"Hehol0 arc we required to be perfect in onrs. There is a great work before us iJJdividually to reach thiEt high standard, and some have scaruely learned their a b c's in the school of Cb rist. Our at- tainments will be iust in 'accordance with tbe efforts we make, our character jnst what vve choose to make it; for through the divine aid promised lils, we can overcome. J osus kno·ws our frame; "he rememberetb that we are dust." In pitying tenderness, be will give us the help and strength we need. Our souls hu.ve been purchnsed at an infinite cost, and we should value them according to this 8tandard. Let us sb un the first approach to the world's heedless, irreverent, and ungodly ways; but let us diligently cultivate the pure principles of the gospel of Cbrist,-the religion, not of self-esteem, but of love, meekness, and lowliness of heart. Then we shall love our brethren, and esteem them better than our- selves. Our minds will not dwell 011 Lhe dnrk side of their character; we shall not feast on scandal and flying reports. But" ,.,,hatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are jnst, hatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, what- soever things are of good report; if there bo any virtue, and if there be any praise," we shall "think on these tb ings." The Papacy: Its Position, Policy, and Prospects.-No. 1. THESE five centuries past, the outer and inner Papacies have been running two entirely dif- ferent ·and oppm;ite courses. Looked at on iLs political side, the Papacy is seen to be nndee- going a process of Jecay; its political props have been mouldering into dust. l;ooked at on its religious side, it is seen, century by eent- ury, waxing in stature and consolidating in power. The Papacy these centuries past hns been per- fec-ting the chain of itR dogmas, laying deeper and broader the fonnda.tions of its :Lnthority, and rivetin§; its bold upon the hnman eon- science; in short, its career hns boon not unlike that of man itself, when his body decays by lapse of years: while yet hiR mind grows in moral and intellectual strength. ':rbe body of the Papacy has been returning to the dust 0nt of which it wns taken, but its soul, loosened from the political fetters tbnt cramped it. and relieYed from the earthly burdens that weighed it down. bas been shooting higher and hi!J;her into the. heavens, as if to pers1Iade men tb,at it is inRtlnct with an immortal life, and endowed with a god-like strength. I undoubted impostor a-rnd a veritable Lucifer. neously with decadence in the exterior of the This flagrant scandal entailed great loss of Papacy. rl'he increase of its spiritual f(JrGes prestige on the Papacy, which it never afler has kept pace with the decay and waste of its fully recovered. The princes of Europe were political appliances. The grand aim of the now bettet· able to make their own terms with ..Papacy from thG beginning was to be as God, the Tiara, and this contributed to the emanci-and to Tule all men with a divine anrt infallible pntion of tho temporal from the spiritual power. authority. It has r,Jever loRt sight of this great The Jtoxt stroke that befell the Papncy was idea, it bas never parted with the hope of real- the Pragmatic Sanction, in France. rrhis ar-izing it, it has never turned aside from the rangement guarante.ed the French church in purs-nit; and with a cOnkistency and success of a considerable amount of independence of the which there is no other example in all history, Papal See, and to the same extent abridged the it has gone 8ten,dily onward, century after cent- Pope's power in that infinentinl kingdom. ury, through dereat this hour and triumph the There followed the Statutes of Provisors, next, to that great. consummation. But the of Premunire, and of Morlmain, in EnglanJ. hope of reaching tbn.t dazzling eminence it ':rheso enactrnents inflie;tcd great financial as rested mni11ly on it8 Rpirilna.l, not on its earthly well as great politica-l dama.ge on the Papacy; a.pplirmcet:~. It knew that the fashion of the inasmuc.:h as in few countries of Europe bad the world. chn.ngeth; that la.ws, institutions, and Pope been able to reap, from year to year, so dynasties are m11table; tb.at thrones may be lost rich a revenue, or to exercise so large a measure by weak11e~s or overturned by revolution, but of power, as in England. There came next that principles are eternal; and therefore never THE GREAT ERA OF THE SIX'rEEN'l'H CENTURY. The numerous and sore disasten; which the Reformation brought with it to the Papacy I need not dwell upon. One-half the kingdoms of Europe revolted from, unde.r its scepter. lt was laboring to repair those immense losses, and had already recovered Bavaria, Bohemia, Hungary, and Belgium, when snddenly its sky was overcast by the darkness of the French Revolution. On the wings of that tempest came new and strange calamities to the church of Rome. Her priests were massacred; her revenues coufiscated; her dignities east down; the very chair of her Popes was for a time sup- pressed;-a cup all the more bitter that Papal hands held it to her lips and cornpelled her· to drink it. - The hurricane passed and there came a pause; the wonderful recuperative energies of Rome were put forth i 11 effacing the ravages of the tempest, and restoring-the church to something like her former estate. But the calm was treacherons. vVe have seen in our own days tho work of despoiling the Roman Church re- sumed. One Italian province after another has been torn from the Papacy, and, last of all, we have seen the top stone put upon tbe political hnmiliations of that church in the loss of Rome, tho throne of her temporal dominion, and the chief seat of' her 8piriLual :wtbority. And now wbat do we behold? A speetacle tba.t may well fill us with amazement and awe. Tho po- litical Papa.cy in ruins; but out of its ruins there stands up a vaRt spiritual colossus! lts feet more firmly planted on tho ea.rth, nnd its bead lifted higher into the heavens than in any former age. }Jet ns panse and ma:·k tho great and solemn lesRon tnnght in this to the men Jtow living, and to the ages to come. The power of systems for good or evil lies in their hidden springs. It is eminently so with the Papacy. Its great strength lay not in the array of prittcos and kingdoms that F'-tood around it, but in its inner principles. It was these, and not tho 8words and f'nggots at its service, whieb enabled it to so blind the nndersta.ttding, to affright men with im:1ginary terrors; to make them eall evii good nnd good evil~ to t'lubjugale the consc·ience, and sink society into political and moral serf- dom. But the world did not understand this; and now God is about to give us a new experi- ence of the Papacy. He-baR c~ompelled it to come ont of.its political organization; to stand forth naked and disembodied before the world, clothed with tremendoqs spiritual s:1nctions and attributes which enable it to awe the consc:ience and dominate kingdoms as much as ever. ,Doek not this show that it was the Rptritual Papaey which all along was the world's oppressor? did it suffer check or defeat outwardly but it cast itself anew upon its fun'damental and abid- ing principles; it refurbikhed and perfected those ethereal woaponR, which alone could give it such a conquest as it aimed at achieving. Bnt for this, the Papacy would have fallen lon.g ago; it would have disappeared with the medi- eval kingdoms amid which it arose. But so far from this, ·while its companion monarchies are in the grave, tho Papacy still flourishes; and hero it i8, e11gaged in a u:reater muster of its spiritual forces, now complete in number and perfect in Rtrength, preparn.tory to a more deadly oneotiJtLer ~with libeJ·ty and Christianity than it over yet waged. Let me briefl.Y describe how this bas come about, nnd a.t the same Lir::no offer a foreca.st of what it is likely to end in. rrhe late pontificate -I mean tbn.t of Pius JX.-was wholly passed in recasting the dogmal\l of the Pnpaoy, and in giving them their fullest possible development. ConcluHions to which the Pnpncy had all along logically poi11ted, but to w h iclt no one, at least in modern times, had dared to push it, were decreed as dogmas, and marshaled in hostile array agnin~t modern soci~ty. ~1_1bis was the life work of Pius IX.-1 mean of the doctors and Jesi1its of tbe Caria; for, porsona.lly, the Pope bim>lelf was not eqna.l to so great a labor .. And for vvhat end \Vas this work undertal_, which often appear diffi- cult to bear, but. so have the rich. Men in pr.i- vate lif'e have tl1eir cares, their trials, and their ditfi<:ulties. but mer. in official stations have fhr grenter bL~rdens to bear, and far greater trials to endnre. A change in om· circumstances or condition in life, instead of freeing us from tria1, would only change its form. While the Christian is called to endnre, in a Believe the '.rruth. A RELIGious paper of Chicago gives an ac- count of a woman who "went trinmpbantly to her evednsti n.g rewards with J e~u~J August 1. . . 'roe time had come, we think, when the r.~ord wanted her in the heavenly home, and so he took her." Such a perver::;ion of the teathings of the Scriptures is deplorable. By uRing tho words "he took ber," they teacb that thiR i~:; the same as the event recorded in Gen. 5 : 24, where it is said of Enllch, "God took him;" thns they endeavor to make trans- lation and death mean tbe same. But we :find in Hebrews that "Enoch was translated that he shmdd not see death;" and no one who doe~:; see death is trai1slated. Nevertheless the be- lief is ~dmost universal that- "It is not death to fling o-reator or less degree, all the trials and affiic- Aside this sinful dust. tions common to men, be is subject to opposi- And rise on strong, exuiting wing tions and trials peculiar to him. as a Christian, To live among the just." and·,vhich are unknown to others. He is con- -M. E. H,ymnal. tinually exposed to temptatim1, which he must It ~R really tbe popular theory. of the day, resist, and by constant effort endeavor to keep an~ . 1s (:ne of. the strongest evlden.ces that his own soul in tbe love of God. He is opposed 1 Spmtnn.hsm will take the wol'ld capt1ve. Sa- by the world whoso spirit maxims and evil tnn said, "Ye shall.not sw·ely die;" i.e., accord- practices be m'ust withstand 'and overdome; and, ing to the popular belief', ye shall only ctpparently then ho-rnnst' labor for the overthrow of every clio; in trutb, they say, "Ye shall become as form of v1ce, and tbe exten~ion and triumph of gods," kno ing more .than the soul could k.now the cauRo of truth and rigbleonsness in the while encumbered ~Ith this "earthl:y: pns~n-. earth. He is in conflict with the world, the house"! And so Wid.es~)I"end bas this ,belief flesh, and the devil. He is engnged i.n a gr~at ?e~ome that to-~ay th1s Idea, .spru~g b.y Sata,n, spiritual wad!tre, and t'he trials of tb1s conflwt lS I~1corporated Hlto. songs of pnuse, m~o the are added to those to wl1ich be is subject in vn.t·wus cr~eds, and mto neady .every ob1tuary common with all other::;. -While looking at the that is wrttten. Very few beh~ve :vhat the Christian's condition it nppoars to be one of Bible says: "Put no~ your trust m ~nnces, nor peculiar hardship and difficulty. Instead of his in. tho son of man, m whom there IS no help. religion freeing him from trial, it appears only H1s br~ath goeLh forth, h~ retnrneth to. h1;, to ir1crenso the burdens he iH required to bear, ea1tb; m that vet~.)' ~Ia;~ hts thoughts pensh. and to render his condition still more intolerable. Ps. 146: 3, 4. 'l'ilis IS m harmony vv1t,b the This is only apparently but not really the Scriptures througbont. As .stnt.?d els~wbere: case. It is not the weight of the burden laid "The d~:td know not an):tlnng;" ~' thetr love, upon a man that is alone to be considered, but and then· hatt:od, and LheiL' envy~ ts no.w per- his strength to bear it. What would erush one isbed." Eud .. 9: 5, 6. "'l'he dead pra~se no.t ma11 to the earth may appear light to another. tho J_~ord, neither any that go down tnto S't- It is the proportion bet weer: a mall's ~urden lence." Ps. 115: 17. vV. A. BLAKELY. A Self-Couceited Ag·e. ~md his strength that makes It appear hght or beavv to him. The burden muy be increased, but f£· strength is irH•reas?d in proportion, it will not appear any boav10r, or be any more THIS is said to be a very brainy age. Per- difficult to bear than it was before. Tllis i~ the haps it is. One thing is certain, it is a very source of the Christian's consolat.ion. God bas selfcOilceited age. Men do not hesitate to as- promised that his ~race, it ma~ Let·s not what sert their Ruporiot:ity to those vvlJo have pre- the trials and afti1etwns that he IS ealled to en-ceded them, and with groat self-complacency dure shall be sufficient for him; and that as his. to sound their own pl'aise. This may be a sign day, 'so shall hie strength be. . . . of braininess, b~t certai.11ly It is. no.t ~,sign o~ It, is not the trials alone that the Cbr1stum IS modesty,_ and with sens1 ble peopl~ It Is a poo1 cnlled to endure in common with others, or commendation. True greatn~ss IS .. unpreten- tbose additional trials t.hat are. pe~u . l.i~t· to bim- 1 tious, and often seem~ ,u~lCon~cwus ~f. tLs power. self that are to be considered m fol'lnl11g a cor-\Vo have dotlbtle8s gr e"Lt m~.n-b1 a1ny 1~1en­ recL estimate of his true conditiou, but Lhe di-i in tbi~:; age, but they occ~tpy th.emselves m us- vine strength that God impat.ts to enable him 1 ing their brains and not m talkmg about them. Whenever a man is lifted up with a sense of his own greatness, he betrays his weakness, and at once loses his influence. A man may know a great deal, but there is so much Le does not know that he has no cause to be exalted in his own estimation. The more a man really knows,· the wider the range of his mental vision, and the less he seems to himself to know. If unfounded specul~tLion could be regarded as knowledge, tbe!l the knowledge of this age would be wonclerfui.-Sel. The Curse of Idleness. HE was a wise man who prayed, " Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food conveilieilt for me." Ancl the reasons he gave arc very applicable to the present day: :'Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who IS the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the n:tme of my God in vaill." These ancient words are pregnant with the blessings be- lonaiuo-to that oTeat middle class, which we are ~te~1stomed tob consider an invention of mod- ern times. Obliged to work for their living, they are taught self-denial and self.control by the necessities of their position. 'l'bey are never at a loss bow to spe-nd their day; and to men who wish there were thirty hours in the day, the notion of "killing time" is almost as shocking as homicide. Add to this the Puri- tan tradl~ion, which influences the middle ranks almost exclusively, and a very good case is made out why they, rather than any other, should be considered the privileged clnss. Above them luxury and idleness too often relax the fiber of respom;ibilit.y; below them, bard- ness of circumt~tance alld insufficiency of wages, with consequent squalor, are too much for any- thing but a heroic ternper to overcome. Give idle lordings and silly ladies daily task work, a,lld they would have a healthier will. Double the wages of the working class all around, and the next generation would be transfigured and transformed.-Gh1·istian Wortd. ---------·--------- That Lovely Name. I REMEMBER once bearing an anecdote of an old Scot.ch woman, who lived in some very re- mote part of the Highlands. She was ill, and one of her few neighbors, with considerable trouble made her way to the nearest minister,: to ask him to visit her. He did so, but after much questio1ling on his part, and not feeling at all satiF--fied with tbe poor \roman's answers, he was about to leave disbearLened, knowing that she bad not long to live. At last, making one further attempt in which be used the all- prevailing name of Jesus, the dying turned to him, and in her native Scotch dialect said: "I ken not of your do<;trines, 1 ken not of yout· ordinances, hut, al:l tho flower on the mountain Hide opens to the sullshine, so my heart opens to that lovely name." . It was eilough; the chord was touched and it gave forth a true note. That dear Scotch woman, if sbe knew litt.le else, knew this, "'I' hat there is none other name 1111der ·heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved," and that through hi::; name, " w l1osoever believeth in him shall receive romisflion of sins.' Reader, have you obtain0d this knowledge, and is tbat 11ame to you the "Sweetest note in seraph song, Sweetest name on mortal tongue, Sweetest carol ever sung, Jesus, blessed J esns "? -Sel. THERE is no sin more dishonoring to God, and none for which there is less exuusc, than. profanity. IV gmt i:fies no animal appetite; it secures no tempo1·nl gai11; it p1·omot.es no-.. _ worldly ambitiou. A 11 it C:lll do il:l to f(>ster a ' . spirit of irreverence tor God, and manifest the natural hatred of the heart for all that is sacred. (', 724 [41 TriE BIG NS OF THE TIMES. VoL. 12, No. 46. The '.ren Ifingdoms in the Darl( Ages. (Continued.) abused his natural gentleness and goodness. THE ALE l ANN I. In the qu::tLTeL;; and jealousies of his sons he We must now resume tho historv of the THE FRANKS. was twice deposed and twice restored, and per-Alomanni, and sketch their fortunes., through haps only escaped a third deposition, by his 1 he tumults of the Dark Ages. We have t::~een death June 20, 840. 'rhis set the sons free to that the A!Cmanni and tiJeir Suevic brethren "'rHE appellation of rJ1·ent has often been wrangle among themselves, which they did till that followed them in the invasion of the Ro- bostowod and sometimes deserved, but CHAR- the fearful battle of Fontanet June 25, 841; man Empire, took possession of all R.bretia. as LEMAGNE is the only prince in whose favor the and the treaty of Verdun, August., 1::)43, put an far south as the country about the lake of Con- title bas been indi:-;solably blended with the end to their rnnLual struggles and" to the griefs stance and the northern border of Switzerland; name. . · ... Tho dig11ity of .his P.or~on, the of the age." Lothair, the eldest son, retained and that part of Gaul which lay between the length of his reign, the prospenty ot Ins arms, the title of emoerot· and received the Italian Rhino and Moselle, and the bead waters of the tb.e V:igor of hi~ gover~1~ent.,. and t.he reverence territory, with ;t long narrow strip stretching Seine. Thus they occupied the country which of distant natiOns, du,t1nu:u1~h him from tho from the Gulf of Lyons to the North Sea, nuw comprises Alsace, l;onaine, Baden, Wur- r~yal crow~; and Enropo dates a ne': e~·,a from. bounded on the en,st by the Alps and the Rbine, tembnrg, gl'enter part of Bavaria, and the h1s restoratiOn of the Western Emptre. -Dec. and on the west by the Hhone, the Saone, the southern of the large divisions of Hesse-Dnrm- and Pall, chap. 49, par. ~1. .Meuse. and the Scheidt. Charles the Bald had stadt. \Vben they wore defeated by Clovis, It seems almost cert:~in that Charlemagne all th~ rest of GauL Loui~:s the German re- their Gallic possessions became the prize of the really aspired to tl~e restoration of the Roman ceived Alemannia and all the rest of Lhe Ger-conqueror, but all the rest they were allowed Empire. But one lifo was too short., and there man lands ear:;t of the Rhine, with the towns of to occupy, and were permitted by Clovis and was no second Charlemagne. Besides this, the .Mainz, Worms, and Spires, on the western his sucee:::sors "to enjoy their peculiar manners prophetic word was written that wben once bank of that river. . and instil uLions, under the government of offi- Rome was divided into its ten parts they should rrbis division, though counted as markmg the cia!, and nt length of hereditary, dukes."-Gib- not be mnde to cleave one to another no more real beginning of the history of France and bon, chop. 36, pa?'. 5; chap. 38, par. 5. These, as tbn,n could iron and clay. Charlemagne reigned Germany as separate kingdoms, la8ted hut a well as the other German conquests of Clovis, forty-six years-forty-three from the death of short time. For the Emperol' Lothair died in "soon became virtually free. They continued to Carioman-thirty-Lhree of which vve1·e spent in 855, and was succeeded in his possessions to the acknowledge Frankish supremncy; but the ac- almost ceaseless w~Lrs. He conduutod, in all, north of Italy by Lothair II., who died ill 869, knowledo·ment was only formal. At the head fifty-three expeditions-thirty-one agai11st the when Charles the Bald r:;eizod upon his tel'ritory. of each ~~onfederation was its own herzog or Saxons. Frisons, Dnnes, Slavs, Bavarinns, and But Louis the German disputed his seizure of duke. These rnlerr:; were at first appointed by the Avnrs, in upper Germany, Bohemin. Nori-the whole prize: and in 870 they signed tho the Frankish kings, or received their sanction; cum, and Pannonia; five against the Lombards, treaty of Mersen by whieh .Louis became pos-but in course of time the office became beredi- in Italy; twelve np;a.inst the SarncenR, in Spain, ses::;ed of most of Lothnringia, or, as it was n.~w tary in particular families."-Encyc. Brit., a1·t. Corsica, and Sardinin; two against the Greeks; called, ~orraine; Charles the Bald the rest of It; Ge1·many, p. 477. and th1·ee in Gaul itself aga,inst the Aquitanians and Lothair's broLher,·Louisli., was allowed to Of the Allemanni there were two dukedoms, a,nd the Britons. Thus Saxony, Bohemia, Ba-retain the possessionr:; of his father in Italy. Swabia and Bavaria, and it is under these two varia~ Pannonia (Hungary), the [;om bard king-Louis II. died in 875, and Charles the Bald names that their fnLure history is f()tmd. But dom of Italy as far as tho d11chy of Benovontum, managed to secure the imperial crown a!1d as Swabia is the original, and as it has exerted that part of Spain between the Pyrenees and aimed at the possession of the whole. emp1re a greater influence in the affairs. of Germany the river Ebro, Bnrgnndy, Alomannia, and all with it. But Louis Lbe German, at his death thnn has any other confederation, it is the of Gaul, was snhjoct to the sway of Charle-in 876, had divided Uermnny among his tln·ee oue about which most must be said; for the magne. He already wore the iron crown of sons,-Carlman, Louis, and Chm·los-the sec- history of it is, in a measure, the hist()ry of I;omb:::trd' in addition to tbe kingship of all the ond of whom, Louis, met Charles the Bald on Germany, especially after the treaty of Verdun. Fra11kish" dominions; but when on Christmas the field of Andcmach and gained such a. vic- 'rlwssilo, duke of Bavaria, had beo11 on ill terms day, 800, in the church of St .. Peter, Pope tory over him as to not only put an effectual wiLh Pepin, the father of Charlemagne, and . Leo III. placed a precious crmvn upon the damper upon his imperial aspirations, but. to when Charlemagne came to the throne, Thas- hend of this migh Ly king while the great force him to give up the portio us of l;orrame silo reudered verv indifferent serviee, and his. re- dome resounded ·with the acclamations ot' the that bad been ceded to his father by the treaty peated aets of t;·eaehery caused Charlemagne people: ''Long life and victory to Charles, the of "!liersen. Carl man and I.Jouis both soon died, to rernove him, and Bavaria was placed under most pious Augustus, crowned by God the and the German kingdom passed to Charles the anthOL·ity of the margrave of Ost'reich ( Ans- grcat and pacific emperor of the R.oman~," the sumamed "the Fat," the youngest of the three tria). The "margraves" were "lords of the honor seem~ well deserved. "For fourteen sons of Louis the German. marches;" and t.he "marches" were formed of years, with lo~s of fi!!h Ling and more of organi- Charles the Fat, incompetent, indolent, and the border countries, by Charlemagne, over zation, Chnrles the Groat proved t.hat he was D'lnttonous, became, without any effort of his '.>vhich he appointed" margraves" (ma?·kgrafen) worthy of his high title and revived office of ~wn, soyereign of all the dominions of Charle-"whose duty was to administer justice in his Emperor of the West." "And when in 801 nn maO'ne, except Burgundy which now became name, to collect tribute, and extend his con- embassy arrived with CUt'ious presents fl'0m again an independent state.· Alemannia-Swa-quests." Bava,ria was ruled by margraves till Hnrun-al-R.ar-;hid, the great caliph who held in bia-he inherited from his father in 876; by the about 900, when it again became a dukedom. the East the Ramo place ns Charles i 11 the West, death of his brother Carl man, he received . The margraviate of Ostreich continued till 1156, men recogn'ized it aR a becoming testimony. tn Bavaria and became king of Italy, in 880; ~e when it, too, was made a duchy, and thus the the world-wide reputation of the Frank1sh was crowned emperor in 881; the death of h1s march of Ost-reich, formed by Charlemagne, was monarchy." B11t tbif; bonor, this power, and brother l.Jouis of Saxony gave Lim all the rest the origin of what is now the empire of Aust1·ia. this glory was short-lived. Ch:tl'iemagne died of the Germanic posser-;sions; and as Charles J. at Aix-la-Ubapelle, Jnnuary 28, 814, and the the Bald had died in 877, and had no successor (To be continued.) unity of Lhe empire which he bad formed was who could relieve France from the scouege of at a~ end. the N orthmen, Charles the Fat was invited to "Like more than one great barbaric warrior, become the king of France, at the death of he admired the Roman Empire thnt bad fallen, Cm·loman in 885. But instead of boldly meet- -its vasLness nil in one and its powerful organ-ing the N orthmen with an army, he advptod ization under the band of a single master. He the policy of buying off these bold savages who thought he could resuscitate it, dnl'nbly, thro~gh had plundered Uologne and Treves, an~ had the victory of a new people and a new fa1 th, fed their horses over the ve_ry grave and 1n the by the band of Franks and Christians. With beautiful b~H logic :tttd iLA interpre- !tu we11t aun11t doing good. The two together, tation are alike faultless. lL wonld be difficult self-abnegation and doi11g: good to others, make to make a stronger case in so few words. Tbc up tho simple, grand qn::dity of Cbristian con- "'ruE soul that sinr.eth, it shall die. 'rhe son perpetual obligation to ouscrve the Sabbath can-sccration. Hhall llOL bear the iniquity of' the fathe•·, neither not be denied without. rejecting the dcealogne We :-:III'J)(>8C thel'c llOVCr was a case of Chris-sb:dl tho father bear the i11iq11ity of the son." i11 wbicl1 it is imbedded. N:ty, more. It ca11-tian conversion in which tbe fir::>t evidence of iL 'rbis proveru Hhall no lo11ge,· be u::;od in Ismol, n"t be denied ·without ignoriug the spirit of the was not the desiro to do gooJ. 'rho :fit·F;t ques-that "the Jitthor~ have oaten sour gmpors, :wd teaching of the prophets, N ehemiab, Isaiah, and tion asked by Saul of Tar~ur:; was, "Lord, v;rhat the children's Leeth are set on edge." W c can- Jeremiah, on the subject; it ca11not be denied wilt tbon h:t'C me todo?" Asl-ing that quo~-not shield ourselvef{ behind tho delinquencies of without falsifying the teachings of Je~:ms in the tion transf'ormed him i11Lo the :tpo~:;tle Pnnl, others. 'rbeit· condnct m~ty be very repreben- decln.ration that tho Sabbath was· made for man; into the mi~l'>ionary, tbe sent 011e, fo•· Lhc word sible, bnt that is no oxcnHe f"o1· uH. vVbe11 God it cannot be denied vviLhout involving the cus-apostle menns mi~sionary, or ~:>out. A1Hl tho cniiH ns to :tn account, he \Viii not inquire tom of P:wl, as described in the 13th, 16th: 17th long succession of modern apostles have Loen whet bor others wore disobedient and rebellious, a_nd 18th chapters of the Acts, in gross incon-stirred by this same ent.hu:-:i::tsm of COilSuut·a-but whether we wore consitelf unnaturrd. A cannot bring upon u:-; the colldomnation of our honorable to the squadron that they should have man's own conscience bids him do good. Evci·y God. an evangelical chaplain, and that they should other man's conscience approves it. God com- While there is something n.wfully solemn in , anchor on the Sabbath and have divine service, mands it. The example of the love of Cbri1,;t the thought of onr individual responsibility, and that they should invite the dwellers on the enfot·ces it. The Spirit of God impresses it. there is al:-;o something to fill us with joy. islands and shore of the coast, who Jive remote Then the soul accept!! the duty, and fi11d8 a! vVithout our own individual volition, there is from houses of public worship, to attend. But happiness higher than it bad ever before kno n,' no power in the univor::le that can involve us how about church-members who Jive hard by even in bard service of doing good. in sin, and bring upon us the condemuation of sanctuaries and must drive four or five mile:-: Here are the fl'llits by wbicb the Christian is our God. Eveey man holdi:l bis destiny in his and pass by several of God's houses to reach known. This it is by which every one sball be own band, and according to his own acts he the Rhore?" judged. It is not universal and misr.ellancous will be acquitted or condemned.-Methodist Re- 'l1hat such an occurrence on Sunday should undirected good-doing that will be required of corde1·. I I 726 l6] THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. VoL. 12, No. 46. "Can ye not discern the signs of the times?" E. J. wAGGONER, } EDITORS. ALONZO '!'. JONES, CoRRESPONDING EDITORS. J. H. wAGGONER, s. N. HASKELL, URIAH SMITH, GEo. I. BuTLER. 0AKL.AND, CAL., FIFTH-DAY, DECEMBER 2, 1886. Items from the General Conference. THE twenty-fifth annual session of the Genernl Conference of Seventh-day Adventists convened in Battle Creek, Mich., Thur::;day, November 18, at 9 A. M. As this body has the oversight of all the missionary work done among Seventh-day Advent- ists, its proceedings indicate the extent of the spread of the Third Angel's Message, and we therefore de- sign to give to our readers some of the main feat- ures of this session. The :first meeting was chiefly taken up with or- ganization and the appointing of committees, of which the following were named: On Nominations- J. Fargo, J. B. Goorlrich, C. L. Boyd; on Resolu- tions-R. A. Underwood, E. J. Waggoner, A. B. Oyen; on Licenses ~llld Credentials-S. N. Haskell, B. L. Whitney, G. G. Rupert; on Auditing-Har- mon Lindsay, D. T. Jones, D. B. Oviatt, J. Fargo, J. H. Morrison, H. Grant; on Distribution of Labor -G. I. Butler, S. N. Haskell, R. A. Underwood, D. M. Canrigbt, A. J. Breed, Lewis Johnson, M. C. Wil- .cox; on Religious Services-R. M. Kilgore, L. McCoy, G. C. Tt>n ney. The President, Elder Geo. I. Butler, then made an address, in the course of which he gave the follow- ing items of interest: The last year has been one of marked prosperity to tl1e cnuse; the publishing houses have sold more denominational books than ever before; our institutions of learning are at- tended by more persons who are preparing for the work, than at any previous period in their history; and there was never before so great an interest in the matter of education among our people ns at the p'resent time. There is also a greater willingness on the part of people to listen to the truth than ever before. At the second meeting additional delegates pre- ;sented their credentials. The Conference, as org:tn- iized, is composed of delegates representing the fol- ;lowi ng Con f'erences and Missions: Jlli no is, Michigan., Indiana, California, Dakota, New England, Minne- sota, Kansas, Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, 'Visconsin, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Colorado, Ver- mont, Maine, Virginia, Kentueky, Tennessee, Can- ada, Texas, North Pacific and Upper Columbia (Oregon and Washington), Central Europe, England, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, North Carolina, and the general Southern field. The greater part of the second meeting wa~ de- voted to a consideration of the Sunday Jaw persecu- tions in Arkansas and Tennes~ee. In this discussion the following facts were brought out: In Arkansas everything that a man has, even to the. smallest article of household furniture, is liable to be levied on in payment of a fine for laboring on Sunday. Although the sentence usually runs that the con- victed person shall pay a certain :fine and the costs of pi'osecution, with the alternative of one day in jail for each dollar of the fine and costs, lying in jail the specified time does not satisfy the judgment. After a man has served out his time in jail, his property may still be seized, or he may, if he has no property, be compelled to work out the :fine. Be- sides this, the prisoners are treated as convicts hav- ing no rights whatever. They are not considered as having any conscience, and may be compelled while in jail to labor on the Sabbath, with the al- ternative of the most barbarous punishment if they refuse. It will thus appear that the law violates every principle of justice, and is most inhuman and cruel. And this appears still more plainly when we learn that offenses such as stealing are not punished with anything like such Reverity. More than this, these prosecutions are conducted against only those who keep the seventh day of the week, "according to the commandment." Brother Armstrong, who served out one sentence in jail for doing a little work in his garden on Sunday, stated that when he was brought before the grand jury to testify in another cnse, he was asked if be knew of any parties who had done labor on Sunday. He replied that he did, and when asked for the names, he mentioned the employes of the railroad com- pnnies. Then he was asked if he knew of any others. In reply he mentioned the hotel keepers. In like manner he cited the jury to livery men, hackmen, barbers, and saloon keepers. Finally he was asked if he knew of any Seventh-day Advent- ists who had labored on Sunday, and when the names of some of them had been obtained, the jury was satisfied. The Seventh-day Ad,'en tists were indicted, and the others were not molested. In some cases the brethren have been told that they would not be molested, or that they would be re- leased from the remainder of their term of impris- onment, if they would promise not to keep the Sabbath any more. Thus it appears that the.:;;e Sunday law prosecu- tions are nothing else than the meanest kind of religions persecution; and that the persecutors are moved, not by a regard for the Sunday, but by a hatred for the Sabbath. This is still further sho"vn by the manner in which the testimony has been gained which has con vic ted these persons. In some cases two per'lons, one a professed Sunday observer and the other a Sabbath-keeper, have transacted certain business together on Sunday; the Sunday- keeper (P) would then go and tell of it, and his companion would be arrested, while he would not be molested. In the face of all these things there are people who have the unblushing effrontery to say that there is no danger of there being any persecution for conscience' sake in this eoun try, and that Sun- day laws do not interfere with any man's religion! The fact is, and every candid person must admit it, that Sunday laws as they are executed in the State of Arkansas, are unjust and inhuman, and utterly subversive of every principle of civil or religious freedom. And the people of Arkansas are no differ- ent from the people of other States. The law is administered there no differe11tly from what a simi- lar law would be administered anywhere else. The fault is not primarily with the law, but with the people; and when the National Reform movement shall have triumphed, the Arkansas persecutions will be. repeated with tenfold severity all over the United States. Vve do not~ believe, however, that the time for the triumph of this movement has come just yet. We believe that the Constitution of the United States is the best and most just document ever made by man, and that it will condemn the iniquitous pro- ceedings that are being carried on under the mask of the law; and when the Constitution has thus spoken, it will henceforth be so clear to all the world that none need be mistaken, that the work of the National Reform party is a direct attempt to over- throw the best charter of human liberty that is in existence, and to bring in religious oppression. The greater part of Friday, the 19th, was devoted to the consideration of the wants of the foreign missions. The great want is consecrated laborers. Vve have space for only a few items of interest con- cerning the foreign work as presented by Elder B. L. Whitney, who spoke for the Swiss Couference and Central Europe, Elder M. C. Wilcox, who spoke for England, and Elder A. B. Oyen, who spoke for Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. The Swiss Con- ference has three ordained and seven licensed min- isters. The Conference has fifteen churches and about three !1 u nd red mem hers. These churches, however, are not all in Switzerland; two are in Germany, four in France, two in Italy, and one in Roumania. Elder Whitney stated that be knew of only three Seventh-day Adventist families in Switz- erland who own the houses in which they live, and many of them are in the extremest poverty. Yet notwithstlinding this, they have paid into the Con- ference treasury during the past year, nearly $10 per member. In England hard times are a still greater obstacle to the spread of the truth than in Svvitzerland. In every city there are thousands of skilled workmen who are unemployed. -u a man begins to keep the Sabbath he is quite sure to lose ~is position, and if he once loses it, there·is little prospect of regaining it, since scores as corhpetent as he stand ready to take it. Still, in spite of these things in the way of living out tl1e truth, many conscientious persons are found who take their stand for God and his truth, and they uo not starve to death either. During the year, 8,154 ships have been visited by the ship missi011aries in England. These ships carry the truth to every nation under heaven. Through this agency a gentleman in Finland received papers and hooks and began to keep the Sabbath, and through his efforts a company of twenty Sabbath- keepers has been raised up, who will soon be visited by Elder Matteson. Many other instances were related, showing how the truth of the Third Angel's Message cannot be hid, but we can mention Ollly two. 'A gentleman, a Bn ptist, received part of a copy of P1·esent Truth, wrnpped about some goods. He became deeply in- teresLed, and called at the office and bought the back numbers of P1·esent 1'1·uth, also the pamphlet "Truth Fo.und," and the tract "Who Changed the Sabbath'(" which he saw advertised. He is much awakened over the Sabbath question. Elder Whitney also mentioned a very interesting circumstance. Brother Vuilleumier baptized a com- pany of twenty-two persons at Neuchatel. A re- port of this was published in a religious paper in Paris. Tlds report was read by some French Bap· tists in the Argentine Republic, South America, and awakened their interest. One of this company had been in Switzerland, and he told the othei·s that the people who performed this baptism keep the Sab- bath. As a result of this. six of the company have begun to keep the Lord's Sabbath. They have sent for Les Signes cles Temps, published at Basel. In England there are now three organized churches of Seventh-day Adventists, containing eighty-one members. There are besides this forty who are not yet church-mem hers. In Norway the people are religiously inclined, and are willing to listen to the truth. It is quite easy to convince them of its binding claim, but quite diffi- cult to induce them to take their stand, ·owing to their limited means of obtaining a living. Still pov- erty does not deter all. In Norway there are three churches and 175 members. The Swedish Conference has ten churches and 250 members, besides 100 Sab- bath-keepers not yet connected with any church. Denmark has nine churches and 250 members. These facts but poorly show how the truth is spreading. Still there is a great work to be done. This does not indicate, however, that it will be a ·long while before it is done. The work will all be done within this generation, for "this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Be- fore this generation passes away the Lord will come, and the work of warning the world will have· been completed. Therefore the only conclusion is that if those to whom the work has beeu intrusted are un- faithful to their trust, God will set them aside and DECEMBER 2, 1886. THE BIG NS OF T:I-IE TIMES. [7) 727 put his work into the hands of those who will con- nect with him and follow his opening providence. The cause will go on to triumph whether we do or not. The religious services thus far have been interest- ing and profitable. Yesterday morning (Sabbath, Nov. 20) at 5:30A.M., Elder Butler delivered a most impressive and instructive discourse to the ministers and missionary workers. At 10:30 Elder Haskell delivered a sermon ou the Judgment, which made a solemn impression on many minds. In the afternoon there was a social meeting, and in the evening a large congregation ·gave careful attention to a lect- ure by Dr. J. H. Kellogg, on the "Religion of the Body." The meeting has only just begun, and more items of interest may be expected next week. Battle Creek, Mich., Nov. 21. w. A Romish Reason ,for a Romish Custom. HAVING examined all the scriptures which speak of the first day of the week, and found that not one of them gives any reason for the keeping of that day in any sacred manner, we shall now for a little spr~.ce look at some other of the "reasons" which are given for keeping Sunday. One of these "reasons" is framed something after this manner: Redemption is greater than creation, and as creation had a memorial day, redemption should also have a memorial day; and as redemption was completed at the resurrection of Christ, and as that was on the first day of the week; therefore the first day of the week must now be kept in commem- oration of completed redemption. This might all be well enough if it were true. But there are several fatal defects about it. 1. The Scripture says not a word about it. 2. This" reason" says that" redemption is greater than creation," a thing which, as the Scripture is silent about it, no person can prove. For mark what would have t.o be done before it cou'ld be shown that redemption is greater than creation. The whole creatio11 would have to be spanned and measured; and then redemption likewise; then a comparison drawn before ever it could be known which is tile greater. But no man can conceive of the creative power employed in the making of thg smallest in- sect that lives, nor of the tiniest blade of grass that grows. In short no human mind can form any just conc,e.ption of any creative act whatever. How much less then can it be formed of the whole crea- tion, or of the depths of redemption. Therefore, unt-il a person is found who has such a mighty grasp of intellect ~hat he can span the creation; and who is so profoundly wise that he can enter into the counsels of eternity aud comprehend the depths of redemption; and then ngai nst creation weigh re- demption as in a balance-until then none can ever know which is the greater. And as God, who alone is able to do this, has not in all his revelation to men said a word about which is the greatPr, and as none else cau,. it follows that there is no just basis for the statement that redemption is greater than creation. Almighty power alone could accomplish either, and to talk of one act of Almighty power be- ing greater than another is only nonsense. 3. Another fatal defect in this is, in saying that "redemption was completed at the resurrection of Christ." The truth is that redemption, so far from being finished at the resurrection of Christ, will not be finished till the end of the world. The disciples asked the Saviour what shotlld be the sign of his coming and of the end of the world, and he an- swered, "There shall be signs in the su·n, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of natinns, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look ttp, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." Luke 21:25-28. These things did not "begin to come to pass" till 1780 A. n.; for then it was that the sun was turned to darkness, and the moon also. Therefore it is plain from these words of Christ, that instead of redemption being completed at the resur- rection of Christ, it was not even "nigh" for 1749 year15 after that event. This is confirmed by Paul. He says: "Ourselves also, wllich have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselvrs groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." Rom. 8:23. Our bodies wili be redeemed at the resurrection of the dead: "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death" (Hos. 13: 14); and the resurrection of the dead is accomplished at the second corning of the Lord. "For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the arch- angel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall 1·ise first; then we which a1·e alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4: 16, 17. Therefore Paul, in telling of our redemption, places its accomplishment exactly where Clt rist places it, that is, at the second coming of the Lord, and not origin. In the Roman Catholic Catechism, entitled "The Catholic Christian Instructed," chapter XXIII, question 6, is found the following:- " Q.-"Thy was the weekly Sabbath changed fromt Saturday to Sunday? "Ans.-Becanse our Lord fully accomplished the· work of 1·edemption by rising from the dead on a Sunday, and by sending down the Holy Ghost on a. Sunday: as therefore the work of redemption was: g1·eater than that of c1·eation, so the primitive church thought the dav on which this work was·. completely fi~;islted was" more worthy her religious; observation than that on which God rested from creation, and should he properly called the Lord's; day." There, reader, is the true authority upon which rests this" reason" for keeping Sunday. So when- ever you hear any body present as a reason for keep- ing Sunday (and you will never hear it for any other cause), the idea that redemption is greater than ere-· ation, or that redemption was completed at the res-· urrection of Christ, you may know that both the· idea and the institution come from Rome. And~ you may know that the person who preaches it, in that thing preachrs the doctrine of Rome and not. the doctrine of Christ. In . .,;tead of giving a Bible: reason for a Bible duty, he only gives a Romish reason for a Romish custom. J. Good and Bad Gifts from God. at his resurrection. "And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my Again Paul writes: "In whom [in Christ] ye also judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the them." Eze. 20: ll. - " \Vherefore I gave them also statutes that were not gospel of your salvation; in wl1om also, af'ter thnt ye good, and judgments whereby they should not live." believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of Eze. 20:25. promise, which is the eamest of our iuherit.ance un- THESE two texts have been the subject of a go'od til the redemption of the purchased possession." deal of controversy, and the latter one has been Eph. 1: 13, 14. "That Holy Spirit of promise" was used by infidel cavilers as an argument against the not given until the day of Pentecost, forty-nine days goodness of God. The two verses, occurring as they ajte1· the resurrection of Christ; and this, says Paul, do in such close connection, and referring to things is the earnest of our inheritance until (not because so directly opposite in their nature, are worthy ot' a of) the 1·edernption of the purchased possession. By careful consideration. Fortunately the data for the this Holy Spirit, says Paul, "ye are sealed unto explanation of both verses is supplied in the con- the clay of redemption." Eph. 4:30. :Now as the text. A misunderstanding of these texts, as in all Holy Spirit was given to be with those who trust in other cases, arises from not considering the connec- Christ "until the day of redemption," and as that tion and not comparing scripture with scripture. Spirit was not so given till forty-nine days after the As to the meaning of the first verse there can be resurrection of Christ, this proves most positively no-diffeP'nce of opinion. It evidently refers to the that the clay of the resurrection of Christ could not ten commandments. These statutes and judgments possibly be made" the monument of a finished re- were delivered to the people when they had beeu demption." And when anybo'ly, or the whole pro- brought out of the ln.nd of Egypt into the wilder- fessed Christian church together, sets up the first ness; and thesP. st:t.tutes are the only ones" which if day of the week as the monument of a finished re- a man do, he shall even live in them." Some one demption, it is simply to pervert the Scripture doc-may object that no one can live by ke:'ping the com- trine of redemption, and to put darkness for light. mandments, but that is only because no one has But some may ask, As the ideas of redemption be-done them. "All havE\ sinned, and come short of ing greater than creation, and of redemption being the glory of God" (Rom. 3: 23), therefore no man can finished at the resurrection, are not according to be justified by the law in the sight of God. Never- Scripture at all, where did they come from, and how theless it is a fixed and universal truth that "the did they become so widely prevalent in the church r doers of the law shall be justified." The answer is, They belong with the Sunday insti- If the judgments "which if a man do, he shall tution itself; they are au essential part of the foun- even live in them" are the perfect and holy ten elation upon which that institution rests; and they commandments, then the "statutes that were not originated where the Sunday-Sabbath institution good," and the "jndg:ments whereby they should originated, they came from the same place that it not live," must be something directly oppo;;ed to did: that is, from that grand hot-bed of errors and the ten commnndment::;. This will more readily corruptions of Scripture, the Romish Church, the appear by reading the entire connection, which wa mystery of iniquity, the lawless one. Of that power quote:- which opposes and exa.lt.s itself above God, it is just (7) "Then said I unto them, Cast·ye away every what we might expect that it would take upon itself man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not to declare that redemption is greater than creation, yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord which God has not dl'clared, and to d0clare that re- your God. (8) But they rebelled against me, and demption was completed at the ·resurrection of would not hearken unto me; they did not every man Christ, the contrm·y of which God has declared. cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did This is only in keeping with the character which they forsake the idols of Egypt; then I said, I will the Bible shows of Rome, that of exalting. itself pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my' an- above God. ger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But. the.mere statement of this, by us, without (10) Wherefore I caused theni. to go forth proof, would not be sufficient. Therefore we here out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into give the proof that this so-called re;tson for keeping I the wilderness. (11) And I gave them my sta,tutes, Sunday is only a Romish reason, and is of Romish and showed them my judgments, which if a m.an do, 728 [S] '1-,HE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. VoL. 12, No. 46. I ; he shall even live in them. (12) Moreover also I ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the! Bible Answers to Bible Questious.-No. 4. gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me space of forty years in the wilderness? Yea, ye took and them, that they mi·ght know that I am the Lon.l up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your ANOTHER important question is, "If a man die, that sanctify them. (13) But the house of Israel god Rernpban, figures which ye made to worship shall he live again?" This question is noL one that rebelled against me in the wilderness; they walked them." Acts 7 :41-43. is asked now so much as it ought to be. The ques- not in my statutes, and they despised my judg- Here it is expressly stated that because they re- tion that is now asked a good deal mor€1 than it ments, which if a man do, he shall even live in fused to worship God, he turned and gave them up ought to be, is whether man really dies-whether them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted; then to worship the host of heaven, and the figures made there is really any such thing as deaLh. And as it I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the to represent the heavenly bodies. is in the great majority of cases decided that man wilderness, to consume them. (15) Yet also I Again, the psalmist covers the same ground, in does not die, that "there is no death, what seems so ],fLed up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that the following words:- is transition," in the view that man never ceases to I would not bring them int,o the land which I had "Hear, 0 my people, and I will testify unto thee; live, it would not be an nppropriate question at all given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is 0 Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; there sh;ill to ask, Shall he live again? the glory of all lands; (16) because they despised no strange god be in thee; neither shalt Lhou wor- But as we have abundanLly shown, the Bible con- my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but ship any strange god. I am the Lord thy God, siders this subject from the standpoint of the fact polluted my sabbaLhs; for the'ir hea1·t went after which brougl1t thee out of the land of Egypt; open that man does die; that when he is dead he is wholly their idols. (17) Nevertheless mine eye spared them thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. But my people unconscious, and that all prospect of future exist- from destroying them, neither did I make an end of would not hearken to my voic0; and Israel would ence depends upon an affirmative answer, from the them in the wilderness. (18) But I said unto their none of me. So I gave them up unto their own word of God, to the question as to whether he shall children in the wilderness, walk ye not in the stat-hearts' lust, and they walked in their own counsels." live again. In Job 14: 14 is written the question to ute.s of your .{athe1·s, neither observe theb· judg-Ps. 81:8-12. which we have here referred: "If a man die, sha 11 ments, no1· defile your·sel'ves with their idols,-(19) I This dealing with Israel is but a repetition of God's he live again?" And in Isaiah 26:19 we have tl1e am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and dealing with the heathen, who, "when they knew direct answer to the question: "Thy dead men shall keep my judgments, and do them. • (21) Not- God, they glorified him notasGod,""andclwnged the live, together with my dead body shall they ari::;e. withstanding the children rebelled against me; they glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made Awake and sing, ye tl1at dwell in the dust; for thy walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judg-like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four- dew is as the dew of heros, and the earth shall ca~t ments to do them, which if a man do, he shall footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore out the dead." even live in them. . . (23) I lifted up mine hand God also ga\u00b7e them up to uncleanuess, through the The only hope of future life which the word of' unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scat- lusts of their own hearts;" he also "gave them up God presents is in the resurrection of the dead. ter them ·among the heathen, and disperse them unto vile affec:Lions;" "and even as they did noL This is the hope of the righteous, it is the Christian's through the countries; (24) Because they had not like to retain God in their knowletlge, _God gave h~pe. Paul, in discussing this subject of the resur- executed my judgments, but had despised my them over to a reprobate mind, to do those thing::; rectio11 of the dead, proves first that Christ is risen. statutes, and had polluted my Sabbaths, ~LIJd thei1· which are not convenient." See Rom. 1:21-28. and then says: "Now if Christ be preached that he eyes we1·e after thei1· .{athe1·:;' idols. (25) Whe,re- Moreover it is just in this way tliat God will deal rose from the dead, how say sorne among you that .fore I gave them also strttutes that we1·e not good, with all who despi::;e him and his Lruth. Of those there is no resurrection or the dead'? But if there and judgments whereby they should not live; (26) who" ~eceived not the love of the truth, that they be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that might be saved," the inspired apostle writes:- risen; and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaeh- they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth "And for this cause God shfdl send them strong i ng vain, and your faith is also vain." 1 Cor. t5: the womb, that I might m:dce them desolate, to the delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they 12-14. It is evident that there were some at Corinth, end that they might know that I am the Lord. (27) all might be damned who believed not the truth, even as there are some now, who professed to believe Therefore, sou of man, speak unto the house of Israel, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 2 Thess. 2: in Christ and at the same time believe not in the and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Yet 10-12. resurrection of the dead. But Paul settles that at in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that God always gives people just what they want. If once by saying, "If there be no resurrection of the they have committed a trespass against me. (28) they really want righteousness, he fills them with it, dead," your faith in Christ is vain. This pn.ves For when I haJ brought them into the land, for the as it is written, "Blessed are they which do hunger plainly that our hope and faith iri Oltrist meets its which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be fruition only at and by the resunection of the dead. tlley saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, filled." Matt. 5 :6. But if they deliberately choose This is so important that the Spirit of God, by the and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they to do wrong, n n.sl<:>ep in Christ are pe1·ished." you, 0 11ouse of Israel. thus saith the Lord God: Go lied upon him for aid. The sequel was in harmony Tt would be impossihle to more forcibly show that all ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, with the prineiple commented on in this article. hope of future life depends upon the resurrection of if ye will not hearken unto me; but pollute ye my Those who said they could not go up, never did go the dead. If there be no resurrection of the dead. holy name no more with your gifts, and with your up; while those who said they were able to possess then the dead are perished. And this is stated, not idols." the land, did posseRs it. of the wicked dead, but of the righteous dead," they In this last verse the whole matter is summed up. God will not force anybody into the path of right-also which are fallen asleep in Chr·ist," even these God gave them laws of truth, good laws, the doing eousness. If men wish to walk therein, he makes have perished if there be no resurrection of the of which would lead to life. But the pL·op_le hated the way very plain. But if they refu~:>e and rebel, dead. In verse 32, this is repeatvd in another form: these holy commandments, and turned to the wor-he gives them ample scope for the exercise of their "If after the manner of men I ltave fought with ship of dumb idols, which is expressly forbidden by own will. We conclude, therefore, that it is best beasts at Ephesus, what advantagetlJ it 111e, if the the commandments, and the end of which is death. for a man to walk in Lhe way of the Lord, and to dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to-morrow Therefore God gave them up to their own desires, keep his commandments. It is a terrible thing for we die." and allowed them to have Lheir own way. a man to be given up to the pursuit of his own way. Such argument as that is very seldom heard in As still further proof, we have the tesLimony of "For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose thrse our days. Now the argument is, What adntn- Stephen. In his speech before the council, he cov- the fear of the .Cord; they would none of my coun-tageth it us to practice Lhe life of Christian self- erecl the same gronnd that is covered by the prophet l:-lel; they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall dPnial, if the soul be not immortal'? \Vhat ad van- Ezekiel in the 20th chapter. S:1id he:- they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled I tageth it us to do _these things. if. we do not go to "A11d they made a calf in those days, and offered with their own devices. For the turning away of Heaven when we dte? And so It IS sung,- sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of "Oh, yon must be a lover of the Lord, their own hands. Then God turned, and gave them fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth Or you can't go to Heaven when y•m die." up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from The truth is, that though you be a lover of the the book of the propllets, 0 ye house of Israel, have fear of evil." Prov. 1:29-33. w. Lord, you can't go to Heaven when you die, but you DECEMBER 2, 1886. THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. [9] 729 can go at the resurr·ection of the dead. And that is at the coming of the Lord. For so it is written: "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ sl1a1l all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; ofte1·wa1·d they that are Christ's at his coming." Verses 22, 23. "For the Lord him- self shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archnngel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. "So," means "in this manner." In this manner it is that we go to Heaven. In this manner we moet the Lord. The hope of life by Christ, at the resurrection of the dead, is the hope in which Paul lived, the hope in which he exercised himself, the hope which he prenched. When he ~tood before the council, he said: "I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question." Acts 23:6. And afterward; when he answered his accusers before Felix, he said: I" have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that thereshall be a resunection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. . . . Let these same here say, if they have found any evil doing in me,'"While I stood before the council, except it be for this one voice, that I cried standing among them, Touehing the re!lurrection of the dead I am called in question by you this day." Acts 24:15-21. Again, whC'n he stood before Agrippa, he said: "Anrl now I st.and and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers; unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accufled of the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?" Acts 26:6-8. Now put these things together: (a) He stood and was jndged for the hope of the promise made of God. (b) This was the promise made unto the fathers. (c) Unto this promise the twelve tribes-all Israel- hope to come. (d) For this hope he was accused of the Jews. (e) But he wns accnsed-called in ques- tion-of the Jews," touching the resurrection of the dead." (f) Therefore the hope· of the promise of God, made unto the fathers, is the hope of the prom- ise of tl~e resurrection o.f the dead. (g) This is made emphatic by his question to Agrippa, "Why should it be thonght a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dertcl'l" When Paul was at Atlwns "he preacl1ed unto them Jesus and the resurrection." Acts 17:18. Therefore it is plainly prov.en that the hope which God has set before us in Chriflt and his blessed gospel, is the hope of a resurrection from the dead unto everlasting life and eternal glory. And as this resurrection all depends upon the glorious appear- ing of our Saviour, therefore the second coming of our Saviour is inseparably connected with this the Christian's "blessed hope." Thus saith the Lord: "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath ap- peared to all men, teaching us that, denying un- godliness and worldly I ust.s, we should live soberly, righteously, and g-odly, in this present world; look- ing for that blessed hope, and the glorious appear- ing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Titus 2:11-13. This is that for which Job looked. He says: "All the clays of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come." Job 14:14. This change is at the resurrection, for says Paul,'' We shaH uot all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trnmp." 1 Cor. 15: 51, 52. ArotesL:ll:t Irish. There are quite a nmnl>cr of America,ns in the colony, and conRequeutly tl1e people are more Americanized i11 theie manners than thry are in the other colol1ie8 of Au;-;Lralasia. This i8 particularly so in Auckland and the N orLh I sl- and. There is more liberality of feeling man- ifested, and the American would be more at home here than in the other colonies. This may be due to the fact that this colony has been more recently settled, and they remember they were strangers in a strange la1Jd, and also because of the efforts of the former Ameri- can consul to cultivate friendly relationR with the United States, and sc('ure the esLablislJmt:llt of commereial interests between the two coun- tries. The seeuhr press is very liberal in anything of a denominational cbaractor, believing Luat all should have an opportunity to express their conscientious convictions. They opened their columns, giving a sketch of our hi::;to!'y as a people, stating our object in coming to the colony, etc. 'l'he religious bodies, however, as elsewhere, manifest much opposition toward anything liable to disLnrb the qnict of thcit· churches. Aside from the Scve!1th-dnv Ad- ventists now cstabli.shed there, we kno'~;· of no sect taking the name of Adven!iRts. There are the Christadclpliians, and Plymouth Brethren, who believe in the coming of Christ, but their doctrine is so different from the common view that they would never be understood as being Adventif:lts af:l tbe term is used in America. 'l 1here is another body called Christians, many of whom claim to be reallv Adventists. It would be difficult, however, to state their views in detail. Being acqnainted with the man who brought them tbeir views on the n:tture of man, and some other of the tenets held, we think it is but justice to say that he shot~ld not be held responsible for all their viewR. On one thing they accord with the AdvcnLists of America, namely, the nature of man. Aside from this the doctrine held by many of them ·would ap- penr but an inconsiRtont jnrgon, but iew of them are agreed as to what is truth and they seem to agree to disagree. Brothel; Hare and his wife bad embraced this doctrine on the nature of man, and were nominally connected with this people. We found many of them, however, comwientious and God-fearing but much bewildered as to their belief, as they naturally would be. :Mr. Aldrich, a young man of considerable ability, is their pastor. They meet rcp;ulnrly on the first day oftbe week to break bread, as the Disciple, or Christian, Church in America. By special invitation we spoke to them on the differences between their belief and ours, giving the reasons for our faith. 'l'his resulted in a friendly discus- sion of the Sabbath question with 1'[r. Aldrich, occnpying two evenings of two hour~ each. The discussion. was conducted after the fol- lowing method:- Tbe affirmative spoke half an hour, followed by the negative. Then the affirmative ques- tioned the negative fifteen minutes, he bein!r expected to answer without hesitation the questions asked. Then in tum the neo-ative questioned the affirmative. Tue diRcussio 0n was then closed for the evening by a fifteen-minute speech each. There was nothing new brouo-ht out by Mr. Aldrich in opposition to the Sabb:th. As the result of the interest here awakened and the Bible-readings held, a number took their 730 [10) THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. VoL. 12, No. 46. stand to observe the Sabbath of the fourth com- mandment. All of theRe have adhered to it, while others have since joined them. They bold their regular Sabbath-school and social meeting -every Sabbath, and meet certain evenings dur- ing the week for Bible-readings. Brother Ed- ward Hare has charge of the meetings. The class of "Cbristi:1ns" alluded to, bold to an invisible second coming of ChriRt. In one of their branch churches ~e were kindly invited to present the views we entertained upon this point. 'l'his we freely did, and in these varions w:1ys were enabled to get the fundamental principles of our faith before the people of this denomination. :Many of them aclmowledged light on many points which had before troubled them. vVe also found those who had charge of city missions, captains of vessels, etc., ready to co- operate with us in every consistent way. In rw case were we refused the privilege of placing our publications on board sbipR, or securing the aid of those in charge to see that they were distributed in the different ports ':vhich they entered. Consequently a wide door was here opened for the i~lands of the Pacific Ocean. Tf1ere seemed to be a general interest and willingness in placing before the people the publications which we furnished. It is but an act of jllstice to acknowledge tlne courtesy of the New Zealand Union Steamship Company, who from that time freely took om· publications from Am;trnlia to Auckland, nnd always man- ifested a willine-neRs to do for us what they could. The custom house officers, and those officially connected with the businese relating to the shipping, treated UR very courteously, and aided it in every way consistent with their duties. Auckland is the most fn1·orable Rbip- ping point for the iRlands of the Pacific lying between there and the United States of America. S. N.H. Brooldyn 1'Iis~ion. FRoM a private letter to Elder Haskell, we are permitted to print the following account of the work at the Brookiyn Mis~ion, New York. It shows how the trnth is spreading in that great city. May the Lol'd bless and speed the work:- DEAR BROTHER HASKELL: Your very interest- ing letter cnme in season to rend at our morning worship yeRterday, and our henrts were deeply affected by its contents. Such evidences that God is willing to pour out his Spirit, is what we have been earnestly seeking, of late; arrd the Lord has graciously come near to us and our work. Seven have em braced the truth since the camp-meeting. I never .saw the interest man- ifested in the truth, among RO mnn_r people as there seems to be here. I think I hnve written you of the combined efforts of the c1ergymen of this part of the city to overthrow the influ- ence of our work. It seems as clear to us as the noon-day sun that God bas turned this effort in favor of our work. H.ev. Harris bas preach('d four sermons in op- position to UF!. We ,·cviewed one of his dis- conrRes on the Sabbnt h through the Green Point Daily Sta1·, in the Saturday edition, which goes into nearly ever\u00b7 family in this part of the city. Tho editor told ns that be would publish it if we would allow it to go in over our own signature. Last Saturday's. edition bad five arti- cles, and notices referring to the agitation on the Sabbath question. What seemR remnrlmble, is that people living right near "·here we live, but who have never known anything nbout us until this agitation ~arne up. have come to our ball and afLer hear- ing one di:-~conr:-::e :lnrl one or two Bible-readings, h:1Ye tnkon a firm stnnd for the truth; we have lwd as many as four instances of this kind North Pacific T. and M. Society. REPORT FOR QuARTER ENDTNG SEPT. 30, 1886. No. of members.......................... .. . 224 " " dismissed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 added........................ 13 reports returned..... . . . . • .. . . . .. . .. . 145 missionary visits .......•.. •........... . . 2, 733 letters written. . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . J ,311 periodicals distributed.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,837 pa~es of re,~ding loaned and given away.. 92,897 sold................... 99,245 " SIGNS taken in clubs... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 '' other periodicals taken in clubs......... 385 subscriptions t?.ken for periodicals ...... ~ J 67 Bible-readings held.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437 Received on donations and membership ......... $ 75 07 " " sales and periodicals. . . . . . . . . . . . . 457 09 " $5,000 Fund.. . . .. . . .. .. .. . . .. .. . 40 00 '' $2,000 '' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • 125 85 " Educational Fund............... 116 50 " Foreign Missions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 8 20 " " Home " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 25 Total receipts ....................... $844 96 J. A. BURDEN, Sec'y. California T. and M. Society. REPORT FOR QUARTER ENDING SE.I?T. 30, 1886. No. of members............................. 1,065 " " added.. . .. . . .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. . 41 " dismissed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 reports returned...................... 474 " missionary visits...................... 4,558 letters written. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 939 pages of tracts, pamphlets, and books dis- · tributed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751,344 periodicals distributed................. 68,660 SIGNS taken in clubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 704 new subscribers obtained.............. 331 Bible-readi11gs held... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 606 Received on donations and membership ........ $ 385 56 " " book sales....................... 103 75 '' SIGNS and other periodicals....... 70' 43 Total receipts ... ." ................... $1)98 14 · ANNAL. INGELS, Sec'y. WE pass but once nlong the pathway of life. We cannot retrnce our stepR and correct the errors of the past. All we can do is to mourn over them, and, if poRsible, avoid repeating them in the future. We have but 011e trial. How cnrcfnl, then, vvc should be to guard a§2:ainsl error, to resist every inducement to evil, and to act wisely and prudently, so that our own con- scienoe and our God may appr0ve.-Sel. NOTES ON THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON. The Saints in Heaven. (Decem er 12-Rev. 7 :9-17.) THE sealing having been accomplished, John beholds a countle~s multitude wor~hiping God in rapture before his throne. ·rhis vast thron.£!: are undoubtedly the saved out of every nntion, kindred, tribe, and tongue, raised fi·om the dead at tbe second coming of Christ, showing- that the sealing iA the last work accom plisbed for the people of God, prior to translation. THE qnestions proposed by one of the elders to John, \Vhat are these whieh are arrayed in ,~·bite robes? and whence .came they? taken in conneetion with John's nnRwer, Sie, thou know- est, implying that be did not know, wonlrl seem to be devoid of nll point, if they had ref- ere·nee to the whole of the .e:rcn t multitude now before hin1. For John did h1ow who tlwv were, nnd f1·om whence they came; innfmuch as he l·1ad juRt said that they were people, re- deemed, of conrse, out of nll nntionR, kindrcds, peopie, and tongues; and John could hnve an- swered, These are the redeemed ones from all the nations of the earth. Bnt. if n Rpecinl com- pany in this vast throng were referred to, dis- tingniRbed by Rome Rpccial mark or poAition, then it might not be so evident vvho they were, and what had give11 them theit· pccnlinrity; and the qnestions as applied to tbem would be ap- propriate and perhnen t. WE therefore incline to the view that atten- tion is called to a special company by the ques- tions ·which were proposed by one of the elders; and no company is brought to view to which special allusion would more naturnlly be made, thnn to the company spoken ofin the first part of the chnpter, namcl.L the 144,000. John had indeed seen this company in their mortal Rt.ate ns they wore reeci\u00b7ing t.ho seal of tho living God amid the troublous scenes of the last d1tyR; bnt as they here stand among the redeemed throng, the transition is so great, and tho <.:on- dit.ion in which they now appenr so different, that he docs not r('cognize them as t.he special company which he saw sealed upon the earth. And to this company, the language that follows seems to be specially applicable. 1. THEY came out of great tribulation. While it is trne in some degree of all Christinns that they must "throngh mnf'h fTihnlat.ion enter into the kingdom of God," it is true in a very emphatic t:~ense of tho 144,000. Tbey pass through the great time of tronblc snch as never was since there was a nation. Dan. 12 : 1. They experienced the mental nng11iRh of the tirne of Jacob's trouble. Je1·. 30:4-7. They stand without a mediato1· thron~h the territie scenes of the seven last plagues, thn~:e exhibi- tions of God's unmingled wrath in the earth. .Rev. 15 :16. rrhcy pa:-::R through the Severest time of trouble the ·world h :1s ever kuown, al- though they are delivered out of it. 2. THEY wash their robes a11d make them ':vhite in the blood of the l,:unb. To the l21.st ~eneration the testimony is vcr.r empbntic on the subject of obtainin~ tho white raiment. H.ev. 3: 5, 18. And t hongh tho 144,000 are ac- cnRcd of rejecting Chrif.lt and trusLing to tbeit· own works for Rnlvation, bcc~1nse they refuse Lo viobte the commandments of God (Rev. 14: 1, 12), in the great day that calnmny will be wiped off. Jt will be seen tb~1tthey h3.ve reRted. their hope of life on the merits of the shed blood of their divine .Redeemer, making him their source of righteousne8s. '.£here is a pecul- DECEMBER 2, 1886. TriE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. [ll) 731 iar force in saying of these that they have 6. \Vbat good moti,·es ought to have influ- washed their i·obes and made them white in the enced him? Same verse. Lesson Xf .·-'Phe Laborers iu the Vineyard. blood of the Tmmb. I. Did these things hftve nny power to move ( abl.Jath, D ·cember 11.) him? Same verse. . 1. How DID our IJord introdnce the parable :i. V1~RSE J 5 d~Rcribos the poRt.. of hon.or they 1 8. Why did he finnlly conclude to tal reference to some special experience, may it! home the meaning of the parable? Verse 7. for ft penny a dsy, he sent them into his Yine- not refer to their experience in the time ofl 12. Is there any promise here for those who vard." Verse 2. trouble, mo1·e especially during the plagues?/ do not cry to God? " 3. At what time did he hire other laborerR? In this time the righteous will be rednced to I 13. What seems to be the teaching of the "And he went out about the third hour, and bread and water; and tbou~h that "will be parable ?-That if a. wicked man, who cared saw others standing idle in the marketplace." sure" (Isa. 33: 16), enough for snstenance, .):et not to please God, and who had no sympathy Verse 3. may. i~ not be that, .when the. pastures, w1tl~ for human suffering, would yield to the persist- 4. 'Vba.t agreement did he make with them? all frUits and veg.etatJOn, ar_o dr1e.d np (Joel 1. ent snpplicnt.ions of ft poor woman, it is certa.i11 "And Raid~ unto them: Go ye ftlso into tho 18-20), and the nvet·s and fountams ~~returned thn.t God, who tenderly love::; all his c1·enture8, ,·inoym·d, nnd whatsoever is right I will give to blood (_Rev. 16: 4-9), to redt~ce thmr conllOC-will heed the prayers of his ::;:1intt-. yon." Verse 4. . . . tion with earl b and earthly thmgs to the low- _ . . . . . 5. vVhen and wtth what understandmg d1rl est limit. tbe saints who pass throucrb that time 14. What. questiOn ~eems t.o lmpi,Y tha.t ~n he hire still other;:.ct ?- A ques-ing. TheRe last hftve wrought but one honr, tion used in thif:l way is called a figul'e of inter- and thon hast made them eqnal unto nR, which rogation. It is not asked for tLe purpose of have borne the burden and heat of tbc dnv." ob.taiili·ng an answer, but to make a stt·onger Verses l 1. 12. " impression of a. truth than (:ould be made by a 15. llow did the maRter justi~y himself to one direct statement. It is put under ::,ucb cit·cum-of these complainers? stances as to admit of but one answer, and that "But he answered one of them, and RAid, Friend, I do thee no wrong; didst not thou answer must declare the truth whieh tho spealcer a12.Tee with me for a penny?" Verse 13. Lesson X.-Thc Importunate Widow a.ncl wishes to impress. In this way the hearer, 16. -what did he tell the laborer to do? the Penitent Publican. in answering ·the question, is compelled to tes- ,, Take that thine is, and go thy way; I will (Sabbath, December 4.) ti(y to the fact which he is called upon to admit. give nnto thiR last, even as unto thee." Verse 1. To "\VHA'l' end~ or for ·what purpose~ did Jo- 1 lf this unfeeling judge, 'vbo feared not God, 14. sus give the parable of the importunate widow? nor regarded man, could in any way be induced 17. What qneRtionR did he ask the dissat.iR- Luke 18": 1. to administer justice in favor of the widow, cer-fied m::n ? , . 2. Who were the lea<;ling characters in the tftinly God, a. being of infinite love, will, with-I ." JR J~ not la.';ful for .me .to do .what I 'vill parable? Verses 2, 3. ont unnecessary delay, give help nnd protection WIth mn~e, own., Is tbme eye ev1l, bect~.use I D 'b h · d V 2 1 · 1 1 J d 'th h am o·ood? Vetse 15. · 3 .. escr1 e t e JU ge. erse . to 11s own e ect, w 1om 1e regar s WI snc 18 .... Wh J h d fi . 1 d h hl 4 What request did the widow make? Verse tender compassion. N evertLeless~ to remove h t. . e~pl ed~udsh a.] dms le? t e para. e, · . · w a prmm e 1 e a.y own . 3. ~II doubt, and perhaps for the purpose of add- "So the last shall be first, and the first ]aRt; 5. How did the judge at first regftrd her pe-mg another thought, our I1ord proceeds to an-for many be called, but few chosen." Verse 16. tition? Verse 4. swer the question himself. (Concluded on page 794.). 732 [l2] THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. VoL. 12, No. 46. SOMETIME. SoMETIME, when all life's lessons have been learned, And sun and stars forevermore have set, The things which our wead: judgments here have spurned, The things o'er which we grieved with lashes wet, Will flash before us out of life's.dark night, As stars shine most in deepest tints of blue, And we shall see how all God's plans were right, And how what seemed reproof was love most true. And we shall see how while we frown and sigh, God's plans go on as best for you and me; How, when we called, he heeded not our cry, Because his wisdom to the end could see, And e'en as prudent parents disallowed Too much of sweet to craving babyhood, So God, perhaps, is keeping from us now Life's sweetest things, because it seemeth good. And if sometimes commingled with life's wine, We find the wormwood, and rebel and shrink, Be sure a wiser hand than yours or mine Pours out this potion for our lips to drink; And if some friend we love is lying low Where human kisses cannot reach his face, Oh, do not blame the loving Father so, But wear your sorrows with obedient grace. And you shall shortly know that lengthened breath Is not the sweetest gift God sends his frierids, And that sometimes the sable pall of death Conceals the fairest boon his love can send. If we could push ajar the gates of life, And stand within and all God's workings see, We could interpret all this doubt and strife, And for each mystery could find a key. But not to·day. Then be content, poor heart; God's plans, like lilies, pure and white unfold; We must not tear the close shut leaves apart- Time will reveal the calyxes of gold; And if through patient toil we reach the land vVhere tired feet, with sandals loosed, may rest, When we shall clearly know and understand, I think we will say, "God knew the best." -M a1y Riley Smith. Aunt Deborah's Lesson. "THE good lands! what's that?" excitedly cried frightened Aunt Deborah. Aunt Deborah might well exclaim in surprise. For as she sat knitting quietly and humming a quaint old tune of long ngo-one she had learned as a child-o-r-rash! bang! came a stone into the room, shivering the window-pane, just missing the swinging lamp in the hall-way, mak- ing an ugly scar on the cabinet, and breaking into fragments a handsome vase; then, as if sat- isfied with the mischief it had done, it rolled lazily across the floor, and finally stopped undei· the table, an inert, jagged bit of granite. Aunt Deborah, as the sLone pursued its reck- less course, placed her bands over her Le~td, and shrank back into her chair, a frightened and unwilling witness to the destruction of her property. It was quite distressing. Besides the nervous shock, there was the broken win" dow; there was the cabinet showing a great white dent that could not easily be removed; and there, too, was the vase she had kept so many long years, lying shattered and ruined before her eyes. Aunt Deborah was one of the best and most kind-hearted of women; but she was human, and the sudden havoc wrought by the missile exas- perated as well as frigb Lened her. She rushed to the window and opened it in time to see three or four boys scampering down the street as fast as their legs could cany them .. "Oh, you young scape-graces!" she cried. "If I could once lay bold on you, wouldn't I teach you a lesson!" But the boys never stopped until they had disappeared around a friendly corner. Aunt Deborah was overcome by the accident, and ~:;o intent upon watching the retreating boys to whom she desired to teach a lesson, that she did not at first notice a barefooted boy stand- ing under th9 window on tbe pavement below, holding a battered old hat in his hand, and look- ing up at her with a scared face and tearful eyes. "PleaR0., Miss," said the. boy tremulously. "Oh! ito are you? Who threw that stone at my window?" cried out Aunt Deborah, as she 'spied him. ''Please, Miss," pleaded the boy, fum b1ing nervously his torn bat, "I threw it, buL 1 didn't menn to do it." "Didn't mean to do it, eh?" replied Aunt Deborah, fiercely. "I suppose the stone picked itself up and pitehed itself through my glass." "I was going to throw it down the street, but Bill Philper touched my arm, and it turned and hit your window," he explained. There was an air of frankness and truth about the boy, and the fact that he had 110t run away like the others (who, somehow, Aunt Deborah held chiefly responsible for the outrage), caused her to relent a littie toward him. ''Come in here," she said, after eying him closely for a moment. The lad hesitated; but summoning all his courage, be went up the steps, and soon stood in her presence. "Do you see that?" she said, pointing at the window-" and that'? "-at· the cabinet-'' and that? "-at the broken vase-" and that? "-at the stone. "Now, isn't that a fi.ne perform- ance?" "l'm very sorry," ·said the boy, the tears welling into his eyes again. He looked ruefully about at the damaged articles, n nd gla11ced at the stone, wishi11g heartily that be bad never seen it. "Now, what's t.o be done about it?" asked she. "I don't know .ma'am," said he, very ill at ease. "I will try to pay you for it." "·what can you pay, I should like to kn9w?" she said, glancing at his patched coat and trou- sers and his torn. hat. "I sell papers," said he, "and I can pay you a little 011 it every week." "\u00a5bat's your name?" she asked. "Sam \Vadley," answered the boy. "Have vou a father?" "No, m~t'am," replied Sam; "he's dead." "11 ave you a moL her?" "Y eR, 1na.'am." "\V l1aL does she do?" continued Aunt Deb· orah. "She Re·ws, and I help her all 1 can, selling now::;pn pers." '' H .. owcan you pay me anyLhing, then?" "PJe:u-;o, ma'am, I'll tell mother all about it, and ~,he'll be williug for me to pay you all 1 make." " Well, now, we'll see if you are a boy who keeps bis word," said Aunt Deborah. "How much must I pay?" Snm inquired aJJxiously. "Let me see." Aunt Deborah put on her spectacles nnd made a critical survey of the room. " Window-fifty cents; vase-one dol- lar-! ·wouldn't have had it broken for five! That'll do-one dollar and a half. I shan't charge you for that dent in the furniLure." "l'll i.ry to pay you sorneLhing on it every week," said Sam. "There are some days when I don't make anything, buL when I do, I will save it for you." · "Very well," said Aunt Deborah; "you mny go now." He thanked her, and went slowly out, while Aunt Deborah began to pick up the fragments strewn over the floor. "Oh, wait a moment!" she cried. Sam came back. "Take this stone out with you, and be care- ful what you do \ViLh it, next time," she said. "By t,be way, if you wish to keep out of trouble, you'd bettor not keep company wiLh that Flip- per boy '1-Aunt Deborah had a rather poor memory for names. "If I had him wouldn't I give him a lesson!" She uttered the last sentence with such a rel- ish that Sam was glad enough to get away. He was afraid she m igl1 t conclude to bestow upon him the salutary Jesson which she had proposed to give "Flipper," as she called him. Sam hurried home as fast as he could. His mother, a pale, delicate woman ·whose wan feat- ures and sun ken eyes showed the effect of too hard work, heard his simple tale, wiped away his tearR, and encouraged him in his resolve to pay for the damage he bad done. From that day Sam began to be very diligent, and to earn pennies in every honest way po8sible to him. And every week he carried some small amount to Aunt Deborah. ,, rrhat boy has some good in him," she said, when be had brought his first installment. And, though she grew more kind to him every time he came, occasionally giving him a glass of milk, a sandwich or a cake, she rarely failed to warn him against the influence of that "Flip- per" boy. His young companions lang-hed at him for paying his money to Aunt Deborah, and called him a coward for not running away when they ran; but all they said did not turn him fl·om his purpose. One evening he went away with a cheerful heart to pay hiEl last installment. As he passed Lhe window of the siLting room he glanced in. There sat Aunt Deborah, earnestly knitting. The lamp-light fell upon her sober face, and Sam wondered if she evet· looked really smiling and pleasant. "lt doesn't seem as though she would be so stiff with a fellow," he Raid to,him- self. Then, in response to her, "Come in," he entered the room and handed her the money. "I believe that is all ma'am," said be. "Yes, that pays the whole sum,'' said Aunt Deborah; "you have done well." "I am still very sorry I have troubled you, and I hope you forgiYe me," he said. "I do, with all my heart," she Raid, earnestly. "Thank you," said Sam, as be started out, picking up his old hat from the floor, where he Lad n.lacod it on entering. "Come back," said Aunt Deborah; "I've something more to say to yon." With a~startled look he turned into the room. Aunt Deborah went to Lbe cabinet and unloeked it. She first took out a pair of new shoeR, t.hen half a dozen pnir of sotk8, some underclothing, two nice sb irts, a neat, woolen suit, and lastly a good felt hat. ' "Sam," said sbe, to the astonished l:ld, "I have taken your money, 110t because I wanted it, but because I wished to test you. 1 wi~l1ed to see "vbetbe1: you really mennt to pay me. rl 1hat Flipper boy would never l1ave dune it, 1 am sure. You have dolle so well in bringing me your little savings that I have learned to like you very much. Now I wish to make you a present of these articles. In the pocket of this jacket you will find the money you have paid me. I wouldn't take a cent of it. It is yours. You mm;t keep working and adding to it, so that you can soon help your mother more. Go to work now with a light heart, and grow up a true and honest man. Tell your moLher I say she h~ts a fine son." In making this speech, Aunt Deborah's feat- ures relaxed into a pleasant smile; and Sam smiled, too, and was so pleased that he could hardly utter his thanks. "And, mind," she continued, suddenly chang- ing the current of his thoughts, "don't asso- ciate with that Flipper boy." "Please, ma'am," said Sam, feeling a twinge of conscience that his former companion should bear so much of the blame, "you have been very kind to me, but Bill Philper didn't know the stolle would turn as it did, and break your window." "Tuell why did he run away?" inquired DECEMBER 2, 1886. THE BIG NS OF THE TIMES. [l3] 733 Aunt Deborah somewhat fiercely. "It's quite proper iba.t yon should try to excuse him, Sam; but I sbonlu like to teauh him a good lesson." "Yon-yon-have t:1nght mu a good lesson." said Sa.m, witb n blushing r·aco; "and I-I- than k you very m ncb for it .. " Aunt Deborah smiled bo11ignly again, and, warm !y bidding Sam to eon10 often to see her, she let him out at the door. She felt very happy aF> Sam disappeared down the street; and he was very happy, as he hunied home with his groat bundle, and told his rnoLher all abo11t it, which made that good woman very hnppy, too. So they were very happy all around. And it all CtLme about bol':tnRe Snm h:~d stood up iiko a brave boy to confess his wrong, which is always manly; and had offered reparation for it, which is ahvays right; and had gone forward, in spite of the taunts of his companions, denying himselfpleasures and com- forts, in order to do that wbich be knew to be right, which is always heroic.-St. Nicholas. Sir John and the "Erel>us." Opium and Tobacco. OFFICIAL reports show that the demand for opium i~:> siwh that its import:ttion into the United States is incre.asing with alarming ra- pidity. And the number of freRb victims upon the s~rine of this fascinating Moloch increnses with the dawning of every morning and tbe Retting of every sun. And it is erroneous to sup- pose that only depraved and abandoned char- ac~ters become victims of tbe terrible "opium habit." In my careful researches on this sn b- jcct I have foUJ:d far more victims of opi11m whose lives have been passed in tbe surround- ings of wonlLb, intelligence, and culture, than in tbe haunts of squalor, wretchedness: and crime (the latter being cbicfly addicted to alco- hol, tobacco, and chloroform). Women of refinement and culture, of more or less note, men .of grandeur of intellect and ap- parent moral character, yout.h with its rose- tinted hopes of a glorious, possible future, all FoRTY-ONE years ago last May, England fitted alike are subject to the fascinations and en tau- out Sit· John with two fine ships. They were the glemen ts of this seductive dedi! E1·ebus and Terror. Away tbey sailed from Mini8ters, wbose trumpet notes of warning to the wharf, where many came to Bee them off, flee the wrath to come, ring in tones of elo- among them J;ady Frankl ill, Sir John's wife. quent cnl rcaty from the pulpit, are themselves Away they pushed through the sea toward standing helpless, llopoless, and powerless upon the North. On tbey went, further and fnrtber the ghnstly brink of a narcotic hell! And there from theit· home, to see if they could find the are learned pbysiciam:t, too, who daily and Jlortb pole or what was called the" northwest honrly listen to the song of this siren, knowing passage." Soon they met icebergs, o1· great fnll well that every sylvan note but draws them mountain cnstles, moving down from the North. nearer and nearer to their impending doom! But tbe E1·eb~ts and Te1·1·or turned aside and No department of' business, no profession sailed north, north, north, bund1·eds of miles. however exalted and p·ure, is exempt from the Then the winter came on. The two ships horror of the opium bell if once induced to en- were soon hedged in by the ice. Tbcy could ter the maelstrom of its fascination and seduc- neither go forward nor backward. The ice be-tive influence. The various narcotic habits are came thicket· and thicker; the nightR longer and tightening upon our people like the ever-con- colder. 'Iho men were clothed in fur, and there tracting folds of an iron shroud, fi.·om which wore stoves in the ships, but they shivered with there is no escape. Tobacco bas become the the cold. No w01·d came to them from their all-powerful, all-potent ruler of men. rrbe friends. They tried, however, to be cheerful, grandest minds, the proudest intellects in our hopi11g-for spring and the breaking up of the commonwealth freely acknowledge their sub- ice KO they could sail out of their prison nnd find serviency to this disg-usting narcotic. theN ortb west passage. They sang, told stories, Meta Lander, in her excellent work on the road, celebrated each other's birthday; good :'Tobacco Problem," has shown tho disgusting Sir John road sermons and prayers to his men, slavery of tobacco in a truthful manner, and as was his custom, and exhorted them to be of we cordially indorse her book and recommend good cheer. It was a joyful thought to them it to the careful reading of all our State and of maki:1g wonderful discoveries in that strange local superintendents of narcotics. land, and then coming back some day with the But while the tobacco habit is enslaving the 11ews. But the spring came and went, another men of America, we find with alarm the growing and another, but no tidingB of Sir John. Then tendency of our people, especially the women, there was alarm. Meetings were called, speeches toward the formation of drug habits, especially made, gl'ent sums of money r:-tised; brave cap-morphine, chloral, chloroform, and cocaine. tains and crews offol'ed to go in search of him. But for several years I have been fully irn- Vessel after vessel went and came, only tore-presRed with the idea that of all the stimula11 ts pol't, fnilure. and nnrcotics to which mankind has fallen vic- Fi\u00b7o years passed; seven; nine; ten-hope tim the" opium habit" is without a parallel in was dying-eleven. Lady Frank !ill did not give its devastating influence. up, but fitted out, at her own expense, a little While alcohol has filled our land with woe ship. Captain and sailors bid good-by to wiveR by the enslaving of our men, opium has reaped and friends, not knowing they wonld ever see its harvest of devnstatioll among our women, them again, as they resolved not to come back and bas wrought a vveight of woe and homo till they found out something; as to the fate of desecration unknown to the demon of alcohol. Sit· John. So this litt!.e ship disapp~ared far I Opium is more seductive a~d clecepti~e th_an away northward, and, l1ke the others, m a few alcohol, or any other narcotw. It carnes w1th weeks was in the midst of majestic palaces of it the golden keys to the sunniest bowers of ice. .Bnt it worked its way on, when lo! one Paradise-, erelong to unlock for its vielims tbe day, as tbe captain was bunting here and there, lowest depths of tbe ghastliest bel I. But the he came upon parts of a ship, and he knew it was supernal ecBtasies of the opium paradise can in Sir John's. He also found Sir J obn's own band-nowise compensate for the unutterable horrors writing and many other things that told of great of the opium hell! sufferings and death. Study tbe evil more carefully in all its fearful It appeared that he bad died June 11, 1847, forms, arrange wise, energetic, patient commit- but he was not found till 1857. All bad per-tees who will conscientiously prose~. lite tbe work ished. He was a noble man,· with a heart ten-of ibis toilful department. Strenuous legisla- cter as a woman's. When the little ship came tive enactment against the permiscnous sale of back with the news, England mourned, as did opium, chloral, cocaine, and chloroform, is our this n3.tion, over the fate of Sir John Franklin. present aim and hope. I learn with Rorrow -'l'he Pansy. 1 that many of our State and local Unions are entirely without a department of narcotics. Dear sisters, the woe is upon us: and its insidi- ous presence is sitting to-da_y as a ghastly spec- ter by the heartb-slones of thousands of once hflppy homes in our land! It rests upon us as tl.e deepening shadow of a great sin, and shall wu longer Jive blindly indifferent to its baleful i11vasion? And this fearful narcotic desecration is per- mitted by one of the grandest Governments the sun ever smiled upon! Upon whom rests the blame? Upon us all if we now fail to take ad- vantage of the spirit of the times that evidently points encouragingly toward the possible fut- ure when narcotic addiction will be rendered far more difficult by wise and prudent legisla- tive enactment. Dear sisters, shall I appeal in vain for your assistance in this important and toilful department ?-M1·s. James Havens, Na- tional Super·intendent and Lecturer W. C. T. U., Depa1·tment of Na1·cotics, Denver, Colorado, in Union Signal. ------------------ Why Canon Farrar Signed the Pledge. CLERGYl'fEN of the English Establishment have been so slow to accept the American the- ory and practice of temperance, i. e., total ab- stinence, that the following opinion of the dis- tinguished Archdeacon of Westminster has all the more weight:- • My reasons for taking the pledge were partly general and partly special. First, I be- came convinced that tbe use of alcohol in any form was not a necessity. I saw that whole na- tions have lived and flourisl1ed without it. I believed that tho w bole race of man had existed for centuries previous to its discovery. I was Rtruck by the indisputable fact that in England 20,000 inhabit-ants of our prisons, accustomed to it all their lives, and the majority of them brought into prison directly or indirectly by Lbe use of it, 9ould be, and were, ft·om the mo- ment of their imprisonment, absolutely deprived of it, not only without loss, but with entire gain to their personal benl th. Men enter prison sickly and blighted, are deprived of drink, and leave priKon strong and hale; and women who, when it1earcerated, are hideous to look upon, after being made compulsorily sober by act of Parliament, recover the bloom of health and almost of beauty. Next, I derived from the recorded testimony of some of our most eminent physicians, that the use of alcohol is a subtle and manifold source of disease, even to thousands who use it in quantities conventionally deemed moder- ate; and from the testimony even of many who discountenance total abstinence, that all Lho young, and all the healthy, and all who eat well and sleep well, do not require it and are undoubtedlv better off without it. Then the carefully cti·a wn statistics of many insur- ance societies convinced me that total absti- nence, so far from shortening life, distinctly and indisputably conduce to longevity. Then I accumulated evidence that dl'ink is so far from being requisite to physical strel._,Lb or intel!ect- na,l force, that many of the greatest athletes hom the days of Samson onwards, "wbos~ drink was only at the cry'sta,l brook," have achieved without aluohol mightier feats than those which have been achieved with it; and many of the world's wisest, even if they have not said Pindar, have yet dl'awn out a bolter inspiration from other sources than can be drawn chemically from the fumes of wine. Seeing all which and mueb more; seeing, too, in the holy Scriptures God's own approval of bis N azarites, who, as the prophet Jeremiah tells us, were purer than snow-" They were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of snp- phiro"-I saw, or thought I saw, gl'ounds suf- ficient, and superfluously sufficient, to make me an abstainer.-Sel. 734. [l4] THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. VoL. 12, No. 46. (Continued from page 731.) 19. What seems to have called out the par- able of the laborers ?-It was probably the con- versation with the rich young man who could not give up his worldy possessions for the sake of being saved. 20. What question did this young man ask the Saviour? "And, behold, one came and s::tid unto him, Good Master, what good thing sballl do, that I may have eternal life?" Matt 19: 16. 21. What did Jesus tell him be must do? "And he said unto him, Why cu.llest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God; but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Verse 17. 22. What inquiry did the young man then make? "He saith unto him, Which?" Verse 18. 23. Which of the ten commandments did our Lord then mention? "Jesus said, 'rhou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, honor thy father and thy mother; a.nd, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Verses 18, 19. 24. What reply did the young man then make? "The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up; wh::tt lack I yet? " Verse 20. 25. What did Jesus tell him was still neces. sary for him to do in order to have treasure in Heaven? "Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven; and come and follow me." V crse 21. 26. How did the young man receive this in- struction? "But when the young man heard that say- ing, he went away sorrowful; for be had great possessionf:l." Verse 22. 27. What remark did Jesus then make? "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly en- ter into the kingdom of Heaven." Verse 23. 28. What anxiety did Peter manifest? "Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?" Verse 27. 29. What asf:lurance did the Saviour give him'? "And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that bath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting life." Verses 28, 29. 30. How did he then illustrate the saying, "Many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be ~rst?" Chap. 20 : 1-16. 31. What makes labor valuable in the sight of God ?-Not the time and strength it requires, but the love and faith that actuate it. Note. selves, fol' though no one can claim reward as his due in the kingdom of God, yet 1 give it of favor, to those first who serve me most purely. He, I repeat, who works most devotedly, with- out thought of reward, will be first, though, perhaps, last to be mdled; he will be chosen to honor, while others less zealous and loving, though earlier called, will remain undistin- guished." -Paraphrase, by D1·. Cunningh~m Gei- kie. RELIGIOUS. -It is stated that" at the recent English Church Congress the discussion on the topic of' The Church and Amusements' showed the predominant tone to be in favor of a more indulgent spirit toward the better class of dramatic and musical entertainment." We are a little curious to know how that church can be "mo1·e indulgent" toward "dramatic and musical entertainments." -The New York Commercial Adve1·tise1· says: "\Ve are not discouraging or sneering at foreign missions, but some day Christians may wake up to the fact that New York is one of the largest pagan cities in the world, larger than Bombay, Singapore, or Kioto; that more men and women are dying in sight of Christian spires aud in sound of Christian bells than are dying outside of Christian influence in any part of tho:;e heathen centers named." -The New York Times says that by the death of the Marquis of Ailesbury, his son, Lord Savemake, becomes the owner" of eleven livings of the Church of England." This son is a frequenter of concert saloons and betting rings-" a cross between a pro- fessional pugilist and a betting tout "-but under the laws of the Established Church he is the owner of eleven pulpits and of the revenues that support them, and may sell the same to the highest bidders. -Under the caption, ''Misleading Spirits," the Golden Gate (Spiritualist), of August 7, says: "·who- ever sutrenders his individual judgment and places his trust implicitly upon the communicaLions or spirits, as given through promiscuous mediumship, is almost certain to be deceived." It would not be amiss to say, "is absolutely certain to be deceived;" for we read (Rev. 16: 14) that" they are the ::;pirits of devils, working miracles." And again, the apos- tle Paul describes Spiritualism as working" with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that per- ish." 2 Thess. 2: 9, 10. The 0nly safe course for any one is to follow the rule laid down in Isa. 8: 19, 20. SECULAR. -A fire in Duluth, Minn., a few days since, de- stroyed elevators and other property to the value of about $1,000,000. -November 19, the Haddock murderers at Sioux City were all admitted to bail in sums ranging from $15,000 to $25,000. -A blunder of a telegraph operator in Missouri, a few davs since, caused a serious railroad accideu t in whicl~ two men lost their lives. -A cyclone struck Girard, Kansas, November 22, doing considerable damage to light buildings. Sev- eral persons were seriously injured. -The captain and seven of the crew of the French man-of-war Penguin, were massacred recently by the natives of one of the Feejee group. -An explosion of fire-damp in a Wilkesbarre, THE householder thus makes the first last, Pa., coal mine a few days ago seriously burned and and the last first, because the first had been otherwise injured forty-two men, twelve of them working for hire, while the others bad simply fatally. trusted his promise. He who works in my -Montana is anxious for a Statehood. A com- kingdom for the sake of a reward hereafter, mittee of citizens at Helena is getting up a strong may do his work well, but be honors me less memorial to Congress and will go to Washington to than ·others who trust me without thinking of press the claim. future gain. The spirit in which you labor for -The Municipal Council of Paris has requested me ·gives your service its value. He who iR United States Minister McLane to intercede with cnlled late in life and serves me unselfishly, will the Goveruor of Illinois in behalf of the condemned. stand higher at tbe great day than be vv bo has Anarchists of Chicago. served me longer, bnt with a less noble motive. -November 25, a rain-storm, accompanied-by cy- ll d · · k' d d k clonic mauifestations, swept over the center of Glou- ~a~y are ~a e to J010 my mg om ar: W?r. cester County, N. J. In the vicinity of Pitman m 1t, but tew f:lhow themselves by the1r spn·1t Grove the wind blew with the force of a tornado. nnd -zeal especially worthy of honor. If the One report s:~y:s: · .. The thunder, lightning, and hail first find tbemsolves last, it will depend on thcm-1 were terri tic.'' -The Emperor of 4,ustria, who is a great smoker, has been ordered by the doctors to give up the weed. They attribute his neuralgia to it. -The spread of cholera in the Republic of Bue- nos Ayres, S. A., is creating great alarm. On the 26th ult. seventy-two new cases and fifty-lour deaths were reported at Rosario. -Sunday, November 21, the Socialists of London held a monster mass meeting in Trafalgar Square. The temper of the meeting was very bad and many of the banners bore incendiary inscriptions. -Another Anarchist plot has been discovered in Chicago. The plan is to blow up the water towel; some stormy night, start fi-res in several different places, and then capture the city during the confu- sion. -Lord Salisbury, replying to the memorial which the Socialists left at his residence recently, says of the proposals which it contained: "I am unable to adopt or support them, as I am convineed that t-he proposals, if effected, would cause addi tiona] distress and suffering far exceeding what prevails at pres- ent.'' -November 27, Superintendent Bell, of the For- eign Mail Office, received a dispatch from the Post- master General of Belgium informing the depart- ment that the United States mail for Russia, while passing through that country on the night of the 26th, was robbed of 141 registered packages. It is supposed that the robbers secured about $200,000. -TI1e Seth Thomas Clock Co., of Thomaston, Conn., have prepared drawings for the great clock which is to be placed in the tower of the new city ball at Philadelphia, and which, if completed in accordance with their plans, will be the large"t in the world. The bells upon whieh it will strike the hours ami quarters will weigh fifty thousand pounds, aud the glass dials, as contemplated, measure 25 feet in diameter. -The New York Tr1:bune's cable special of No- vember 27, from London, says: "The Irish crisis has arrived at last, as was predicted, and political circles both in London and Dublin are exceedingly disturbed by the possibilities before us." Auother dispatch says: "Iu the opinion of leading Liberals the Government is entering into a labyrinth from which there is no escape in safety. Shelving the Irish question next session will btl found impracti- cable.'' -In his speech from the throne, read by the Min- ister of the Interior at the opening of the Reichstag, the other day, Emperor William says: "Although the policy of the empire is always pacific, Germany, in view of the development of the military establi:sh- ments of neighbqring States, cannot longer defer increasing her defensive force, especially her peace effective. A bill, therefore, will be wbmitted provid- ing for an increase to take effect from the begin- ning of the new financial year. Q9 hituarJJ. BoLLMAN.-Died in Oakland, Cal., Nov. 23, 1886-, of inflammation of the lungs, stomach, and boweb. caused by whooping-cough, Anna I., younf!est daugh- ter of Calvin P. and Lena Bollman, aged 1 year, 10 months, and 25 days. The funeral was held on tl1e 25th from the Seventh-day Adventist church. Ap- propriate words of comfort were spoken by Elder John Fulton, after which we laid the little emaei- ated form of our loved oue away to await the morn- ing of the resurrection, when, if faithful, we know that she will be restored to us in that land where "there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; lor the former things are paHsed a way." c. P. B. (Rev·iew please copy.) GREGORY.-Died at St. Helena, Cal., Nov. 18, of lingering consumption, Prof. W. B. Gregory, agPd 29 years and 6 month:;. The last few weeks of hiH life he spent in carefully reviewi11g the past, and confessiug all his s!ns. His mind seemed to deri Vf\ great consolation from Psalms 147 : 11: "Tbe Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy." This he often repeated with great satisfaction. He came to Califoroia in the spring of 188f> with a friend who kindly cared lor him during his last sickness. The funeral services were conducted by the writer, Sabbath aftemoon. November 20, and we laid him away to rest Jor a "little while," until the Life-giver shall:-tppear. J.N.LOUUHBOROUGH. DECEMBER 2, 1886. TJ:-IE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. [lfll 735 OUR GENERAL AGENTS. Australia-Interuational Tract Society, Bible Echo Office, Rae and Scotchmer Sts., North Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia. British Guiana.-Joseph R. Brathwaite, 37 13rickdam, Georgetown, and Thos.E.Amsterdam, 10 Church St., New Amsterdam, l3 n., S. A. California Tract :::iociety-1067 Castro St .. Oakland, Cal. Canada Tract Society-M. L. Cu~hing, Sec'y, South Stul;ely, P. Q. Colorado TraL·t ::-loeiety-Cor. 3Iot and Champa Sts., Denver, Colo. Dakota 1'ract Society-A. H. Beaumont, Sec., Vilas, Miner Co., Dak. District of Columbia.-International Tract Society, W. H. Saxby, Agent, 1831 Vermont Avenue, N. W., Washington, D. C. England-The Pr-esent 'l'Tutil, 72 Henooge St., Grimsby, Eng. Florida Tract Society-502 West Monroe St., Jacl2 Cherry St., Indianapolis, Ind. Iowa Tract Society-1315 E. Syc:1more 8t .. Des Moines, Iowa. Kansas Tract Society-Box 160, Ottawa, Franklin Co., K::w. Kentucky Tract Society-Harry Rupert, Sec., ~vest Clift~, Grayson Co., Ky. Louisiana-International Tract Society, Pitt Street, between Val. mont and Leontine Streets, New Orleans, La. Maine-Mrs. A. J. Goodrich, South Lancaster, Mass. Michigan Tract Society-Hattie House, Sec'y, Ba.ttle Creek, Mich. Minnesota'fraet Society-336 Lake Street E,, Minneapolis, Minn. Missouri 'frrers, and THOROUGH INS'fRUCTION IN THE ELEMENTS OF J"EARNING arc a true presentation of the leading events of his life and labors. T:1 addition to the life and character of the man, the character o IN ALL THE .GRADES AND THROUGH THE • the Great Advent MoYement, in which he acted so "prominent :I. part, CLASSICAL COURSE. is clearly set forth. It is shown that Mr. Miller was no mere en· FACULTY CONSISTS OF FIFTEEN IXSTRUCTORS OF EXPERIENCE. thusiu.st, but a n1an of calm judg-ment, and his interpretation of the ____ prophecies was mainly correct, his only mistake being in regard to DISTINCTIVE FEATURES. the nature of the event to take place at the close of the 2300 days, 1. Instruction in the various trades, with two hours per day in 1344. No one can consider himself well versed in the history o spent in active work with tools. t;1e advent movement in this country who has not read this book. 2. Methods in the Class Room are such as to secure the best 403 pp. Price, $1.00. kind of mental discipline. Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. 3. A rigid parental discipline to cul~ivate high moral charact.et' ·I 4. Expeuses within the reach of all. Twenty dvllars per month M A T T E R AND S p I R I T · covers all expense of tuition, board, lodging, washing, lights, fuel, etc. ' The Fall Term began August 2, 1886, term closes December 23. oa, Spring Term begins Monday, January 3, 1887. S. BROWNSBERGER, A. M., President. Hea!dsbur,q. Cal. SOUTH LANCASTER ACADEMY1 SOUTH LANCASTER, MASS. THE PROBLEM OF HUMAN THOUGHT. BY ELD. D. M. C.A.NR.IGHT. A PHILOSOPHICAL argument on an important theme, indicated bJ ts title. 66 pp. Price, 10 centd. Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. AN EDUCATIONAL I.NS'l'ITUTION OF IN-T HE SAB·BATH QUESTION IS THE CREASING POPULARITY. This school is located at South Lancaster, Worcester County, Mass., thirty-five miles from Boston, and was founded in 1882. It is prosperous because operated on correct educational princi- ples. Thorough instruction is given in all the common branches, and those of the usual high-school and academic courses. There are also well-sustained Biblical and Kormal Departments. ITS SPECIAL FEATUllES ARE 1. A judicious discipline for tlie development of moral Gharac- ter. It is a safe place for the young. 2. Methods of teaching that aim at mental culture of a high type. 3. Instruction and practice in various kinds of manual labor and the use of tools. 4. Astonishingly low expenses. Fifteen dollars per school month pays all expense of tuition, board, lodging, washing, lights, fuel, etc. For catalogue .or urther information address, CHAS. C. RAMSEY, A. M., Principal. BATTLE CREEK COLLEGE, BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN. AN EDUCATIONAL I NSTI7.'UTIO.N. FOUNDED IN 1874. SPECIAL ADVANTAGES. Six Departmentsoflnstruction: namely, Collegiate. Theological, l!::nglish, Pr.~paratory, ManualTr,lining-, and Primary and Interme- diate. Alar~·~ faculty of competent teachers. Th•)rou~h instr. c- rion. A readmg-rt)''om, and a well-~eh cted library. Good ~chool cLpplia· ces, ap' aratus, an l C!Jemical laborat.,ry. Healthful and r!esirable location. High standard of scholarship and morals, and good religious iufl.uence~. SPECIAL FEATURES. Thorough and jndiciou-; discipline. Industr!al training. Biblical instruction. A Mis.ionary Department. Physical and moral train- ing. EXPENSES. In price of board, room-rent, and tuition, this College presents a~ great inducements a; any institution of learning i" the land. Pl'r~ons coming to the ~:;ch ol ca·1 obtain reduc ·d fare on most of the railroads by applying-to the College at an early date. For catalogues or further information, address BATTLE CREEK COLLEGE,· Battle Creek, Mich. TE:M:P.ERANCE AND GOSPEL SONGS. PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN HEALTH AND TEMPERANCE ASSOCIATION, BOTH the words and music are entirely new, except a. few choice se- lections of the most popular pieces. The Temperance music is not LEADING SUBJECT OF TilE DAY. THE GREAT DEMAND OF' THE HOUR, From the Pulpit and the Press, in Social Circles aud In Legislative Halls, is, that the SabbatLI be moce strictly obsened. To assist the iutelligeut·minded of our land to have correct views of this impor- tant question, a book has been l••repared which tll'•roughly discu5ses the Sabbatic institution in every conceivable phase. Such i3 the "HIS1'0R.Y OF THE SABBATH AND TilE FlRS"f DAY OF THE WEEK," BY JOHN Nl!:VINS ANDREWS. This great and exhaustive work is the result of ten years' l1ard Ja. bor and histori~al reoearch. The book containd 523 12m f) pag·ed, and i~ printed in clea.r type, on good paper, and is well hound. Price, 81. 25, post-paid. PACIFIC PRESS, Oakland, Cal. Addres:;, THE ADVENT REVIE\V AND SA B BAT li HER A L D, A RELIGIOUS FAMILY JOURNAL, PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT BATTLE CREEK, MICH., BY THE S. D. A. PUBLISHING AS~OCIATION. Sixteen large, closely printed pages of choice reading matter, treat- ing upon all the Prophetic themes of the BiLle, the Signs o! the Times, Second Commg of Christ at Hand, Closing Reforms in the Church, the Gospel of Christ, Conversion, .l:'ractical GodlineSil, etc. etc. This is the organ of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, the oldest journal of this people. It is now in its sixty-third volume. Contains full repDrts from the ministers and the doings of the differ- ent organizat-ions of this denomination. No one should fail to take the REVIEW AND HERALD. P1.ice, in advance, $2.00 per year. Address, REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich. THE AMERICAN SENTINEL. A N EIGHT-PAGE MONTHLY JOURNAL, devoted to the defenso of AmericaJJ lnstitutiolls, the preservation of the United States Cl)nsti.tution as it is, sv far as regards religion or religious tests, aut! tho Maintenance of .E-Iuman Riglzts, Both civil and religious. It will eYer be uncompromisingly opposed to anything tending toward a union of Church and State, either in n::~.n,e or in fact. T.E.RJ.IS. Single Copy, : : : : : : : 50 cents . To foreign countries, single subscription, post-paid, 2s. Address, American Sentinel, 1059 Castro St., Oakland, Cal. ,)nly new but varied, including ANTHEMS, GLEES and QUARTETS. T HE S I G N S 0 F T HE T I ME S, " I think 'TEMPER.Iu'iCE AND GOSPKL SONGS' one of the best temper· ance song books 1 have seen."-D. C. BABCOCK, Dist. Sec, National 1'emperance Pub. Society of New York. "This book is far superior to all other temperance song books I have seen for solid, practical, Gospel temperance songs."-P. T. LYNN, Musical Director, IIornellsville, N. Y. ' -A- 16-PAGE R·E-Ll"GJ'O·US, FAMILY JOURNAL, PUBLISHED WEEKLY, AT OAKI,AND, CAL., FOB. THE JNTKRN.A- 'l'lONAL TRACT AND MISSiONARY SOClH'l'Y. This joumal is devoted to expositions of propht-cy and the dissemi- nation of general Biblical knowledge. Its contents are of the most varied kind, the departments embracing· Editorial and General Arti" cles, Temperance, Home Circle, Sabbath-school, Miss-ionary, and Seo- ular and Religious News. IT CONTAINS NO PAID ADVERTISEMENTS, ''Among the many things that made our meeting a glorious success throughout, was the inspiring sing-ing b,v our grand choir, from your new work, 'TEMP-ERA.NCE AND GOSPEL SONGS.' It. is O"erftowing with good music and fine hymns. It is a great advance in the line of tem· perance music books, and ought to find a place and have a arge sale among the temperance org-anizations throughout the count1'y. It is the b<·st hook of the kinrl I have ever seen. "-C. HENRY MEAD, Con.· ductor Silver Lake (N. Y.) Temperance Camp-Meeting. And is f_ull every week of fres~, new ;matter. Amo!lg expository "Th · 1 . · · · · . 11 • 1 journals 1t t..1,kes the lead, both m quahty and quantity of matter-, . e music, t _uo~ghout IS musiCI'.I.n·hke-a J are. ex~~ ency,m s~r l It has proved of unusual interest to its tens of thousands of readers, £~o~~;s ~I?te ;n~ds, too, are fresh and have a mean mg. -W. 'I. CIFFE, . who everywhere pronounce it a Uve 1·eligious paper; a. reliable expos- g p ' · itor of Scripture; and a household joumal the contents of which are "!am much p~eased with 'TEMPERANCE AND GOSPEL SoNGs.' Think pure and elevating. Each number contains a. characteristic article it Will be _a fa,·onte among temperance workers."-FKA"NK M. DAvis, from the pen of Mrs. E. G. White. Jacksonville, Fla. All who see it agree in pronouncing it first-class in every respe·ct, :Price, in board COVseth also the law; for sin is the trans- gression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins [transgressions of the law]; and in him is no sin !.transgression of the law]. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not [trans- gres~th not the law]; whosoever sinneth [trans- gresseth the law] hath not seen him, neither known him." 1 John 3:4-6. That doesn't look as though the law was abolished. NoTWITHSTANDING the fact that the liquor traf- fic has always and persistently violated all laws that stood in its way, the liquor dealers in their late convention at Chicago, passed, among others, the following resolution:- "Resolved, That it is our duty, as it is of all good citizens, to obey the laws of our country, and we condemn every violation of law regardless of the damage inflicted in its observance upon any indus- try or upon any gen~>.ral business interests." In view of the past history of the business it is but natural that people should have some lingering doubts as to the eincedty of the liquor qeale:rs in passing this resolution. But these doubts might possibly be dispelled were those men to "bring forth fruits meet for repentance." They might do this by aiding in the strict enforcemeut of the prohibi- tion laws in Kansns and Iowa. A liberal reward offered by them for the conviction of the murderers of Dr. Haddock and others, would certainly entitle them to some credit, though it might bring some of their friends to the gallows; and helping to enforce the laws would certainly ruin their business. We cannot even yet think that the liquor dealers were sincere in their resolution. MR. HENRY GEORGE i~ an avowed Socialist, he pretends to be nothing else, and hitherto he and his · theories have been considered unworthy of any se- rious notice; but since he polled 68,000 votes in New York City alone, he has become a very respect- able personage. The papers are perplexed and politicians are dismayed. They hate to indorse his theories, yet they know not how to draw away his followers without, and they dare not enter a presi- dential campnign against the so-ca11ed lahor vote of the whole country. An immense amount of trim- ming may be expected between now and 1888. As might be expected, neither is this pie free from Rome's officious finger. FROM the following, reported by the Watchman, Boston, may be gathered a pretty good idea of the danger that lurks in a spirit that is entirely too widely prevalent everywhere in this our day:- "A striking evidence of' the morbid state of mind generateo by the :1gitations in the name of labor was given by a meeting called in the interests of law and or?er at P~abody. The riotons proceedings of some ot the stnkers had aroused, as it was sup- posed, the conservative spirit of the citizens, a.nd the meeting was called to give expression to it. But resolutions condemning mob violence were voted down! Thinking that the vote was given under misapprehension of the charncter and bearin()' of the resolutions, it was reconsidered, n.nd after furfher exciting talk, was again carried againRt the resolu- tions. In a11swer to tlte question, • Do you want mobs?' voices cried, 'Yes ! yes ! "' A CORRESPONDENT of the lVatchman says: "In any of our large Baptist Churches of New York, a motion to put a member under discipline for going to the theater, or for playing cards, or for dancing, would be refused serious consideration. . . Within forty years there has been a great change in the mental attitude of our people in regard to amuse- ments." Upon which another Baptist paper remarks: "When you add to this the fact that the pulpit of the First Baptist church of Boston is occupied by a New Theology preacher, the outlook for pure and undefiled religion in some of our city churches cer- tainly is not overly flattering. We sometimes doubt if as much good could be said of them as of the worst churches in Asia that were so severely con- demned by the revelator." THE report of a Spiritualist Convention held in Rockford, Ill., contains the following:- " Resolved, That Spiritualism, according to the modern acceptation of that term, embraces all those who believe in the immortality of the soul." Yes, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is the only foundation of Spiritualism. Those who believe that doctrine do really believe the funda- mental principles of Spiritualism, and why should not Spiritualism embrace all who believe it? The rest of the theory of Spiritualism is only the logical result of this. For if the soul is immortal, and if people, when they are dead, are alive and know all about the living, why should they not." communi- cate"? If these are angels, why cannot they speak with men? for we know that angels have often com- municated with men. If their power of thought and of their whole spiritual being is increased by death(!), why can they not communicate t.hat thought to men? The alarming progress that Spir- itualism is making is altogether becau. e of the al- most universal belief in the doctrine of the immor- tality of the soul; and only those who believe the word of God, that "the dead know not anything" (Eccl. 9: 5), will be able to resist this delusion. For Satan is yet to work" with all power and signs and lying wonders" (2 Thess. 2: 9), and Spiritualism, resting on the immortality of the soul, is one of the great channels through which he will do it. TI1e "Signs of the Times." IN taking the above heading we do not refer to those signs such as earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, pestilences, tidal waves, distress of nations with perplexity, etc., which are la.rgely on the increase, and which show conclu~i vely that we are nearing the end of this dispensation; but we do refer to t.ltis paper whose object is to keep the people informed in regard to these things, aud which soon enters upon its thirtee;1th year. January, 1887, this journal will enter upon its thirteenth volume, and the publishers are deter- milled to spare no pains or expense to make it one of the very best religious and family papers in the land. The same writers that have given character to the paper !n the past are expected to continue t.heir work on the rwxt volume, and arrangements have been made with persons in diit'erent parts of the world to furnish communications under the hearling of "Foreign Correspondence." Thus our readers will be kept posted in regard to the work in different parts of the field. Besiues this, oLiter important improvements are contemplated wltich will add to the ~1ppenrance and value of the paper. We are thankful for the words of comrnenJat.ion we Lave received from nlmost every quarter during the past year, but grenter titan this is the knowlPdge of the great good . the paper is accomplishing i 11 bringing souls to a knowledge of the truth. There is hardly a nation on earth that is not visited by the SIGNS OF THE TIMES, and the Judgment alone will reveal what has been accomplished by this instrumentality. Hundreds of instances might be mentioned of persons that have accepted the truth from reading the SIGNS alone, never having seen a living preacher. In this country the long wintrr evenings are upon us, and it is the most favorable time to introducP reading matter to our friends aud neighbors. No\ the quc·stion may arise with some, What can I do to assist in the work? Much every way. First, you can subscribe for the paper yourself. Secondly, subscribe for it for some of your friends. (The paper can be seut directly from the office if desired.) Thirdly, join a missionary society, if you have not already done so, and assist in sendiug out these papers to all parts of the world. It will require some sacrifice, but let us remember that no reward will be given uuless some sacrifice is made. Now, as we enter upon the new volume, we hope to receive the same hearty co-operation in tryino· to extend the circulation or tlte SIGNS that we li~ve had in the past, and our readers may rest a.ssured that our best endeavors shall be to keep up the standard, and make it both interesting and nsef'ul. c. H. JONES. THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES, PUBLISHED WEEKLY, AT OAKLAND, CAL., FOR THE International Tract and Missionary Society. .A sixteen-page Religious Family Paper, devoted to a discussion of the Prophecies, Signs of the Times, Second Coming of Christ, Ha.r- mony of the Law and Gospel; ith Departments devoted to Hea.lth aTJd Temperance, the Home Circle, the Missionary Work, anu the Sabbath-school. Price Per Year, post-paid, $2.00 In clubs of five or more copies to one na.me and address, to be used in Missionary work, each, 1.50 To foreig-n countries, single subscriptions, post-paid, lOs Address, SIGNS OF THE TIM::to.:S, Twelfth a.nd Caatro Str ..