TRUE WORTH
THE WATCHMAN
Alice Carey
TrUE worth is in being, not seeming —
In doing each day that goes by
Some little good — not in the dreaming
Of great things to do by and by.
For whatever men say in their blindness,
And spite of the fancies of youth,
There's nothing so kindly as kindness,
And nothing so royal as truth.
We get back our mete as we measure —
We cannot do wrong and feel right;
Nor can we give pain and gain pleasure,
For justice avenges each slight.
The air for the wing of the sparrow,
The bush for the robin and wren;
But always the path that is narrow
And straight for the children of men.
"Tis not in the pages of story
The heart of its ills to beguile,
Though he who makes courtship to glory
Gives all that he hath for her smile;
For when from her heights he has won her,
Alas, it 1s only to prove
That nothing's so sacred as honor,
And nothing so loyal as love!
We cannot make bargains for blisses,
Nor catch them like fishes in nets;
And sometimes the thing our life misses
Helps more than the thing which it gets,
For good lieth not in pursuing,
Nor gaining of great nor of small,
But just in the doing and doing
As we would be done by, is all.
Through envy, through malice, through hat-
ing,
Against the world early and late,
No jot of our courage abating —
Our part is to wotk and to wait.
And slight is the sting of his trouble
Whose winnings are less than his worth;
For he who is honest is noble,
Whatever his fortunes or birth.
Concentra-
tion and self-control are gained from this.
When possible, a child should have a
garden spot, and some kind of animal or
bird to tend and be responsible for. Thus
are learned patience, perseverance, and
observation as well as kindness.
“Ordered work under a considerate
parent takes on a dignity which lifts it
above drudgery or ‘chores.’ It is the
mental attitude that makes the difference.
Both manual training and domestic
economy direct attention to results and
the best methods of reaching such; the
labor involved is secondary. Such occu-
pations help youth morally. They con-
duce to honesty, straightforwardness, an
even temper, and help to overcome ped-
antry.”
educative in a high degree.
A a
A TOBACCO EXPERIENCE
A LOVABLE old man, a skilled mechanic
in his time, but broken in health on ac-
count of early excesses, though now a
converted man and a consistent member
of the Salvation Army, recently gave a
sketch of his Christian experience, some-
thing as follows: “It seems so sad to me
when I point out to young men the dan-
ger of the course they are taking, how
I am reaping the reward of my early
folly, only to have them laugh at me.
The terrible appetite for liquor was ac-
quired through a physician's prescrip-
tion. When I found Christ at the peni-
tent form of the Army, this appetite was
taken away never to return, but for years
I wrestled with the appetite for tobacco.
If I stopped its use, I suffered terribly
from heartburn. I went to a prominent
physician and asked his charge for giv-
ing me relief. I paid one half the
amount asked, but at the end of six
months was no better. I was still
a slave. Ie was powerless to help me.
Salvation
Army for several years as a recruit, the
captain desired that I should become a
soldier. The question of tobacco came
up, and the captain said that inasmuch as
I used it as a medicine, I would not be
required to answer that question in the
‘Articles of War.” When the time came
to be sworn in, the hall was crowded,
and as the brigadier came down the line
of candidates to me with the list of ques-
tions, my heart failed me when he asked
the question among the others, ¢ Will you
abstain from the use of tobacco?’ I saw
in an instant that the brigadier had not
been posted regarding my case, and there
But
as I did not wish to back down before
the crowded house, I sent a swift praver
to the throne of grace for help; my faith
took hold on God, and I answered, ‘J
“After belonging to the
was no chance for an explanation.
151
will, God being my helper” From that
time to this I have never had the least
desire for tobacco, neither have I suf-
fered from my old malady.” Surely the
Saviour is abundantly able to help those
who put their trust in him.— Ira B.
Reed.
A ar a2
OUR READING
Love stories and frivolous, exciting
tales constitute a class of books that is
a curse to every reader. The author may
attach a good moral, and all through his
work may weave religious sentiments;
yet in most cases Satan is but clothed in
angel robes, the more effectually to de-
ceive and allure. The mind is affected
in a great degree by that upon which it
feeds. The readers of frivolous, ex-
citing tales become unfitted for the duties
lying before them. They live an unreal
life, and have no desire to search the
Scriptures, to feed upon the heavenly
manna.
The youth are exposed to the greatest
peril from improper reading. Satan is
- constantly leading both the young and
those of mature age to be charmed with
worthless stories. Could a large share
of the books published be consumed, a
plague would be stayed that is doing a
fearful work in weakening the mind and
corrupting the heart. None are so con-
firmed in right principles as to be secure
from temptation. All this trashy read-
ing should be resolutely discarded.—
Mrs. E. G. White.
XJ
EXCESSIVE COFFEE DRINKING
Tr, Moors are inveterate coffee drink-
ers, especially the merchants, and they
sit in their bazaars and drink continu-
ously the whole day long. It has been
noticed that almost invariably when these
coffee drinkers reach the age of forty
or forty-five their eyesight begins to fail;
and by the time they get to be fifty they
become blind. One is forcibly im-
pressed by the number of blind men seen
about the streets of the city of Fez, the
capital of Morocco, and this is invari-
ably attributed to the excessive use of
coffee.— Ledger.
EY JY
“How seldom we weigh our neigh-
bors in the same balance with ourselves.”
EI J
“A micHTY little man can undo a large
man’s work.”