between Paris and Brussels with a new apparatus known as the
"microtelephone push-button," which he believes to be the most perfect
yet produced. As its name indicates, it has the form of an ordinary
electric push-button. When the button has been pushed in, and has made a
sound at the other extremity, it is taken out, and is found to be
attached to a long electric wire. There is thus exposed the telephonic
plate, which is extremely sensitive, so that when it is necessary to
speak at short distances, it is not necessary to come close to the
instrument. For communications in the same street, or the same house,
the operator places the upper part near himself, and without changing
his position he can speak with the correspondent at the opposite
extremity. He is not obliged to put his ear to the part which contains
the button and brings back the reply. Thus, for short distances, those
who make use of this apparatus speak in their ordinary tone, without
changing their customary attitudes. They may sit or walk about, and
speak just as if those they are addressing were present. When great
distances intervene, in which the speakers and hearers are separated by
two hundred miles, it is necessary to come nearer to the apparatus, but
without being obliged to speak quite close to it. What makes this
apparatus the most successful of telephonic instruments is, that it can
be made for half-a-crown, that is to say, for not more than the price of
the ordinary push-button. As it can be fitted to the electric wire of
the ordinary ringing apparatus, it follows that it introduces a complete
change in our ordinary modes of intercourse. The railway companies are
making experiments with this apparatus as a means of communication
between compartments of carriages, and it is being fitted up on trial in
hotels. The inventor is Dr. Cornelius Herz.
"ASK ON."
(1 KINGS ii. 20; JOHN xiv. 13.)
I hear "a voice from heaven"--
I hear my Sovereign say--
"Ask on" (He speaks to me);
"I will not say thee nay."
I would not doubt His word,
For truth in Him abides;
I would not doubt His power;
In Him the Godhead hides.
And since I know He gave
Himself, Himself, to move
Jehovah's curse from me,
I would not doubt His love.
And so I'll breathe my wish
To Christ, my King, to-day;
And rest me on His word--
"I will not say thee nay."
ISA.
"IS NOT A MAN BETTER THAN AN EGG?"
"Bacon! bacon! bacon! always bacon! Why don't we have eggs sometimes,
like we used to?" was the discontented question of a little boy, one
morning, as he surveyed a rasher of bacon on his plate.
"May you never get anything worse to eat, my boy, than this nice streaky
bacon," remarked his father, looking up from his newspaper.
"Little boys should eat what is put before them, and be thankful that
they have food to eat," observed a severe-looking maiden aunt.
"Ralph is not very well to-day," said his sister Nellie, in a low tone.
"His appetite has not been so good lately as it used to be. He never
seems to get on with bacon; and there have been very few eggs brought in
for some time. Do you think the fowls have left off laying, papa?"
"Hardly, my dear; this is just the time of year they lay most freely. I
suspect they are hiding them, and making nests for themselves in some
secret place."
"_I_ suspect, John, that the stable-boy takes them. It is not at all
likely that fourteen or fifteen fowls would hide their eggs, whatever
one might do," said the severe aunt.
"Hens choose curious places to lay their eggs in sometimes," said Mr.
Thorn,[11] laughing. "I remember one fine Spanish bird that invariably
laid hers on the top of a wall."
[11] The real names are, of course, suppressed throughout.
"What a queer place, papa! Did not the eggs get broken?"
"They did, my dear, to the great distress of the poor fowl, who no doubt
wished to make a nest in that strange, out-of-the-way place. I used to
listen for her cackling, in order, if possible, to save the egg; but it
always tumbled off the wall before I could get to it. Another, a
Cochin-china fowl, laid hers on a heap of stones, and----"
"Those must have been very badly managed fowls, John," interrupted Miss
Thorn. "Now, yours, on the contrary, are well cared for, and properly
housed."
This was quite true, for Mr. Thorn's fowl-house was large and airy, and
well supplied with every necessary convenience. Indeed, so true a
fancier was he, that his extensive fowl-house was partitioned off, so
that his Brahmas, Cochin-chinas, Houdans, and other breeds should be in
no danger of mixing.
It was Mr. Thorn's custom always to collect his eggs himself, the first
thing after breakfast; and he never allowed any one to go into the
fowl-house on any pretence whatever, unless in his company. Owing to
this precaution the fowls were all very tame, while some would testify
their pleased sense of his presence by stretching out their necks and
uttering a little note of welcome. He was the more surprised, therefore,
on the morning on which our story begins, to notice that all the fowls
were in a state of intense excitement. To his astonishment, he found
some of the doors communicating with the various sections of the house
wide open, and the cocks, that he had supposed were safely guarded from
each other, fighting together fiercely. Evidently his sister was right.
Some other hand had collected the eggs.
[Illustration: "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MR. THORN'S EGGS?"]
As he was coming out, after having with some difficulty restored order,
his little boy came running up to him, with his bag of books on his
back, on his way to school, saying eagerly--
"I don't want to be dainty, papa, only it is tiresome to have nothing
but bacon, when there are such lots of eggs."
"How do you know there are lots of eggs, my boy?"
"Because I hear the hens cackling every day, papa. This morning there
was such a noise before I got up."
"Where did the noise come from, Ralph?"
"From the hen-house, papa."
"Are you quite sure, Ralph?"
"Quite, papa! Oh, I know they don't lay anywhere else, for I have looked
so often to see if any of them laid their eggs in the garden. I looked
this morning before breakfast."
"Very well, my boy; run off to school now. Perhaps we may find out soon
where the hens do lay their eggs; but you had better not say anything
about it to your schoolfellows."
* * * * *
"I tell you what it is, Bob--I don't believe you come honestly by that
money. You never do any work to speak of, and yet every now and then you
bring in a lot of money," said a pale-looking young woman to her
husband, one morning, as he slouched in to breakfast, and threw a
handful of silver on the table.
"A deal you know about it, Jane! If I get odd jobs that bring me in an
odd shilling or two, what business is it of yours, I should like to
know? If you and the little 'un have enough to eat, that's all you need
trouble about."
"'Taint no concern of mine, Bob, and yet I can't help feeling a bit
uncomfortable when I hear folks say that Mr. Thorn gets no eggs now."
"What do you know about Mr. Thorn's eggs?" asked her husband, roughly.
"Well, that gossiping Mrs. Smith told me that Mr. Thorn said as how his
hens had taken to hiding their eggs of late. She said he thought they
had nests somewhere, but he couldn't find them, and then she looked at
them eggs I was frying for dinner so suspicious-like that I got quite
red, for fear you had taken 'em."
Bob made no reply, but ate his breakfast in sullen silence. As he went
out, his wife called after him--
"You try to get a reg'lar job, Bob, and don't go loafing about."
That evening Bob came in earlier than usual, and going up to his wife,
who was rocking the cradle, said in a husky voice--
"Jane, my gal, I'm goin' to turn over a new leaf."
"Bless the man!" exclaimed Jane in alarm, as she saw unwonted tears in
her husband's eyes. "Are you took bad, Bob?"
"No, Jane," he replied gently; "but I've been bad. Listen, old gal, and
I'll tell you all about it. You were right when you said the money I
brought you lately weren't all honestly come by."
"Oh, Bob!"
"Hush, my gal; don't interrupt me. It's hard on a fellow to have such a
tale to tell. You know, Jennie, how long I've been out of reg'lar work,
and how hard I tried to get some of the farmers round to take me on; but
they all said they had nothing for me to do. Well, when you was took
bad, I got desperate like; and one mornin', when I was doin' an odd job
o' digging in Mr. Thorn's garden, I heard his hens a-cackling; and as I
knowed when he collected the eggs, I got up early next day, and managed
to slip in afore he was about; and as I wasn't found out, I did it again
and again; and as I had nothing to do after the diggin', I walked to
Market Littleton and sold 'em; and so I did many a time. Well, this
morning I met Mr. Thorn in the village. I tried to skulk out of his way,
but he walked up quite friendly-like, and says he, 'I wish I had known
you were so fond of eggs. I'd have given you some,' says he, 'and
welcome.' Well, I tried to brave it out, and swore I knew nought of his
eggs, but he went on quite friendly in his funny way. 'Bob,' says he,
'you shall have as many as you like, only let me have the pleasure of
getting them for you. It's a pity for you to get up so early, and have
all the trouble of getting over the fence, and opening the door with a
bit of wire, when I could send them to you without any fuss.' Well,
Jane, I went down on my knees then, and I said, 'If you'll forgive me
this time, sir, I'll never do it again; only don't send me to jail.
'Twould break my gal's heart, it would'; and then he puts half-a-crown
into my hand, and he goes with me to a friend of his, and gets me taken
on with the horses."
"Oh, Bob, how could you?" said Jane, crying; "and Mr. Thorn such a nice,
kind-spoken gentleman! And oh, if anybody else knows, you'll get the
name of a thief!"
"No one else does know, my gal, and I am sure that Mr. Thorn will keep
it close. He said he 'spected me the day afore yesterday, when he seed
me at Market Littleton sellin' some eggs, and says he, 'I didn't like to
'spect you, Bob; but after my 'spicions was roused, I watched yesterday
mornin' and this mornin';' and as I was a-coming out of the hen-house
this mornin', he seed me, and says he, ''Tis an ill deed that has to be
done in the dark, Bob.'"
* * * * *
A night or two afterwards, as Bob was passing a building where services
were being held, he fancied that he heard Mr. Thorn's voice, and he went
into the porch to listen. Yes, it was John Thorn's voice. He was
praying, and it seemed to Bob that he was praying for him. He prayed for
those who were sorely tempted, and who had no strength to resist--who
had never savingly heard the voice of the Lord, and who never used His
name but in oaths. "That's me," said poor Bob, with a groan. After the
prayer, the hymn, "Just as I am," was sung, and then a short address was
given by the preacher.
"Needy sinners, come just as you are," said the preacher. "Jesus died
for sinners. Come with all your sins upon you. Don't try to wash off
some of the biggest ones; you will only make the dirty stains worse.
Come just as you are. You perhaps think of others--your old companions
who will laugh at you, and so you are ashamed. Were you ashamed of that
mean act you did in the dark the other morning?"
"He knows all about it," thought Bob, and he covered his face with his
hands. At that moment of supreme misery, some one touched him on the
shoulder, and looking up in terror, Bob saw the man whom he had robbed
gazing down upon him, with his kind eyes full of pity and compassion for
the poor sorrow-stricken man.
"You've bin and told him," hissed Bob.
"My poor fellow, I have told him nothing. God forbid that I should tell
any one of the sin which you have confessed to me. Come in, Bob."
"I am so bad and so dirty."
"Your clothes are dirty, Bob," replied Mr. Thorn, glancing at Bob's
soiled and shabby garments. "I wonder that you go on wearing them. They
are too dirty to be washed."
"Too dirty to be washed, sir!" exclaimed Bob in amazement. "I have no
others to change with, or my gal would very soon have them in the
wash-tub."
"Very true, Bob. You have no clothes to change with, but if I gave you a
clean coat, you would soon put it on, aye?"
"Yes, indeed, Mr. Thorn."
"Then, if you by faith come to Christ, in your filthy rags, just as you
are, He will wash you in the fountain of His blood, and will cover you
with the robe of His righteousness."
And Bob came. He felt his guilt and misery, and like a little child he
asked for mercy. Need we say he found it? We do not pretend to fix the
exact day and hour of his conversion, but this we know--the once
dishonest man is now, and has been for years, a man of the strictest
probity; the blasphemer now worships the Saviour whom once he despised;
and among that little band of Christians in L----, there is none more
devoted to his Master's service, none more loving and gentle to wife and
children, and to all within the sphere of his influence, than Bob.
"And under God, I owe it all to Mr. Thorn," he would say. "Had he, a
professing Christian, sent me to prison then, could I have believed what
he said of God's mercy? Mr. Thorn was to me the living witness of God's
mercy in Christ."
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also
forgive you."
"Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come!
"Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come!
"Just as I am Thou wilt receive;
Wilt strengthen, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe;
O Lamb of God, I come!
"Just as I am--Thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come!"
--_From a Tract._
SUCCESS.--There is a glare about success which is apt to dazzle men's
eyes. When we see a man rising in the world, a foolish high opinion is
formed of his merits. It is said, "What a wonderful man this must be to
rise so rapidly!" forgetting that straw, dust, and feathers--things
without value or weight--rise the soonest and easiest. It is not always
the good and great man who rises rapidly into wealth and notice.
A GOOD EXAMPLE.
The following notice, headed, "To the Workmen of Stoke Works," was
recently issued by Mr. J. Corbett, M.P.:--
"It has been to me a matter of great pain and regret to receive from
time to time complaints from grocers, bakers, and other tradesmen, that
the men employed at the works ask for credit, and then refuse to pay
their lawful debts, thereby bringing a bad name upon the works, and no
good repute upon me as an employer. Now, considering that the men
employed here obtain higher wages than at any other salt works in
England, and receive their wages weekly, I consider such conduct simply
disgraceful, particularly when evidence is brought before me that the
money which should go to pay tradesmen for provisions for the wife and
family is expended in drink, too often leading to drunkenness. I contend
that workmen who receive their wages weekly should never get into debt,
and tradesmen ought to know that if men who regularly have their wages
every Saturday cannot pay one week, they are in no better position to
pay the week after. I am determined to try to remove this stigma from
Stoke Works, and hereby give notice that any man or men who expend their
wages in drinking or otherwise, instead of paying their lawful debts,
are no men for these works; and I do hope that any such men will take
advice intended with the best feelings for their good and the comfort of
their families. A copy of this notice will be sent to the tradesmen of
Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, Droitwich, and other places. This is, of
course, only intended to apply to those men who are guilty of the
conduct herein complained of.--(Signed) JOHN CORBETT, Stoke Prior Salt
Works."
IT is better to be nobly remembered than nobly born.--_Ruskin._
THE DUTCH AND THEIR COUNTRY.
The enemies with which they had to contend were three--the sea, the
lakes, the rivers. They dried up the lakes, imprisoned the rivers, drove
back the sea.
In order to drain the lakes they made use of the air. The lakes and
ponds were surrounded by dams, the dams by canals. An army of windmills
put pumps in motion, which turned the water into the canals, which
conducted it to the rivers and to the sea. Thus vast spaces of land
buried under water were transformed as if by enchantment into fertile,
smiling plains, populated by villages. From 1500 to 1858 the amount of
land reclaimed was 355 miles.
By the substitution of steam instead of windmills, the great lake of
Haarlem was dried, the furious tempests of which threatened the cities
of Haarlem, Amsterdam, and Leyden with destruction; and the Dutch, in
1883, seriously contemplated the prodigious undertaking of reclaiming
the land buried under the Zuyder Zee.
The rivers did not cost much less labour than the lakes, but the most
tremendous struggle was with the ocean. A great part of Holland is below
sea-level, and the land has to be defended by dykes. If these wonderful
bulwarks of earth and of wood and granite were not there as monuments to
attest the courage and perseverance of the Dutch, no one would believe
that the hand of man, even in the course of centuries, could accomplish
so great a work.
Holland is an impregnable fortress. The mills are the towers of its
immense bastions, the cataracts the gates, the islands the advanced
forts; and she shows to her enemy, the sea, only the belfries and roofs
of the edifices.
Holland is a fortress, and the Dutch, like people in a fortress, stand
on a perpetual war-footing with the sea. An army of engineers, dependent
on the Minister of the Interior, spy upon the enemy continually, watch
over the state of the internal waters, provide for ruptures in the
embankments, advise and direct new works of defence to strengthen and
support the old.
The danger is constant, the sentinels ever at their posts. At the first
assault of the sea they give the cry of alarm, and Holland sends arms,
materials, and money. Even when there is not a great battle raging,
there is always a slow, silent struggle. The innumerable mills are never
quiet, always pumping the rain-water into the canals. Every day the
cataracts of the canals and rivers shut their huge gates against the
rising tide, which struggles to precipitate itself into the heart of the
country.
But Holland has done more than defend herself from the sea, and master
it. The waters were her scourge, but she has made them her defence. When
a foreign army invaded her territory, she opened her sluice-gates,
unchained the sea and the waves, and let them loose on the enemy,
defending internal cities with a fleet. The water was her poverty; she
made it her wealth.
"Nature," says a Dutch poet, "refused all her gifts to Holland. Men had
to do everything in spite of Nature."
It is enough to look at the monuments of the great struggle with the sea
to understand that the distinctive characteristics of this people must
be firmness and patience, accompanied by a calm and never-failing
courage.
YOU can outlive a slander in half the time you can out-argue it.
THE soul that cannot entirely trust God, whether man be pleased or
displeased, can never long be true to Him; for, while you are eyeing
man, you are losing sight of God and stabbing religion at the very
heart.--_Manton._
SUNDAY SCHOOL INTELLIGENCE.
CLIFTON SUNDAY SCHOOL ANNIVERSARY.
Special services in the above place, on behalf of the Sunday School,
were held on Sunday, July 22nd.
Two sermons were preached, in the morning and evening, by the Pastor,
Mr. Frederick Marshall; also an address was given by him in the
afternoon. Text in the morning, Deuteronomy vi. 6, 7. He spoke of the
good of Sunday Schools in the cases of many that have left them and gone
out into the world to earn their living. It was his prayer that the Lord
would bless the labours of the brethren and sisters in the good work,
and that they might not be weary in well-doing, for they have the
promise, "they shall reap if they faint not." He could rest assured that
what was taught in the school was according to the Scriptures. He warned
the young people to flee from temptations and from the appearance of
evil, and directed them to diligently search the Scriptures, and take
them for a guide.
In the afternoon, in the presence of a goodly number of parents,
teachers, and scholars, he spoke from the little word "One." He said
that there must be a oneness between teachers and scholars, or the
school could not succeed. He also said that each boy and girl, as well
as the teacher, had his or her individual duty to do, and he said that
they all ought to try to do that duty well, out of school as well as in.
In the evening, the text was Romans xvi. 26. The sermon was listened to
very attentively by a good congregation. Suitable pieces for the
occasion were sung by the children.
On the following Thursday the children had their annual treat. On
account of the previous wet weather, it was feared that not a very
enjoyable day was in store; but He who is still the Answerer of prayer
was pleased to stay the rain, so that a very pleasant day was spent by
all present.
A SCHOLAR.
PROVIDENCE CHAPEL SUNDAY SCHOOL, BURWASH.
The first public meeting took place on Wednesday, August 8th. The
meeting was opened at two p.m. by singing, and then the Superintendent
read Proverbs iv. 1-13, and spoke in prayer. The children then amused
themselves for a time in the adjoining field. They were called in again
at four o'clock, and after reading and prayer, eight of the senior
scholars recited from fifteen to thirty verses each of Scripture, and
some hymns, for which they were presented, six with the Clifton Hymnal,
one with "The Sack and its Treasure," and the other with "The Morte
Stone," kindly presented by Mr. J. Wilmshurst, of Cranbrook. Three of
the junior scholars also said a few verses, for which they were
presented, two with a New Testament, and one with the Psalms.
At five o'clock about thirty persons sat down to tea, most of whom were
children.
In the evening Mr. J. Jarvis, of Mayfield, preached a very impressive
and encouraging sermon from Hebrews xii. 24.
The Sunday School was opened on the last Lord's Day in April with three
scholars. It now has eighteen, and we trust that the Lord will still
prosper the good work.
S. H. JARVIS.
CARMEL CHAPEL, FLECKNEY.
The anniversary of the Sabbath School in connection with the above place
of worship was held on Sunday, July 29th, when two sermons were preached
by Mr. Read, who has now preached on these occasions for thirteen years.
Both school-rooms and chapel were crowded. Special hymns were sung by
the scholars, and at the close of the sermon in the evening, twelve
handsomely-bound Bibles were presented to six girls and six boys, it
being a custom to give one to each scholar at the age of sixteen. Mr.
Read spoke very appropriate words as he presented the Bible to each
scholar.
Collections were made at the close of each service, amounting in the
whole to L16.
The school, which now numbers 190 scholars, was commenced about thirty
years since, when our esteemed Superintendent, Mr. J. Garner, was the
only teacher, with five scholars.
The preaching of the truth of God in our village was begun by our
beloved minister, Mr. Deacon, thirty-four years ago, in a cottage, which
has given rise to the building of two chapels, and it is thought that
the present one, which has only been built ten years, will have to be
enlarged. We are constrained to say, with one of old, "What hath God
wrought?"
A READER.
"A SOFT ANSWER."
A person went to the late Mr. Longden, of Sheffield, one day, and said,
"I have something against you, and I am come to tell you of it." "Do
walk in, sir," he replied. "You are my best friend. If I could but
engage my friends to be faithful with me, I should be sure to prosper.
But, if you please, we will both kneel down, in the first place, and ask
the blessing of God upon our interview." After they rose from their
knees, Mr. Longden said, "Now, my brother, I will thank you to tell me
what it is that you had against me." "Oh," said the man, "I really don't
know what it is. It is all gone; and I believe I was in the wrong."
OUR BIBLE CLASS.
ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA.
(ACTS v. 1-16.)
In the second chapter of Acts we learn how the Holy Spirit was, on the
Day of Pentecost, just after Christ's ascension, poured out upon the
apostles, how they preached the Gospel in languages they had never
learned before, and how three thousand of their hearers were led to
confess their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. These were
baptized according to His commandment, and added to the company of
disciples at Jerusalem, partaking of the Lord's Supper as He had bidden
them, and continuing in fellowship and prayer. But besides all this,
they made a rule for themselves which Jesus had not actually laid down
for them. The richer members gave up their money and goods, and all
shared alike. Thus beautifully did they obey the spirit of His new
commandment, "Love one another, even as I have loved you" (John xv. 12).
But this happy state of things did not long continue. Satan and sin soon
interrupted its trustful, unselfish course, and we never find again that
they that believed had all things common, after the events recorded in
Acts v.