"Christian world," and some would like to blend the Greek and Roman with
the English Church. Now, what sort of union would that be? Others do not
go quite so far, and yet they would unite together a variety of creeds
and people by dropping every important difference, and giving up
whatever was not generally acceptable. But let us never forget that
there can be no Christian union without Christ; no holy unity unless
founded on God's Word. Gas jets affixed in a certain way to our ceilings
are called "sun-lights." They are only artificial lights, after all; and
whatever name it may assume, unless Christ is the Centre of unity, the
union is not Christian, for "if any one have not the Spirit of Christ,
he is none of His." But union to and in Christ is very real and true
even now, and those who follow Jesus can hold sweet intercourse together
in this world. "Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ
in sincerity."
We are, at best, imperfect in the present state. We know but in part.
Our love is often cold, and sin still dwells in the heart; but in the
glory that is yet to come, we, if we are His, shall know, even as we
have been known of Him. Perfect love will cast out all distance and
coldness, and perfect holiness will possess every saved one.
"Beloved," wrote the same Apostle who recorded the Saviour's prayer,
"now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we
shall see Him as He is." May this glorious prospect be ours, through His
grace.
Our next subject will be, Matthew vi. 22, 23--_Mental Eyes: Darkened and
Illuminated_.
Yours affectionately,
H. S. L.
A WORD TO SELF-SEEKERS.
I would not lead the selfish life
That never seeks to throw
A pleasant ray of happiness
On other people's woe.
I scorn the folks who will not strive
To lessen want and care;
Nor lend a helping hand to those
Who have so much to bear.
Is there not misery enough
On this terrestrial ball
To spring some sympathetic chord
Within the hearts of all?
Oh, ye who only seek your own--
Who hold yourselves so dear
That ye can never give the sad
One simple word of cheer--
Believe me, if ye wish to spend
A life of happy ease,
Seek not your own, but how ye may
Your weary brothers please.
And He who marks each gentle deed
Of loving sympathy,
May whisper His approving word--
"Ye did it unto Me."
CARRIE LIGHT.
_Brighton._
PRIZE ESSAY.
SELF-HELP.
There are six important heads which this subject may be placed under,
viz., Industry, Patience, Perseverance, Cheerfulness, Courage, and
Prudence.
_Industry._--This is a very important thing in life, and you will never
be any good to the world without you possess it. There have been men
who, by their patient industry, have done their country a great deal of
good by inventing engines and machines to mitigate the labours of men;
and some of these men have been mobbed and nearly killed by their
townsmen, who thought their work would be taken away instead of
enlarged, and very often their inventions have been broken to pieces.
Solomon, in the Book of Ecclesiastes ix. 10, says, "Whatsoever thy hand
findeth to do, do it with thy might"; and in Proverbs vi. 6--"Go to the
ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise."
_Patience._--Patience is a very needful thing to self-help, for without
it you will not be able to do anything that requires time and trouble.
You have need of patience when you are waiting for a thing which you are
in great haste to obtain.
David says, in Psalm xxxvii. 7, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently
for Him."
_Perseverance._--There are some people who, if they start a certain
thing, have not the necessary perseverance to finish it; while others,
who persevere, succeed. Great men you read of in history would never
have been so distinguished had it not been for their perseverance.
Bernard Palissy, who discovered the white enamel for pottery, had a
great many trials to bear, and was years before he perfected it; but he
persevered, and at last succeeded.[8]
[8] For a fuller account of Palissy, see LITTLE GLEANER for July, 1879.
Oh, that we may be taught to trust in Christ, and pray, with the poet--
"Lord, hast Thou made me know Thy ways?
Conduct me in Thy fear;
And grant me such supplies of grace
That I may persevere."
_Cheerfulness._--This is a very essential thing to self-help. If you
have a task, and you have somebody to cheer you up, your task feels
lighter, and the time passes better. People who are dull, and not
cheerful, find the time pass slower, and the work seems heavier. There
have been men who have been cheerful even when they have been in great
difficulties.
Christ said to the man sick of the palsy, "Son, be of good cheer; thy
sins be forgiven thee."
_Courage._--Moral courage is one of the most important features in this
subject. You will be more likely to succeed if you are bold and
courageous. It is right to be courageous in a good cause, but not in a
wrong one. It is real courage, when wicked persons try to entice you to
drinking, gambling, and other vices, if you boldly answer, "No."
Solomon says, in the Book of Proverbs xxviii. 1--"The wicked flee when
no man pursueth, but the righteous are as bold as a lion."
_Prudence, or Foresight._--It is wise to consider what the consequences
of your actions will be. Some people do not stop to do so, and thus run
needlessly into danger. You cannot rightly practise self-help without
you are prudent. It is very imprudent to risk life or anything
unnecessarily, or to leave things to the last minute or two. If you are
imprudent, you will regret it in after life.
In Proverbs xvi. 21, it says, "The wise in heart shall be called
prudent."
Self-help is not a spiritual thing, but a temporal one; but you cannot
truly succeed in these things without God's help and blessing. May we,
in the things of daily life, and especially in spiritual things, be led
to say, like David, in Psalm cxxi., "I will lift up mine eyes unto the
hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which
made heaven and earth," remembering that He does not approve selfish
living, but says, "To do good and to communicate, forget
not."--(_Abridged._)
F. E. H. ANDREWS
(Aged 13 years 5 months).
1, _Tavistock Terrace,
Upper Holloway, London, N._
[Lilly Rush, W. E. Cray (age not given), A. M. Cray, E. B. West, A.
Pease, and Margaret Creasey have sent fair Essays, especially the
first-named, and we hope they will still persevere.]
[The writer of the above Essay receives a copy of "From the Loom to a
Lawyer's Gown; or, Self-Help that was not all for Self," presented by a
friend who reads the GLEANER.
The subject for May will be, "How to be Useful in the World," and the
prize to be given for the best Essay on that subject, a copy of "Notable
Workers in Humble Life." All competitors must give a guarantee that they
are under fifteen years of age, and that the Essay is their own
composition, or the papers will be passed over, as the Editor cannot
undertake to write for this necessary information. Papers must be sent
direct to the Editor, Mr. T. Hull, 117, High Street, Hastings, by the
first of April.]
ONE good mother is worth a hundred schoolmasters. In the home, she is
the "loadstone to all hearts, and loadstar to all eyes." Imitation of
her is constant--imitation which Bacon likens to "a globe of precepts."
But example is far more than precept. In its instruction is action.
Interesting Items.
THE ELEPHANT'S STRENGTH.--The ordinary strength of an elephant is
calculated as equal to that of 147 men.
A FIGHT AMONG LIONS.--A fearful struggle took place recently between
eight lions in a cage at the menagerie at Liverpool Exhibition. One
lion, valued at L150, was killed.
THE red-wood forests of California, Oregon, and Washington Territory
are, perhaps, the most wonderful of the world. The average yield per
acre is 100,000 feet lumber, or 64,000,000 feet to the square mile.
SIR JOHN COODE'S scheme for the protection of the foreshore at Hastings,
by means of two stone groynes and an extended breastwork at the east end
of the town, was completed last August. The total cost has been L30,000.
Sir John remarked that the beach was accumulating at the rate of 40,000
to 50,000 tons per annum.
EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF STRANGULATION.--An extraordinary case has occurred
at Howick, near Preston. A little boy named Fisher, the son of a farmer,
was climbing an apple tree, when he slipped between two branches. His
jacket turned up fast round his neck, and as he could not get a button
undone, he was strangled.
A MONSTER DOGFISH.--A gigantic dogfish, weighing ten cwt., has been
hauled ashore by a fisherman at Mazargues, in the Department of the
Bouches-du-Rhone. The animal made a desperate struggle on the bank, and
its head had to be battered in with a club before it could be mastered.
A monster of a similar kind, some time ago, ate up a boatman and his
boy, whose boat had been capsized in the river.
IT has been calculated that, after Prince von Bismarck's recent great
speech, 1,218 telegrams, containing 194,296 words, were despatched to
326 different places on the world's surface. Two hundred and thirty-five
telegraph clerks were employed at sixty Hughes' apparatus, 155 Morse's,
and seven Estienne's, to carry out the work; and the number of words in
the Chancellor's speech is computed at 10,997.
A PECULIAR CASE.--Captain Russell has had under treatment a valuable and
favourite cat, belonging to a resident of Spittlegate, Grantham. The
poor animal was taken with a choking sensation about three weeks ago,
and, as it could not eat, soon grew very thin, and appeared to be going
"the way of all flesh." After vain attempts at restoration, pussy was
taken to the afore-named veterinary surgeon, who prescribed for her. She
was fed with a spoon for some days, and at length a substance was
discovered to be forming by the side of the neck. Supposing it to be a
boil, he lanced it, and found it to contain a piece of metal, which he
at once extracted, in the shape of a sewing-needle with a piece of
cotton attached. The cat is now recovered, and but little the worse for
the painful operation.--_Grantham Journal._
THE Emperor of China, who is about to be married, is doing the thing
handsomely. His wedding gifts to his young bride include a gold seal
richly inlaid with jewels, the handle being formed by two gold dragons;
ten piebald horses with complete trappings; ten gilt helmets and
cuirasses: 1,000 pieces of satin of the first quality, and 200 pieces of
cotton material; 200 ounces of gold; 10,000 ounces of silver; one gold
tea service, and one silver tea service; twenty horses with complete
trappings, and twenty without. The parents of the lady receive also 100
ounces of gold; one gold tea set; 5,000 taels of silver; one silver tea
set; 500 pieces of silk; 1,000 pieces of cotton material; six horses,
completely harnessed; a helmet and cuirass; a bow and a quiver, with
arrows; each parent one Court dress for summer, and one for winter, one
every-day dress, and a sable coat. The brothers and servants of the
bride also receive rich and costly presents.
FROM DOVER TO CALAIS IN TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES.--A novel ship has recently
been invented by Mr. Thomas Hitt, of Brandon, Suffolk. She is somewhat
of a semi-twin type, one-third wider than the ordinary sailing ship, but
not so wide as a paddle-steamer. Between the supposed divided halves,
which ascend to about eighteen inches above the water-line, is a
wheel-race, extending from bow to stern. In the centre of this
wheel-race a pit is formed, into which the lower part of the periphery
of the wheel descends. The wheel, when rotating, drives the water
through the race, and out at the stern, with great velocity. The maximum
result of experiments indicates that a ship of 500 tons, with a wheel of
50 feet diameter, making 50 revolutions per minute, will attain a speed
of 56 knots an hour, after allowing one-fourth for slip and other
contingencies. Although the wheel is described as making 50 revolutions
per minute, it may reach 100, more or less. This excess of power may be
utilized for the production and storage of electricity, to be used
either for illuminating purposes, or for propelling the ship when
becalmed.
A FAITHFUL MASTIFF.--John Templeton is a blacksmith, who owns a fine
specimen of the English mastiff. Recently Mr. Templeton was working at
his forge, putting a new steel in the point of a pick. The steel was
slightly burned in the heating, and, instead of welding, flew into
half-a-dozen pieces. One piece struck the blacksmith above the right eye
with such force as to fasten itself in firmly. He staggered and fell
backwards. How long he was unconscious he does not know, but when he
revived, the dog lay in the middle of the shop, crying almost like a
human being, and rubbing his jaws in the dust of the floor. The piece of
steel which had struck Mr. Templeton lay a short distance from the dog.
The faithful animal had seized the hot steel with his teeth, and drew it
from the frontal bone of Mr. Templeton's head. The dog's mouth was badly
burned.--_Albany Journal._
THE DISCOVERIES AT POMPEII.--A Naples correspondent says--"The waxed
tablets found, together with silver vases, &c., at Pompeii, all belong
to one woman, Decidia Margaris, and are contracts precisely similar to
those found twelve years ago belonging to one Lucio Cecilio Giocondo;
but unlike those, which were enclosed in a strong iron box, and had
undergone a process of carbonization which preserved their legibility
for eighteen centuries, the present ones were only folded, together with
the vases, in a thick cloth, which the rain-water had penetrated,
reducing the wood to pulp, and wearing away the wax on which the
characters are impressed, so that only some fragments preserved the
writing; and a few days after the discovery these too were lost, the wax
separating from the wooden tablets and breaking up into minute
particles. There remains now only one tablet, which has been naturally
preserved by being impregnated with oxide of copper. It is the contract
for the sale of young slaves to Decidia Margaris."--_Daily News._
A GENUINE FAST OF TWENTY DAYS.--An extraordinary case of prolonged
fasting is reported in connection with the severe weather. On December
22nd, 1887, a peasant woman from Opergrabern, near Vienna, went to
receive some money that was owing to her at a small village a few miles
distant. The amount was not paid, and the woman had only four kreutzers
in her pocket, with which she bought two rolls of bread. On the way home
she was caught in a heavy snow-storm, and took shelter in a small hut in
a vineyard. The storm continuing, she decided to spend the night where
she was, and divested herself of some of her upper garments to wrap up
her feet. The next morning, when she awoke, she could not rise, being
partially paralyzed by the cold. Her cries for help were unheard, and it
was only on the 11th of January she was found by a woodcutter's wife,
having been twenty days without food. She was in a precarious condition,
but there is some hope of her recovery.
YOUTHFUL HEROINES.--The Royal Humane Society have awarded their highest
honour--a silver medal--to a young lady named Fanny Rowe, only fifteen
years of age, daughter of the Rev. J. G. Rowe, vicar of Topcroft,
Bungay, for saving the life of a lad named Franchs, at Neuchatel, under
circumstances of great gallantry. The lad was playing by the jetty with
his brother, when he fell into deep water. His brother jumped in to save
him, but, not being able to swim, was soon in difficulties. A number of
men ran about crying out "Who can swim?" but no one attempted a rescue
until Miss Rowe came up, kicked off her shoes, but otherwise fully
dressed, without a moment's hesitation rushed into the water, swam to
the place, dived, and caught the younger brother, but could not keep
hold of him, his hair being so short. She dived again and caught him,
this time by the ear, and brought him to the jetty, where he was lifted
out, and then she returned and saved the elder brother. The bronze medal
was also unanimously bestowed upon Miss M. Strachy, aged seventeen,
daughter of Her Majesty's Consul at Dresden, for saving Miss Taylor at
Sandy Island, Heligoland.
ZION CHAPEL, FOLKESTONE.--The New Year's Meeting of the Sunday School
took place on January 16th. After doing justice to the tea, the children
and friends met in the chapel, where Mr. Weeks, of Tenterden, opened the
meeting with the reading of the fifty-fifth chapter of Isaiah and
prayer. Some of the children repeated the Epistle of James, having
learned various portions of it. Mr. Brown, of Tadworth, spoke on the
beginnings of true religion, using the alphabet--A for attention to
various good things, and not to wickedness; B for the Bible; C for
conviction, which he described as a sure and certain knowledge of our
sinful state, not fancies floating in the mind, and he illustrated it by
a condemned convict's knowledge of his own sad case. Mr. Weeks then
sought to encourage the children in the ways of obedience to parents and
storing Scripture in the memory, of which latter no enemy could rob
them. He also spoke to the teachers and friends, giving a word of
encouragement. Mr. Smith spoke of the need of Jesus Christ being formed
in the heart as the only hope for lost sinners, after which the yearly
prizes were handed to their respective owners, also the gifts of
clothing by an old friend of the children. A few words of prayer closed
a happy meeting.
E. M.
[Illustration: "ARE YOU SURE THAT NOTHING IS LEFT UNDONE?" (_See page
74._)]
AN INCIDENT IN THE LIFE OF A BARRISTER.
I was engaged in my study one morning, when a client of mine, a Mr.
B----, was introduced. He was in a state of great excitement, having
heard that the Lord Chancellor was to pronounce judgment on his case
that day.
"Are you sure," he inquired, "that nothing is left undone? If judgment
is given against me, I am a ruined man. All my hopes are centred in its
results. On the issue hang the prospects of my darling wife and
children. Oh, tell me, can anything further be done to, if possible,
ensure success?"
I endeavoured to calm him by saying that we were fully prepared, and
that counsel's opinion was in his favour. This assurance having appeased
him a little, he left me, appointing to meet again in an hour at the
court. The Chancellor had just taken his seat as I entered, and was
proceeding to give judgment in my client's case.
Casting my eyes around, I observed poor Mr. B---- seated on a bench,
immediately opposite his lordship. He did not recognize me, for his
entire attention was riveted on the oracle from whence was to proceed
the eagerly wished for, but dreaded decision. To look upon that man was
painful indeed; and although many years of professional experience had
familiarized me to such scenes, yet I could not behold him without
emotion, and trembled to think of the awful effect an adverse decision
would have on a mind so sensitive as his, and wrought to the highest
degree of painful suspense. My fears were but too soon realized. After
an elaborate and carefully considered review of the case, a final decree
was awarded against my client. Never shall I forget the agony of despair
depicted on his countenance at that moment as, rushing from the court,
he hissed into my ear the fearful words, "Oh, I am undone!"
It was a damp November day on which the circumstance above narrated
occurred. Wending my way homewards through Chancery Lane, the words of
my unfortunate client recurred to me. "Will _my_ case be called on
to-day?" thought I; "and is nothing left undone to ensure me a
favourable decree at the hands of that eternal Judge before whom I must
stand, sooner or later?"
Dear reader, you and I have both a case of vital importance, the
judgment of which will be eternal happiness or eternal misery. If we
have no Friend at court, no skilful Advocate to plead, anything of our
own--any pleadings based upon our own works or performances--will most
assuredly fail. A form without the power will not stand the test of that
tremendous, awful day. All false coverings will then be stripped off.
Naked, ruined, and undone for ever must we be unless found clothed with
the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the God-Man. The lines of one of our
poets have aptly described the case--
"A debtor to Jehovah's law,
My soul by nature stood,
And Justice was about to draw
His sword to shed my blood.
"'Stand forth! Stand forth!' he sternly cried,
'And pay me what you owe!'
"'Tis done,' said Jesus, 'for I died;
Loose him, and let him go!'"
What a solemn consideration it is that I who write and you who read will
stand in one case or the other--"Loose him, and let him go!" or, "Bind
him hand and foot, and cast him into outer darkness!" I ask myself--and
may I ask you--Does it cause you any searchings of heart, any anxious
thoughts, any tossings to and fro upon your bed? "How stands the case,
my soul, with thee?" Are matters right between God and thy soul? Have I
any reason to hope that I shall be acquitted? Or are you, Gallio-like,
caring for none of these things, "dancing the hellward road apace"? This
we are sure of--that the judgment of God will be according to truth, and
those who die in their sins, destitute of an interest and hope in
Christ, will have to confess that the Judge of all the earth has done
right. Your debts are great--too great for you ever to pay. Are you
trying to wipe off part of the score, endeavouring to do your best, and
trusting Jesus Christ to make up the rest? Hopeless case, for--
"Could thy zeal no respite know,
Could thy tears for ever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Christ must save, and Christ alone."
But if, from a sense of your true state and condition, your entirely
bankrupt state, with no hope or help in yourself, you have fallen down
at Jesus' feet, crying, "Lord, save, or I perish!" you are on safe
ground. Thy Surety paid for thee; and thou shalt know it in His own
time, to the joy of thy heart.
A BARRISTER.
MODES OF TRAVEL IN PERSIA.
There are two modes of travel in Persia, caravan and chappah. The former
is slow, at the pace which loaded mules can follow, say twenty-five
miles a day. To travel in caravan means not to go with a large company,
but in this leisurely manner. Hence our word "caravan," because large
trains in the East must necessarily travel in caravan style.
Chappah travelling, on the other hand, means rapid going, at an average
of eighty to a hundred and fifty miles per diem. This can only be done
by riding at a steady gallop--horses rarely trot in the East--and
changing horses at short intervals. The post carriers invariably travel
chappah.
The method of measuring distances in Persia is by farsakhs, a farsakh
representing four miles. Post stations are placed four farsakhs, or
sixteen miles apart, and more rarely five farsakhs. Fresh relays of
horses are kept in readiness at these stations. The post carriers,
accompanied by a single attendant, both heavily armed, and wielding a
fierce whip of hide, carry the mail in saddle bags. On arriving at a
station they dismount, take a hasty cup of tea which is in readiness,
and a few pulls at the kalian, or water-pipe. Then the horses are led
out, and the postman starts for another sixteen-mile gallop over the
mountain and plain, through forest and waste. These postmen are, so far
as I could learn, very faithful and courageous, as they must need be,
for they are sometimes attacked and killed, especially when it had
leaked out that they are carrying money. Thus they go through Persia,
and through life, on horseback. In summer, they have to rest during the
heat of the day, but, summer and winter, they gallop all night, and
practically have no rest until the end of the journey. The post rider
from Teheran to Bushire goes nearly seven hundred miles before he can
take a solid sleep.--_S. G. W. Benjamin._
THE VALUE OF WORK.
Earn your own bread, and see how sweet it will be! Work, and see how
well you will be! Work, and see how cheerful you will be! Work, and see
how independent you will be! Work, and see how happy your family will
be! Work, and, instead of repining at Providence, you may, perhaps, find
yourself offering up thanks for all the numerous blessings you enjoy.
COUSIN SUSAN'S NOTE-BOOK JOTTINGS ON THE LIFE AND WORK OF FATHER
CHINIQUY.
THE COW, THE SUCKING PIG, AND PURGATORY.
"_The tree is known by its fruit._"--MATTHEW xii. 33.