstances surrounds and controls them. Yet there's a soundness at the bottom; and despite the servility of society there is still latent in the mind a respect, a love, for the very spirit that scorns and defies the power; and even now, every exhibition of heroic independence but raises our regard to loftiest admiration, before which the time-serving conformists of the day sink to utter crawling.

A sorry picture society presents; the many, perched upon the mountain tops of their own delusion, stoutly maintaining the beliefs and opinions of their kind; while the few, yet powerful, have fixed themselves upon the more sure foundation of truth, reason, and God's word. They stand on the broad line of truth and reason, and their electric thoughts sweep out upon the world and fall with irresistible force upon the hearts and minds of men. Their influence will be felt. Another grand struggle for truth, freedom, and religion, is dawning on the world. Old creeds and Romish fables must fall before it in its onward march. In the first century the great structure of superstition had reached its culminating point—God put forth his hand; it crumbled to dust. In the sixteenth century it again towered up to the skies—God breathed forth his Spir-

it, Martin Luther spoke, and it came crushing to the ground. Once more its lofty pinacles are bathed in the clouds—again God has spoken, and it must fall.—Sel.

The Muscular and other Formations of the Body.

By Editor

THERE are two hundred and eight bones in the human body, exclusive of the teeth. These bones are composed of animal and earthy materials—the former predominating in youth and the latter in old age—rendering the bones brittle. The most important of the bones is the spine, which is composed of twenty-four small bones, called the vertebræ, one on top of the other, curiously hooked together and fastened by elastic ligaments forming a pillar, so to speak, by which the human frame is supported. The bones are moved by the muscles, of which there are more than five hundred. The red meat of beef, the fat being excluded, is the muscular fabric of the ox. There are two sets of muscles, one to draw the bone one way and another to draw it back again. We cannot better describe the muscles than by comparing them to fine elastic threads bound up in their cases of skin. Many muscles terminate in tendons, which are stout cords such as may be seen traversing the back of the hand, just within the skin, and which can be observed to move when the hand is open or shut. Every motion you make, even the involuntary one of breathing, is preformed through the agency of the muscles. In adults there are about fifteen quarts of blood, each quart weighing about two pounds. This blood is of two kinds, the arterial and veinous. This first is the pure blood as it leaves the heart to nourish the frame, and is of a bright vermilion color. The last is the blood as it returns to the heart, loaded with the impurities of the body, to be there refined, and is of a purple hue. Every pulsation of the heart sends out about two ounces of arterial blood, and so there are from seventy to eighty beats in the minute, a hogshead of blood passes through the heart every hour. In fevers the pulsations are accelerated, the waste of the body goes on faster than it can be recuperated, and consequently death ensues if the fever is not checked. The stomach is the boiler, if we may use such a figure, which drives the human engine. Two sets of muscles, crossing each other transversely, turn the food over and over, churning it up in the gastric juice till it has been reduced to the consistency of thin paste. This process requires from two to four hours. Emerging from the stomach, the food enters the small intestines, where it is mixed with bile and pancreatic juice and converted into chyle. These small intestines are twenty-four feet long, closely packed, of course, and surrounded through their whole length with small tubes which act like suckers, and drawing off the chyle, empty it into a larger tube named the thoracic duct, which runs up the back and discharges its contents into the jugular vein, whence it passes into the heart to assist in forming arterial blood.

Only about one-fourth of the human frame, bones included, is solid matter, chiefly carbon and nitrogen, the rest being water. If a man weighing 140 lbs. were squeezed out under a hydraulic press, 105 lbs. of water would run out and thirty-five pounds of dry residue would remain. A man is therefore, chemically speaking, thirty-five pounds of carbon and nitrogen, diffused through five pailfuls of water.—Ed.

Jesus Christ All in All.

A VERY old German author discourges thus tenderly of Christ:

"My soul is like a hungry and thirsty child, and I need his love and consolations for my refreshment; I am a wandering and lost sheep, and I need him as a good and faithful shepherd; my soul is like a frightened dove, pursued by a hawk, and I need his wounds for a refuge; I am a feeble vine, and I need his Cross to lay hold of and wind myself about it; I am a sinner, and I need his righteousness; I am naked and bare, and need his holiness and innocence for a covering; I am in trouble and alarm, and I need his teaching, simple and foolish, and I need the guidance of his Holy Spirit.

"In no situation, and at no time, can I do without him. Do I pray? he must be prompt and intercede for me. Am I arraigned by Satan at the Divine tribunal? he must be my advocate. Am I in affliction? he must be my helper. Am I persecuted by the world? he must defend me. When I am forsaken, he must be my support; when dying, my life; when mouldering in the grave, my resurrection. Well, then, I will rather part with all the world and all that it contains, than with thee, my Saviour; and God be thanked, I know that thou, too art not willing to do without me. Thou art rich, and I am poor; thou hast righteousness, and I sin; thou hast oil and wine, and I wounds; thou hast cordials and refreshments, and I hunger and thirst. Use me, then, my Saviour, for whatever purpose, and in whatever way, thou mayest require. Here is my poor heart, an empty vessel; fill it with thy grace. Here is my sinful and troubled soul; quicken and refresh it with thy love. Take my heart for thine abode; my mouth to spread the glory of thy name; my love, and all my powers, for the advancement of thy honor and the service of thy believing people. And never suffer the steadfastness and confidence of my faith to abate, so that at all times I may be enabled from the heart to say, 'Jesus needs me, and I him, and so we suit each other.'"

Ten Scriptural Indications of a New Heart.

By L. S. A.

1. A consciousness of love to Christ, and trust in him for salvation. “Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.” Jno. xxi, 17. “I know whom I have believed,” 2 Tim. i, 12.

2. A filial spirit toward God. “Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.” Rom. viii, 15, 16.

3. A disposition to justify God and condemn ourselves. “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just and good . . . I am carnal, sold under sin.” Rom. vii, 12, 14.

4. Prayer. “Behold he prayeth.” Acts ix, 11. “He kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.” Dan. vi, 19.

5. Love for the Bible. “Oh, how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.” Psalms cxix, 97.

6. Love for Christians. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.” 1 John iii, 14. “To the saints that are in the earth and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.” Ps. xvi, 3.

7. Desire for the prosperity of Christ’s cause and the salvation of men. “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.” Ps. cxxxvii, 5. “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.” Rom. x, 1.

8. Submission to God’s will. “And he said, It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.” 1 Sam. iii, 18. “Who art thou that repliest against God?” Rom. ix, 20.

9. A desire to acknowledge Christ before men, and to do every known duty. “See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?” Acts viii, 36. “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Acts ix, 6. “If ye love me keep my commandments.” John xiv, 15. “He that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him and he in him.” 1 John iii, 24.

10. Continuance in Christian living. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” John viii, 31. L. S. A.

Tea Poisoned.

By D. M. Canright

MR. DAVIS who lived in China about twenty years, and wrote the history of that empire, gives some interesting particulars with regard to the process of preparing tea—interesting to tea drinkers, as they should be acquainted with all the excellent qualities of that health-promoting herb.

He says: Upon reaching the opposite side of the river, and entering one of these laboratories of fictitious Hyson, the parties were witnesses to a strange scene. In the first place large quantities of black tea, which had been damaged in consequence of the floods of the previous autumn, were drying in baskets with sieve bottoms, placed over pans of charcoal. The dried leaves were then transferred in portions of a few pounds each, to a great number of cast-iron pans, imbedded in mortar, over furnaces. At each pan stood a workman stirring the tea rapidly round with his hand, having previously added a small quantity of turmeric, in powder, which of course gives the leaves a yellowish or orange tinge; but they were still to be made green. For this purpose some lumps of a fine blue were produced, together with a white substance in powder, which from the names given to them by the workmen, as well as their appearance, were known at once to be prussian blue and gypsum. These were triturated finely together with a small pestle, in such proportion as reduced the dark color of the blue to a light shade; and a quantity equal to a small teaspoonful of the powder being added to the yellowish leaves, these were stirred as before over the fire, until the tea had taken a fine bloom of the color of Hyson, with very much the same scent. To prevent all possibility of error regarding the substances employed, samples of them together with specimens of the leaves in each stage of the process were carried away from the place. If the tea has not highly deleterious qualities, it can only be in consequence of the coloring matter existing in a small proportion to the leaf (the prussian blue being a combination of prussic acid and iron is a poison); and the Chinese seemed quite conscious of the real character of the occupation in which they were engaged; for on applying at several other places where the same business was carried-on, we were refused admission.

Then he states that there were several experiments made by which it was proved that even the best green teas contain more or less poison.

Thus it will be seen that aside from all other considerations, all our teas contain a deadly poison, which tea drinkers are constantly taking into their systems.

D. M. CANRIGHT.

Patience.

“Let patience have her perfect work.” In this as in other things, the Bible fixes our standard for us. Let a subject requiring patience never be dismissed, until the question be asked, “Has patience had her perfect work?” There are many incentives to the acquisition and culture of this Christian grace. It is by the “patient continuance in well-doing that the seekers for glory, honor and immortality, obtain eternal life.” It is through faith and patience that we inherit the promises. It is by patience even, after having done the will of God, that his word is manifestly fulfilled to us. Behold we count them happy who endure. That calm unmurmuring endurance of toil, pain, provocation, and the varied evils of this mortal state, does more to sweeten the mixed cup which is put to our lips than anything else that might be named. Our suffering for righteousness' sake,—quiet, patient, suffering, is declared acceptable to God.

The inspired penman had weighty reasons for exhorting us to run with patience the race set before us—reasons which greatly concern our well-being here, and which have far greater bearing upon the extent of our bliss in the next world than we are wont to suppose.—Sel.

Mysterious Providence.

ONE man sucks an orange, and is choked by a pit; another swallows a penknife and lives; one runs a thorn into his hand, and no skill can save him; another has a shaft of a gig driven completely through his body, and recovers; one is overturned on a smooth common and breaks his neck; another is tossed out of a gig over Brighton Cliff and survives; one walks out on a windy day and meets death by a brickbat; another is blown up in the air, like Lord Hatton in Guernsey Castle, and comes down uninjured. The escape of this nobleman was indeed a miracle. An explosion of gunpowder, which killed his mother, wife, and some of his children, and many other persons, and blew up the whole fabric of the castle, lodged him in his bed on a wall overhanging a tremendous precipice. "Perceiving a mighty disorder, (as well he might) he was going to step out of his bed to know what the matter was, which if he had done, he had been irrevocably lost; but in the instant of his moving a flash of lightning came and showed him the precipice, whereupon he lay still till people came and took him down."—Sel.

Motives to Holiness.

By Albert Barnes

A MAN who has been redeemed by the blood of the Son of God should be pure. He who is an heir of life should be holy. He who is attended by celestial beings, and who is soon—he knows not how soon—to be translated to heaven, should be holy. Are the angels my attendants? Then I should walk worthy of their companionship. Am I soon to go and dwell with angels? Then I should be pure. Are these feet soon to tread the courts of heaven? Is this tongue soon to unite with heavenly beings in praising God? Are these eyes of mine soon to look on the ascended Redeemer? Then these feet, and eyes, and lips should be pure and holy; and I should be dead to the world and live for heaven.—Albert Barnes.

They who Love the Law.

By R. Smith.

GREAT peace have they that love thy law, Them nothing will offend; They'll bear neglect, reproach, and scorn, Though without cause contemned.

Their innocence will bear them up, Though falsely they're accused; Their hearts will melt with love for those By whom they are abused.

The court of heaven their cause will plead, The innocent will clear; Though men may load their names with guilt, While they continue here.

A consciousness of right within, Great peace and joy afford; How free, how happy, O how blest, Communing with the Lord.

He says revile not, when reviled, Thy wrongs I will repay; Be every burden cast on me, I'll be thy strength and stay. R. SMITH. West Wilton, N. H.

Keeping Promises.

By A. S. Hutchins

In a catalogue of sins of the last days, enumerated by the apostle, 2 Tim. iii, is found that of "covenant breaking." This sin is so prevalent already that none can fail to mark its existence; and no marvel if it increase more and more as we approach the end.

"Truth is fallen in the street," is literally fulfilled in the case of many. Repeatedly is the remark made of such a one, "you can place but little confidence in his word, his promises are good for nothing," &c.

But when we hear it said of one, "his word is as good as his note, it is as good as the bank," &c., at once we receive a favorable impression in regard to such a one.

Now the observance of the commandments of God will constitute a covenant-keeping people. Such are not men of good resolutions and fair promises alone, but men of deeds, "doers of the word." Such will consider their word more sacred than gold; will feel themselves bound in honor and conscience to fulfill their promises.

Sabbath keepers should see to it that their influence is not crippled and the cause of God reproached by broken promises. If Bro. A. makes a promise to work for B. to-morrow or next week, or to do a certain piece of work at a specified time, and he fails to fulfill that engagement without giving a sufficient reason for this, he need not wonder if confidence is in some measure shaken in him. Certainly if he repeatedly disregard such promises, and the more so if the promises be a creditor of his. Such may be said to "say and do not." "But do not ye after their works," said the Saviour.

Again, parents sometimes fail to keep promises made to their children. The disobedient child is promised a punishment if he does not do thus and so. Little by little he ventures into the path of disobedience, regardless of the threatened chastisement, for he doubts the word of the parent. The promises he soon finds did not mean what he said, or he forgot or neglected to fulfill. Thus he grows strong in youthful disobedience.

Another makes a fair promise to a child on condition that he will do so and so that he shall have a specific reward or make such a visit. With high hopes and buoyant expectation, the little promisee goes forth to fulfill on his part, but to be disappointed of his reward. The parent or master has seen fit to alter his mind, without any satisfactory reason to the child. He sinks in discouragement, and soon learns to break his word also. Let us be careful of our promises. Says Paul, "Thou, therefore, which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?"

A. S. Hutchins.

The Great Movement.

By Editor

WE must regard the great Advent movement as being in the special providence of God, yet we see it marred by the lack of experience, spirituality and caution of its professed friends. This perhaps is no more than we have reason to expect. God has never been able to make anything very great or good of man. The Jewish church had its murmurers, rebels and fanatics. The deepest afflictions of the apostles were false apostles and false brethren. The reformers were stung the worst with discord, and fanaticism in their midst.

The great Advent movement has also had as its professed friends and supporters, rash men, selfish men, fanatics, fanciful interpreters of the Word, traitors, Judases, corrupt men. The great Advent net gathered many bad fish with the good.

William Miller was a great and good man. Elder J. V. Himes who joined Bro. Miller at an early date in the progress of the cause was the man for the times. He was energetic, yet comparatively cautious. He was bold, benevolent, yet prudent. These men whom God called to lead out in the Advent cause ever had in advance of them, and most grievously in their way, a class of professed Adventists who taught ultra holiness, and would denounce them while bearing the burdens of the cause as formalists. But these persons generally grounded in some disgraceful fanaticism. These things made the managing of the great cause doubly perplexing, and probably had a tendency to keep the leaders of the cause from keeping pace with the opening providence of God in unfolding the present truth. However this may be, all true Adventists, who love the Advent name, especially those who had part in the work in 1843 and 1844 will respect the names of Miller, Himes, Litch, Hale, Fitch and many others who stood unitedly in the work, and spirit of the Advent cause.

Many circumstances have been against the prosperity of the cause. The movement was a stirring, exciting one, and in the absence of organization confusion might be expected. Unfortunately for the cause, it was the plan of some of the most cautious to remain in the several churches to which they belonged. Many were pushed out of these churches, and the incautious took the lead in a work which required generalship. Had the proper leaders marched out of their several churches, and led all true Adventists out with them, and then immediately impressed them with the necessity of Bible order, much fanaticism might have been saved.

And then another error arose. Seeing the extravagances of some who followed impressions and exercises of various kinds, those who should have taken the right position, and should have had the confidence of the Advent body, took too broad ground, and indiscriminately condemned the spiritual gifts of the New Testament, and all those spiritual exercises of which we read in the book of Acts, and in the history of every branch of the Christian church down to our time. The result of such a position directly against New Testament spirituality, was to confirm the fanatic in his fanaticism, unsettle the confidence of those who had had a deep and pure Advent experience, in the leaders of the cause, and thus shake the cause to fragments.

As a whole, the Adventists were the cream of the churches. We may at best expect one Judas and a rash Peter in every twelve; but the Advent message attracted the pure, the conscientious, the believing, the confiding, the best. And we think the leading men in the cause were in a great degree responsible for the cause. They were God's watchmen, the guardians of his truth and the shepherds of his flock. As leaders of every enterprise are in a degree responsible for its results, so were these. In accepting the responsibilities of the publication of the Advent faith and hope, they should have felt that the prosperity of believers depended on their faithfulness, and they should have guarded the cause from dangers.

Some have murmured because the cause of the third message moved no faster, and have charged certain ones with being too cautious. But we have often thanked God that he would not let it move any faster than it could move right. And we also thank God that the message is in the hands of a people who do not trample in the dust the spiritual gifts of the New Testament. This for ten years has proved our safeguard against fanaticism. Cold formality never could handle fanaticism. It might inflame it, and drive the fanatic at a greater distance. The Spirit of God, in the exercise of spiritual gifts, disarms the fanatic and helps him. The position the Review occupies in relation to the great Advent movement is the same in 1863 that it was in 1851. It has ever taught that Rev. xiv, contains the prophetic outlines of the great Advent movement, down to the Second Advent. And this position was once held by all American Adventists. At the great breaking up of the Advent body, a few clung to the original position, which has since been made very plain by the opening truths connected with the third message. And here we stand in that message, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

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