THE CHRISTIAN HERALD AND SIGNS OF OUR TIMES.

JAN. 6. 1897!

METROPOLITAN PULPIT #

Frorn Lilies to Thorns.

Sermon by Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage, D.D., on the Text, IL G)rinthians 8:9: . .

HAT all the worlds which on a cold winter's night make the heavens one great glitter are without in- habitants is au absurdity. Scientists tell us that many of these worlds are too hot or too cold or too rare- fied of atmosphere for residence. But, if not fit lor liuman abode, they may be fit for beings diHerent from and superior to ourselves. We are told that the world of Jupiter is changing and becoming fit for creatures like the human race, and that Mars would do for the human family with a little change in the structure of our respiratory organs. But that there is a great world swung somewhere, vast be- yond imagination, and that it is the head- quarters of the universe, and the metropo- lis of immensity, and has a population in numijers vast beyond all statistics, and appointments of splendor beyond the capacity of canvas, or poem, or angel to describe, is as certain as the Bible is au- thentic. Perhaps some of the astronomers with their big telescopes have already caught a glimpse of it, not knowing what it is. We spell it with si.\ letters and pro- nounce it heaven.

That is where Prince Jesus lived nine- teen centuries ago. He was the Kings Son. 1 1 was the old homestead of etern- it>-, and all its castles were as old as God. Not a frost had ever chilled the air. Not a tear had ever rolled down the cheek of one ot its inhabitants. There had never been a headache, or a sideache. or a heart- ache. There had not been a funeral in the memory of the oldest inhabitant. All the people there were in a state of eternal adolescence. What fioral and pomonic riclmess ! (hardens of perpetual bloom and orchards in unending fruitage. Had some spirit from another world enter- ed and asked, What is sin ? What is be- reavement.' What is sorrow? What is death .' the brightest of the intelligences would have failed to give definition, though to study the question there was silence in heaven for half an hour.

Already enthroned was the Heavenly Prince side by sifle with the Father. What a circle of dominion I What mul- titudes of admirers! What unending round of glories! All the towers chimed the prince's praises. Of all the inhabit- tants, from the centre of the city, on over the hills and clear down to the beach against which the ocean of immensity rolls its billows, the prince was the acknowledg- ed favorite. No wonder my te.\t .says that " he was rich." Set all the diamonds of the earth in one sceptre, build all the palaces of the earth in one .\lhambra, gather all the pearls of the sea in one diadem, put all the values of the earth in one coin, the aggregate could not express his affluence. Ves, St. Paul was right. To descril)e his celestial surroundings, the Bible uses all colors, gathering them in rainliow over the throne antl setting them as agate in the temple window, and hoist- ing twelve of them into a wall, from striped jasper at the ba.se to transparent amethyst in the capstone, while between are green of emerald, and snow of pearl, and blue of sapphiie, anrl yellow of topaz, grey of chrysopr.i.se, and Hitme of jarinlli. All the loveliness of landscape in foliage, and river, and rill, and all enchantment aqua- marine, the sea of gla.ss mingled with fire as when jhe sun sinks in the Mediter-

"Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor."

ranean. All the thrill of music, instru- mental and vocal, harps, trumpets, dox- ologies. There stood the prince, sur- rounded by those who had under their wings the velocity of millions of miles in a second, himself rich in love, rich in adoration, rich in power, rich in worship, rich in holiness, rich in " all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."

But one day there was a big disaster in a department of God's universe. A race fallen ! A world in ruins ! Our planet the scene of catastrophe ! A globe swing- ing out into darkness, with mountains, and seas, and islands, an awful centrifugal of sin seeming to overpower the beautiful centripetal of righteousness, and from it a groan reached heaven. Such a sound had never been heard there. Plenty of sweet sounds, but never an outcry of distress or an eciio of agony. At that one groan the prince rose from all the blissful circum- jacence, and started for the outer gate and de-scended into the night of this world. Out of what a bright harbor into what a rough sea ! •' Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor.''

Was there ever a contrast so overpower- ing as that between the noonday of Christ's celestial departure and the midnight of his earthly arrival.' Sure enough, the angels were out that night in the sky, and an especial meteor acted as escort, but all that was from other worlds, and not from this world. The earth made no demon- stration of welcome. If one of the great ])rinces of this world steps out at a depot, cheers resound, and the bands play, and the flags wave. But for the arrival of this missionary Prince of the skies not a torch flared, not a trumpet blew, not a plume fluttered. All the music and the pomp were overhead. Our world opened for him nothing better than a i)arn-door. To know how poor he was, ask the camel drivers, ask the shepherds, ask Mary, ask the three wise men of the East, who after- ward came to Bethleiiem. To know how poor he was, examine all tiie lecords of real estate in all that Oriental country, and see what vineyard, or what field he owned. Not one. Of what mortgage was he the mortgagee.' Of what tenement was he the landlord .'Of what lease was he the lessee.' Who ever paid him rent.' Not owning the boat on which he sailed, or the l)east on which he rode, or the pillow on which he slept. He had so little estate that in order to pay his tax he had to perform a miracle, putting the amount of the assess ment in a fish's mouth and having it haul- ed ashore. .And after his death the world rushed in to take an inventory of his goods, and the entire aggregate was the garments he had worn, sleeping in them by night and traveling in them by day, bearing on them the dust of the highway and the saturation of the sea. .St. Paul in my text hit the mark when he said of the missionary Prince, "For your sakes he became poor."

The world could have treated him bet- ter if it had chosen. If had all the means for making his earthly condition comfort- able. Only a few years before when Ponv pey. the general, arrived in Brindisi he was greeted with arthes and a costly col- umn which celebr.ited the twelve million pcf)ple whom he had killed or confiuered, and he was allowed to wear his triumphal robe in the .Senate. The world had ap-

plause for imperial butchers, but buffet- ing for the Prince of Peace. Plenty of golden chalices for the favored to drink out of. but our Prince must put his lips to the bucket of the well by the roadside after he had begged for a drink. Poor.' Born in another man's barn, and eating at another man's table, and cruising the lake in anotiier man's fisiiing smack, and buried in another man's tomb. Four inspired authors wrote his biography, and innum- erable lives of Christ have been published, but he composed his autobiography in a most compressed way. He said, "I have trodden the wine press alone."

Poor in the estimation of nearly all the prosperous classes. They called him Sab- bath-breaker, wine-bibber, traitor, blas- phemer, and ransacked the dictionary of oppiolirium from cover to cover to ex- press their detestation. I can think now of only two well-to-do men who espoused his cause. Nicodemus and Joseph of .Ari- mathea. His friends for the most part were people who. in that climate where ophthalmia or inflammation of the eyeball sweeps ever and anon as a scourge, had become blind, sick people who were anx- ious to get well, and troubled people in whose family there was some one dead or dying. If he had a purse at all it was empty, or we would have heard what the soldiers did with the contents. Poor.' The pigeon in the dove-cote, the rabbit in its burrow, the silk-worm in its cocoon, the bee in its hive is i)etter provided for, bet- ter off, better sheltered. Aye. the brue cre- ation has a home on earth, which Christ had not. A poet says :

If on windy days tlie raven

Gambol like a dancing skiff. Mot the less he loves his liaven

On tile bosom of the cliff. If almost with eagle pinion

O'er the .\lps the chamois roam. Vet he has some small dominion

Which no doubt he calls his home.

But the Crown Prince of all heavenly dominion has less than the raven, less than the chamois, for he was homeless. Aye, in the history of the universe there is no other instance of such coming down. Down until there was no other harrass- ment to suffer, poor until there was no other pauperism to torture. Billions of dollars spent in wars to destroy men, who will furnish the statistics of the value of that precious blood that was shed to save us.' "Ye know the grace of our Lord Je- sus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor."

Only those who study this text in two places can fully reali/.e its power, the Holy Land of Asia Minor and the holy land of heaven. I wish that some day you might go to the Holy Land and take a drink out of Jacob's well, and take a sail on Galilee, and read the Sermon on the Mount while standing on Olivet, and see the wilderness where Christ was tempted, and be some afternoon on Calvary at about three o'clock — the hour at which closed the crucifixion— and sit under the sycamores and by the side of iirooks, antl think and dream and pray about the poverty of him who came our souls to save. But you may be denied that, and so here, in another continent and in another hemisphere, and in scenes as different as possible, we re- count as well we may how poor was our Heavenly Prince. But in the other holy land above we may all study the riches that he left behind when he started for earthly expedition. Come, let us bargain to meet each other on the bank of the river just where it rolls from under the throne, or at the outside gale. Jesus got the contrast by exchanging that world for this; we will get it by exchanging this world for that. There and then you will understand more of the wonders of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, "though he was rich, yet for your sakes became poor.''

N es, grace, free grace, so\ereign grace, omnipotent grace ! Among the thousands of words in the langu.ige there is no more queenly word, ll means free and unmer- ited kindness. My text has no monopoly

of the word. One hundred and twenty- nine times does the Bible eulogize grace. It is a door swung wide open to let mti the pardon of Clod all the millions who choose to enter it. John Newton sang of it fthen he wrote:

Amazing grace, how swee; the sound.

That saved a wretch like i.v..

Philip Doddridge put it into aH hymnol ogy when he wrote :

Grace, 'tis a charmiiig sound.

Harmonious to the ear ; He.iven with the echo shall resound, And all the earth shall hear.*;

One of John Bunyan's great Ijfc- k.s is ert titled, "Grace Abounding." "f^ is iii of grace that I am saved'' has be|« 011 tlie hps of hundreds of dying Christ^s. 'J'he boy Sammy was right when bein ed for admission into church nu he was asked: "Whose work \' \i,ut salvation.'" and he answered: Pari mine and part Clod's." Then the examine! asked : "U liat part did you do. Sammy ?' and the answer was: "I opposed Gud all 1 could, and he did the rest!" Oh. the height of it, the depth of it, the length of it. the breadth of it. the grace oJ' God Mr. Fletcher having written a pamphle that pleased the king, the king offered t( compensate him. and Fletcher answeiedr "There is only one thing I want, ai is more grace.'' Yes. my blootl hearers, grace to live by and gract uie by. Crace that saved the publican, thai saved Lydia, that saved the dying thief, that saved the jailer, that saved me. But the riches of that grace will not lie fully understood until heaven breaks in upon the soul. And there are here lairi'ii-ds homesick for heaven, some bee; have so many bereavements, some you have so many temptations, s cause you have so many ailments sick, very homesick, for the fathei heaven, and the music that you hear now is the song of free grat .i;'u the music that you want to hear w' p>i) oa die is free grace, and forever bef^.re the throne of God you will sing of the "grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, though he was rich, for your sakes became poor ! '"

Yes. yes : for your sakes ! 1 1 was not on a pleasure excursion that he came, for it was all pain. It was not on an astrorh omical exploration, for he knew this world as well before he alighted as afterward. It was not because he was compelled to come, for he volunteered. It was not because it was easy, for he knew that it would f^ thorn, and spike, and hunger, and thirst, and vociferation of angry mob.s. "Fctt your sakes ! '' To wipe away your tears, to forgive your wrongdoing, to company ionship vour loneliness, to soothe youi sor- rows, to sit with you by the new-made grave, to bind up your wounds in the ugly battle witii the world and bring you liomt at last, kindling np the mists that fall or your dying vision with the sunligiit of : glorious morn. "For your sakes!" For oui sakes ! We who deserve for our sins to b« expatriated into a world as much poorei than this, than this earth is jiooier thai heaven. For our sakes ! But what a fright ful coming down to take us gloriously up

Oh, the personality of this religion Not an abstraction, not an arch unde which we walk to behold elaborate mason ry, not an ice castle like that which the Em press I-llizabeth of Russia, over a hundre( years ago. ordered to be constructed Winter with its trowel of crystals cemeni ing the huge blocks that had been quarriei from the frozen rivers of the North, bu our Father's house with the wide heart! crackling a hearty welcome. A religioi of warmth and inspiration, and light, an( cheer: .something we can take into ou hearts, and homes, and business, recre; tions. and joys, and sorrows. Not an ui manageable gift, like the galley iJiesentC' to Ptolemy, which required tour thousan ' men lo row, and its draught of water was s 1 great that it could not come near the shont but something you can run up any streai of annoyance, however shallow. Enricl ment now, enrichment forever.

ijot

aoiyi

IIOE' I^JOi

IC!H:

ud i

lie m\ ti il( m.

AX. 6. 1897

THE CHRISTIAN HERALD AND SIGNS OF OUR TIMES. Our Congress and Struggling Cuba

Intervention Hardly Probable, but American Sympathy Strongly Excited — Premier Canovas Speaks for Spain — She will never Consent to let Cuba Go.

emphatic manner in the present contro- versy. He dechires that .Spain means to continue the war in Cul)a until lier sov- ereignty is acknowledged : and that, while his country is ready to grant local self- government to the island, it

SENATOR J. D. CAMERON.

UR controversy with Spain over Cuba continues to en- gross the attention of the nation, as no other topic has done since the memor- able trouble with Chili sev- eral vears ago. Now. as then, there is a very ai , and enthusiastic element among our jeople. who favor the adoption of a policy )y our government that would have the esult of bringing matters quickly to a focus. On the jther hand, the more con- servative, in and out of Congress, advise making laste slowly, hoping that he difficulty may be ad- usted satisfactorily, with )Ut inv olving a diplomatic upture that might lead to serious results. In last week's issue of The Chris ri.Ax Hi:k.\lij. the tory was told of the pas- sage of Senator Camer- on's now famous Cuban recognition resolution by the Senate Foreign Kela- ions Committee, and also of .Secretary of State Olney's opinion disserit- ing from that resolution, claiming for the Presi- dent the exclusive right to act in such a contingency, and intimating that a Presidential veto await- ed any resolution of recog- nition, if passed by Con- gress. This contention has been widely and warm- Iv discussed, in ;ind < ut of Congress, and both sides have many advo- ,H cates. 1 ts effect has been to delay Congressional action. There is much

greatly aided their cause. Late advices Irom Havana, received in Washington, represent the revolutionary movement as still active and hopeful, though the mili- itary leaders are depressed in consequence of the serious illness of (Jen. Jlaximo Gomez, the leader of the revolution. Gomez is an old man. and the death of Maceo seems to have weighed heavily upon hini. He is said to be phy- sically unable to perform the duties of a military lead- er, and it is even asserted that he has signified his willingness to end the war, provided this can be arrang- ed through the friendly offices of the United States government. Just what his conditions are, or how reli- able the rumor of his inten- tions may be, as a whole, cannot now be k n o w n. .Should the statement con- cerning Gomez's attitude prove to be well-founded, the present Cuban cam- paign, like all ite predeces- sors, may soon terminate. Spain giving as- surance of such concessions as would be most likely to restore tranquility and con- fidence on the island. The whole storv.

ALFONSO XIII, KING OF SPAI

will only do so after the insurrection has been com- pletely subdued. Spain, he adds, does not court war with the United .States, but w ill. nevertheless, resist with all the forces at her com- mand any aggressive move- ment on the part of our government. Spain will not yield an inch to force or threats, nor will she consent to be directed in her domes- tic affairs by any other gov- ernment. She seeks peace, but will not shrink from war in any matter touching her honor. If we force war upon her. he says. Spain will defend herself: but she will not be the aggressor. Pre- mier Castillo then proceeds to discuss the possibility of a Cuban republic, which he declares would be a very grave men- ace to the peace of America, and a worse experiment in its results than Hnyti. At no time has our Administration be-

however, is scouted by the Cuban Junta lieved it probable that the Cuban difficulty

PUBLIC SQUARE IN MADRID. THE SPANISH CAPITAL, NOW THE SCENE OF EXCITEMENT OVER CUBA

disappointment among Cuban sympathizers with the pros- pect of American intervention being post- jjoned. as the recognition of Cuba at the present time, they believe, would have

■PREMIER DON ANTONIO CANOVAS DEL CASTILLO.

in America, whose members declare that it is unfounded and that the revolution is still progressing with every prospect of ultimate success. They point to the gen- eral enthusiasm that prevails in Cuban circles and to the fact that reinforcements of men and arms continue to reach the island. One of the largest of these fil- ibustering expeditions was safely landed in Cuba last week, after an exciting brush with a Spanish launch and a gun-boat.

Possibly another cause of Gomez's dis- couragement may be found in the dissen- sions that are said to exist among the Cuban leaders themselves. These allega- tions of dissension, the Spanish govern- ment is making the most of. The Havana authorities have published broad- cast the statement that Maceo's death was attributable to the quarrels and non- support of the Cuban Council, and that he practically threw his life away in des- peration and sorrow. This new version of Maceo's fate, however, originated with Dr. Zertucha. the man who is believed to have basely betrayed Maceo to the Span ish commander, (ien. .Ahumada. and who is interested in exculpating himself, if possible.

Canovas del Castillo, the Spanish Premier, and who may be regarded as rep- resenting the sentiment of the Spanish people, as well as the policy of his govern ment, has placed himself on record in an

would embroil us seriously with Spain. One result of the di.spute. however, is that steps have been taken to put our Xavy in the best possible condition — not with any view to hostile contingencies but on general principles. The War College has for three years past been busy ujjon the plans for the defense of the coast, and a scheme for the arming of a number of auxiliary cruisers, to supplement the regu- lar naval vessels, is proposed. In all this preparation there is no undue haste or ex- citement. Much of it was begun before the present trouble arose. In Spain, how- ever, every nerve is being strained to get the Xavy on a ivar footing, and the dock- vards are working with quadrupled forces. It is announced by cable that the Spanish Minister of the Xavy has even supplied maps of the American coast defences to the officers of the fleet, although this is probablv an exaggeration.

The youthful King .Alfonso, being still a mere lad. is under the tutelage of his mother, the Queen-Regent, and can hardly be supposed to comprehend the grave questions that are just now troubling the statesmen of his nation. The Queen is said to be intensely patriotic in regard to the necessity of making any sacrifice to save Cuba to the Spanish crown. Her ministers and advisers, without exception, agree that Castilian honor demands that the integrity of the nation be kept invio-

HON. RICHARD OLNEY, SECRETARY OF STATE.

late, antl as the wealthy people of the country have furnished the necessary funds to continue the war in Cuba, Gen. Weyler will no doubt continue to receive reinforcements with due regularity. With two costly campaigns already under way. Spain would seemingly risk a third than abate one jot of her claim of supremacv in the interest of humanity and justice. Her prompt rejection of the friend- ly offer by our govern- ment to aid in bringing about peace in Cuba on the basis of a concession of home rule on the island, shows how bitter and un- compromising is the .Span- ish attitude toward the unfortunate "Gem of the Antilles."

Our photographic illus- trations on this page are of special and timely in- terest. Senator Cameron and Secretary Olney rep- resent the opposite views as to the policy of our gov- ernment on this great question. The Queen Re- gent and her son. King .Alfonso XI II. are proba- bly less important factors in the present case in a political sense, than Pre- mier Canovas del Castillo, who has given expression to the Spanish policy. Madrid, the capital is at this moment alive with war excitement, which is not likely to abate for some time to come. Spain is passing through an ordeal of great severit\'. in which only the wisest states- manship and the most en lightened and humane policy can effect real service to the ancient nation, once great and influential, but now occupying only a secondary place in the European sisterhood of monarchical states.

MARIE CHRISTINA, QUEEN REGENT OF SPAIN.

THF CHRISTIAN HERALD AND SIGNS OF OLR TIME^

TAX. 6, iS

THE

Sunday School

»im 3.rx- to the : around Holy Ghoi: spoken of ~t'. but now Peic;

A Multitude Converted.

Suniav School Lissoa for Jan. ' Tth. Acts 2 : 32-47. Gokkn Test. Acts 2 = J». By M's. ^L Baxter.

HAT can God do through

a man ■ - : ?-d- ed to

Peter. - - ro- ken Peier. n o w niied with the Holy Ghost in- stead of his own self- sun^ciency. can speak - : his own. even --ael who are 7.".^. twenty ■ en had : God." ---...-v ; "-.e Lord whom he had denied. "Ve men of IsraeL hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God amoi^ you, by mir- acles, and wonders, and signs, which God c;d r V nim in the midst of you. as ye yoiff- >e. . aI<o know." Thus bbkily could this man * peak of the crucified Jesus : and no man could deny his assertions, for. walk- ing about amongst thetn. was the man Lazarus who had lain four days a corpse in the grave: going about with perfect evesi^ht was the man who was bom blind, and those healed by the power of Jesus of Nazareth were everywhere to be found.

Peter, having thus established the point that th"> work was of Divine origin, con- ' r-ed by the de- viwwiedge of \ icked hands ".i God raised V hen his Mas- a:s coii.ir.^ sufferings and : far from thee. Lord, this ato: ' •■- 16:::2.) But

now. in the \-ivid _ Holy Spirit,

he understood t':. - be even so.

Now be had gained experience : he

Understood the Cross, and all that should come out of it in sal- vation for a !o5t worif^. 3".<1 for the purify-

tin - ter Gc^. have cr up." <^ ter sb.. sha..

ing of t:

vel he

Israel •

taking

tioners . .

sel it had to ix

did it "by the ♦^ar. '

and for ■

borne •

in hope

.And men of

: ^. ^laiiity in to be the esecti- - In God's coun- : vou. he said. - T!en"(R.V.): 1 rod has od hath - >of : he - ith ..w. rest eave mv

Christ to sit upon his u. Sam. 7 :

12. 13: Ps: 152: II). he, seeing this before, >r?.ke of the resurrection of Christ, that - - ~ -. left in hell [hades] neither

- r corruption. This Jesus .. i d up whereof we all are witnesses," Nothing could be more con- clusive, nothing more unanswerable, sr. - Peter goes on to say, "Therefore, be: the riiht hand of God exalted, and .

: the Father the promise c; ; . be hath shed forth this which . . . and hear."

.And a^ a still farther proof he adds. "For David is not ascended into the hea\-ens. but he himself saith. The Lard said unto mv Lord. Sit thou on my right hand until I'make thine enemies thy foot- stool Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredlv. that God hath made the same Jesus w^om ye have cnici- lied. both Lord and Christ," Ye have crucified him whom God exalted ! such was the ter- rible indictment of Peter, speak- ing by the Holy Ghost, against his people ! When the Loird Je- sus, as man. spoke what the Fa- ther gave him to speak, the jieo- ple marxeled. for he spoke as one that had authority and not .1? r'- e scribes (.Mark i : 22). - ^ of this divine au-

; upon Peter at this veil dropped from the any of the "devout , h heard : their preju- dices gave way. they found them- selves in the pnfsence of men who through the Spirit were filled with God. and their hearts were pricked, the word had penetrat- ed : they saw how their Uves had been a terrible mistake : all the foundations of righteousness in which they had trusted gave wav: theV had crucified the Lord of glor>-: .At their wits end. they could oniy cry. "Men and brethren.

What Shall We Do ? " It was not only to Peter, but also to the one hundred and twenty that these words were spoken, Peter was no greater in their eyes than any of the others: these enquirers saw God in these men. It was Peter again who was spokesrhan. For the first time he. with a broken heart for his own denial of Jesus, soofce in the Spirit to other men whose hearts were aL*. nt and be baptize u

V- "•'-eremis- ve the •se ''of

_nquir-

1. r' e

01 a u believe

enjoyment is continually held before the sinner as a ttinpdng bait to induce him to "oeiieve in God's pardon: personal satis- faciion. in some way or other, is made the inducement to come to Chnst and also to look for his coming. In these eariy days of the Church of Christ it was not so: the inducement held out was of qaite_ an- other order : "Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost : ye shall be possessed by. indwelt by God : this was the object in view. The Lord Jesus himself said, "To as many as received him to them gave he power to become the children of God. (John 1: 1;): "oeiTonen of God. filled with God : united to God. Is th'is a small thing ? It means a changed Kfe: ritual gi\-ing away to real face-to-face communion with the fiving God.

. LESSON PODs'TS.

Suggestions and Illustrations for the use of Sundae School Teachers.

ETKK'-'^ sem.-or. or*ned the

Toe circumstances were deeply interestii^. Here w . 7. men who, four years back,

w . .ar employment. Fishermen,

ta_\ , rs and others, they had proba- blv received no more education than was n^ded to fit them for their occupations and the religious duties that every Jew was ex- pected "to perform. Christ, to "all outward appearance.a working-manlike themsel\"es.

tions aiMl cast in their tot with him. Tl were astonished to find that their men in religion and state ridiculed claims and treated him with scorn, they had seen enough of his power to convinced that he could overthrow all position, and they did not doubt that crisis he wouki assert himself and take righdul place as head of the nation, to their amazement he submitted meel to arrest, and when he was hurried tc curion he bore it passively, and Gt,x not interfere to protect him. They disappointed. "We trusted that i: h been he who should have redeemed Isr.iel,' one of them said, and the words show b.om utterly th^y had abandoned hope. BiM then came the resurrection and the .-.ew enlightenment. "Wilt thou now res:cife the kingdom to Israel ?" they asked v.dth renewed hope. But again they were dis- appointed. Jesus was taken from them and they were commissioned to go lortfc to the world preachii^ his Gospel withom his visible presence for their guidance .iml support. It was a strange situation for a ^and of men such as they were. Thei came the mysterious power that he had promised they should receive. WhaJ would they do ? They had expected to bt princes, viceroys- judges. Would they b* wilhng to become mere itinerant preach ers ? Peter's sermon, the first of the mil lions that have since been preached, is tt* > answer.

It is not the kind of sermon we shouV have expected in the circimistances, Th courage and confident tone are amazing , Peter declares that his audieno -T-ess-'r.z rhe fulfilment of ai

y. These; :n soeech.

trang<

whicl

had talked with them and had woo their respect and affection. They, doubtlesis. shared the e.vpectarion which was in- ^■'U in the Jewish min ' eader who should . - - . > glory. It was ih> Jewish historx-. God had atveiopeu uie nation *n t*i?.t vrav hv «endin£r indixndual

lie

Solomon

r& «orC& Mere an oui

>m he caiis --patn- he wa5 deafl arxl

•JiC tScsii ;.c raise up i*i>.>..T is so olitr. jrcati.cv:

had ix

^ „.

.leans- natioi»s- Wher-

... T.., ^ . -'V V

;he Sent one— ■' u him wh;.,

mistaken as to me Suftenne. *han>e >; anil oL^iK^.-;. come fror-

el him. not the power aiKl gk»n ious dreamed of. But the)- left \ir.<.

L 'Pie. Whj een fu'-ti'lec

•.he fulfilment ccy. David ha,. - who should not re

grave, but should risr -

into heaven. It was not 01 Vkim, self, obviously, that David had spoken : for his grave, undisturb ed. was there at the time. Davit did not ascend into heaven : bu —and this was the critical wort — Jesus of Nazartrth had dont so : and it was of him that thi poet king had spoken. Peter too- his life in his hand when hi boldly uttered that statemen; Only seven weeks had passev since Jesus had been sent to exe cution for statements not half s- ottensive. But still n- • - . _ ' \v o r d s followed, charged his hearers pliciiy in the awful crime 01 mur dering Gods mesei^:er. It wa a wowder that he was not stone< on the spo:. Never has the pow er of the Holy Spirit been e-> hibited more woiiderfullv tha then. The declaration ^h-z h who had been put : - common criminal ^ ed in heaven atGoc - and was sending he est gift to men. a hearL The cry. " What shii» w do?" showed how they were movec Pe": - • " ^ne deliveTe

bv efore him.-

- ah. and Joh

: St. "Kepenu That is God" - - _ . to the sinner in all times. 1 Wis av.cvinipan e<Cby a promise. Rem: sion of sins n-ould be granted to all wl were baptized in the name of ChrisL Tt response was amazing. .Abogt thn thousand -« - re-.ve<^ :he offer, was as if Ct«^ men of the y

such abundar.: - . :- ■- ■ - In everv generation the souls which ha\ ' • - • > the kingdom have bee y that means.

This was a stram the hps of a preach< .: the way of salvatJt . : , V ,nent preacher explaii It thus : .A yacht is by the shore. How she to get away : You say. raise the sa Yes, that is good. It may catch the bree. when It comes. But something else is ne -11 ust raise the anchor. Lea- ■ loose. That is the «-ay - .■ es.

A CHURCH FULL OF SOUL-WliSNERS.

[Tie Metropolitan Temple of New York City and its Campaign for Aggressive Chris- tianity— The Foctjs of the "Forward Movement."

AN. 6, 1897

THE CHRISTIAN HERALD AND SIGNS OF OUR TIMES.

npHE Metropolitan Temple of Nevv I York City, now known to the religious ■I world as the headquarters of the For- ward Movement for .Autrressive Christian-

REV. W.W.ALEXANDER.

REV. SAMUEL PARKES CADMAN.

ity, was formerly the Central Methodist Church. In its iireat days, under the old regime, the saintly .Alfred Cookman was among its pastors. Here (General Grant worshipped, and here also Uishop J. P. Newman's eloquent ministry crowded tiie building to the doors. liut its down-town location on Seventh avenue and P~our- teenth street, had latterly hindered its growth. The older members died, the younger ones moved away, and the huge population all around it knew little of its history and cared less. In the meantime, the Forward Movement had begun in theMetropolitan Meetings in the old Scotch Presby- terian Church on 14th street. A few godly lay- men with ample means determined at all hazards to reac 1 the people. They succeeded, a n d as the members gathered around them, they demanded a chuich home and pastoral care. When the trustees of this time-lionored build- ing threw open its doors to the leaders of the Metro- politan Meetings, they gladly took possession, •and the present magnifi- cent structure was the re- sult of the re-modeling of the old edifice. A new name, expressive of its larger pur- pose, was given it. and the reopening services drew together the leaders of the Protestant denominations of New York and other cities.

The Parisian life of the greait metropo- lis, full as it is of deadly indifference to spiritual affairs : its cosmopolitan charac- ter, its agnostic materialism, its foul abysses of vice, lewdness and corruption, make New York the problem of prol)lems for evangelical Christianity. It is the chosen battle-ground of the contending forces of good and evil. Nor can it be won for Christ without a grasp upon the full, rich qualities of Christ's Gospel, qualities which strike into the roots of in- dividual life, and branch out into every sphere of its many-sided and opulent civ- ilization. Yet the fight has been measur- ably won in this church. One year and eight months ago the actual membership of both the Central Church and .Metropol- ital Hall was not more than 200. To-day the membership of the Temple is about 800. Rev. S. P. Cadman. the pastor, has received 614 members in that space of time, and 340 of these have been admitted to church-feilowship. this since last April. There have been 656 reported conversions, and many of these of extremely interest- ing character. .Much of the accomplished good is due to house-to-house visitations. Although foiu- churches have been torn down in that district during the past two

years, the audiences at the Temple have grown from week to week. The attend- ance for the year ending Deceml)er ist, JS96, was 2S4.925, an average of 5,450 per week. The Lord's Day audiences at night find the Temple too small, and it is one of the two largest Protestant congrega- tions in the city. These figures do not in- clude the attendance at the Reading- rooms, the Chautau(|ua Circles, the .Sew- ing School, receptions, class-meetings, etc. They do con- vey a measure all their own as to the effective- ness of Chris- tianity in reach- ing the people when fearlessly trusted and ap- plied. These figures are strictly within limits. The peo- ple have been reached pre-em- inently by the preaching of the Gospel. Ail roads lead to Calvary: all words point to Christ. Howev er m u c h the moods and

methods vary, the end is one and never changes; it is to bring back men to the living and present Saviour, waiting to receive them.

Heginning on Lord's Day morning at 9 o'clock, tiie services go on nightly, forty- two a week, and each evening has some special feature, made attractive by wise variations. The Sunday audiences are large, that in the evening being one of the largest in the city. .Stress is laid upon the preaching. Dr.Cadman firmly believes in the su- preme function of the

proclaim Christ as the heralds of old pro claimed their King.

Monday evenings are devoted to coun cils. w h e n a theme is an- nounced b e " forehand, and t h e audience takes a hand in this discus- s i o n . How much of lat- ent ability is undevelo p e d in our church- es none mnv

laid upon the conscience of the members to duly observe (iod's hour. At 8:30 the bugle sounds and all meet together in one

JUVENILE VESTED CHOIR OF THE CHURCH. l^'Mosc one hiindrai fresh young voices lead the Praise Sei'eice.

suspect, unless such a means is eniploved for its discovery.

Ttiesday is lectiue night. At S o'clock some prominent man gives an hour's wise, witty and bright talk on a proper and in- teresting matter of knowledge, at times using the stereopticon to illustrate his words. Dr. J. M. Buckley. Rev. Egerton Rverson Young. Dr. E. S. Tipple, Dr. .S. L. Baldwin. Mrs. Bottome. Mrs. Dr.McGrew, Philip Phillips, and many others have ap- peared on the platform. The audiences average from Soo to looo.

EXTERIOR OF THE METROPOLITAN TEMPLE, NEW YORK.

mmistry as being in danger of neglect. Musical features are proper so long as they expre.ss reverence and devoutness. but the one business of the ministry is to

On Wednesdays, holiness meetings are held, with class meetings in every avail- able room, and the auditorium given over to the development of spiritual life. It is

INTERIOR OF THE METROPOLITAN TEMPLE.

great congregation of joy, praise, prayer, and Bible readings. Open-air work is followed the entire summer. Thursday evening's service on the steps of the building often draws hundreds who are in\ ited within to the evange- listic meeting. Conversions are fre- quent at all these services. The Fri- day evening questions have aroused Cfinsiclerable curiosity. Editors, pro- fessional men, the clergy, as far away as Memphis, Tenn., and Chicago, have made inquiries about this service. The audience will number on specially in- teresting evenings as many as yoclarge- ly men. They write their questions, which are read from the platform, and answered by the pastor. The Saturday night concerts have reached more people than any other service save that of .Sunday night and the programme is a most attractive one.

The one ideal that is constantly kept before the Temple officers is holiness to (iod. the root of love, fatherhood, sacri- fice, redemption, without which a church is a corpse, and not the less dead because dressed in the garments of life. Members are received every Sunday. Acceptance of pardon in Christ Jesus is continually pressed home, and the con- versions are faithfully fol- lowed by systematic visit- ation. A thousand visits a week can be arranged for in case of special effort.

One of the features of the church's work is a vested choir of one hun- dred voices under the leadership of Mr. C. J. Evans. Every Lord's Day morning they render a full clioral service and many are drawn to the Temple by the excellent music. On Sunday afternoon a Pleas- ant Hour Bible Class, u n d e r Mr. P. VV. Rad- cliffe, has an average attendance of about 500. There are, besides, many organiza- tK)ns that deserve mention, and which fur- nish opportunity for every member to be active in some line of Christian work.

Rev. .S. Parkes Cadman. the pastor, is a voung man of little more than 30 years of age. "He was born near the city of Bir- mingham. England, and was educated in Riclimond College. London, where he graduated at the head of his class. In 1891 he was appointed to Millbrook, N. Y., where he began, in addition to his minis- trv. an extensive literary career. He is in constant demand as a lecturer, and his ectures on "Lincoln" and "Life in Lon- don"' have delighted large audiences at Chautauqua. His career, as a preacher has been still greater. Two years at Central Church. Yonkers, N. Y.. were so successful that he was called to lead the Forward Movement in Metropolitan Tem- ple. He has the love of a'l the mem- bership and they admire him for his character as a man as well as for his ex- cellent work. Rev. W. W. Alexander, his Senior assistant graduated at Wesieyan University in 1S90. He spent several years as a teacher, took special work in Union Theological Seminary and after one year in a regular pastorate was appointed to the Temple. Rev. J. Lewis Hartsock, his junior assistant, graduated at Johns Hop- kins in 1891 and a the Yale Divinity School in 1894. He was appointed to the Temple in 1895.

THE CHRISTIAN HERALD AND SIGNS OF OUR TIMES.

JAN. 6. i,s

"The Isle that is Called Patmos."*

An Interesting Description of a Visit to the Scene of St. John's Apocalyptic Vision.

By Rev. W. E. Geil.

THE ISLAND MONA

SHAPED like a crescent, the white spotted island of Patmos naturally divides into three parts, which are united by narrow strips of sand. The length is eleven miles, the width varies from forty furlongs to a few hundred feet. Marvel- ously serrated, it offers four excellent har- bors, the principal one being Sakla on the Asiatic side sheltered from the east winds by Khelia and Lipso. fan- tastically shaped islands of the Icarian Sea.

Quite recentlv small Greek steamers have begun to pl\ between Smyrna and the Sporades touch i n g at Patmos. It was on one of these 1 went by wav of the port of Ephesus. and arising early in the morning, 1 hastened ■ deck and s a w w h seemed a mountain reaching from the east- ern shore to the western coast of an island and the summit appeared to be covered with snow. •' What land, helms- man ?'" 1 shouted to the wheel-house. •• Patmos. sir I" he answered. When the eastern light grew brighter I saw on the summit a huge structure towering above the others like a mediaeval castle and white houses cluster ed around it. 'Twas the .Mount and .Mon astery of .Saint John, and Phora, the city of Patmos. Halfway between the city and the wharf stood the Monastery of the Apocalypse, built over the cave or grotto where .St. John, tradition says, wrote the Gospel and the Revelation. I afterward visited it and saw the place where .St. John pillowed his head, the little cavity where he put his hand when kneeling down to pray, facing a cross which he had cut in the living rock. I also saw the three crev- ices in the roof of the cave which were made when the earthquake shock rocked the island of the /Egean and the words "I am .Alpha and Omega " were spoken, or as another tradition savs. when John liad been ten days without food suddenly a voice said : •■ Write, in the beginning was the Word." And the sin- gular legend was told m e as one pointed out the two holes through which the apos tie put the string which he fast- e n e d to his thumbs to keep himself awake when he prayed. 1 landed at La Skala.the bus- iness centre of the famous isle. From there to Pho- ra a rough and steep pav- ed r o a d ex- tends. It was const ructed by a wealthy monk early in the present century. The population of the island is about 4000. many of whom live

near the fortress. The monastery of St. I'llir. was begim bv St. Christf)doulos in I' -1 A.I)., and st.mds where stood the tem- \i\i(,t iJinna. The people from first to last I found very kind and while much in their religious life and teachings is certainly not liiblical yet it made me think of Hrown- iiigs ;

No f.ii"' ■ • I • ^iifht

0( a tit. v.nt .ind white,

With 'lulil recoKnize.

There an .il«iui 360 churches on the isLind of Faimo.s. some say 364. Every-

• Copyright 1896, by W. E, Geil.

body belongs to the Greek Church except the twenty Turks who represent the -Sub- lime l^orte. The higiiest mountain — and the island is naught but mountains and glens, a most barren, weird and fan- tastic landscape — is crowneci with the mon.istery of St. Elias, which affords a beautiful view from the roof. In the great -Monastery of -St- John is a valuable libra- ry of some 240 books and manuscripts. I saw Gos- pels that were written in the hfth century, with the names of the Trin- ity mgoid. Thisbuild- insa; has also a wealth

ST. JOHN'S GARDEN, ISLAND OF PATMOS.

of relics including the body of the .Anchor- ite Christodoulos.the founder who. says the tradition, thrice knelt upon a rock and prav- ed for water and it came so quickly that he had to begone in haste to avoid a wetting. Trees now grow 'round the spring and it is called the "(jarden of the -Saint." The body is kept in cloth of gold, iiis hands encased in silver, and lies to the right of the en- trance to the Church of -St. John. The skull of St. Thomas is also there. It was taken by four priests i|uite recently to the island of Samao. and a procession was formed

witii great difficulty and the stench from their decaying bodies was so great as to necessitate the carting ot them beyond the city wall where they were buried in long trenches. When rain is wanted on Pat- mos all the one hundred rel- ics are l)roiight forth, includ- ing the top of the skull of St. -Stephen- and a procession is formed, the monks bearing the sacred relics and all chanting praises and prayer. Then it always rains, I was informed. It is not welt to be Involous concerning the bones of the dead : but I could but think that if the sky had any feelings at all- it would surely weep at such a sight. There are forty-four monks aiid toi tv nuns on the island- The people make pottery- knit hose. an<l fish for sponges There is one piano on Pat- mos. b u t nobod\- can play it. When I inquired how many horses there were, a young Pat- monite said " five and one-half." meaning five horses and one colt. ,A monopoly has clos- ed down the salt works and I saw a fast steamer be- longing to the To- bacco Monopoly of Turkey in the port of La Skaia.

The name of the Hermit of Patmos is Theostestos. said bv the natives to mean '■ Built by (iod." When asked if he would receive me. he said. " I prefer to meet but few of human kind, but I can-

nine. "Tis here he lives. There wa^ a strong smell of fish, which I soon discov- ered came from a drying octopus spread out on a board, nailed near the roof. He made us welcome at once by bringing a

ENTRANCE TO THE CAVE OR GROTTO OF ST. JOHN.

very clean bowl filled with water and a glass of syrup. We each tasted the sweet with the same spoon and drank from the same l)owl of water. .After tiiis he talked freely. He was a boy in Thyatira, and has lived on Patmos fifteen vears. When he came he located in a dreary and barren spot far away from any one. but

not be so inlui.spitable as to refuse to wel- many came to see his beautiful garden.

come one who has come from such a dis- tant land." I was admitted by a large, partially rotten wooden door, in the outer wall of what was once the school to which the flower and chivalry of Greece and the Archipelago had gathered. For more than a century the rol)ed priests had here taught the youtii of the Hellenes, but since freedom from the Turk had been obtained liy Greece, schools have multi- plied, and the College of Patmos. once so

THE PORT OF LA SKALA, ISLAND OF PATMOS.

and praises chanted with prayers to drive the grape worms off the wine-island. The skull prevailed and the worms left. The people gave the monks 51.500 for the visit.

famous, is abandoned. The hermit re- ceived me most cordially. He w.is diess- ed in a loose garment, dark colored, reach- ing from the shoulders to the leet, and

and hence to enjoy solitude he fied to the ruin. The priests of the monastery did not wish him to come, but he told them if they did not let him live in the old college, "he would go and live with Kynops, the devil." This last argument prevailed. He knew the legend of Kynops. The legend is that Kynops was a magician, who was on the islanil when St. John arrived, and as the Exangelist was making enough converts to disturb the priests of Apollo, they conspired to get rid of St. John. To this end, they employed Kynops. So Kynops gathered a great crowd to- gether on the shore, and said to John, "Now, I will do a wonder you cannot do." whereupon Kynops said to a man, "Have you a son.""' ''No,'" answered the addressed, "I had a son, but he was assassinated." Then the magician jump- ed into the sea and brought up a ghost- like thing which looked like the son. and also likenesses of the two men who had murdered him. When the people saw this, they asked John to do as much, but he said, "Mv business is not to raise the dead, but to help save the living.'' -St. John knelt down and prayed to God. He arose, and placing his arms in the form of a cross, commanded the ma.gi- rian in the name of that emblem, to de part into the sea and never return. He was drowned soon after, the legend says.

"Theostestos, kindly tell me why you live the life of an .Anchoret.''" 1 asked. He seemed pleased, and answered. " I've given myself to (lod. "I am go- ing to die. and will have to appear be- fore Ciod. and now I am thinking about what answer I will give him."' On the window sill there was a human skull witii a cross on the forehead, in blackest 1)1, u k. Pointing to the skull, 1 asked .iluiut it. He said. " I keep it to look at: 1 knew the man well." he continued: "have had many a talk with him. He told me how, when he was ready to go to Constantinople, a fiieiul asked him to pur- chase and bring back to the island a mir- ror, lie made the journey, and upon his return lie toifl the man lo get his friends

rope. It was old and shiny. He wears bring it. They were all assembled, and in no other clothes. H is hair and whiskers expectant mood, when the traveler step-

Fifteen years ago the grasshoppers vi.si I- drawn in round the waist with a piece of togedier, that he would the next evening ed -Smyrna in large numbers and destruc- tion was greater than a vast hostile army. 'Twas then the skull of St. Thomas was taken in a large silver goblet by a com- pany of monks to .Smyrna. After prayer and praise, the skull was held aloft. 'Tis

said that as .soon as the grasshoppers saw it they ho|)ped into the se.i where they were so thick that small boats could go

were Ioiilt and iron gray, but he h:id ;i kindly and intelligent lace. There w.is a Hash in Ids eyes at times which .seemed to tell of other days when he, too, was in the thick of this world's entliusiani- The room built in the corner ol the large ruin of the College of Patmos, is eight feet by

ped in, and taking a skull Irom under his coat, said : 'Here is the mirror. Only a little while and you will look like tins."'

After I had jJassed out of the old ruin, the recluse stood lor a moment at the ojjen door, and I wa\ed my hand and said, "Hermit of Patmos, farewell!"

»2V

ed;

siii

I 111! Sidi

Hd ttt

AN. 6, 1897

THE CHRISTIAN HERALD AND SIGNS OF OUR TIMES.

Home Talks with

Mothers and Daughters.

BY /AARGARET E. SArtGSTER.

Lbout Saying ''I Thank You,"

And About Letters.

it not worth while for all of us to consider our ways in the matter of thanking peo- ple for kindness done to us? The proper thing wiien a gift has been received is to cknowledge it. if possible, in one form by letter sent to the one whose kind thought ook you into its purpose and bought or lade' for you something which was in- ended to be a useful possession or pleas- nt souvenir. In writing such a letter of lianks, it is well worthwhile to be explicit, lling why the gift pleased you, and what )lace you mean to have it among the hings you value. Never put off such a etter for several days or weeks : the grace gratitude is twice as beautiful if exer- ised at once.

Sometimes one cannot send a letter be- ause the present or token is given by a nember of the family or by an intimate riend who is out and in the house con- tantly. so that a letter would be too for- nal. In this case we must never stint the xpression of our thanks, but tell the houghtful giver in plain words, cordially md lovingly, how much we are indebted or the kindness shown. It is a good rule n correspondence of all kinds to send our nswer very promptly, because a letter is n some sense a part of the friend who vrites it. Nothing else except printed book is so living as a etter.

When some one sets down ind writes to me telling me her wishes or experiences, or giving Tie litde bits of chat about home md friends. I feel a war m jlow at my heart, and it is just if in the lingering twilight had slipped her hand in mine, and, sitting sociably down beside my fire, had told" me de- liglitful things she wanted me to know. If I do, our exchange of letters will be very much like a conversation carried on through a telephone, only it will be much better and less formal, because we can say more with our pens than we can say with our lips, a t least through a telephone, which has its limitations, though it is a great contrivance !

We should always take pains with our letters, and especially with letters to mem- bers of our own family who are away from home. If the mother and daughter, or the mother and son. are separated by many miles, if new interests are coming in to divide them and new associations are being formed, the home feeling can still be kept warm and strong by means of fre- quent letters. The letters should not be homilies.

I once knew an instance in which a son away from home was absolutely antagon- ized and made more homesick than before by the constant sermons which were sent to him by his well-meaning parents. He said one day. The dear old people never tell me a thing about the neighbors or about the farm or about themselves : they simply preach, and preach, and preach, so that I do not take any pleasure in their letters." This was a great mistake. After all, what we do in this world, and what we say, are of much less importance than what we are, and we do not have to preach at our dear ones if our lives are always sweet testimo- nies to right living and right thinking.

I would like to say just here that it is a good rule for all one's life never to write a letter in an angry spirit. If you are out of temper, wait till the feeling of irritation has entirely passed, and you are again calm and tranquil. Sleep over anything which troubles you : sometimes to-morrow morning throws a very different light on a situation from that which it appeared to have yesterday. A wise man once said to his sister, when she brought him a letter which she had written to one who had

offender her — a letter full of hot resent- ment and righteous indignation: "This is a very good Tetter, my dear, and does credit to your power of expression, but shall I tell you what to do with it ? Put it right in the fire and burn it up : it will make a bright blaze, and that will be the best way to treat it. If you send this letter you will make an enemy where you may yet have a friend. • Always leave a loop-hole for penitence and pardon.""

I am moved to write this way about let- ters at the end of the year, because it is a good plan before the year quite finishes its work to sit down and get out of debt to all your correspondents. Is there any- body far away from home or near to whom you have been owing a letter? Is there somebody who, for some reason or other, is in trouble or ill; some friend in a hos- pital whose days move slowly on : some boy away from home : some young girl whose life is shadowed by sorrow, or who is fighting temptation ? This is a good time now before the year wanes to send to such a one a letter full of Christmas joy, and of merry wishes and happy thoughts for another year. It may be in your power to slip a pretty card or a little gift of some sort into your letter. If so. that will make it all the better worth sending, but the let- ter itself is a very personal and intimate gift — the best you can send in many cases.

Some one asked me not long ago to give directions about the appropriate sort of

THE CHILDREN OF THE POCKET SUNDAY SCHOOL

Stationery to use in private correspon- dence. There is no special rule, but plain white paper, unruled, with envelopes to match, is always in fashion and in good taste. We should avoid, so far as possi- ble, all sorts of fancy papers. Tinted papers, and papers with little pictures in the corner, such as flowers, brownies, fern leaves, and so forth, may do very nicely for little children who like such things in their stationery, but grown people prefer simplicity.

Of one thing we cannot be too careful, and that is always to sign our letters in full and very plainly. Many people write a letter legibly all the way to the very end. and then their signatures taper off into scrawls which no mortal can read. A fine, strong, clear signature is a splendid thing to have. You know the way we sign our name is indicative of our character, and shows whether we are straightforward, honorable, scrupulous people, or whether we are careless, untidy and apt to leave our affairs at loose ends. In a business letter one must most carefully guard two or three things: one is the giving of one's post office address in full, state, town and coun- ty. .Another is adding the date with care and pains, and the last, as I may be par- doned for saying again, is the giving one's name in letters so clear that no mistake can be made about them.

Margaret E. Sangster.

The Brewer's Dog.

While walking one evening along one of the streets of the North End. Boston, says a writer, we saw two men supporting a third, who appeared to be unable to walk. "What is the matter? "we inquir-

ed. "Why,"' was the reply, " the poor man has been badly bitten l)y the brewer's dog. ' "Indeed," we said, feeling some- what concerned at the disaster. "Yes, sir. and he is not the first by a good many that has been thus bitten." "Why do they not kill the dog? " "Ah, sir, he ought to have been made away with long ago, but the law won't allow it. It is strong drink, sir — that's the brewer's dog."

Neglected Children.

There are. Alas I too Many, of "Whom the More Fortunate World Takes Little Heed.

ALTHOUGH there are, in our large cities and towns, many excellent benevolent and philan- thropic institutions for the benefit of unfortu- nate children, there are thousands of little ones living at places remote from all such ad- vantages, and who cannot hope to share in them. To the youthful inmates of iso- lated homes in distant states, there may come at times a dream of something bet- ter and nobler than the life that surrounds them, but many grow up in ignorance and poverty, and so pass on to maturity and old age.

Many times has The Christian' Her- ald directed the attention of its readers to the pitiful fate of those neglected chil- dren. Letters from earnest. Christian men in North Carolina, Missouri. Arkansas. New Mexico. Arizona. Kansas. Nebraska and South Dakota have disclosed the fact that in the outlying districts of those states there is work enough for scores of missionaries. It is in such fields as we have described that the veterans of the American Sunday School Union and our own missionary. Rev. Geo. W. Sharp, have won their best triumphs.

In a letter from Mr. Rogers, a .South Dakota missionary, we are afforded a realistic pic- ture of social and moral con- ditions in some rural district of that State. He writes :

" The Pocket " is a tract of land almost entirely surrounded by the Missouri River. Here I found a very ignorant and needy people: only a few families, but almost entirely cut off from all school and church privileges. The children were growing up in ignorance and poverty. I found one girl, sixteen years old, unable to read or write, and one family of six children, none of whom had ever been to school. The father had taught his children to read. A Sunday School was organized, and held in a private house, as there was no school building in the place. I have visited this school often, and was always greatly pleased to find the children so eagerly in- terested. It was a school that would re- mind one of the days of Robert Raikes. The children were taught to read as well as to learn their .Sunday School lesson.

Another section, full of poor, neglected children, is known as the "Bottom," near \'ermillion, S. 13. The first Sunday School was held in an old creamery building, and it could hardly be kept up. but now there are abouf forty children who attend.

THE COMFORTER.

WHEN my reason shall fail, and my life shall decay. When the scenes of this world shall vanish and flee.

When sunshine and shower alike pass away, Then, Light of the blessed, shine sweetly on me.

When heedless of earth and of all that sur- round me,

For pardon and mercy I'll call upon thee; When death with its fetters forever has bound me. Then, Jesus, sweet Jesus, lie Jesus to me.

When, weeping, my friends shall with fervor implore thee. My strength, my protector, my succor to be ; When, helpless and lonely, I tremble before thee.

Then, Fountain of mercy, have mercy on me.

Then, dear Lord, the dark chain of my mis- eries sever ; Then, Rest of the weary one, call me to thee;

Then, Crown of the just, be my portion for- ever ;

Then, merciful Jesus, have mercy on me.

Wallace Young

A Deluge of Letters.

THAT'S just what it amounts to. If any reader of The Chrisitan Herald should visit our offices in the Kiljle House and see the avalanche of mail matter we are daily, ay hourly, receiving, he would possibly think a Presidential election was in full progress. Hut these letters contain something pleasanter even than votes — altho' they are votes, in a sense, for they record the unhesitating and spontaneous vote of thous- ands upon thousands of bright men and wo- men all over the land, that The Christian Herald Premium Library No. 2, is the finest, most interesting, most valuable and handsom- est set of ten volumes ever put together in one case and sent out broadcast by any Publisher on the globe.

We have read these letters until their words of eulogy seemed stamped on our brain. They left nothing unsaid ; they simply exhausted the dictionary and left us not a syllable to say ourselves, without incurring the charge of di- rect plagiarism. We realized that Premium Library No. 2, had indeed filled "a long felt want," as the popular saying goes. It had come like snowflakes at Christmas and was as universally and jubilantly welcomed. Every- body likes it, reads it, and commends it. If we were to print all the glowing letters we have received about it (and which, as we write, are now stacked high around us in great piles, thousands deep), we could fill many successive issues of The Christia.»< Herald and crowd out everything else. Here is a sample of many hundreds of them :

24 Milton St., Readville, Mass. Christian Herald Publisher :— \ ou may well call your Library Premium "mai'velous — it far e.\ceeds my e.xpectations. I am simply delighted, and althouijh I sent for the Library for the purpose of having the books for Christmas gifts, they don't help me out one bit, for / want tJiem all myself . 1 fear you ministers will look very grave at this, but perhaps I may give some of them away another year. I must read them all first. Please accept many thanks. L. C. Downing.

Another writer is also puzzled about it. Here is his letter :

"Prairieside Park," Raritan, 111.

Publisher, The Christian Herald:— The excellent and beautiful Christian Herald Li- brary. No. 2, for iSqT, is just received. Honv you can give these ten useful and entertaining books, and also the best of all religious weekly papers for a year for $3, is a marvel, and past comprehension.

Andrew H.agem.an.

This friend sums up her pleasure in a single graphic phrase. She writes :

Wellsville, Mo.

The Christian Herald, New Vork.— I am delighted with the Premium Librarv. 1 have shown it to a number of friends and they think it a "perfect gem.'' Lydia Kuhne.

But we shall not yield to the temptation to print more of the letters, although their peru- sal has afforded us much gratification.

For the benefit of those who have not yet got a set of JVemium Library No. 2 (and we trust that no CuRlstiAN Her.\ld reader will neg- lect this opportunity of acquiring something that will give the greatest pleasure and satis- faction to every recipient), we will state that this Library is totally different from that sent out last year. We are striving every season to improve upon the preceding season, and this year we have reached the top notch in our Library Premium. It consists of ten ele- gantl)' bound \ olumes, averaging 300 pages each and the whole enclo.sed in a hanclsome case. As can be seen by a glance at the list, they cover a wide variety of topics and are sure to suit the reader, no matter in what direc- tion his taste may run. The titles are :

1. The Wedding Ring.

By Ri:v. T. DeWitt Talmage.D.D.

2. The Secret of a Happy Home.

By Marion Harland.

3. Notable 19th Century Events.

By John Clark Ridpatii, D.D.

4. How to Succeed.

By Orison .s. Marden, M.D.

5. Holiday Stories for the Young.

By M.\rg.vri;t E. Sangster.

6. The Land we Live In.

By He.\r\ JL-.nn.

7. Winter Evening Tales.

By Ameli a E. Bakr.

8. Recitations for the Social Circle.

By James Cl.vrence Harvey.

9. The Fairy=Land of Science.

By .Akabell.a. B. Buckley. 10. Many Thoughts of Many Minds.

By Louis Klopsch, Ph.D.

We should be sorry, after the opportunity has gone, to learn that any of our friends had altogether missed the chance of securing a set. It has already met with such warm praises and given so much satisfaction on all sides, that we feel justified in urging all who can possibly do so, to send at once for the Library. For $3 you can have the ten volumes, case in- cluded, sent to you by express, prepaid, and The Christian Herald mailed to you week- ly for one year. .Address your order, without clelay, to The Christian Herald, 92 Bible House, New York City.

THE CHRISTIAM HERALD AND SIGNS OF OUR TIMES.

JAN. 6, 1S97

#isTiAN [Tj Herald

AND SIGNS OF OUR TIMES ^ l.OUIS Kl-OI'St ii, ■■ICOI'ltll'^TOR.

EDITOR.

B. J. FERNIE. G. H. SANDISON.

Associate Editors.

The ('lii'lHltain Herald is published every Wed- nesday. Tne subscription price is $1.50 per year, payable in advance.

SuhcicrlptlonM may commence with any issue.

Kemlttsaiiceja siioiitd always >>e made in ttie safest iininner availtiblf to tne remitter. Post-olhce and l'\pio<'* Money Orders are always safe and may may he sent at our own risk.

KriclMlet* your letters when you remit by cash.

Forelu:n Postajce. lor each copy to be mailed oui-irile tlie L'nited States, the t'anadas. and Mex- leo. loreipn postape at the rate of one doUar a year siiould be added to the re^ulftr subscription price.

RenewalN. — It is always best to renew two weeks tn'toie the date on your wrapper, to ensure uninier- rnpted service.

Rack Numbers. — We cannot undertake to supply hack iiiinihers. nor to make j;ood omissions caused by tiinty rem-wals.

<'lian0:e of Date.— It takes two weeks to chaoEe the date, alter your subscription is renewed.

Kx|tlratlon of subscriptions. The date on the wrap- per indicates when your paper will be stopped un- less promptly renewed.

<*lian|ce of Address,— Always pive both your old and your new address when you ask u& to change your aibiress.

Tlie Name of your I'ost-office and of the State yon live in should always follow your own name when wrilinp to this ottice. We cunnot lind your name on our books unless this is done.

I«eCtei*M siiould be addressed

THE CHRISTIAN HERALD,

Bible House. New York City.

Enteretl nt llio r<>9l I'thce at Nlmv V*iik, ns Secnml class Matter

Neither Gild Nor Hot.

AFTER we have been taking a long walk on a summer's clay, or been on a hunting chase, a draught of cold water exhilarates. On the other hand, after standing or walking in the cold air and being chilled, hot water, mingled with some beverage, brings life and com- fort to the whole body : but tepid water, neither liot nor cold, is nauseatuig. Now, Christ says that a Church of that tempera- ture acts on him as an emetic: 'T will spew thee out of my mouth."

The Church that is red-hot with relig- ious emotion, praying, singing, working, Christ having taken full possession of the membership, must be to God satisfactory. On the other hand, a frozen Church may have its uses. Tiie minister reads elegant essays, and improves the session or the vestry m rhetorical compositions. The music is artistic and improves the ear of the people, so that they can better ap- preciate concert and opera. The position of such a Church is profitable to the book- binder who furnishes the covers to the liturgy, and the dry -goods merchant who supplies the silks, and the clothiers who furnish the broadcloth. .Such a Church is gf)od for the business world, makes trade lively, and increases the demand for finer- ies of all sorts; for a luxurious religion de- mands furs and coats, and gaiters to match.

Christ says he gets along with a Church, cold or hot. But an unmitigated nuisance to (iod and man is a half-and-half Church, with piety tepid. The pulpitin such a Church makes more of orthodoxy than it does of Christ. It is immense on definitions. it treats of justification and sanctification as though they were two corp.ses to be dis- sected. Its sermons all have a black mor- occo cover, which some affectionate sister gave the paslf)r to wrap his discourses in, lest It get mussed in the dust of the pulpit. Its gestures are methodical, as though the man were ever conscious that they had l)ecn decreed from all eternity, and he was afraid of interfering with the flecree by his own free agency. ,\o strong meal, but only Hour and water — mostly water. The church prayer-meeting is attended only by a few uray-heads, who have been in the habit of going there lor twenty years, not becau.se they expect any arous- ing time or rapturou.s experiences, but becau.ic they lee! only a few will be there, and ihcy ought to go. The minister is souiifl. The membership sound. The miisii sound. If. stanfling in a city of a Irindrcd thousand people, there are five or ten conversTons in a year, everything is

thought to be "encouraging."' Hut Christ says that such a church is an emetic. "• I5e- cause thou art neither cold nor hot, 1 will spew thee out of mv mouth."

lietter warm up or freeze over. I5etter set the kettle outside in the atmosphere at zero, or put it on the altar ot Ciod and stir up the coals into a blaze. If we do not, (iod will remove us. Christian men are not always taken to heaven as a reward, but sometimes to get them out of the way on earth. They go to join the tenth-rate saints in glory : for if such persons think they will stand with Paul and Harlan Page, and Charlotte Elizabeth, they are much mistaken. When God lakes them up, the church here is belter off. We mourn slightly to have them go. becau.se we have got used to having them around, and at the funeral the minister says all the good things about the man that can possi- bly be thought of. because we want to make the funeral as respectable as possi- ble. We never feel so much tempted to misrepresent as when an inconsistent and useless Christian has died, and we want, in our final remarks, to make a good case out for the poor fellow. Still it is an ad- vantage to have such a man gel out of the way. He is opposed to all new enterprises. He puts back everything he tries to help. His digestion of religious things is im- paired, and his circulation is so poor that no amount of friction can arouse him to spiritual activity.

A Forward Movement.

IT is high time that we stop skirmishing and Ijring on a general engagement. 1 want to live to see the .Armageddon, all the Armies of heaven and hell battle array, for I know our Conqueror on the White Horse will gain the victory. When .Moses, with his army, was trying to concjuer the Ethiopians, profane history says it was expected that he would go by a roundabout way and come oy the banks oT the river, as other armies had done, be cause the straight route was infested with snakes, and no army and no man had dared go across that serpent ■ infested region ; but Moses surprised diem. He sent his men out to gather up ibises. The ibis is a bird celebrated for serpent-slay- ing. These ibises were gathered into crates and into baskets, and they were carried at the head o-f the army of Moses, and coming up to the serpent-infested region, the crates were opened and tl;e ibises Hew forth, and the way was cleared and the army of Moses marclu-d right on. and came so unexpectedly on the luhiop- ians that they fled in wild dismay. O. army of righteousness I You are not to march in a roundabout way, but go straight for- ward, depending on winged influences to clear the way. Hosts of the living (iod, march on "The world moves and it moves in the right direction. Ourciti.s will be redeemed. All nations will yet salute the flag of Prince Emmanuel.

Work Done.

WHY should we ever be di.shearlen- ed about tiiis world, when we re- member that out of the sixty cen- turies of its existence the devil for fifty- nine had it mostly his own way Within the present century all the Missionary .So- cieties born, all the Hibie Societies born, all the Tract .Societies ijorn, all the .Sea- men's Friends Societies liorn. Do you expect a fragment of the nineteenth cen- tury to undo the work of the preceding fifty-nine centuries? Instead of being dis- mayed that so little is done, be glad that so much has been accomplished, and that a fragment of the nineteenth century has staggered the kingdom of darkness which was being l)Uilt during fifty-nine centuries. Hy old-fashioned "Rule of Three" figure out how sfM>n, at that rate, the whole world will be ransomed. Stand out of our way. with your soporififs. and nive us a few drops of double-distilled exhilaration. Let pastors, reformers, and Christian workers pitch all their tents toward the sun-rising.

A Timely Word to Subscribers.

THIS being the tiist issue of The Chris- Ti.\N Her.vld for 1897, we republish fur the information of our Subscribers, the following explanation of the system by which the management of this journal is gov- erned in dealing with unrenewed sub.scriptions. This explanation appeared only in a limited portion of last week's edition, and we now re- peat it in order that it may reach the hands of every CnRisri.\N 11kr.\i,I) subscriber : » * *

h subscriber in Harlem, N. V.. writes as follows : My Christian Hhr.^ld for this week has not yet come to hand. I presume you have uncerenio- niousiy cut nie oft. I)o you think it just right to treat a subscriber of twelve years' standing in that manner

\o subscriber is ever " unceremonioii.sly '' cut off from our list. We invariably send, a month previous to the renewal date, an expiry notice, politely informing each subscriber of the approaching expiration of his subscription, and respectfully inviting a continuance. This notice is sent in a separate envelope, and is accompanied by a prospectus, a premium an- nouncement, a subscription blank, and an ad- dressed return envelope. In addition, every copy served to a subscriber bears a tab with his name address and the exact date when, unless renewed, the subscription will cease. When these various reminders fail to enlist the attention of the subscriber, we feel justitied in concluding that he does not wish the paper continued, and it is then, and not till then, that his name is taken off the list.

* * *

The law permits a publisher to continue the service of the paper until a written order dis- continuing it is sent, and even then the sul> scril)er cannot stop it until every copy received has been paid for, and many publications avail themselves of this extraordinary privilege, but Tut: t'lIRlsi lAN IIkkai.I) has consistently re- fused to place its friends under involuntary tribute by sending the paper after their sul> scription has expired, thus compelling them to pay for what they have not ordered.

\Ve believe that as a rule, our suliscril>ers would much rather that we govern ourselves strictly in accordance with their written orders than exercise discretionary powers at their expense.

*. * *

Many subscribers whoorder TheCiiris i i an Hkrald sent to relatives or friends, have ex- pressed the greatest satisfaction with this sy.s- tem. They feel perfectly safe that when the term paid for has expired, the paper will be stopped, and hence theyvdo not incur the risk of having eventurally aiiiu presented for sev- eral years of service never contemplated at the lime of placing the order.

* * *

Now, as regards the discriminating in favor of old subscribers, however well intenlioned of kindly disposed we may be, the size of our subscription list renders such favors ab.solute- ly impracticable. If the proprietor of TllK CiiKisri.\N Herald were to undertake to familiarize himself w-ith 500 different names daily, he could not in a single year cover his list of nearly 200,000 subscribers, a list so large that it precludes the possibility of detailed in- formation in regard to individu.al subscribers. .K business of such gigantic proportions can- not be handled otherwise than according to certain well-defined, tlioroughly understood and systematically enforced rules, ensuring uniform attention and fair treatment to one and all, with prejudice or favor. .Any other course must result in hopeless chaos.

« » *

\o subscriber has ever yet .appealed in vain to have a reasonable extension of lime for llie renewal of his subscription, during which the service has been continued without interrup- tion, but to generally extend this favor without so much as a postal card requesting it. would involve us in tlie expenditure of tens of thou- sands of dollars annually, and eventually land our subscription list in interminable confusion.

* • •

Let every subscriber give heed to the ad- monition conveyed by the expiry notice, and promptly renew his subscription, and we can assure him that he will never have the slightest cause to complain of a system which is the re- sult of many years of careful study, and best calculated to give the greatest satisfaction to the greatest numlx^r, without any snares 01 pitfalls to entrap thr -..nwarv ami (onfiding subscriber.

BRIEF NOTES.

Subscribers should be sure to read carefully the notice in the adjoining column relating to renewals.

Mr. Carrington, the .Agent of the .Vmerican Bible Society in siani. repoits that during a recent tour of the suburbs of I^angkok he sold in eiglit days over a thousnnd Bible portions.

Those who contemplate renewing subscrip- tions for missionaries in Turkey, will do well to re- member th.it there is a possibility of their good in- tentions miscarrying through the interference of the .Sultan's press censors, who have seen tit to stop the delivery of Thk Christian ilKRALnin several places in the ( Ittonian realm. This is be- cause the Christians of .\ nierica made it the med- ium of their charitable gifts to the persecuted Ar- menians. Letters fronf several friends in Turkey inform us tliat they get The Christian Hkrai d only at intervals : others have not received it for many months.

A "Christian Alliance" has been formed by the Baptist, congregational, Methodist. Presby- terian and United Bretliren churches of Wisconsin for co-operation in aggressive Cliristian work.

Dr. I.. W. Munhall is holding services in Ottawa, Canada. On January 2S lie commences services at Oakland. Cal. He e.Kpects to worl, on the Pacific coast during the remainder of the winter.

Major \\'hiltle and Mr. and Mrs. Stebbins liave had wonderful meetings in Edinburgh. Even the afternoon meetings \\ere thronged. Over eight hundred persons attended the Bible readings. The evangelists spent a week in each city-district.

A statement by some Roman Catholic dig- nitary that tlie Italian prisoners in Abyssinia were released througli tlie aiipeal of the Pope, is nega- tived by King Menelik luniself. who says that they were released on the queen's birthday as a compli- ment to the King of Italy.

While p<n tions of the Hible have been tran.s- lated into nearly four hundred languages and dia- lects, the whole Bible has been published in one hundred and seven. Of these 40 are in Europe. 41 in .Asia, 13 in .Africa, 10 in .Australasia and Oceania, and 5 in North .America.

Evangelist Grant C. Tullar's services in the Old Leonard .St. Church in Brooklyn Eastern Dis- trict were productive of the best results. .Several Methotlist ministers assisted in the services, and are holding >|)' cial meetings for the converts wlio have joined their churches.

The Chicago liquor dealers are threatening, says the Athaitce. of that city, to take vengeance upon the anti-saloonists by closing all saloons for four months, and thus depriving the city of .•fi.ooo.ooo revenue. .And the victims are only too eager for the vengeance to begin.

.A remarkable gift to the cause of education, probably the largest ever made by one individual to the cause, is reported from Europe. It is announced that .Alfred Noljel. the Swedish engineer who died recently at San Kemo, Italy, left the whole of his fortune of ten million dollars to the University of Stockholm.

Rev. .S. A. King, of Kingston, Ont., writes us that there has been a gracious outpouring of the .Spirit in th.it town. Evangelist E, Kyerson Her- miston. held a series of services there which were very largely attended. The whole Western part of the town was deeply stirred, and there were some wonderful conversions.

The religious and philanthropic societies of New York have arranged to hold monthly confer- ences on charitable work, under the auspices ot the Charity Orjjanization Society, in the assembly hall of the United Charities building. The first was held on Dec. I when about fifty benevolent insti- tutions were represented.

.A proposal is under the consideration of the British prison authorities for the solution ot the prison problem of competition in labor. The mak- ing of 111, Its and other articles has been complained of Ix'caiise ot injuring the business of manufacturers who have to p.iy the wages of honest workmen. It is now jiroposed to have the prisons lighted with electricity, the motive power to be furnished by a mill to \yi turned bv men who have been sentenced to imprisonment with hard labor.

.An article in the French Journal Kerite t/cs Ki-iies states that the conversions of Jews to Christianity are increasing at an unprecedented r.atc. In the city of Berlin alone 711 Jew ish families have joined Protestant denominations within three years. In Oreat Britain during ten years two hun- dred Jewish rabbis have eniuracea Christianity. The same writer states that many Jewish rabbis now openly preach Christian doctriiie in their syna- gogues.

The Services in Cooper Union, New York, are Iwing continued this week by Dr. A. C. Dixon, and other ministers take part in them. Mr. Ira 1). Sankey has charge ot the musical exercises. Next week they will be in cliaige of Mr. J. H. Burke, who assisted Mr. Sankey while Mr. Moody was conducting the services, and who formerly accom- panied Evanjjelist John .McNeill in his round-the- world t(Uir. rile meetings liegin at noon, and are intended to \k a rallyinfi-point for Christian work- ers, wlio, it IS hoped, will labor in the evening in their ow n churches.

,A ])athelic story of medical Missions conies to a contemporary from China. .A military grad- uate who was successfully treated for cataract at the Mission lloMiitalat Hankow was seized on his letui 11 lioine by fortv-eight blind men who Ix'geed to Ix' taken to the foreign doctor. .A rope was fas- tened to each, and thus a str.mge procession headed bv the cured man and tlie others following in single hie each man holding the rope of the man ahead ot liini. walked two hundred and fifty miles to tin hospital. .Ml of them were treated and listened to the ( iosjiel. < liie is known to have been converted and others are inquiring.

The Kansas city .V/,;;- states that a commu- nity of tiftv voung I'nen and women who have con- secr ited their lives to (iod. have rented a liouse in that citv. and have given their lives to mission work. I'liey have given "p business and in some in- stances lucrative positions, and are depending en- tirely on ( iod for all their supiilies. Hitherto tliey have received snflicieiit food for their daily needs, and sutlicienl money for the rent. Every memlxT is expected to share in the daily work of the house and to pre.icli and teach in the city. Two of the nunilxM have left the community to go out as mis- sionaries to Ecuador. When they sailed from New \ ork they had only 51.40 left after paying their passage. The community Is not anxious alxiut thcm.bclievinK that (iod will take care of them.

\.N, 6, 1897

THE

THE CHRISTIAN HERALD AND SIGNS OF OUR TIMES.

»> > > >

:ji AND THE

NEWSPAPERS

Cossacks on Guard.

UROPEAN expectation is aroused as to important events, of wliich news may soon come from Constan- tinople. It is generally believed that M. Nelidoff, the Russian ambassador at the Sultan's Court, has eturned there from St. Petersburg, charged vith a difficult and delicate commission. \s the Sultan has chosen to put his trust n Russia, the other .great Powers of Eu- ope have apparently agreed to intrust Russia with the task of reforming him. Current reports in Paris, Berlin, Vienna nd London concur in stating that M, Nelidoff is to demand certain specific re- orms in Armenia, including the appoint- nent of Christian governors in certain dis ricts and other guarantees of good faith vhich shall dispel fear of a repetition of he massacres. In the event of the Sultan efusing to yield or being dilatory in insti- uting the reforms, it is expected that the :ombined fleets of the Powers will at once proceed to Constantinople, and that Ar- Tienia will be occupied by Russia. How easily the latter change could be effected >vill be seen by a glance at the map. Since he Russians swarmed over the Caucasus. ;apturing the renowned prophet warrior Schamyl, and taking Tiflis and subse- quently Kars and the whole trans-Cauca- sian plain, the way to Armenia is open to them. Following her usual custom. Rus- sia maintains on the Armenian frontier a force of Cossacks, which could in case of need be poured into Armenia without the delay of a week. The picturesque location of one of these Cossack stations is shown 'in the picture on this page. Here the Cos- sack is in his ideal condition. He likes the duty of patrolling a frontier, and he has no lack of that kind of employment, for Russia has six thousand miles of fron- tier stretching from Poland in the West across Northern .Asia to the Sea of Ok- hotsk in the extreme East. Everywhere the Cossack is the living rampart, the eye, ear and hand of the Empire keeping watch over its outposts and ready at a word to extend the dominions of the Czar. Since the Cossacks were reduced to submission near the close of the sixteenth century, they have borne the brunt of the militaiy service of the empire. Hardy, fond of ad- venture, and accustomed to warfare with Asiatic tribes, they lived and were happy under hardships which would have broken down regular cavalry. Their relation to the government has never been the same as other citizens, and t:o this day they have never been thoroughly assimilated. They own their horses and supply all their ac coutrements except the r'fie, which with ammunition the Czar supplies. Though the government insists on appointing their chief officers and governors, the Cossack communities elect all their minor officials and manage their own affairs. To a large extent they have paid their dues to the Government in military service and up to a recent date, if not at the present time, that contribution is all that the Cossacks rendered as evidence of their Russian na- tionality. In time of peace, every male Cossack is required to serve from his eighteenth to his twentieth year. He then gets a year of rest and is afterwards liable to serve for fifteen years on any part of the frontier to which he may be ordered. Commonly he does not serve more than half that time, but if there is war, he finds his term of service indefinitely extended. It was formerly the custom for rich Cos- sacks to escape service by providing a substitute, but some fifty years ago, that privilege was abolished, and now every male Cossack between the ages of eigh- teen and forty, holds himself at the Czar's orders and is ready if an emergency rises, to take his place in the field. Their loyal- ty, their readiness to leave their homes and bear hardships in the service of their sovereign are qualities which the Chris- tian might well emulate in his service to his Heavenly King. He, too, is expected

to render personal service and it is his privilege and glory to extend his Master's dominions and to bring new subjects under his sway.

Suffer hardships with me as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Xo soldier on service entangles him- self in the affairs of this life : that lie may please him who has enrolled him as a soldier. (11. Tim. 2:3,4, R.V.)

A Girl Leader of Highwaymen.

One of the most astonishing criminal discoveries is reported from Minneapolis, Minn. It appears that highway robberies in that city have increased in numbers of late, and some of them have been very daring, and have involved the loss of large sums of money. A short time ago two men were arrested on suspicion, and an investigation of their rooms furnished

plicity in highway robbery. Her parents, who are very respectable people, are bro- ken-hearted over their daughter's disgrace. There is no doubt that her love was the cause of her fall. It may be the means of her rising again if she will give it to Him who said of another sinner:

Her sins which were many are forgiven; for she loved much. (Luke 7: 47.)

A Convict's Mother.

A remarkable instance of a mother's de- votion is described by the Figaro. It states that there is now living in the Erench penal colonv of New Caledonia a woman whose devotion to her convict son is so self-sacrificing as to deserve the Montyon prize which is given lor the high- est virtue. A few years ago, the woman's son, an idle, dissolute fellow, who on the strength of his good looks was supported by his mother and relatives who adored him, was brought to trial for a brutal mur- der. He would have been sent to the guillotine but for the pleading of his moth- er, who came to court every day and beg- ged with tears for the life of her son. He had disgraced her and treated her with cruel indifference, but she loved him and her pathetic entreaties saved him from

CuSbACK bUUUTs p A T L l I :. G THE HUSSO-TUi

clear proof of their guilt. Several arti- cles of jewelrv which had been taken from the victims of the high>vay robberies were found concealed in their apartments. Further investigation developed the fact that more than one of the victims had been friends of the daughter of the janitor who had charge of the house in which the prisoners lived. A curious coincidence was that each victim had been ■■ held up '" after taking a walk with this young lady. The police suspected that she w'as con- cerned in the robberies, to extract a con- fession from the prisoners. It was found that the girl was in love with one of the prisoners, and eventually the other pris- oner made a confession incriminating her. He said that she was so infatuated with his companion that she would do whatever he wished. She had been persuaded to make the acquaintance of men who were known to carry considerable sums of money, and after a time to invite their es- cort to a lonely part of the outskirts of the city. They usually consented, and she would then notify her lover, who, with his companion, would rob the man on his way home. The girl has accord- ingly been arrested. She is said to be a modest, intelligent, beautiful girl, whom no one would dream of suspecting of com-

execution. He was condemned to penal servitude in New Caledonia. The mother sold her furniture, her cow and chickens, and followed him. She managed to obtain employment by washing and scrubbing and is barely able to maintain herself. But. however poor she may be. even if she cannot buy a meal for herself, she never fails to bring a dinner to her son. Every dav. she makes her way to the quarry where, with a ball and chain around his ankle, he is employed in breaking stones. She carries a basket in which there is some hot soup and some htUe delicacy, that she has earned by toiling like a slave. The son eats it greedily never utters a word of thanks, nor kisses the old woman. He is utterly incorrigible and has killed one of his fellow-prisoners since he has been in the prison. He would have been executed for that offence, but for the regard the authorities had for his mother's feelings. Vet he has not the least affection for her, insults her and de- spises her : but he is her son. and she lavishes all her love upon him and is kill- ing herself with work and privation that he may have his daily meal. It is marvel- ous that a being so depra\ ed should have inspired a love so devoted, but as we wonder at it, we remember that the great-

est love known to the world was not in- spired by the worthiness of the object but by the Eternal Goodness :

God commendeth his love toward us, in that while w-e were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom. 5: 8)

A Long Lost Daughter.

A joyful reunion of a mother and a a daughter after a separation of thirteen years took place in Chicago recently. In 1883, a widow with three children was making a painful effort in Kansas City, Mo., to earn a living for herself and family. She managed to support them until sick- ness came upon her and she could work no longer. Her situation was made known and benevolent people came forward with offers to adopt her children. The widow- was reluctant to part with them, but con- cern for their welfare at last overcame her natural affection and she consented to their being received into the families of the people who had offered them homes. It seemed for some time as if she would die. but eventually she recovered sufficient- ly to make the voyage to her native town in England where she lived until she had regained her strength. There, she married again and returned to America. Her husliand being prosperous, she de- sired to regain possession of her children. But her elder daughter was grown up and was married, her son had grown to man- hood and had settled in Chicago : and her baby daughter she could not find. The mother longed for her inexpressibly and began a protracted search for her. Many clues were followed up in vain. At length she heard of a man in Chicago who had adopted a little girl about the time she gave up her own child. He could not be found, but his wife had preserved the clothes the child wore when she had been received, and these were sent to the moth- er for examination. She recognized them at once and went to Chicago where she had the joy of finding her daughter, now a beautiful girl of sixteen. It may be hoped that the daughter is as glad at the reunion as the mother. It would be a great grief to the mother if. after her long search, she found that her daughter had no love for her. and was content to remain with the people who had adopted her. Yet how often has the voice of God calling to his children, met with such indifference, and he has wooed them vainly.

1 have spoken unto them but they have not heard, and I have called unto them but they have not an- swered (Jer. 35:17.)

Diamonds from Niagara.

A telegraphic despatch from Washing- ton. D. C, to the New York Herald, reports the preparation of a scheme for turning the electric power of Niagara Falls to a new purpose. A scientist of some emi- nence proposes to build a laboratory in proximity to the Falls for the manufacture of diamonds. It has long been known that diamonds could be made out of charcoal, but the process was so expensive and the results so poor that the artificial gem was almost as costly as the natural product, and by no means so hard or brilliant. The \Yashington scientist declares that all that is needed is a higher voltage of electricity than has hitherto been applied, and a purer carbon to work upon. He proposes to obtain the purest carbon that can be had from the coal mines, which can be pur- chased at a comparatively low price, and to submit it to a force of electricity of at least six thousand volts. He believes that this power, which can be had at .\ia- gara. will suffice within a few days to crys- talize the carbon. It is supposed that na- ture requires a million years to do this work of crystallization by natural process, but the scientist has convinced himself that electricity directly applied in this enormously concentrated form will effect the same result. He hopes, in this way, to turn out from his laboratory diamonds that will rival the Kohinoor in size and lustre at a very small expense. Whether the man is a dreamer remains to be proved. Electricity has performed so many won- ders that it is possible it may be able to turn a piece of carbon into a jewel as magnificent as those produced by nature. Transformation does take place in the spir- itual world. The jewels which will adorn the crown of Christ will not be of nature's forming, but those which have been trans- formed from material more unpromising than carbon.

The Lord their God shall save them in that day .. they snail be as the stones of a crown. (Zech.

Q. 16.)

THE CHRISTIAN HERALD AND SIGNS OF OUR TIMES.

JAN. 6, i8<M¥ '

OUR MAIL- BAG


			tv-xj"!		1^1

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

" Puzzled One. " Syracuse. \. V. i. In (;enesiS4: i;, there is a reference to Cain's wile. Whom could he have married if there were no other persons in the world but those mentioned m the sacred history ? Where is the land of Nod in which he found refuge ? I. If you accept the hktorical truth of the Book of Genesis, you have no altemative but to believe that Cain married a sister whose birth is not recorded. The expression used Genesis 3:16 would lead us to believe that many children must have been born of whom no mention is made. The question is an old one, and many suggestions have been made by way of solution, but the one given above is the only one consistent with the doctrine of the historic accuracy of the liible- 2. The land of Nod cannot now be identified. The Hebrew word means " Flight," and may simply have been used as a general term indicating a place of e.xile.

Reader, Wilkesbarre, Pa. Some people here in- sist that we ought to wash each other's feet, and quote John 13: 14, which seems conclusive. Is it a duty?

It is not a duty as a church rite. If there were need of such a thing through the inability of a brother to per- form it for himself, the Christian ought to do it, as he would ren- der any other service that is le- quired. It was considered menial work in Palestine at the time. Men wore sandals with the top of the foot bare, and after a walk on a hot, dusty road, the washing of the feet was very refreshing. The lowest servant in the house was usually assigned to the work of washing the feet of the guests. Christ's command w;is practically to be willing to do a servant's work. His disciples had been dis- puting who should be the great- est, lie gave them an object les- son of humility and told them to do as he had done, and consider no task too menial for them to perform if there vvas need. There are many better ways of obey- ing the spirit of Christ's command than that of washing a man's feet.

Subscriber. Fall Kiver, Mass. 1 fear 1 have committed the unpardon- able sin mentioned in Matt. 12 : 32. I am in great distress. Can you tell me wTiat that sin is ? Many conjectures have been made as to its exact nature. The one generally accepted is based on the context. The Pharisees being unable to deny the miracles, explained them on the theory that Christ was possessed by a devil, and that Satan gave him the po\y- er to perform miracles. This insult to the Holy Spirit showed such perverse malignity that Christ said it was beyond forgiveness. Theo- logians are divided as to the possibility of com- mitting it in the present time. Those who be- lieve it may be committed, think it corisists in ridiculing the operations of the Holy .Spirit in conversions as at revivals. Vour distress is a strong grround for believing that you have not committed it. A person who had commited the unpardonable sin would not be in distress, but would be callous and indifferent.

L. .McF,., Brooklyn, N. Y. Is it any use for a back- slider to try to regain his lost position.' In He- brews 6 : 4 It says that it is impossible for those who have been once enhghtened to be renewed if they fall away. It is certainly u.se for the back.slider to try, and he id encouraged to do so by niany ex- plicit promises of pardon and restoration. (See Job. 22:23; Jer.3:i2; Micah?:!^; 1. John i : o, etc.) The passage you refer to in 1 lebrews IS not a threat, but a statement of exiierience. It does not refer so much to backsliders as to those who have a theoretical knowledge of the way of salvation, and have deliberately reject- ed it. They have tasted of divine things, but have not rlrunk deeply of the water of life. Kvery clergyman knows that none are so hard to be won as those who have l>een very near to th- kingdom of '«od without entering it. 'I h. ' ' 1. The writer of the

J'^j i in ( onlart with such

p<.t It im|iOssible to con-

ven llieiii, but iiolliiiig 1^ impossible withfJod.

M-itrnn. Top<>kn. Knns. Do yon think it Is nght I , I • i, ' I a Christian Endeavor

n the AlM^tle Paul en- i^nc 1. Cor. 14: 34.) ^ convened and quail- fj, in condiiclinp such a

nv lice If) the injunction

■of the .\po.-,lle wouid ptevent her even joining

in the singing, which would be ridiculous. The apostle had reasons for his prohibition which do !.ot exist to-day. hi Corinth and other cities of his time the position of women in so- ciety was one of subjection. The only women who were prominent and free of restraint were women of bad character. If he had permitted women to take a prominent part in the infant church it would have caused reproach. People would ha\e charged him with encouraging boldness and immodesty. Paul adopted his usual course of avoiding any shock to preju- dice. Another instance of it is in his dealing with the question of eating meat sacriliceci to idols. He thought it nonsensical (See I. Cor. 4: 13), but he yielded to avoid hurting the con- science of others. Had he lived in our day we do not think he would have written the pas- sage to which you refer.

Reader, W. Va. i. Does Paul intimate in i.C^t. 0:4 tliat women may not be saved when he says that the etteminate are excluded: 2. Does the prohibition against inordinate aftection (Col. 3 : =.) implv that we are not to dearly love our families and Christian friends : I. N'o, Paul is not speaking of women at all,

but of men who at tliat time in Corinth and

if they knew fhem to be unscriptural. On each side of the dispute are men of learning and eminent piety who differ diametrically and who believe that the mode they favor is the Scriptural one. Hundreds of volumes have been written on the subject, but neither side is convinced. 2. There is no evidence. The subject seems to liave had unpleasant associa- tions in Paul's day, otherwise he would not have thanked God he had baptized so few (see I. Cor. I : 14). 3. Mention is made (.Acts 16, 1 5- 33) of 't^e baptism of households in in- stances where the head of a family became a believer, and they may have included infants, or may not.

(lid Subscriber. Scranton. Pa. i Why do we ob- serve the tiiit day of the week instead of the seventh day as the .--abbatli Is there any command in the Bible to observe Sunday as the .Sabbath ? 2 When was the change first made I We observe Sunday in celeliration of our Lord's resurrection from the dead which is believed to have taken place on that day. It was the culminating evidence of Christ's di- vinity and changed the darkness and gloom of Calvary into joy and hope. It was natural that the day should become, especially to Gen- tile Christians a holy, sacred clay far more de- lightful than the Jewish Sabbath, the observ- ance of w hich was burdened with absurd and trivial restrictions. A man must not carry a walking-stick or a pocket-handkerchief on that day because that would be carrying a burden. He must not give- water to a thirsty animal, must not kindle a tire in his home and must not do other ordinary duties, (.'hiist set the example of disregarding these prohibitions. He healed the sick on the Sabbath, bade a man whom he had healed take up his bed and carry it on the Sabbath, and defended his dis- ciples for plucking the ears of corn. There is

MADISON SQUARE, NEW YORK, AFTER THE RECENT

:,REAT SNOWSTORM.

-the first great stoim street Commissioner

A snowstorm is a costly luxury in the metropolis. I he recent heavy snowfall,- of the present winter-cost the citv J n.ooo. Hardly had the skies cleared wlieii , , , u,i„

Waring had 3500 carts and an army of shovelers briskly , at work clearing the streets and by daj light Broadway was absolutely clear, and the main arteries ot traffic were comparatively free ot snow, in an- other twenty-four hours.' there was hardly a trace of the storm visible where, before all had been covered \vithsnow. Our photograph affords a view of Madison Square, after a |iassage had l)een cleared toi vehicles and pedestrians through the deep snowdrifts. .Xnother fall, equal in seventy, followed and again the city had to be cleared. It costs fortv-two cents per cubic foot to remove the snow, and a hye- inch snowfall in .New York represents an outlay of $125,000. It is estimated that the two snovv-storms cost tiie city «2o;.ooo. Whatever may Ix- said of the beauty of a snowstorm in the country and however poets may sing its praises.it is bv no'means a welcome visitor 111 tlie city where it impedes tr.iltic. Iiinders all kinds of business and adds to the misery and sutfering of the poor \t the saine imc. it fu""^!*-':; a brief employment to thousands of idle men. who see in tlie faUing Hakes tlie opportunitj ot e.arning a few dollars by clearing the streets and sidewalks.

other Kuropean cities were losing their man- hood by degrading vices. 2. Natural affection is never condemned in the Bible. Inordinate affection refers to a love which is ruinous alike to the subject and the objei 1. \ oii may have seen a child spoiled by an affection which could deny him nothing. It is a man's duty to love his wife, but if he loves her to such a degree that he will displease Gotl rather than offend her, he has inordinate affection. If a man is placed in pecuniary embarrassnienl and he has an opportunity of saving himself by commit- ting forgery and he would not do it on his own account, biit will do it because he cannot bear to see his wife and family suffer poverty, that man has the inordinate affection which Paul condemn.s,

E. C. Hay. Cincinnati, O. i. Which is the Scrip- tural mode of baptism— immersion or sprink- linK ' 2. Which was used by Paul in baptizing fientile converts - 1. Is there anv ground for bclievinir lh.it infants were baptized by the apostles.

I. If your question could be answered authoritatively a dispute which has long dis- turbed the fihiiri h would be set at rest. The advocates of either mode are sincere men who would abandon their views without hesitation

no direct command to observe Sunday as the Sabbath, and we do not so observe it. It is not a day nf rest but a day of consecrated ser- vice. When, at the first great Christian coun- cil, the question arose whether the Gentile converts were to be required to keep the law, it was decided that tliev were not. You will see (.\rts 15:23 20) that the .\postles stated explicitly wh it Was expected of the new con- verts, and .added that no other tliiiip were re- qiiire<l of Ihem. The observance of tne seventh day Sabbath was not among the things re- ciuired. 2 \Ye infer from .Vets 20: r, that the first (lav was observed in .Apostolic times. Instill Martyr mentions it as tlie day of wor- ship in his day. which was .\. 1). 140, and other early writers show that the practice has been continuous from the time of the first churches.

Bereaved Mother. lervn Citv. N. J. Doesthesoul go to hi-aven or liell immediately after deatli. or does It sleep in the grave until the resurrection !

God has not definitt lv reiealed the state of the soul iniinrdiaielv after death. We are. therefore, left to draw inf,Mences from what is revealed. Several pass.ages afford ground for inference, and these appear to us to imply a conscious existence of the soul ajiart from the

body. Christ's parable of the rich man anj Lazarus (Luke 10: 22-31) is far removed froi the idea of a sleep in his grave. His assurani to the penitent thief (LuKe 23 : 43) is of a likS character though a different construction isl placed upon it by some eminent scholars. The appearance of Moses on the Mount of Trans- figuration is another ground for belief in con- scious existence. But the strongest ground ap- pears to us to be Paul's expression (Phil, i 123) of his preference for death over life. He de- sired to depart " and to be with Christ which is far better." A man so full of energy and love of active service would not have thought it far better to be asleep in the grave than to be working for his Master. He evidently thought that death would admit him at once to the presence of the Lord.

Student. Chicago, 111. Am 1 right in regarding' Evolutionists as infidels?

Not necessarily. .An evolutionist maybe ant infidel, but he may be a sincere Christian. There are many clergymen who are preaching the (lospel and doing faithful Christian ser- vice, who hold the doctrine of evolution. You must remember that evolution does not ac- count or profess to account for the origin of matter ; it deals with the process of develop- ment and propounds a theory of its various stages. Christian evolutionists regard the doctrine as showing the manner in w'liich God worked in the production of the universe. Even agnostic evolutionists admit that there must have been a potent f<nce in operation ol which evolution cannot tell us anything. The real difficulty the Christian evolutionists have in reconciling their doctrine with their theol- ogy, is as to the P'all. Believing that the prog ress of man was always upward, they are obliged to reject the doctrine that man fel' from a state of perfection bj eating the forbidden fruit.

Clericus. Toronto. Ont. What au thority has the Apostles' Creed. Is there any foundation for thi claim that ft was composed b; the Apostles i All that is known of it is that i is very ancient. .Ambrose, wh« lived in the third century, quote: it as we have it, with the excep tion of the clause, "He descendet into hell." It does not seem prob able that it was composed by thi Apostles. Luke, in writing the Acts, would not have been likel; to omit all mention of so import' ant a matter. Nor would th^ early Fathers in disputing wit! heretics have failed to use so cor Crete and conclusive an argiimeni if they had it at command. I was proliably composed after th death of the .Apostles, as a surr mary of their teaching. Th Westminster di\ines in adding j to their catechism wrote: " It i here annexed, not as though i were composed by the Apostle; or ought to be esteemed as canor ical Scripture, but because it is lirief sum of the Christian fait agreeable to the Word of God.

Reader. Wilson, Kan. We cannc tell. 3. Baptist and Episcopalian, w believe. Free transportation is givei

Subscriber. Millneck, N. Y. Coi

suit a reputable lawyer; l.aj advic in such questions is unreliable. — I. .M. B.. Pittsburg, Pa. Cigarettes i 'any shape are vile. You had better 1( them alone, if you wish to keep yoi

|,j.^lth. Subscriber, Baltimore. You h.ad bettf

inquire of the trade in Baltimore for tlie desire

information. J. 1... Bethlehem. Pa. There is n

absolutely certain method of erasing tattooing.— Reader, f .ewiston, 111. Write to Ditson or Novell

music puljhshers. New York. Mrs. J. R. F

Montpelier. \'t. i. Not now published. 2. .

Doctor of Philosophv-l'h. I). Mi's. Hattie J.C

Worcester, Mass. We cannot state as to the li ture. Your best course is to secure a copy of tl

book vou mention now. Q. T., Troy, (

Such ah acquaintance is unfit to be continued. — Mr J.. A. Stanton. .Adams county, Miss., can u- religioiis literature to advantage in missionary ,woi

in his neighborhood. Mrs. J. L. S., Lakesid'

Cal .Send to the ch.aplain of any lail of any tow

in the territory. J . G. C. Olendale, Ariz. \\ ril

to American Sunday School Union, Pfiiladt

phia R.W. t;., U.S.Canada. Write to Histoi

cal Publishing Company. Pliiladelplua. Mr

M F P Fort Scott, Kan. Every letter ispronounct

except the c. which is silent. J. M. P., W Intnc

ville. Conn. We do not approve of it. -Mi

M. M.. Kortriiiht. N. Y. Inquiie of tl American Board of Foreign .Missions. Bible Hons

New ^'ork .Mrs. 1.1.. II., Wilmington. \

Send to io> Bowerv. New York. -Miss A. I . I

Coverton. Ta. We cannot. M. 1'. J.. ^e«•casU

Pa We have heard little of it lately. Milli

Berwick Pa. 1. No. 2. Address Rev. Dr. Simpso

602 Sth Ave., N. \ . K. S. E^ Beardston,

Yes I'llcn F., Broonitield. N. J. It is a rehab

cona-rii. Isabella W .. (iadsden, Tenn. Consii

a year-book or encyclopedia. E. W. .s. ^

Nicholasville. Kv. i. The law is not intended produce such a result, but there are many who wi doubtless make it an excuse for tlie conditinn affairs you mention. 2. The latter, umloulitedl is the lesser evil, if it be an evil at all, wliali niai

may question. 1.. A. 11,, Winlield, Md, \ es, \

will accept it, Joseph K„ Paso Cal, Small p:

ties are constantly arriving. — -H. M. ti.. dalve

ton. Ind. No, it is out of place. Mapleton, Cou

cil Bhifis. Ia.,and Mrs. !<■ J- fi-i. ^'•>l"''=;"l,''^^,

Yes, :it 10 cents each. H. M. M., Eliz.abetli, -

I Write to the Maii.aRcr, Oneida, N. V ., for late

report. Mrs. Maggie S. C-, Jope^boro N. '

1004 is I <-ap Year.— ^R. W.G.N. S., Canada. N the ,\utliorized Yersion.

N. 6, 1897

THE CHRISTIAN HERALD AND SIGNS OF OUR TIMES.

rmE MORMONS, OlTlTO-DAYty

Gen. Eaton Describes their Methods — Thousands at Work all over the World, Spreading the Doctrines of Polygamy,

quarter, located at Chattanooga. Tenn., from which a consideraljle group of mis- sionaries operate in that and other States. The reporters from the New York press have been seeking information at the .Mormon headquarters in Brooklyn. Then- reports are instructive. The reporter for the Hoald did not describe the place as attractive or the people as winning in their manners. One .Mormon present said in reply to the reporter's questions :

" \Ve are here not to do anything aggressive or offensive, but to give those wtio wish to join our church an opportunity to do so. Why

'• ■ How are the divorce laws in Utah, in case I should not like my husband I inquired.

■"There's no need of divorce laws there, for everv woman':

husband is in duty bound to support his wives, and that's about all the y care for, you know,' said the elder. ■ Give a woman the comforts of life and she is not going to

"> INCE the adoption of Statehood there V has been a manifest increase of mis- sionary activity among die .Mor- 10ns. If Gentiles have found that the :^^osses- sion of common virtues,

much less of godli- ness, was not neces- sary to the supre- macy of .Mormon leaders, they have become convinc- ed that piety and

MRS. MARV A. FREEZE, Pr.A. 1. /.. v. .1. i

'f, )ersonal wort h re less conspic- lous as charac- eristics of the nissionaries. It s impossible to lescribe them in I word. If they ire ever sent because of worth at home, iiey are undoubtedly frequently sent at those who are their superiors may be J of a disturbing element. It has been tten stated that for this cause Brigham oung in his early experience was sent to ngiand. -A single case has been so often nentioned as to become famous. An ex- udge having incurred the displeasure of he leaders was sent on a long mission to IVan Dieman's Land. Going on a mission imong Christians is understood to be a Uter of consecration : " going on a Mor- • in mission is a matter of orders. Should le mission order be disobeyed no one n tell in how many different ways the ^pleasure of the church may be visited ■on the disobedient. This fact must t be overlooked in measuring the zeal ; those sent. .Mormonism from the first. IS emphasized missions. Latter-Day lints they claim, came to save the world : cy were the only saints, all others were .entiles or heathen. They have divided the most Christian nations into stakes. .. During the last few years the Edmunds v^jrt Laws have lain so heavily upon the church, ^^jjthe amount of property illegally collected .jjjand held by it and finally taken from it f. by esclicals was so large that the public ' have heard le.ss of Mormon missions.

Mormon interest in gaining Statehood ;s explained, if we remember that the i United States Constitution is silent upon :^ marriage, that marriage is a subject, which •I with many others, is left entirely to State regulation. In spite of the Edmunds . Laws and in spite of the Mormon mani- festo suspending polygamy which foUow- '■^ ed the enforcement of those laws, it is well known that many Mormons in Utah -ef and especially in out-of-the-way places -"^ continue to live in polygamy. AU these remnants of Uie .practice may be said to VI be starting points for its restoration and Bishop Hart, soon after Statehood was entered, did not hesitate to declare that IB the church would return to its practices. Indeed the doctrine is stated strongly in their Compendium of Faith, revised as late as 1S92. If polygamy is restored r"- many an,xiously ask. will all the rest of the , old order come back The persecution of 41] Gentiles, apostates and "Jack- .Mormons " ^ or those not up in their practice to the re- "•jji quirements of those over them On the if! answer to this question, hangs the destiny of L'tah: — answered wrong, in vain will ^ be the salubrity of its climate, its natural it desirableness as a place of residence, in- ■■^ deed all that mav consritute its prosperity- - for the future. Whatever may be said for the leaders, the people are honest, they

want to keep their ow-n promises and they want to see the promises of the church kept. The young, generally, and the lib- eral, progressive element of everj- age are anxious to bring on the full noon-day splendor of the day of promise which has dawned upon Utah in the last few years.

The number of missionaries sent, since Statehood has been adopted, is variously estimated : the largest estimate gives 2300. the lowest 1000. How does this com- pare with the number of missionaries sent out by any one of the larger of the Chris- tian Evangelical denominations? .A local paper published in L'tah gives informa- tion from their mission in Brooklyn. X.V.. direct. There were present twenty elders in this mission, distributed as follows :

Seven in Xew York State, five in Penn- sylvania, six in the Xew England States and two in Canada. Xew^ Jersey is occa- sionally visited by the elders in Brooklyn, which is headquarters. The writer goes on to sav, "This most densely populated part of our great Republic is virgin soil for the Gospel. A new generation has grown up since the early work of the mis- sionaries, and millions of people have never seen or heard a Mormon. Baptisms in some parts are quite frequent. Inqui- ries are coming in from all sides. Elder Richards, the president, is in communica-

INTERIOR Of^ MORMON TABERNACLE,

not There are splendid opportunities in the West for young women. If there are features of our church which they do not like, they are not obliged to embrace them. We believe that we are working for the good of mankind."

" Have you secured any converts.'"

" Quite a number," he replied.

'■ Have they been shipped West?"

"Those who desired to go West have been sent West. We do not send converts against their w-ill," was the reply of the Mormon.

A voung woman whom the elder had

AMELIA'S PALACE"— THE RESIDENCE OF BRIGHAM YOUNG'S FAVORITE WIFE.

tion w-ith several prominent people. One of them a Jew ish scholar in Xew York and connected with a periodical printed in Hebrew, has become greatly interested in the work and has offered space in his paper for an occasional exposition of our doctrine. A young Armenian became a convert, recently, and intends to translate some of our tracts into his native lan- guage." A good authority reports that twenty missionaries went cut from one small town in L'tah. Two conferences have been reported well attended in Mis sissippi. Six years ago .Minnesota report- ed 224. .Maryland 457. and far-off .Maine 442 faithful followers responsive to Mor- mon orders. .Many of their books are printed in England. A recent telegram states that Mormons in Iowa are planning to erect a college. .A Mormon elder is stated to have applied for membership in the .Ministers' meeting in his cir\'. The Presbytery of L'tah have felt cnlled upon to state in print why they cannot extend Christian fellowship to Mormons. It should be remembered that Mormon mis- sionaries are sent out without salary and compelled to secure their own support and pay their own expenses. They draw many comparisons and contrasts between themselves and Christian missionaries. Good authority reports a Mormon head-

failed to convert was more communica- tive. She said, in reply to a question ;

" I was informed that several of the women I had seen were going West in the ' next car.' I was not delighted at the prospect of having them for companions.

" Having decided that there was nothing in fur- ther discussion. I prepar- ed to take my departure. 'There is no doubt that you are a capable and will- ing girl." said the elder, 'and if you will go to Salt Lake I will give you a let- ter of introduction and commendation to some wealthy brother there who ■n-ill care for you most ten- derly until I come.'

" '.And then what ?' I ask- ed. ■ We might find it ad- visable and desirable for you to marry," he said. This sort of talk made me mad. ' How many times could I marry ':' I asked, 'and how many husbands could I support there if I became very successful in my business career?'

'• ' My child, it is not necessary for you to trouble your head about business,' he replied. ' That part of it w-ill be looked after for you.'

EVAN STEPHENS.

Ttir f'htnr i^ftfU-r.

make much fuss about any- thing else I'

•- ' .\ n d my transportation?'

""Oh, you need not wor- ry about that. I want you to come over and see me again on

SHOWING THE CHOIR. .Saturday a n d

Sun day. We

will go down to the little town in New Jersey, where we will have a meeting, and I'll intro- duce you to some of the ladies who are going in the next car.' "

Another journal reports that forty-five converts had been sent West, and still another reports in addition that converts are multiplying so rapidly that a request for twenty more missionaries has been sent to L'tah. It quotes Elder Richards as saying:

" Our duty is to go without purse or scrip, but to such as go to L'tah we can say that they will find a thrifty and prosperous people among our sect, who, since Utah became a .State, represent the majority of the voting power and constitute about two-thirds of the population. The Church now numbers about 300,000 members."

He adds that the elder claims that poly- gamy is now discountenanced both by church and state.

JoH.v Eaton.

An African Congregation.

Our church is always full, writes an -African .Missionary. On a recent occa- sion there were quite 7.000 present in the church and in the veranda of the church w here they hear as weil as in the church itself. We sat on the women's side. How- nice they all looked in their bark clothes ; no odd. gay colors, as you see on the coast, but wherever the eye turned this universal terra-cotta color. Another day we paid a visit to the queen-mother. She is a regular heathen princess, w ith a gjim, hard face that made one cjuite believe her capable of all the many acts of cruelty which they say she committed. She sat in state on an embroidered Indian rug spread on the ground, holding a large knife in her hand made of copper and brass mixed, and was most autocratic in the way in which she ordered us to stand up and sit down, that she might get every

rHE OLDEST HOUSE IN SALT LAKE CITY.

possible view of us. One could not help contrasting her with the Christian women — the difference is most marked.

THE CHRISTIAN HERALD AND SIGNS OF OUR TIMES.

JAN. 6, 1897

-1

AMELIA E. BARK

A 5T0RY J- OF THE BROADER ^ CnRI5T- LIFE

CHAPTER lll-Continufd

JESSIE'S AFFAIRS.

EA LTH," con- tinued John, ''is given to be spent in good works, and the holders are agents for him who dechires tlie 'silver and tiie gold are mine.' As for me I should fear the awful responsibilty of wealth, "(iodliness with contentment' is the great gain 1 desire."

" Yet you are admitting that wealth is a power for good."'

" At the same time. I do not say it is necessary for the noblest work. Did I'aul, or Luther, or Whitefield, or Wesley depend upon it.' Indeed, no! When Pope Leo the Tenth realized that Luther could not be bought, and said angrily ' tliis Germ.in beast cares nothing for gold,' he hit the truth about all great moral leaders. As a social regenerator, gold, in the hands of a good man. is a potent factor. It can build churches, and colleges, and lil)raries. 1 1 can bind men together with the iron ties of railways, and cables, and telegraphs. It can prepare succor for the sick and dying in hospitals. It has a tliousand great works to do. for the uplifting and comfort- ing of humanity. But if wealth is not spent in tiiis manner, tiien the increase of wealth means only the increase of misery."

" But John, how few rich men do spend their wealth in social regeneration. They hoard it and luxuriate in it, and then leave it to their children."

"Then they must pay the dreadful pen- alty of false stewards. Their hearts will grow as fat as lirawn. and cold as ice. until upon their sinful selfishness crashes the awful message — ' Thou fool I This nigiit !" '' '•John you terrify me. Are we then to live only lor others ?"

'•Oh, Jessie, in living for others we live for ourselves best, and most of all. We are the children of the King of heaven and earth, and we serve him not for wages but for love. We are taking the journey of life through this world on his order. We are 'in the King's highway." "'*

" It is a very sorrowful and dangerous way to many.""

"It is, Jessie. The devils of murder and robbery, of drunkenness and lust, of greed and oppressions of every descrip- tion are to be met on it. .Apollyon has straddled over the whole width of the way ; but then, what are we here for but to •pre pare the way of the Lord " and to make its paths clean and straight, and utterly de- stroy whatever defiles it.' When men have done this the millennium will be here."

" You make life such a terribly solemn thing, John.""

"Solemn, but sweet; for we have so much love and loving-kindness, as we take it together ; father and mother love, brother and sister love, husl)and and wife love; friends, and books, and neighbors, and fellow-travellers; goofl men and women, all going the same way — the way of holi- ness, the King's highway,"

" You ought to be a preacher, John, and not a lawyer."'

" Every man and woman may be a preacher in the house, in the railway, in the highway and the byway. For instance, in teaching .Miss Lloyd music, you may teach her many other things."'

"Miss Lloyd is an uncert.iin quantity, John. She mav be able to leach me 'other things." I will tell you more al)oul Miss Lloyd a monlh hence. .Now John. I have hart a hard day and am very tired. I must go to bleep."

"The .sleep that rounds our little life, is it a sleep, Kitty?"

" Oh, John, don't set me any more hard questions tfvnight. I am going to shut my eyes and dream." Then she kissed hini, and it niu,it be admitted put away from her consideration all that he had said. Mer

• rhrt'tuin \ri"ll' nil. tww.ire what von do; for I at- ; . . the way of llolinc<i<i;

»hi- II.

. / n Mraddlpd quite over

the i . ii ^^.l)•,and .*aid, I am void

of (ear in lbt< iii.itltT.

Pilgrim's Progrest—y^ws OuNVAN.

KINaS HIGHWAY

//RITTEN ■i^ OPECIALLY .-J-^ FOR TtiE CliRlbTlAN HERALD

interest did not lie in tiiat road at present. .She let the thought of riches and the obligations of riches slip from her consciousness, and began to won- der where Steve was, and what he was doing, and if he was thinking of her. Then with a sigh she closed her eyes and wlii.s- pered to herself — "What is in my heart shall lie quiet a little while. 1 am tired — tired of everything.""

CIIAPTKIl IV'.

A STR.ANGK DINNER PARTY.

The month which Jessie had allowed herself lor determining the value of her first kind reception at Lloyd I'ark. went swiftly away ; and during it Alice disap- pointed none of the expectations her gra- cious behavior had indicated at the first meeting. Indeed in spite of Jessie"s doubting, touchy, individuality, a kind of friendship had grown up between the girls: though Jessie was more and more pu/zled, as to what possible circumstances had brought them together. For it was soon evident to her, that .Alice was no enthusiast about her music : siie would have shirk- ed her lessons, if her con- scientious teacher would have allowed her to do so. She preferred evidently to ask Jessie questions and to talk to her endlessly about her life and likings. And thougli Jessie was not desti- tute of tiiat dubious dislike and suspicious want of confi- dence which seems the natur- al condition between employ- er antl employee, she found it hard to maintain it in the presence of Alice.

Had Jessie known that she was being wooed for .Steve's sake, she would have resent- ed the familiarity ; but which of us is proof against kind- ness, we believe to be given freely to our own person and attributes? Jessie"s "unself- ishness"" vanished gratlually, before the girlish confidences that followed the usual music lesson ; for there was always a delicate little lunch ready at its close; and if peojile do not become good-natured while eating together, then they ought to drop tlieir association at once, and for ever.

Their first confidence relatetl to Lord Medway. For two weeks he remained at Lloyd I'ark, and the music lessons were much interrupted by his intrusions. He himself was receiving at the same time a lesson, which his vanity could not compre- hend, until it was put into unmistakable English for him. Jessie had divined his admiration at their first meeting; at their secr)nd, he made it still less eciuivocal. He had discovered by this time, that she was present simply as Miss Lloyd's teacher; and his ideas about women were always morlihed by their rank or wealth. His undcrhanfl furtive admir;ition deejily of- fended Jessie; but he would not accejJt such tokens of her annoyance, as it was in her power to give, without making herself and him also unpleasantly conspicuous. At her fourth visit, she found liim in the train, when she entered it to return to her home; and he immediately addressed her in language, whose affectionate tenor there was no mistaking.

.She looked at him with a calm and sov- ereign contempt, and answered, "VVe have nothing in common, sir. Mv affections are placed far bevond you. I would not marry you for all tlie coronets in England."'

He tittered, but he was angry enough, as lie continued — " I did not ask you to marrv me. Telling a pretiv girl you love her is a long way from wishing tt> marry her."

" Not in my ca.se, sir. Loving a girl is the way to marry her, as I have been taught, liut there is no question of love

between you and me. 1 should hnd it im- possible on my part."

" You are a saucy little minx. .And yet. you are so piquantly and provokingly tempting, that 1 intend to '"

"If you say another word to me, sir, I will report you to the conductor. There- fore, if you do not wish to be left on the roadside, you will do well to find another seat. I w ill not endure your company any longer.""

l"hen he lifted his hat and went to the other end of the car. an angry and a morti- fied man ; and Jessie smiled serenely at the courtesy. "It is the force of habit,"" she thought ; '• he is one of those creatures, who always lift their hats to women, but never, under any circumstances, respect them." I n this decision, however. Jessie was wrong. It was the force of virtue, that for once bared the nobleman"s head ; and in spite of his mortitication he watched the proud, self-respecting girl, with a very sincere ad- miration and esteem.

When she went to Lloyd Park the fol- lowing Saturday. Lord Aledway was in Newport; and Alice took Jessie into her confidence. " I think he wishes me to marry him," she said, "and perhaps I may do so; for father desires the match very much. Have you ever been in love Jessie ?"' she asked.

•' No — not quite — that is, I don"t know. I have met a Voung man lately whom I could love, if it was prudent to do so.""

"Oh, then, you are not in love ; you are in prudence. Wliat kind of a young man? Is he handsome? "

SHE FOUND HIM IN THE TRAIN.

" No, and yes. I will tell you what kind of a young man. He was at a Trade"s meeting with my brother John and I. one niglit, and some One speaking there called \. and H. and C, and I), and Nichol.as Lloyd, 'hellish incarnations of selfishness and covetousness." And he leajied on to the platform and told the working-men there and then, to their faces, that they were in their way everv bit as selfish and covetous. And a big bullying fellow^ ordered him to make an a|)ology, and Steve fiung olf his coat, and ihing the man before he knew what had li,ip|iened.'"

"Oh, how .splendid! I would have giv- en a thousanil dollars to have been there ! Did vou say his name was .Steve?""

"Ves; Steve .Morrison."'

" How can vou help loving a man like that? Does he love you? Let me kiss vou for him.'" Her face was one charin- ing smile. Her eves full of raduint tears. She was thiiiking'to herself, that in spite of the misunderstanding between .Steve and his father. Steve would not sit still, and hear his (ather called a "helli.sh in- carnation." "(lood! (iood !" she ejacu- lated; "and indeed, Jessie. F cannot see liow you can helj) loving such a man as that! What hinders?"

•■I don't know who he is. He says noth- ing of his past: nothing of his future nothing of his friends. He admits that he is lazy, and too fond of travel. He is fine scholar ; and yet. when he needi money, he does any kind of rough, menial work to obtain what he wants — that, and no more. He has the carriage and man- ners of a well-bred man, and yet he is poor. He is an enigma : and no sensible girl wants to marry an enigma. Now with Lord iMedway it is different. You know who. and what he is; and where he comes from: and you may imagine fairly enough, the kind of life you will be likely to lead with him. This Steve Morrison may be a proper person — and he may not.""

'■ Oh, I am sure he is nothing wrong ; I think I could trust him."'

" You know only the right side of the garment of life. I have seen the rough, frayed inside. I go with John among the laboring classes sometimes, and in our own home, we have learned what pinching and wanting means: not lately, not since John and 1 could work, but the scars of poverty, are never obliterated, by any num- ber of years. I dont want, therefore, to mar- ry a poor, struggling man. 1 never wish to see my husband toil and suffer, as my fath- er has (lone. 1 could not bear it as sweet- ly as mother bears it. I should become cross and disappointed, and perhaps wish for anarchy to reign in every one"s affairs."

'•.So then, this poor .Steve .Morrison, will have to become rich .Steve Morrison, be- fore you permit yourself to love him."' •• 1 don't want riches. 1 want compe- tence and security. I like work. I should ha glad to help him : but he must like work also : I mean steady, respectal)le work."

'• I can understand that, to be just and right; and yet, it does seem a pity, that Love has to take money in- to consideration."

"Money is a never ceas- ing consideration with the l>oor. How is it with the 1 ich ? •■

".Much the same. Do you 1 )elie ve Lord Medway would marry me if I was a ])Oor girl ? ■"

" Perhaps not ? "" "1 am sure not. I should be as much out of his thoughts as a three-roomed

fc o 1 1 a g e to live in ; or a ready-made suit of clothing to wear." "If vou look at the mat! ter in 'that hght. Alice. 1 would drop it altogether There ought to be love be tween you : money is no' enough."

" Yet, you will not lovt without money. 1 have al ! wavs read that love was thcj firs't and the last thing; tha we ought to marry for love, and work 101 i money — and so on." I "We must do as the world does; ant] not as it says. The world frowns on im prudent marriages. I think it is right' Steve liimself told the working men tha if thev married within half-a-doll.ir of star-, vatioii. they are brutally .selfish ; and the;' are."

"Nevertheless. I am sorry for the poor .splendid fellow. I wish you could love him — just for himself."

••\m\ w ish me to marry for love. Doyoi love Lord .Medway ? ""

"He is pleasant and kind, and I an proud of his position. I like to think o the title I shall bear ; of the magniiicen old home 1 shall go to; of the society am travel, yes. and of the grand wedding fatl er has promised me. Any girl would lik such things; and would not dislike tli man who gave them to her, unless he wa remarkably ugly or disagreeable. Lori Medway is fairly good-looking; he has ;i aristocratic w;iy with him; and he pn fesses to think me the loveliest woman h ever saw. .After he went to Newport, j certainlv missed him for a dav or two suppose then I have a litUe love for hii -a little love, which time and circun stances mav make more."

"Still, Alice. 1 do not think you are i love. I remember the first night 1 m( Steve. Wc were all sitting at dinner whe he came to us. I thought I had never see a man with such a radiant face. "

( To /'<• Continued.)

6, iS97

THE CHRISTIAN HERALD AND SIGNS OF OUR TIMES.

Revivals.

gestions on the Christian Endeavor Topic

^or the Week Beginning January J7.

1. Chron. 30 : J 3-27.

OM.MOX parlance has given a meaning to the word, re- vival, that it did not origi- nally convey. \V hen we hear that there has been a revival in a town, we sup- >se that some evangelist has been there caching the Gospel with eloquence, and eading with sinners to accept the offer salvation and that men who have not eviouslv known Christ have turned om sin and have given themselves to e Lord. In one sense this is a revival asmuch as it is a renewal of energy at was latent. The word, however, its first and natural sense implies a lickening of the spiritual life in the ;arts of Christian people, a renewed msecration. a trimming of the lamp, a 3 jhtening of the grip on God"s truth. I his promises and on his power. It new life, a fresh accession of the en- gy of the Holy Spirit, operating on uls responsive to the influence. Its Tects are usually seen in a withdrawal worldly Christians from scenes of . olous amusement, a rela.xation of the numbing struggle after wealth and an icrease in attention to the preaching of le Gospel and to prayer. That such times are very necessary '. s ) the life of the church every observer •/Jnows. Times of deadness and cold- ess inevitably come. Those who are 1 the world are apt to become of the orld. Principles and practices in vogue 1 society- insensibly influence the Chris- an who is not living near to God and ke a boat on a strong current, he is arried out of his course. The revival erses a useful purpose if it causes him make an examination analogous to e work known to the sailor as taking • reckoning. The captain takes an ol> ation of the sun and with his chron- meter and his chart works out a reck- ning by which he finds out his exact osition on the wild ocean desert. If le wind or the current has carried him t of his course, he discovers the fact 1 he gives a new order to the man at r wheel. If a preacher can induce > hearers to perform a like dut\- as to e spiritual voyage, a revival is likely to iow. There will be regret for wasted le. sorrow for neglected prayer and . erlooked opportunities of usefulness. I md an increased realization of the para- ,,'nount importance of spiritual growth. ^ This is revival in its true sense, if it ....eads to amendment and earnest prayer ' Tor more grace.

J When this spiritual quickening takes jj)lace, there is nearly always an ac- lA^ession to the church from the world. .^t is partly due to direct effort. When .^ht Christian realizes his privileges and ■■ :he power of true godliness in his own ji-ife and the joy of union with Christ, he "^ies to bring others into the fold. Ap- ;fpeals are made to men with whom he ■ ■Jcomes in contact in business and social ;^"life. and assurances are given tli^t re- ^^'jligion increases and does not diminish '■ the happiness of hfe. Such efforts usu- ally have more power than any sermon, ■being disinterested and non-professional. '^Besides this there is a silent influence of a veni- potent kind proceeding from a man ^■^vho is living in close communion with God. that reaches far and wide. As the ^'steel filings that adhere to a magnet them- "Jselves become magnetic, so the soul that -'is in close contact with Christ draws oth- ^'^ers to him. This is the mechanism of a revival of the right kind. But it is the nie- J'^chanism only. The real Power operating, ^is the Holy Spirit, the vital force which Amoves in favorable conditions. Like the '-^ wind, which bloweth as it listeth. the Spirit ^ comes, but if no sails are set. if there is no receptive disposition, the Power has no -* effect, almighty as it is. God does not ■-: force men into his kingdom. He will co- operate with the willing soul and will ^ make that soul, though it be weak as the J feeblest thing in creation, strong with his . strength. Thus a revival is never the re- ■' suit of organization, though organization may be an effective element in it. The power is of God. and by that alone can it - come, but when organization in a church shows that a revival is desired, and there is faith to expect it the power comes.

OUR

I^ERVICE or SONG

The Lord's Coming.

What the Scriptures Teach as to its Man- ner and Time.

BV REV. C.\PEL MOLV.\E.AU.\. B. .\.

Conducted by IRA D. SA.NKEY.

Come ^luto §\t, %t mmx^.

"Come unto me. all ve that labor ; aud I ^U' give you rest. ' — Matt. 11 :28. F. J. Chosbt. Geo. C. Stebbins.

	— n— — M	n 1 1 J— ^
	— « i • *
m		* — # -# ^ — i	=5! — i!-*-
	'—t^	-s^. a	» » » ty i	1 —	^G-^^ ^

1. Come un - to Me,

2. Come un- to Me,

3. Couie un - to Me,

4. Come nn - to Me,

ye ye

wea - ry,

wea - ry;

Sor - row List to List to

ing ones op the voice so that voice a ■

1 — r

Why will ye long-er

pressed; dear, gain, roam?

-4-^-1-

I am your ten - der Shep-herd.

Sweet- er than an - gel mu - sic.

O - ver the bar - ren mount-ain,

Come to the arms of mer - cy.

Wait - ing to give you rest.

Fall - ing up - on the ear.

O - ver the lone - ly plain.

Come to a Fa - ther's home,

m m m ^ ■ m

Chokus.

	' 1 ' — 1	[— ! 1 1 : ^	i-^n — 1
	^ — • — w~^-^ m m #	*i ^ 1 e • _m ^ « ^ #_
br — * ^ — ' Come, come.	come un - to Me,	Wea - ry and sore dis m m ^ ^	■ tressed;
	m m m • • • ^-S^	» m m » r -1 — 1 — ' ^
: 1	L ^ 1

-1-

Come, come, come un - to Me, Come un - to Me and rest.

m m m ^ m ' -5"

Copjtight. 1S96. by The Biglow i Main Co.

From the New Book. SACRED SONGS No. 1. By per. The Biglow & Main Co.. Publishers.

"BEHOLD THE BRIDEGROOM 1 "

ARI^L! (Jh, bride, and don thy garments white. Set wide thy door. Let all thy windows blaze with welcoming light. ^^ aiting is o'er. Awake ! Arise I nor longer slumbering lie. The King, thj* Bridegroom, surely draweth nigh.

Awake ! Arise ! though he hath tarried long.

And late the hour. Hearken ! hear thou, afar, that glorious song.

Rising in power Myriads of voices chant that heavenlj- strain ; Oh, bride, be ready ! join the glad refrain.

Let not the world lull thee to sensuous rest,

Biding in ease. Arise I prepare for thy majestic Guest,

Indifference cease. Oh, haste thee! haste thee! lest thou be too late; The bridal train is even at thy gate.

Dost thou still linger ? Hast thou then forgot ? He came to save. And yet. his very owti, received him not,

Xor welcome gave. Oh, bride, wilt thou so cold, so careless be ? He bore the cross, the blood-stained cross, for thee.

Clnlitcoihe. Mo. —Louise J. Strong.

HAND IN HAND WITH ANGELS.

LI.WD in hand with angels 1 ' Through the world we go ; Brighter eyes are on us

Than we blind ones know ; Tenderer voices cheer us

Than we deaf ones owti ; Never, walking heavenward

Can we walk alone. Hand in hand with angels,

In the busy street. By the glowing hearth-fires —

Everywhere — we meet. Though unfledged ana songless.

Birds of paradise ; Heaven looks at us daily

Out of human eyes. Hand m hand with angels.

Oft in menial guise: By the same straight pathway

Prince and beggar rise. If we drop the fimjers,

Toil-embrowned and worn. Then one link with heaven

From our life is torn. Hand in hand with angels!

Blessed so to be ! Helped are all the helpers ;

Giving light, they see. He who aids another

Strengthens more than one ; Sinking earth he grapples

To the great white throne.

— LUCV L.^RC^M.

»~R^^a^ E will come in person, not as I some contend in spirit and in doctrine, or by the mes- jlfS-i^fe senger of death. Jesus J^-C^^^ii Christ, who lived and died 'r^p^A-l on earth, and afterwards rose and ascended into heaven, will him- self return, the same Jesus Christ, the same Man, who once trod this earth s highway, -a man of sorrows and ac- quainted with grief even he the same, though in highest glory instead of deep- • est humiliation : though garbed in light instead of shrouded in a '-body marred more than any man otherwise the same, even as the angels testified, •■ this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into lieaven."

VVhen. and wheresoever, the Bible says the Son of Man will come. I believe it means precisely what it does say. that the .Son of .Man will come, and nothing else I and to explain this of anything else — of death, the destruction of Jeru- salem, or even the outpouring of the Spirit, or of anything whatever, but what the words evidently declare — does seem to me to confound things palpably dif- ferent, as words can make them.

He will come suddenly I When the world is crying " peace, peace ;"" when the remote expectation of his coming shall not generally prevail : when men are eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage: planting, buying, selling, absorbed in their ordinary con- cerns, overcharged with cares, interests, and pleasures of this world : when the heart whispers, if the lips give not birth to the sentiment. "Where is the promise of his coming.''" Then, at such a time, even then, he w ill come 1

He will come manifestly. "Everj' eye shall see him." It will be clear, palpa- ble as the sun at noon-day. The advent will be "as the lightning which lighten- eth from one end of heaven to the oth- ers'—manifest as lightning, clearly mani- fest, at the same moment everywhere. This, observe, the universal manifesta- tion, and not the rapidity of his coming, is the object of this beautiful illustra- tion. The Lord, in the context to the passage (Matt. 24 : 21-28) where the illus- tration occurs, is warning his disciples against false Christs who will appear in the latter nays, and deceive many. He bids his people to be on their guard, and when they shall hear it said. " Be- hold he is in the desert." they are not to "go forth:" "behold he is in the secret chambers." they are to " believe it not." For. he adds, "as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west : so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be" — so I even as evident, clear, manifest, as the lightning. There shall, therefore, be no doubt or possibil- ity of questioning about it: no need to go forth, and search and look for it; it shall not be in a corner, or in a cham- ber, or in a desert I No man shall tell his neighbor it Is come — for his neigh- bor, like himself, shall see it! It shall be terribly obvious — seen alike in the palace and tlie cottage : in the mansion and the cabin : in the court and the "change, and the field ; in the squares and the lanes of the cit3': in the brilliant assembly and the darkest abode of squalid destitution: where men are revelling, and where men are praying: where the world is decked out in fashion"s gaudiest plumage, and where rags and tatters are the only habil- ment. It will burst on all. an appalling, unmistakable reality — on all alike, all without exception, all at once. ''Even as the lightning which lighteneth from one end of heaven to the otlier. so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be."

When will the Lord come ? We do not know exactly, but we know where it will come relatively. Thus we are informed by the Lord himself that "when the Gos- pel shall be preached as a witness to all nations."" then the end. which includes, or terminates in the advent, shall come: again. Paul testifies that when the man of sin shall be revealed, then at the close of his day. the "advent"' of our Lord shall come, for the man of sin is to be destroyed thereby.

(To be Concluded^

THE CHRISTIAN HERALD AND SIGNS OF OUR TIMES.

JAN. 6, li

BOOK

SHELF

The Gift of Imagination.*

HCMV sig-nal a place does tlie imagin- tion hold in the realm of science and invention. Rea.son itself is on- ly an underser\-ant. 1 1 has no creative skill. Memory makes no discoveries. Hut the imagination is a wonder worker. One day. chancing upon a large bone of the mammoth in the Black Korest. Oken, the (lerman naturalist, exclaimed : "This is a part of a spinal column."' The eyes of the scientist saw only one of the vertebra?, but to that one bone his imagination added frame, liml) and head, then clothed the skeleton with skin, and saw the giant of animals moving through the forest. In that hour the imagination wrought a revolution in the science of anatomy. Similarly, this creative faculty in (ioethe gave botany a uew scientific basis. Sitting in his favor- ite seat near the castle of Heidelberg one day the great poet was picking in pieces an oak leaf. Suddenly his imagination transformed the ieaf. L'nder its touch the central stalk lifted itself up and became the trunk of the tree : the veins of the leaf were extended and became boughs and branches : each filament became a leaf and spray , the imagination revealed each petal and stamen and pistil, as after the leaf type, and gave a new philosophy to the science of herbs and shrubs. When a pistachio tree in I'aris with only female blossoms suddenly bore nuts, the mind of a scientist suggested that some other rich man had imported a tree witli male flow- ers, and careful search revealed that tree many miles away.

And in every department of science this faculty bridges over chasms between dis- coved truths. Even Newton's discovery was the gift of imagination. When the eyes of the scientist saw the falling apple it was his vision faculty that leaped through space and saw the falling moon. When the western trade winds, blowing for weeks, had cast the drift wood upon the shores of Spain, Columbus" eyes fell not only upon the strange wood but also upon a peDble caught in the crevice. But his imagination leajied from the pebble to the Western continent of which the stone was a part, and from the tree to the forest in which it grew.

This faculty has performed a similar work in the realm of mechanics. Watt tells us that his engine worked in his mind vears before it worked in his shop. In his biography .Milton recognizes the l)eautyof the trees and Howers he culled from earth's landscapes and gardens, but in his "Para- flise Lost," his imagination beheld an Eden fairer than any scene yet found on earth. Napoleon believed that every bat- tle was won by the imagmation. While his soldiers slept, the great Corsican mar- shaled his troops, hurled them against the enemy, and won the victory in his mind the night before the battle was fought. I-lven the orator like VV'ebster must be de- scribed as one who sees his argument in the air before he writes it ujjon the page: jast as Handel thought he heard the mu- >ic falling from the sky more rapidly than his hand could fasten the notes upon the musical bars. Thus every new tool and picture, every new temple or law or reform lias been the imagination's gift to man.

And when imagination has achieved for man his progress, happiness, and culture, it goes r)n to heip him to gain personal worth and character. Above every noble soul hangs a vision of things higher, bel- ter anfl sweeter. 1 1 cau.ses the best men even in their best moods to feel that bet- ter things still are po.ssible. By sweet vision«i it tempts men upward, just as of •! ■ les were lured onward by the pcd through the hunter's hands. I 1. of a higher manhood tlisron-

tenis men with to-tLay's achievement and i.ikcs the flavor out of yesterdav's victory. In such hourst it is not enough that men

' Prnm /I A/fin'i l^nlur lo Siuie/y: Stii<lic<> In ■ ' • . M ,r t,., by .v. r>. Ililliv J'ji, • 1.2;. i-leiiiinR II. Kevcll incT'l oronto, iiubliiihcr^.

have bread and raiment, or are better than their fellows. The soul is filled with name- less yearnings and longings. The deeper convictions, long hidden, begin to stir and strain, even as in June the seed ache < ivith its hidden harvest.

Steps to Happiness.t

TWO youths, tired of life as only the young can be. sought the Prophet who dwelt alone. One youth said, "O I'rophet, I have had all wealth and pursued all pleasures ; but I have not found happiness." "It could not be." said the I'rophet. "pleasure is in things with- out. Happiness is from things within.'' "True, O I'rophet. ' said the other youth, "so I believed ; and I sought to know all mysteries and all knowledge, knowing that happiness is within. But I, too. have not found happiness."

Tile sun was shining with midday strength, and the Prophet bade him look fixedly at its shining orb. For an instant the youth turned eager and wistful eyes towards the heavens, and then he with- drew his gaze as one in pain. And the Prophet said. "What seest thou?" and he said. "I see blackness everywhere. The glass grows black, and the flowers are blacky and even your faces are darkened to me." And the Prophet said, "Myste- ries thou canst not fathom. None can look on ( iod's face and live. We know in part. Happiness is not in knowledge." 'I'hen there was silence while the young man's eyes recovered. And then said the Prophet. "Look once more, iiut look not on the heaven but on the earth." And the young man looked — and was glad ; for meadow, stream, and hill were bathed in happy sunlight. .And the Prophet said. "What seest thou of heaven?'' And the youth answered, "I see the sunlight every where. "

Then said the Prophet, "Be content. Mind not high things. Seek not to know mysteries. But seek goodness, purity, righteousness, and kindness, and thou shall see ( iod's sunlight every where ; and thou shalt find happiness within. Herein is the blessing of the Lord, that a man be satisfied in righteousness."

Then the youths left the Prophet: and, as they journeyed to their city again, he that had sought to know mysteries said: "I remember that it is written. 'In thy light shall we see li.ght." " .And the other, who had sought happiness in pleasure, made answer: "I, too, remember One who said, T am the Door. By me if any man enter in he shall be saved.' "

The moment this is realized, the whole conception of life changes. As long as we are blinded by worldly ideas, and false- ly imagine that life consists in 4he abun- clance of the things which a man pos- sesses, we are keenly alive to our own misfortunes. We are inclined to declare that life is not worth living, because we measure the worth of life by material standards. But when we begin to perceive that life is moral discii)line, and its end the i)erfecting of character, we can be con- tent willi food and raiment, for we are sure that a n(>l)ler enrichment is going forward. The varied experiences of life are working towards thai iiapjiiness which is above all earthly gain, because it is a happiness within ourselves, a ha|)])iness of disposition and character. If liappiness consists in the fulfilment of ihe'ciul of our being, human ha|)])iness must be found in growing into that likeness in which we were made, and in the attaining of which we reach our true maturity, and re.ilize the purpose of (lod. It is thus thai man is brought to understand what is nie.int by fellowship with Ciod. Discord within and uneasiness of conscience mean want of harmony between what our lives are

t I'rom T/ii- Crfa/ Chnilrrof Clirhl. by the Kii^ht Kfv. \V. lifiyd (,:ir|«ctit<!r. D.l).. D.t.'.l.. A serin^i of )i^ctiirf*s nn lltf >iTnu)ii cm \\w Mount. Tlu'V show ;ti'- proloiind iilulnsophy o( tl)i-(ircit I tMclHT .ind how his words apply to inodurn Me. I'p. Too:

B-ice lli.;o. I'lihlished by Thomas Whiltaktr. ibie Mouse. New York.

and what they ought to be.: they reveal how far we are from fulfilling the true purpose of life: they show that we are out of harmony with the order of our life, that is with the will of Cod. Peace witliin means the end of this discord, the har- mony of our will with (iod's will. When we desire what he desires for us. our mor- al dispositions are in sympathy with him. and. this being so, we reach that stage of religious progress which may be called fellowship with ( lod,

Un-Poetic Hymns.*

AS in British letters the sacred verse of .Milton, .Addison. Pope, and Cow- per is a normal form of poetic ut- terance, so.when our representati\ e -Amer- ican poets enter the domain of the religious lyric they but add another evidence of their genuine gift and mission as poets. In this high sense, a hymn from Holmes or Whittier is as appropriate as when it comes from the pen of Hastings or Palm- er. Just here it is in place to state that, as we have in l-^nglish and classical litera- ture debates r,nd orations that were never pronounced in public, so may we expect to find, and do find, some of these sacred lyrics which have been composed with no reference whatever to their use in the ex- ercises of Christian worship, but simply as one of the types in which poetic genius embodies itself, composed as literature, and not specifically as religious literature. Thus Whittier wrote his lyrics " The Eternal Goodne.ss" and "Our Master." which, though not written as hymns, may be so used it need be. Thus Holmes and Bryant and Lowell wrote refiective verse as verse, but so imbued with moral and spiritual life as to make it serviceable in the rites of the Church. In this way, what Brooks calls " the theology of the English poets'' has been made an essential and attractive part of English literature.

.So. on the other hand, hymns as such should possess some distinctive literary . character, should have an artistic as well .as a religious cpiality, and should be in good taste from an esthetic point of view, so as to commend themselves to all students of form and lovers of 1 terary art. The violation of this principal is far too frequent, so frequent as to have brought the whole deiiartment of hymnology into peril at the hands of literary critics. The mere fact that such lyrics are compo.sed fiu' the .^ervice of the Church and the needs of tlie common people does not. in their judgment, justify the absence of definite artistic excellence. Readers of taste are often pained by these unliterary and non-literary effusions that are found in our collections and ])ass for sacred poetry. In no sense known lo criticism can they be called poetry, and should not as such be imposed upon the acceptance of worshipers. It is. indeed, because of the presumable literary ignorance of the people as a whole that they are thus im- posed, devoid as they are i)oth of the structure and spirit of genuine verse, ill- conceived and ill-expressed, and worthy of the name of verse only in the sense that the lines are metrical. It is needless to say tiial much of the hymnology in use by the modern lay evangelist is greatly at fault in this particular, a mere jingle and doggerel and trick of words, as illiterate and impoetic as verse could well be and be verse at all. It cannot be wondered at that such an order of sacred song should offend the cultivated taste of literary men. and estrange them permanently from the ordinances of the Church.

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How People Get On in the World

To be .Successful ! This has become or of the grandest tests of merit ; for eve the Church' in our age, has gra-sped tf promise of this life, as yvell as the nex and begun to look upon a genuine success, ; one of the legitimate fruits of the Gospel. \\ when yve consider that but for successful me there yyould be far fewer churches, hospital schools, etc., and vastly crippled missionai and charitable enterprises, yve must acknov edge the blessedness of .Success, in its gener results.

And yvhen we regard it individually, Succe is in most cases an inward grace, as well as ; external gain. The qualities that have bet cultivated in order to attain to it, are in the ma excellent qualities: for though people talk "luck," success does not come by cham This yyorld is run with far too tight a rein permit of fortuitous events, and Provideni beyond all doubt, gives us good things by o own hands.

First, the successful man knows how yvait. Patience is genius, and failures are mo ly consummated by want of faith, and yvant patience. To concentrate every power on o ol)ject, and go directly for it ; converging collateral aids, and to be determined to si ceed. .wr<"<vv/. as a general rule, liut if on we begin to doubt, we begin to sprayvl ; and our daj's specialties only attain to emineU' We think Admirable Crichtons pleasant m to knoyv, but we don't do busine.ss with then Over-sensitiveness is a great drayvback success. Hefore men are successful, they mi take rebuffs, and plenty of them ; but the m bound for the top of the ladder, has that ti I acity of purpo.se, and that moral bravery ; finely expressed in one of those yvonder nursery rhymes, yvhich are the unconscic oracles of a dead world. I refer to the fanu Man of Thessaly; who

Jumped into a quickset hedge. .And scratched out both his eyes ; bnt who had the heroic stuff in him, of wh success is made ; for

When he sayv his eyes yvere out. With all his might and main, lie lumped into the quickset hedge, .-\nci scratched them in aaain. Sellish men, as a rule, do not succeed, r Providence helps those who help themseh i much more does he help those yvho help o ers, as well as themselves. "The liberal n deviseth liberal things ; and by liberal thii shall lie stand." There have been hours in lives of all successful men, yvlien everyth clependcd upon someone throyvingtheni a rc or lending tliem a hand. It is not only 1 Christianity, it is also bad policy, to ki one's hands too much in one's oyvn pock Indeed selfish men are often a wonder lo th J yvho knoyv them. They get much and g i nothing. They are like those Jew.s yvho b ' themselves ceiled houses, while the housi God lay yvaste. If they had minded his aft;i he would have minded theirs ; for yve can serve God — or man either—for nought. 1 noyv, says God of such, "\'e have sown 1111 1 and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have % enough ; ye drink, but ye are not filled v ( drink ; ye clothe ye, but there is none wa and he that earnetli wages, earneth wages put it into a bag with holes." Self-relianc a good thing; but mutual-reliance is a far ter thing.

The Preacher, Thinker, Philanthropist, 1 and all men yvho work with mind and sp cannot be paid in matter; therefore iheir : cess must be measured by moral and me fl intluences ; and for this reason, the world en calls them "failures," a dehiiition, aj)]) jd still more startliiigly to men yvho band tog fi- er for good causes, which are aiiparent ih- successes. I!ut these men are iiol "failui " if yve consider that we are eternal. Tnis may take but one stej) in a century, but 1 y never recede; and even forlorn hopes, I e their glad and glorious days. Beneath le fire of storming batteries, yve'touch .sonielUg diviner tiian earth; and ii is in the hoiBt contlicts, yve meet our heavenly brotht ii- arms.

The yvoilil may thank God that there e men and yyomeii, yvho for their convict is aiul ideals, are content to be yvhat it calls ii- succe-ssful"- to be of the minority, a^iainsine majority. These are the " foolisli' one lo whom (iod says "Forward !" and barba ni crumbles, and nations are kindled to a 1 n- mon conipa.ssion ; and men give their livi to clestroy slavery, and their money to feed le hungry, and leach the ignorant. These the men yvho make us revolt at massa who succor desolate women, and nourish isliing children, and protect animal life, then, though material success is a great p^ for good, there is a higher suci ess than a ) d en one. Let us not despise it. because i pears so unreal. Ileautiful ideals expanc hearts that yvelcome them; and like the ' wand, guess at springs that have not yet ed. People may smile at Ihe dispropo between our ideals and realities. Never 11 id. It is just here that we touch the first sti of Ihe ladder, yvhich leads up to the regio of light; aii<l to that nloriously ionii>rehei Divine verilii I. "Well done, good and fai|ful servant I "

IX. 6. iSgy

THE CHRISTIAN HERALD AND SIGNS OF OUR TIMES.

mZ fAMILX/^ ANDHOMEif^ CIRCLE

LP.

THE NIGHT WIND.

{AVE you ever heard the wind go 1 " Vooooo ?" "is a pitiful sound to hear I rm> to chill you through and through th a strange and speechless fear, ne voice ot the night that broods outside, hen folks should be asleep, many and many's the time I've cried >.e darkness that brooded far and wide er the land and deep : .Vhom do you want. <) lonely night. ..It you wail the long hours through ?" the night would say in its ghostly way : l ooooo! Yooooo 1 Vooooo!" •iiother told me long ago,

• hen I was a little tad),

: when the night went wailing so mebody had been bad ; then when I was snug in bed, 1 the blankets drawn up round my head, /link of what my mother'd said, .d wonder what boy she meant' • Who's been bad to-day .'" I"d ask : the wind that hoarsely blew, ;he voice would say in its meaningful way : ; ooooo ! Vooooo ! Vooooo !" : this was true, I must allow — u'll not believe it, though ! . . though I am quite a model now, I was not sdways so. |nd if you doubt what things I say. Suppose you make the test : pose, when you've been bad some day . up to bed are sent away • rom mother and the rest — ippose you ask. Who has been bad ?" 'And then you'll hear what's true : r the wind will moan in its ruefulest tone : Vooooo ! Vooooo ! Vooooo I"

♦ ♦

hopping in Mid-winter.

iking Holiday Ptirchases in Arctic Weather — New York's Crowded Thoroughfares. — ^A'ERV winter, as the holidays ap ^ preach. New York draws to itself

as with an irresistible magnet.

great multitudes of shoppers.

They come from long distances.

by train or steamer, and they 'flow the hotels, fill the street cars anc'. rr conveyances, and in the principaf roughfares. join with city shoppers in vding stores and sidewalks to an ex- ; that frequently makes locomotion al- -t impossible. Our photograph shows -ection of the popular Sixth avenue pping district during holiday week, -it may be accepted as a fair specimen ;he condition of many other parts of :i. Xot only are the mammoth estab- v.ents inimdatea with buyers, but the

- pretentious stores rind their trade a Irupled in holiday week. For many

- nesses. the brief season toward the -e of December, is the annual harvest. . all their resources are energetically iied to make it as big a harvest as pos- e. This is especially true of those

-inesses that deal in such articles, as are cially designed to be used by the pur- sers as gilts to friends and relatives, ist how much money is expended in V York Citv', on purchases during holi- week. it would be difficult to estimate, : it aggregates many millions daily. All ^ses of society- contribute to this extra- inary output of wealth. In the great ■joriums. where almost every article y be found on sale. ,:housands of shop- > crowd the various departments, re- ring the services of an armv of clerks

- saleswomen to attend to their multifa- is wants. Almost everv- nationality is resented in these holiday crowds, and irand rich may stand alike on anequal- and buy at the same counter — the lady wealth spending her hundreds, while

• poor widow, or the hard-worked sew- , girl, having only a dollar or two in the

rid must measure her gifts accordingly.

To those who come from the country to \> in the big metropolis for the tirst e. the mammoth stores on Broadway.

■ah and Eighth avenues. Fourteenth

-et and Twentv-third street, are a won- tul revelation. Here, in a single build- ~. or group of buidings, perhaps nearly

^lock in extent, are furniture, jewelry.

ks and • satins in piece, tailor-made

gowns, and the other garments. laces, sta- tionerv". millinerv-. leather goods, toys in- numerable, and games for adults : groce- ries, hats, shoes, music and musical instru- ments: enough books to stock a good-sized town librarv-. and a thousand other varie- ties of merchandise. The stranger is be- wildered by the seemingly endless va- rietv-. and ver>- naturally wonders how such a vast business can possibly be con- ducted without hopeless confusion. But each department has its responsible head, and system rules evervwhere. All purcha- ses are recorded, no matter how insignifi- cant. Trained detectives guard every aisle and watch lest professional pickpockets should enter and attempt to ply their nefa- rious trade among the unsuspecting shop- pers, and they also look out sharply tor the •• shop-lifters.'' whose tliievish fingers mav strav too long among the goods on the counters. Then the great stores have cared for tlie comfort of their patrons in

Day — it perished under modem indiffer- ence and formality-. At the begjinning of this century the streets were thronged on New Year's Day w ith all who could not ride : and great four-horse stages packed with hilarious mobs of men rode from house to house visiting any and everv- friend of any one of the stage load, eating and drinking at everj- house. Gradually this has died out, or is dying, and the Januarv- festival has become decorous and quiet, with hardly a feature left of the old time revelrj- and indulgence. It is far better as it is.

In the Stepmother's Behalf.

Our •• Flea for the Stepmother " which

appeared on this page of The Christian

Herald, in Dec. i6 issue, seems to have

awakened sympatlietic echoes in several

quarters. Mr. W. G. H.. Meaford. Ont.

writes liS a remarkably interesting letter

in which he says :

I read your plea for the stepmother. Some years ago, when 1 was quite a young man, it fell to my lot. to board among strangers. One cold winter s dav. the house door had by some means been left open for a moment, when the father of that house- hold, said. "Please shut that door, for a stepmoth- er's breath is blowing in.*' No one knows how keenly I felt that remark : for I had a stepmother. But. Oh 1 such a mother she was to me I There was no coldness in her breath, fhe atm.osphere of the home where she reigned as quern, was warm n ith her sweet unchanging love. .>l v own mother went to her rest in heaven when I was only three

A WINTER HOLIDAY SHOPPING CROWD O.S SiXTH AVENUE, NEW YORK.

other ways, by providing reception rooms, restaurants, photograph galleries, and even banks and post-offices, within the limits of their establishment.

Thus, a day or two among the big met- ropolitan stores, during the holidays, is a pleasant e-xperience. not to be forgotten, especially if one is reasonably well supplied with money, and has the habit of observa- tion which greatly adds to the enjoyment

* *

New Year's Calls Declining.

Soon the old custom of making Xew Year's calls w ill be a thing of the past. This year it was noticeable in many cities that fewer calls were made than ever before- Apropos to the changed stvle of observing the day. it is interesting to note how it was kept in the time of our fore- fathers. When the metropolis was Xieuw Amsterdam. Alice Morse Earle tells us. there was a constant controversy between Governor Stuyvesant and the easy-going •• little bench of justices " over the celebra- tion. The burgomasters and schepens would not hold court or do any legal busi- ness at Xew Year. Then Stuyvesant sent out a proclamation expressly forbidding on Xew Y'ear's and May Days any firing, or planting of maypoles or beating of the drum : nor shall there be at those times any wines, brandy or beers dealt out.'' But it took a more powerful enemy than Stuvvesant to annihilate Xew Year's

THE BOY FRANKLIN.

weeks old. so that I have no personal remembrance of her.

No man ever had a better mother than my step- mother proved to me. Her relationships to me. through all my childhood, crowd upon me to this day in sweet, tender, and hallowed memories The longer I live, the more do I revere her for that beautiful Christlv life, which seems to glow with a richer radiance, the further time carries me away from her. 1 here may be some stepmothers who are not all they should be. but if the children who have stepmothers, would only treat those mothers with loving and kindlv consideration, instead of treating them with coldness and suspicion, the harshness of such mothers would soon become only a forgotten proverb.

Dull Boys who Became Famous.

Premature brightness, or precocity, is not always a desirable trait in children, nor is dullness always an evidence of lack of brains. Parents should not be dis- couraged because their children are not always bright as those of their neighbors. When Isaac Barrow was a boy he ap- peared so stupid that his father said, if God took away any of his children he hoped it would be Isaac. Yet that boy lived to be one of the greatest divines of the Church of England. Douglas Jerrold was also a dull boy. and Xapoleon's teacher said he would need a gimlet to put learning into the head of the future conqueror of Europe. Sir Walter Sec tt. Drvden. Swift. Goldsmith. Gibbon, Chat- terton and many others were notably dull boys. General Grant was also called dull bv his neighbors and schoolbov friends.

FRANKLIN'S WHISIXE.

OU R young folks are probably famil- iar with the storv- of Franklin and his whistle. It was related in a letter by Benjamin Franklin to a friend in Philadelphia, in 1779. in which he wrote:

When I was a child, about seven years old, my friends on a holiday filled my pockets with coppers. I went directly to a shop where they sold to)-s forchildren,and being charmed with the sound of a whistle, that I met by the way in the hards of anoth- er boy, I volun- tarily offered and gave all my money for one. I then came home, and went whistling all over the house, much pleased with my whitle. but disturbing all »he family. My brothers and sisters and cousins, under- standing the bargain I had made, told me I had given four times as much for it as it was worth, put me in mind what good things I might

have bought with the rest of the money, and laughed at me so much for my folly that I cried with vexation, and the reflection gave me more chagrin than the whistle gave me pleasure. This, however, was afterward of use to me, the impression continuing on my mind -o that often when I was tempted to buy some imnecessarj- thing I said to myself. '• Don't jive too much for the whistle," and I saved my money. As I grew up, came into the world, and observed the actions cf men, I thought I met with many, verv" many, who gave too much for the whistle. * * * In short, I conceive that great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by the false estimates they have made of the value of things, and by giv- ing too much for their whistles.

.\ beautiful statuette of the boj' Frank- lin and his whistle, executed in Carrara marble, my Pasquale Romanelli. has been presented to the Xewark. X. 1. Public Li- I'rary by Dr. J. .A. Coles and his sisterl Miss E. S. Coles. It stands as a pedestal of .Algonian marble. The figure is ver\- graceful, and the attitude is one of boyish thought. Underneath the statue is the legend " Don't give too much for the whis- tle." which inculcates a sound, homely philosophy that every boy would do well to keep in view daily with the temptations that arise as he approaches young man- hood.

Winter Sunrise in the Woods.

Dr. C. C. .Abbott, in a description of a winter stroll in the woods, gives this ver\- charming "bit " from nature : "De- cide beforehand whither you will ramble, and make an early start. Sunrise I have always associated with mirth, and sunset with melancholy. It is reasonable to do so. Be astir at sunrise then, and receive the greeting of that lover of the dawn, the blackcap. Chick-a-dee-dee means -cheer- fulness.' as he w ho hears it quickly learns, for the chiD of the early hour is tempered. Those who never see the world at such a time have strange ideas of winter. Frost is a gardener of most excellent taste, and w hen he has encased seed pods and dry- grass in crj-stal. all their beauty is re- stored."'

* *

How Japanese Children Count.

"We count on the knuckles," said a bright httle Japanese lad. "The knuckles are the long months and the spaces be- tween them the short ones. The first knuckle is Januarv-. long, and the space between is February, short, and so on to the knuckle on the little finger, which is July. Then you repeat on the knuckle of the little finger, which is also .August, and go back and end on the knuckle of the second finger, which is December."

THE CHRISTIAN HERALD AND SIGNS OF OUR TiMES.

JAN. 6, I

Requests for Prayer.

AT the Converts' Sunday Alternoon Prayer Meeting at the liowery .Mis sion. prayer was oft'ered on L3ec.20, in accordance with the requests of many persons, among wliom the following ask the prayers of our readers : For the Conversion Sorrowing Mother, of Relatives and Vorktown, J-, ask:

Friends.

prayer for the conver- sion of her son, who is

sick, and that he may live to serve Christ. Reader, Fiott. III., that two brothers may give

themselves to the Lord. Constant Reader,

.Saco, Me., that a dear son may realize his need

of a Saviour and yield himself to Christ.

Friend. Russelville, Tenn., for the conversion

of a friend and his wife and children. 1. M.

P., Delhi, la., that the peace which passeth un- derstanding may be found by an elderly lady who is earnestly seeking Christ. 1. A. .Stock- ton, Manitoba, that (Jod would look in mercy on si.\ sons, who are intent on worldly things and indifferent to the concerns of their souls, and that they might be aroused to seek Christ.

Forsaken Nlother, Hampton. Va., for the

conversion of her daughters and their hus- bands, who are far away from Christ and are neglectful of their filial duties. Aged Wid- ow, Miltona. Minn., for the conversion of an

aged man. Reader, Sheckshunny, Pa., that

a dear son who once made a profession of faith, but has been led into sin, may be truly

converted and be true to Christ. E. R. R.,

.Altamont. Kans.. that a wayward son may be brought to C hrist. H. K. L. C, for the con- version of a young man whose life is being

spoiled by his bondage to liquor. W. D.,

Kittanning, Pa., that light may be granted to a young man who is seeking Christ, but is in thick darkness; also that his family may be guided to the Saviour. Subscriber, Hast- ings, Minn., for the conversion of a wayward son. and of a daughter who is being prejudiced against ruligion by an unbelieving husljand.

Praying Mother, Alljerta, Can., that God

would touch the hearts of her three sons and

bring them into his fold. .Sorrowing Sister,

Trumansburg, N. \'., for the conversion of husband, son, and daughter, and that present affliction may be sanctified to spiritual pro- gress. Reader, Farmington, Cal., for the

salvation of a brother who ha.s become the slave of strong drink, and that he may turn from his evil ways to serve the Lord with all

his heart. Broken Hearted Mother, Mt.

Gilead, ()., that her son-in-law, who is harass- ing his wife and family, may have a new heart given to him, and may learn of Christ to be

Rind and loving to others. Praying .Mother,

Deniorest Ga., for the conversion of a son-in- law whose drunkenness and profanity are making his familv miseralile, and that he may

have strength to lead a new life in Christ.

\V. C, Key West, Fla., that God would grant converting grace to a whole family, consisting of husband, wife, two sons and a daughter, who seem unable to give up their own ways and seek salvation through Christ alone; also that a wayward brother who is in bondage to drink and evil passions, may be deliverecl and made

a new creature in Christ. Praying .Mother,

Camp ( reek, .S. Dak., that God would deliver her husband from his love of strong drink and

make him a good man. Mother, Clinton,

Iowa, for the conversion of her husband and four children. Father and Mother in Ne- braska, that a dear son who has caused shame and sorrow to his parent.s, may be brought to

repentance and be saved through Christ.

Mother, Wetmore, Kan., (or the salvation of her son, a young man for whom many prayers have been offered. (Jrieved Wift, West Su- perior, Wis., that her husband may be cured of his propensity for strong drink, ind may be

made a true child of God. Reader, l>ick-

nell, Ind., for the conversion of a .son. "One

who believes," for the conversion of a dear friend whose reason is imperilled by the con- sequences of a sinful life, and that he may

have strength to renounce his sins. M. H.,

Mitchell, ( olo., for the conversion of a very wicked man, who keeps a saloon and is leatl- ing his neighbors to ruin, and that his saloon

may be closed. .A. C. J., Richmond, Va.,

that (jod in his mercy would bring her three

st>ns and her daughter into the kingdom.

"Immanuel," that (iod would bring an unfaith- ful wife of a Christian minister to repentance,

and cause her to seek forgiveness. M. C. .S.,

(irinnell, Iowa, for the conversion of a son who wa.s consecrated to the Ijird at his birth, but has gone into the world and is indifferent

to Christ. M, .\. 1'.. lUoomfield, N. J., that

God would ( hangc the heart of a beloved boy who is verv slublKjrn.

to health and usefulness. Believer, Chelsea,

Mass., that a dear friend may be saved from blindness and may recover the full use of his eyes, and that (iod would avert in her own

case a dreaded disease. Wife and Mother,

Philadelphia, Pa., for the recovery of her hus- band from rheumatic trouble. Believer,

Nashville, Tenn., who acknowledges now the answer of many prayers in the past, asks pray- er that a dreaded operation may not prove necessary and that Christ would give full

restoration of health. Reader, Damascus,

Pa., on behalf of two friends, one of whom has lost the use of her limbs and the other is de- mented, that God would in mercy restore both.

M., Clinton, la., for the recoveryjof a dear

father and a friend. Praying Mother, .S.

Dak., for the recovery of a niece who is afflict- ed with a distressing disease. J. B. F.,

-Vdrian, Mo., that God in his mercy would grant the restoration of reason to a beloved

son who has gone insane through grief.

The following persons request prayers for their recovery from various diseases : Reader, .\verett, Va.; .Subscriber, Winona; Believer, Bucknell. Ind.: Believer, Remsen, la.; W.II.F., .Atlanta, Ga.; A. L. R. D., Washington, D. C.

For the Restora- tion of Health.

C. K. H., Youngstown, N. v., that (jotl in his mer( y would restore a dear mother who has long been a .sufferer. .Subscriljer, Jac kson, Nlii h., for the recov- ery of a man who has partially lo>(t his reason. I' K. H., .Mtaniont, Kan., that a dear sis- idi-ring in mintl and \>o(\y may be the (ireat I'hysitian. - Believer, ' '.for the recovery of a daughter

A ■ i> ciilically ill. Grandmother, Duck

I . Mich., that her daughter's son, who h.is I (•■' three months past, may i)c restf)r-

Constant Reader, Sato, Me..

very of her husband whn.se mind

1^ ■ ij.iiM < d. f^rnesl Worker, Columbus,

(«a., that a beloved daughter may be restored

For Special Blessings.

Reader, Adrian, Mich., a.sks prayer that a young man sepa- rated from his family may soon be able to find employment and may be cheer- ed in his despondency by assurance of God's

compassion. Reader, Fort Worth, Tex.,

that God would grant speedy relief from financial troubles and give grace to do and suf- fer his will. .A Sister, that a man in dis- tress through inability to meet an obligation

may be enabled to get the help he needs.

Subscriber, .San Jancinto, Cal., that two per- sons who have fallen into grievous sin and brought reproach on the cause of Christ may be led to repentance and renounce their evil

ways. X. K.A'., Ilaymond,Va.,that a young

married man may be able to .secure employ- ment suited to his capacity. .Suffering Wife,

Ont., that her husband may have grace to con- trol an unhappy temper and that his son may be delivered from the curse. E. .A. F., Wam- pum, Wis., tliat a Christian young man whose conduct has brought misery to his family and reproach on tl>e name of Christ, may be led to

know and do the right thing. M. C. L., Mt.

Vernon, O., that God would raise up friends for a cause which is sorely in need of funds and that the worjc of soul-saving begun in his strength may not be interrupted, but, cleared of debt, go on with increasing blessing through

the winter. Believer. Beach, Ga., for grace

to trust God implicitly and that when work

fails a new position may open. Reader,

Lansing, Micli., who is in sore trouble and fears that her husband is losing his reason, a.sks prayer for deliverance and that the means

may be provided for the family need. H.

K. L. C, for the funds so urgently needed for necessary food and clothing.

Persons desiring the prayers of the Con- verts' Prayer Meeting at the Bowery Mis- sion should address their letters to The Christian Herald, 91-102 Bible House, New York.

Your Cough,

like a dogf's bark, is a sign that there is something foreign around which shoulcln't be there You can quiet the noise, but the danger may be there just the same. SCOTT'S EMULSION of Cod-liver Oil is not a cough specific; it docs not merely allay the symptoms but it does give such strength to the body that it is able to throw off the disease.

You know the old proverb of "the ounce of prevention?" Don't neglect your cough. A book which will tell you more on the subject sent free on re- quest.

Your druggist keeps Scott's Emul sion ol Clod liver Oil. Pot up in 60 cts. and $1.00 sizes.

SI.OTT it bOWNK. New York.

THE HEART'S GIFT.

HERE is my heart - my heart so hard before. Now by thy grace made meet; Vet bruised and wearied, it can only pour

Its anguish at thy feet ; It groans beneath the weight of sin. It sighs salvation's joys to win. My mourning heart I

Here is my heart !— in Christ its longings end, Near to his cross it draws ;

It says, "Thou art my portion, O my friend! Thy blood my ransom was."

And in the .Saviour it has found

What blessedness and peace abound. My trusting heart !

Here is my