The classic world had clearly begun, as savages have begun everywhere, with an almost exclusive delight in red, even an almost exclusive attention to it, and for Homer, as for the Arabs, the rainbow was predominantly red; yellow had next been added to the attractive colors; very slowly the other colors of the spectrum began to win attention. Thus Democritus substituted green for yellow in the list of primary colors previously given by Empedocles. It was at a comparatively late period that blue and violet became interesting or even acquired definite names. The invasion of Christianity happened in time to join in this movement along the spectrum.Yellow became the color of jealousy, of envy, of treachery. Judas was painted in yellow garments, and in some countries Jews were compelled to be so drest. In France, in the sixteenth century, the doors of traitors and felons were daubed with yellow. In Spain, heretics who recanted were enjoined to wear a yellow cross as a penance, and the Inquisition required them to appear at publicautos da féin penitential garments and carrying a yellow candle.
The classic world had clearly begun, as savages have begun everywhere, with an almost exclusive delight in red, even an almost exclusive attention to it, and for Homer, as for the Arabs, the rainbow was predominantly red; yellow had next been added to the attractive colors; very slowly the other colors of the spectrum began to win attention. Thus Democritus substituted green for yellow in the list of primary colors previously given by Empedocles. It was at a comparatively late period that blue and violet became interesting or even acquired definite names. The invasion of Christianity happened in time to join in this movement along the spectrum.
Yellow became the color of jealousy, of envy, of treachery. Judas was painted in yellow garments, and in some countries Jews were compelled to be so drest. In France, in the sixteenth century, the doors of traitors and felons were daubed with yellow. In Spain, heretics who recanted were enjoined to wear a yellow cross as a penance, and the Inquisition required them to appear at publicautos da féin penitential garments and carrying a yellow candle.
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Combination—SeeUnion.
Comfort from Faith—SeeKorea, Work Among Women in.
Commander, The, and His Men—SeeDifficulties, Overcoming.
Commandment, The Greatest—SeeLove and Law.
Commandments, The Ten—SeeGuards of the Soul.
Commerce and Missions—SeeMissions and Commerce.
COMMON PROBLEM, THE
The common problem, yours, mine, every one’s,Is—not to fancy what were fair in lifeProvided it could be—but, finding firstWhat may be; then find how to make it fairUp to our means; a very different thing!—Browning.
The common problem, yours, mine, every one’s,Is—not to fancy what were fair in lifeProvided it could be—but, finding firstWhat may be; then find how to make it fairUp to our means; a very different thing!—Browning.
The common problem, yours, mine, every one’s,Is—not to fancy what were fair in lifeProvided it could be—but, finding firstWhat may be; then find how to make it fairUp to our means; a very different thing!—Browning.
The common problem, yours, mine, every one’s,
Is—not to fancy what were fair in life
Provided it could be—but, finding first
What may be; then find how to make it fair
Up to our means; a very different thing!
—Browning.
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COMMON SENSE
When drowning men for aid implore,Some people run along the shore,And weep and pray and hope.Till others with some common sense,Come like a blest providence,And throw a saving rope.—Public Opinion.
When drowning men for aid implore,Some people run along the shore,And weep and pray and hope.Till others with some common sense,Come like a blest providence,And throw a saving rope.—Public Opinion.
When drowning men for aid implore,Some people run along the shore,And weep and pray and hope.Till others with some common sense,Come like a blest providence,And throw a saving rope.—Public Opinion.
When drowning men for aid implore,
Some people run along the shore,
And weep and pray and hope.
Till others with some common sense,
Come like a blest providence,
And throw a saving rope.
—Public Opinion.
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Mr. John Clerk, an eminent Scotch counsel, was arguing at the bar of the House of Lords in a Scotch appeal, and turning his periods in the broadest Scotch, and after clinching a point, added, “That’s the whole thing in plain English, ma lorrdds.” Upon which Lord Eldon replied: “You mean in plain Scotch, Mr. Clerk.” The advocate readily retorted, “Nae maitter! in plain common sense, ma lords, and that’s the same in a’ languages, we ken weel eneuch.” (Text.)—Croake James, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”
Mr. John Clerk, an eminent Scotch counsel, was arguing at the bar of the House of Lords in a Scotch appeal, and turning his periods in the broadest Scotch, and after clinching a point, added, “That’s the whole thing in plain English, ma lorrdds.” Upon which Lord Eldon replied: “You mean in plain Scotch, Mr. Clerk.” The advocate readily retorted, “Nae maitter! in plain common sense, ma lords, and that’s the same in a’ languages, we ken weel eneuch.” (Text.)—Croake James, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”
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COMMON THINGS
Common things have their use which often surpasses the intrinsic value of precious, costly things.
A rich nobleman was once showing a friend a great collection of precious stones whose value was almost beyond counting. There were diamonds and pearls and rubies, and gems from almost every country, and had been gathered by their possessor at the greatest labor and expense. “And yet,” he remarked, “they yield me no income.” His friend replied that he had two stones which had only cost him five pounds each, but which yielded him a very considerable annual income, and he led him down to the mill and pointed to two toiling gray millstones.
A rich nobleman was once showing a friend a great collection of precious stones whose value was almost beyond counting. There were diamonds and pearls and rubies, and gems from almost every country, and had been gathered by their possessor at the greatest labor and expense. “And yet,” he remarked, “they yield me no income.” His friend replied that he had two stones which had only cost him five pounds each, but which yielded him a very considerable annual income, and he led him down to the mill and pointed to two toiling gray millstones.
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Communication, Easy—SeeSocial Progress.
COMMUNICATION IN FORMER DAYS
The progress of the world can be inferred from facts like the following:
In 1798 the entire business of the Post-office Department was conducted by the Postmaster-General, one assistant, and one clerk. In 1833 it required forty-eight hours to convey news from Washington to Philadelphia. In 1834 New York Saturday papers were not received in Washington until the following Tuesday afternoon. In 1835 the mails were carried between Philadelphia and Pittsburg daily in four-horse coaches, two lines daily, one to go through in a little more than two days, the other in three and a half days. In 1833 a contractor named Reeside carried the mail between Philadelphia and New York, ninety miles, in six hours, making fifteen miles an hour. The railroad, as a factor in the mail service, did not have a beginning before 1835. August 25 of this year the formal opening of the road between Washington and Baltimore took place. Amos Kendall, then Postmaster-General, at first objected to having the mails carried by rail over this road, since it would, as he feared, disarrange connections with existing lines of stages. In October, 1834, a writer in the BostonAtlassays: “We left Philadelphia on the morning of the sixth in a railroad car, and reached Columbia, on the Susquehanna, at dusk—a distance of eighty-two miles.”—John M. Bishop,Magazine of American History.
In 1798 the entire business of the Post-office Department was conducted by the Postmaster-General, one assistant, and one clerk. In 1833 it required forty-eight hours to convey news from Washington to Philadelphia. In 1834 New York Saturday papers were not received in Washington until the following Tuesday afternoon. In 1835 the mails were carried between Philadelphia and Pittsburg daily in four-horse coaches, two lines daily, one to go through in a little more than two days, the other in three and a half days. In 1833 a contractor named Reeside carried the mail between Philadelphia and New York, ninety miles, in six hours, making fifteen miles an hour. The railroad, as a factor in the mail service, did not have a beginning before 1835. August 25 of this year the formal opening of the road between Washington and Baltimore took place. Amos Kendall, then Postmaster-General, at first objected to having the mails carried by rail over this road, since it would, as he feared, disarrange connections with existing lines of stages. In October, 1834, a writer in the BostonAtlassays: “We left Philadelphia on the morning of the sixth in a railroad car, and reached Columbia, on the Susquehanna, at dusk—a distance of eighty-two miles.”—John M. Bishop,Magazine of American History.
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Communication of Disease—SeeContamination.
COMMUNICATION, PRIMITIVE
Many explorers have commented on the speed with which news travels among savage tribes, saysAmateur Work. A curious observation as to a possible solution of the problem of their methods has been made by the Rev. A. Rideout, who, as a missionary among the Basutos, has noticed their method of sending messages from village to village by means of a signal-drum or gourd. This gourd, covered with the dried and stretched skin of a kid, gives out a sound which travels and can be heard at distances from five to eight miles. The transmission and reception of messages on these drums is entrusted to special corps of signalers, some one of whom is always on duty, and who beat on the message in what is practically a Morse alphabet. On hearing the message, says Mr. Rideout, the signaler can always tell whether it is for his chief or for some distant village, and delivers it verbally or sends it on accordingly, and it is thus carried on with surprizing rapidity from one village to another, till it reaches its destination. All that took place in the Boer War, victories and reverses in the Transvaal and Orange Free State, were known to us by gourd-line message hours before the news ever reached us by field telegraph. The natives guarded the secret of their code carefully. To my knowledge, messages have been sent a thousand miles by means of it. This is probably one of the earliest forms of wireless telegraphy.
Many explorers have commented on the speed with which news travels among savage tribes, saysAmateur Work. A curious observation as to a possible solution of the problem of their methods has been made by the Rev. A. Rideout, who, as a missionary among the Basutos, has noticed their method of sending messages from village to village by means of a signal-drum or gourd. This gourd, covered with the dried and stretched skin of a kid, gives out a sound which travels and can be heard at distances from five to eight miles. The transmission and reception of messages on these drums is entrusted to special corps of signalers, some one of whom is always on duty, and who beat on the message in what is practically a Morse alphabet. On hearing the message, says Mr. Rideout, the signaler can always tell whether it is for his chief or for some distant village, and delivers it verbally or sends it on accordingly, and it is thus carried on with surprizing rapidity from one village to another, till it reaches its destination. All that took place in the Boer War, victories and reverses in the Transvaal and Orange Free State, were known to us by gourd-line message hours before the news ever reached us by field telegraph. The natives guarded the secret of their code carefully. To my knowledge, messages have been sent a thousand miles by means of it. This is probably one of the earliest forms of wireless telegraphy.
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COMMUNICATION, PSYCHICAL
Having discovered that we are immersed in the ether, and that it responds instantly, and to untold distances to electric vibrations, the daring inventor said, if I can set theether ajar with a certain kind of vibration by shooting up into it strong electric impulses, then I can plant yonder in the distance another instrument keyed to that particular kind of vibration, and it will pick out its own from the ether, quivering, as it is, with an infinite number of vibrations. Just as when you run the scale of the piano in a room, each object responds to its own note. When you touch D a certain lampshade will shiver in answer. That is its note. It knows its own vibration, and is silent to all others.This, then, is what is transpiring now among men. A code of signals being arranged, one here sends up his request or prayer into the heavens, speaks into space. The whole hemisphere of ether is set quivering. Another yonder, a thousand miles distant, picks out of space the syllables of that prayer, one by one, and then throws back through space the answer. Nothing so marvelous as this, so near spiritual conditions, has ever before entered the heart of man. It is not surprizing that the air is full of prophecies, dreams and visions. One says we will yet be able to carry in a pocket, like watches, little vibrators, so that we can communicate with our distant friends without wires or towers, or skilled operators, as readily as we take out our watch and tell the hour of the day. Others, in this prophetic madness, say we may yet learn the vibration of the planets, and fling off into space our “All hail” to Mars and Venus.—James H. Ecob.
Having discovered that we are immersed in the ether, and that it responds instantly, and to untold distances to electric vibrations, the daring inventor said, if I can set theether ajar with a certain kind of vibration by shooting up into it strong electric impulses, then I can plant yonder in the distance another instrument keyed to that particular kind of vibration, and it will pick out its own from the ether, quivering, as it is, with an infinite number of vibrations. Just as when you run the scale of the piano in a room, each object responds to its own note. When you touch D a certain lampshade will shiver in answer. That is its note. It knows its own vibration, and is silent to all others.
This, then, is what is transpiring now among men. A code of signals being arranged, one here sends up his request or prayer into the heavens, speaks into space. The whole hemisphere of ether is set quivering. Another yonder, a thousand miles distant, picks out of space the syllables of that prayer, one by one, and then throws back through space the answer. Nothing so marvelous as this, so near spiritual conditions, has ever before entered the heart of man. It is not surprizing that the air is full of prophecies, dreams and visions. One says we will yet be able to carry in a pocket, like watches, little vibrators, so that we can communicate with our distant friends without wires or towers, or skilled operators, as readily as we take out our watch and tell the hour of the day. Others, in this prophetic madness, say we may yet learn the vibration of the planets, and fling off into space our “All hail” to Mars and Venus.—James H. Ecob.
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Communion Between Man and Beast—SeeKindness to Animals.
COMMUNION NOT BARRED
A board knocked from a dividing fence sometimes leads to pleasant associations, but they are possible with the boards all on. We can look over or through. And souls can thus, even without effort, live together while the bodies are kept apart. Fences, high and barbed, can not separate kindred spirits.—United Presbyterian.
A board knocked from a dividing fence sometimes leads to pleasant associations, but they are possible with the boards all on. We can look over or through. And souls can thus, even without effort, live together while the bodies are kept apart. Fences, high and barbed, can not separate kindred spirits.—United Presbyterian.
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Communion with God—SeeGod Surrounding the Soul.
Community’s Interests Before Personal Interests—SeeConvictions, Strong.
COMPANIONS, EVIL
A farmer’s corn was destroyed by the cranes that fed in his field. Greatly annoyed, he declared that he would find a way out of the trouble. A net was set in which the cranes were snared. There was also a beautiful stork among them who had been visiting with the cranes, and had come to them from a neighboring roof.“Spare me,” plead the stork. “I am innocent; indeed I am. I never touched any of your belongings.”“That may be true,” answered the farmer; “but I find you among them and I judge you accordingly.”The only safe way is to keep out of bad company.
A farmer’s corn was destroyed by the cranes that fed in his field. Greatly annoyed, he declared that he would find a way out of the trouble. A net was set in which the cranes were snared. There was also a beautiful stork among them who had been visiting with the cranes, and had come to them from a neighboring roof.
“Spare me,” plead the stork. “I am innocent; indeed I am. I never touched any of your belongings.”
“That may be true,” answered the farmer; “but I find you among them and I judge you accordingly.”
The only safe way is to keep out of bad company.
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Comparative Religion—SeeChristianity Superior.
COMPARATIVE, THE
Vernon L. Kellogg writes about an ant dragon that he once observed, thus:
He was an ugly little brute, squat and humpbacked, with sand sticking to his thinly haired body. But he was fierce-looking for all his diminutiveness. Remember again that whether a thing is big or little to you depends on whether you are big or little. This dragon of the sand-pit was little to us. He is terribly big to the ants.—“Insect Stories.”
He was an ugly little brute, squat and humpbacked, with sand sticking to his thinly haired body. But he was fierce-looking for all his diminutiveness. Remember again that whether a thing is big or little to you depends on whether you are big or little. This dragon of the sand-pit was little to us. He is terribly big to the ants.—“Insect Stories.”
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COMPARISONS, APT
The Chinese call overdoing a thing, a hunchback making a bow. When a man values himself overmuch, they compare him to a rat falling into a scale and weighing itself.—Chambers’s Journal.
The Chinese call overdoing a thing, a hunchback making a bow. When a man values himself overmuch, they compare him to a rat falling into a scale and weighing itself.—Chambers’s Journal.
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Compass—SeeBible.
COMPENSATION
Judge Noah Davis, when asked by a company of American brother lawyers as to the comparative advantages of different periods of life, replied, with his usual calm simplicity of manner, as follows:“In the warm season of the year it is my delight to be in the country; and every pleasant evening while I am there I love to sit at the window and look upon some beautiful trees which grow near my house. The murmuring of the wind through the branches, the gentle play of the leaves, and the flickering of light upon them when the moon is up, fill me with an indescribable pleasure. As the autumn comes on, I feel very sad to see these leaves falling one by one; but when they are all gone, I find that they were only a screen before my eyes;for I experience a new and higher satisfaction as I gaze through the naked branches at the glorious stars beyond.” (Text.)—Croake James, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”
Judge Noah Davis, when asked by a company of American brother lawyers as to the comparative advantages of different periods of life, replied, with his usual calm simplicity of manner, as follows:
“In the warm season of the year it is my delight to be in the country; and every pleasant evening while I am there I love to sit at the window and look upon some beautiful trees which grow near my house. The murmuring of the wind through the branches, the gentle play of the leaves, and the flickering of light upon them when the moon is up, fill me with an indescribable pleasure. As the autumn comes on, I feel very sad to see these leaves falling one by one; but when they are all gone, I find that they were only a screen before my eyes;for I experience a new and higher satisfaction as I gaze through the naked branches at the glorious stars beyond.” (Text.)—Croake James, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”
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Mongolian wolves are not so dangerous as Siberian ones. The reason is that, unlike the Russians, the Mongols keep such poor sheepfolds that a wolf can help itself to a sheep whenever it likes, and so is seldom driven by hunger to attack a man.—John C. Lambert, “Missionary Heroes in Asia.”
Mongolian wolves are not so dangerous as Siberian ones. The reason is that, unlike the Russians, the Mongols keep such poor sheepfolds that a wolf can help itself to a sheep whenever it likes, and so is seldom driven by hunger to attack a man.—John C. Lambert, “Missionary Heroes in Asia.”
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A pioneer farmer found after a storm that the lightning had cracked the wall of his cistern and his water-supply had leaked away, but a gurgling sound showed that the same stroke had split a rock and opened a hidden spring of living water.—Franklin Noble, “Sermons in Illustration.”
A pioneer farmer found after a storm that the lightning had cracked the wall of his cistern and his water-supply had leaked away, but a gurgling sound showed that the same stroke had split a rock and opened a hidden spring of living water.—Franklin Noble, “Sermons in Illustration.”
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The one man who escaped the terrible eruption of Mt. Pelée was a prisoner who was in the jail at the time of the volcanic disturbance. He never imagined anything had happened until he missed receiving his meals and the visit of his guard. Then, escaping from the prison, he found himself in a city where thousands lay dead. God shelters his children behind many a strange rock. A prisoner—and yet saved! (Text.)
The one man who escaped the terrible eruption of Mt. Pelée was a prisoner who was in the jail at the time of the volcanic disturbance. He never imagined anything had happened until he missed receiving his meals and the visit of his guard. Then, escaping from the prison, he found himself in a city where thousands lay dead. God shelters his children behind many a strange rock. A prisoner—and yet saved! (Text.)
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COMPENSATION IN TRIALS
The difficulties which beset personal and family life are rich in compensation. We often speak of “keeping the wolf from the door,” and the majority find this a hard fight. What trouble the threatening animal gives us! If in the morning we are disposed for a little extra slumber, the ominous howl startles us from the pillow; if we are tempted to linger at the table, its fierce breathings at the threshold summon us straightway to duty; if we doze in the armchair, the gleaming eyes, the white teeth, the red throat at the window-pane, bring us to our feet. And yet how much the best of men, the most truly aristocratic families, owe to the wolf! Solicitude, fatigue, difficulty, danger, hunger, these are the true king-makers; and the misfortune with many rich families to-day is, that they are being gradually let down because they are losing sight of the wolf. The wolf not merely suckled Romulus; it suckles all kings of men. The wolf is not a wolf at all; it is an angel in wolves’ clothing, saving us from rust, sloth, effeminacy, cowardice, baseness, from a miserable superficiality of thought, life, and character.—W. L. Watkinson, “The Transfigured Sackcloth.”
The difficulties which beset personal and family life are rich in compensation. We often speak of “keeping the wolf from the door,” and the majority find this a hard fight. What trouble the threatening animal gives us! If in the morning we are disposed for a little extra slumber, the ominous howl startles us from the pillow; if we are tempted to linger at the table, its fierce breathings at the threshold summon us straightway to duty; if we doze in the armchair, the gleaming eyes, the white teeth, the red throat at the window-pane, bring us to our feet. And yet how much the best of men, the most truly aristocratic families, owe to the wolf! Solicitude, fatigue, difficulty, danger, hunger, these are the true king-makers; and the misfortune with many rich families to-day is, that they are being gradually let down because they are losing sight of the wolf. The wolf not merely suckled Romulus; it suckles all kings of men. The wolf is not a wolf at all; it is an angel in wolves’ clothing, saving us from rust, sloth, effeminacy, cowardice, baseness, from a miserable superficiality of thought, life, and character.—W. L. Watkinson, “The Transfigured Sackcloth.”
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COMPENSATIONS OF PROVIDENCE
I met old, lean St. Francis in a dreamWading knee-deep through the ashes of his town,The souls that he was helping up to heavenWere burnt or wrung out of the writhing flesh.Said I, “When near a thousand are engulfedIn sudden indiscriminate destruction,And half a million homeless are, I know,This rotten world most blackly is accurst.”“When heroes are as countless as the flames;When sympathy,” said he, “has opened wideA hundred million generous human hearts,I know this world is infinitely blest.”—Rodman Gilder,The Outlook.
I met old, lean St. Francis in a dreamWading knee-deep through the ashes of his town,The souls that he was helping up to heavenWere burnt or wrung out of the writhing flesh.Said I, “When near a thousand are engulfedIn sudden indiscriminate destruction,And half a million homeless are, I know,This rotten world most blackly is accurst.”“When heroes are as countless as the flames;When sympathy,” said he, “has opened wideA hundred million generous human hearts,I know this world is infinitely blest.”—Rodman Gilder,The Outlook.
I met old, lean St. Francis in a dreamWading knee-deep through the ashes of his town,The souls that he was helping up to heavenWere burnt or wrung out of the writhing flesh.Said I, “When near a thousand are engulfedIn sudden indiscriminate destruction,And half a million homeless are, I know,This rotten world most blackly is accurst.”
I met old, lean St. Francis in a dream
Wading knee-deep through the ashes of his town,
The souls that he was helping up to heaven
Were burnt or wrung out of the writhing flesh.
Said I, “When near a thousand are engulfed
In sudden indiscriminate destruction,
And half a million homeless are, I know,
This rotten world most blackly is accurst.”
“When heroes are as countless as the flames;When sympathy,” said he, “has opened wideA hundred million generous human hearts,I know this world is infinitely blest.”—Rodman Gilder,The Outlook.
“When heroes are as countless as the flames;
When sympathy,” said he, “has opened wide
A hundred million generous human hearts,
I know this world is infinitely blest.”
—Rodman Gilder,The Outlook.
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COMPETITION
Much of the joy of life would vanish if we had no races to run, no contests to engage in. The true spirit of competition is exprest in the following rime:
On Saturday, next Saturday, may I be there to greetThose sixteen jolly Englishmen a-tugging for the lead.And eight shall have the victory and eight must bear defeat;But what’s the odds since all have pluck—and that’s the thing we need.Oh, it’s rowing in a stern chase that makes you feel you’re dying.But it’s spurting, gaining, spurting that makes you think you’re flying;And it’s smiting the beginning, and it’s sweeping of it throughJust for honor, not for pelf,And without a thought of self,For the glory of your color and the credit of your crew.And it’s “Easy all, you’ve passed the post,” and lo, you loose your grip,But not until the falling flag proclaims you’re at the “ship.” (Text.)—London Punch.
On Saturday, next Saturday, may I be there to greetThose sixteen jolly Englishmen a-tugging for the lead.And eight shall have the victory and eight must bear defeat;But what’s the odds since all have pluck—and that’s the thing we need.Oh, it’s rowing in a stern chase that makes you feel you’re dying.But it’s spurting, gaining, spurting that makes you think you’re flying;And it’s smiting the beginning, and it’s sweeping of it throughJust for honor, not for pelf,And without a thought of self,For the glory of your color and the credit of your crew.And it’s “Easy all, you’ve passed the post,” and lo, you loose your grip,But not until the falling flag proclaims you’re at the “ship.” (Text.)—London Punch.
On Saturday, next Saturday, may I be there to greetThose sixteen jolly Englishmen a-tugging for the lead.And eight shall have the victory and eight must bear defeat;But what’s the odds since all have pluck—and that’s the thing we need.Oh, it’s rowing in a stern chase that makes you feel you’re dying.But it’s spurting, gaining, spurting that makes you think you’re flying;And it’s smiting the beginning, and it’s sweeping of it throughJust for honor, not for pelf,And without a thought of self,For the glory of your color and the credit of your crew.And it’s “Easy all, you’ve passed the post,” and lo, you loose your grip,But not until the falling flag proclaims you’re at the “ship.” (Text.)—London Punch.
On Saturday, next Saturday, may I be there to greet
Those sixteen jolly Englishmen a-tugging for the lead.
And eight shall have the victory and eight must bear defeat;
But what’s the odds since all have pluck—and that’s the thing we need.
Oh, it’s rowing in a stern chase that makes you feel you’re dying.
But it’s spurting, gaining, spurting that makes you think you’re flying;
And it’s smiting the beginning, and it’s sweeping of it through
Just for honor, not for pelf,
And without a thought of self,
For the glory of your color and the credit of your crew.
And it’s “Easy all, you’ve passed the post,” and lo, you loose your grip,
But not until the falling flag proclaims you’re at the “ship.” (Text.)
—London Punch.
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Competition, Self—SeeAnxiety, Cost of.
COMPLEXITY IN ORGANS
The tufts of feathers which distinguish the short-eared and long-eared owls, and are developed still more imposingly in the great eagle owl of northern Europe, are, of course, no more ears than they are horns; but the true ears of the owls are most remarkable organs. The facial disk of feathers, which gives them their most characteristic appearance, serves as a kind of sounding-board or ear-trumpet to concentrate the slightest sounds and transmit them to the orifice of the true ear, which is concealed in the small feathers behind the eye. Even in the barn-owl, which possesses the least complicated arrangement of this kind, the orifice of the ear is covered by a remarkable flap of skin; while in the other species there are striking differences in the size and shape of this orifice and its covering flap on the two sides of the head. The exact way in which owls utilize this elaborately specialized apparatus has still to be discovered; but it is a natural inference that two ears of widely different structure must give the owls which possess them a power of localizing sound which is of the greatest use to them when hunting small creatures in the dark. It is, therefore, all the more surprizing that the barn-owl’s ears have not this difference of structure, altho the power of instantly locating the rustle of the running mouse must be almost indispensable. For catching small birds, which are the especial prey of the wood-owl, keenness of sight rather than of hearing must be necessary, since they are chiefly caught when at roost; and the large nocturnal eye is developed in most of the owls almost as remarkably as the ear. In the short-eared owl, which is a day-flying species, the eye is correspondingly reduced. It has also a far less conspicuous facial disk; and this might also seem to be naturally explained as a result of its diurnal habits, with the consequent reduction of the need for acute hearing, if it were not for the marked difference in the structure of its two ears, which is even greater than in the case of the wood-owl. In the study of such complex problems, we are soon forced to realize how inadequate is even the most helpful and fascinating of single clues. The equilibrium of nature is no simple thing, like the balance of a pair of scales; it more resembles the complicated equipoise of an aeroplane among air-currents playing in three dimensions.—LondonTimes.
The tufts of feathers which distinguish the short-eared and long-eared owls, and are developed still more imposingly in the great eagle owl of northern Europe, are, of course, no more ears than they are horns; but the true ears of the owls are most remarkable organs. The facial disk of feathers, which gives them their most characteristic appearance, serves as a kind of sounding-board or ear-trumpet to concentrate the slightest sounds and transmit them to the orifice of the true ear, which is concealed in the small feathers behind the eye. Even in the barn-owl, which possesses the least complicated arrangement of this kind, the orifice of the ear is covered by a remarkable flap of skin; while in the other species there are striking differences in the size and shape of this orifice and its covering flap on the two sides of the head. The exact way in which owls utilize this elaborately specialized apparatus has still to be discovered; but it is a natural inference that two ears of widely different structure must give the owls which possess them a power of localizing sound which is of the greatest use to them when hunting small creatures in the dark. It is, therefore, all the more surprizing that the barn-owl’s ears have not this difference of structure, altho the power of instantly locating the rustle of the running mouse must be almost indispensable. For catching small birds, which are the especial prey of the wood-owl, keenness of sight rather than of hearing must be necessary, since they are chiefly caught when at roost; and the large nocturnal eye is developed in most of the owls almost as remarkably as the ear. In the short-eared owl, which is a day-flying species, the eye is correspondingly reduced. It has also a far less conspicuous facial disk; and this might also seem to be naturally explained as a result of its diurnal habits, with the consequent reduction of the need for acute hearing, if it were not for the marked difference in the structure of its two ears, which is even greater than in the case of the wood-owl. In the study of such complex problems, we are soon forced to realize how inadequate is even the most helpful and fascinating of single clues. The equilibrium of nature is no simple thing, like the balance of a pair of scales; it more resembles the complicated equipoise of an aeroplane among air-currents playing in three dimensions.—LondonTimes.
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COMPLIMENT
Few have equalled Sir Joshua Reynolds in skill and graciousness of compliment. When he painted the portrait of Mrs. Siddons as the “Tragic Muse,” he wrought his name on the border of her robe, with the remark, “I can not lose this opportunity of sending my name to posterity on the hem of your garment.”
Few have equalled Sir Joshua Reynolds in skill and graciousness of compliment. When he painted the portrait of Mrs. Siddons as the “Tragic Muse,” he wrought his name on the border of her robe, with the remark, “I can not lose this opportunity of sending my name to posterity on the hem of your garment.”
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During a visit once with Queen Victoria, who had sent for him to her palace, the poet Longfellow was seating himself in a waiting coach at the close of the royal interview, when a working man, hat in hand, approached, and asked:“Please, sir, yer honor, an’ are you Mr. Longfellow?” Said the poet, “I am Mr. Longfellow.” “An’ did you write ‘The Psalm of Life?’” continued the questioner. “I wrote the ‘Psalm of Life,’” was the answer. “An’ yer honor, would you be willing to take a working man by the hand?”Instantly Mr. Longfellow responded with a warm hand grip. In telling the story later the poet said, “I never in my life received a compliment that gave me greater satisfaction.”
During a visit once with Queen Victoria, who had sent for him to her palace, the poet Longfellow was seating himself in a waiting coach at the close of the royal interview, when a working man, hat in hand, approached, and asked:
“Please, sir, yer honor, an’ are you Mr. Longfellow?” Said the poet, “I am Mr. Longfellow.” “An’ did you write ‘The Psalm of Life?’” continued the questioner. “I wrote the ‘Psalm of Life,’” was the answer. “An’ yer honor, would you be willing to take a working man by the hand?”
Instantly Mr. Longfellow responded with a warm hand grip. In telling the story later the poet said, “I never in my life received a compliment that gave me greater satisfaction.”
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I recollect once standing in front of a bit of marble carved by Powers, a Vermonter, who had a matchless, instinctive love of art and perception of beauty. I said to an Italian standing with me, “Well, now, that seems to me to be perfection.” The answer was, “To be perfection”—shrugging his shoulders—“why, sir, that reminds you of Phidias!” as if to remind you of that Greek was a greater compliment than to be perfection.—Wendell Phillips.
I recollect once standing in front of a bit of marble carved by Powers, a Vermonter, who had a matchless, instinctive love of art and perception of beauty. I said to an Italian standing with me, “Well, now, that seems to me to be perfection.” The answer was, “To be perfection”—shrugging his shoulders—“why, sir, that reminds you of Phidias!” as if to remind you of that Greek was a greater compliment than to be perfection.—Wendell Phillips.
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COMPLIMENTS, SPARING OF
The first time I ever stood in the pulpit to preach was in the meeting-house of the ancient Connecticut town where I was brought up. That was a great day for our folks and all my old neighbors, you may depend. After benediction, when I passed out into the vestibule, I was the recipient there of many congratulatory expressions. Among my friends in the crowd was an aged deacon, a man in whom survived, to a rather remarkable degree, the original New England Puritan type, who had known me from the cradle, and to whom the elevation I had reached was as gratifying as it could possiblybe to anybody. But when he saw the smile of favor focused on me there, and me, I dare say, appearing to bask somewhat in it, the dear old man took alarm. He was apprehensive of the consequences to that youngster. And so, taking me by the hand and wrestling down his natural feelings—he was ready to cry for joy—he said: “Well, Joseph, I hope you’ll live to preach a great deal better than that!”—Joseph H. Twitchell.
The first time I ever stood in the pulpit to preach was in the meeting-house of the ancient Connecticut town where I was brought up. That was a great day for our folks and all my old neighbors, you may depend. After benediction, when I passed out into the vestibule, I was the recipient there of many congratulatory expressions. Among my friends in the crowd was an aged deacon, a man in whom survived, to a rather remarkable degree, the original New England Puritan type, who had known me from the cradle, and to whom the elevation I had reached was as gratifying as it could possiblybe to anybody. But when he saw the smile of favor focused on me there, and me, I dare say, appearing to bask somewhat in it, the dear old man took alarm. He was apprehensive of the consequences to that youngster. And so, taking me by the hand and wrestling down his natural feelings—he was ready to cry for joy—he said: “Well, Joseph, I hope you’ll live to preach a great deal better than that!”—Joseph H. Twitchell.
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Compositions Compared—SeeEducation Not Vicarious.
COMPREHENSIVENESS IN EDUCATION
“What are these boys studying Latin for?” said an English visitor at a manual-training school as he looked in upon a class reading Cæsar.“What did you study Latin for?” was my illogical but American response. “Why, I am a bachelor of arts?” was his prompt reply, with the air of one who had given a conclusive answer. “Perhaps these boys will be bachelors of arts by and by,” I added cheerfully. “Then, what in the world are they in a manual-training school for?” he exclaimed, with almost a sneer at my evident lack of acquaintance with the etiquette of educational values. I tried to explain my theory of an all-round education—and my practise of “putting the whole boy to school”—but he would not be convinced. He could not see the propriety of mixing utility and tool dexterity with culture—Calvin M. Woodward,Science.
“What are these boys studying Latin for?” said an English visitor at a manual-training school as he looked in upon a class reading Cæsar.
“What did you study Latin for?” was my illogical but American response. “Why, I am a bachelor of arts?” was his prompt reply, with the air of one who had given a conclusive answer. “Perhaps these boys will be bachelors of arts by and by,” I added cheerfully. “Then, what in the world are they in a manual-training school for?” he exclaimed, with almost a sneer at my evident lack of acquaintance with the etiquette of educational values. I tried to explain my theory of an all-round education—and my practise of “putting the whole boy to school”—but he would not be convinced. He could not see the propriety of mixing utility and tool dexterity with culture—Calvin M. Woodward,Science.
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COMPROMISES IN GRAVITIES
All orbits, including the orbits of comets, are the result of compromises in gravities. Now you have got to get over the idea that because one body attracts another strongly it is likely to draw it smack into it. It doesn’t. I made an apparatus in my laboratory the other day to show my students about that.I fixt up a little gun capable of shooting a steel ball quite a distance up an inclined plate of glass. The ball shot upward and then rolled directly back into the muzzle of the gun time after time. That was to show what a comet would do if just merely shot out into space to be uninfluenced by any other heavenly bodies after it got a start.Then I put a powerful electric magnet under the plate of glass, quite a little distance away from the track of my steel ball. This time when it was shot upward instead of keeping on its straight path or swerving directly into the magnet, as some of my students expected it to do, it shot on past, curving its course toward the magnet, and then finally it swung around the magnet in very much the way the comet is swinging around the sun. On its return course it swung off in a new direction altogether. My students were quite delighted with the oval course taken by the steel ball. It was just such a course as they had seen mapped out for Halley’s visitor.—H. Jacoby, New YorkTimes.
All orbits, including the orbits of comets, are the result of compromises in gravities. Now you have got to get over the idea that because one body attracts another strongly it is likely to draw it smack into it. It doesn’t. I made an apparatus in my laboratory the other day to show my students about that.
I fixt up a little gun capable of shooting a steel ball quite a distance up an inclined plate of glass. The ball shot upward and then rolled directly back into the muzzle of the gun time after time. That was to show what a comet would do if just merely shot out into space to be uninfluenced by any other heavenly bodies after it got a start.
Then I put a powerful electric magnet under the plate of glass, quite a little distance away from the track of my steel ball. This time when it was shot upward instead of keeping on its straight path or swerving directly into the magnet, as some of my students expected it to do, it shot on past, curving its course toward the magnet, and then finally it swung around the magnet in very much the way the comet is swinging around the sun. On its return course it swung off in a new direction altogether. My students were quite delighted with the oval course taken by the steel ball. It was just such a course as they had seen mapped out for Halley’s visitor.—H. Jacoby, New YorkTimes.
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Compulsion in Religion—SeeMilitant Evangelism.
CONCEIT
There are too many men who make the sentiment of this verse their creed:
This is the burden of my song,I sing it day and night:Why are so many always wrongWhen I am always right?
This is the burden of my song,I sing it day and night:Why are so many always wrongWhen I am always right?
This is the burden of my song,I sing it day and night:Why are so many always wrongWhen I am always right?
This is the burden of my song,
I sing it day and night:
Why are so many always wrong
When I am always right?
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SeeComparisons, Apt;Self-flattery.
CONCEIT OF OPINION
When Lord Hardwicke’s marriage bill was in the House of Commons, Fox, afterward Lord Holland, saying that one clause gave unheard-of power to parents on the marriage of minors, proceeded to lay open the chicanery and jargon of the lawyers, and the pride of their mufti, and drew a most severe picture of the Chancellor under the application of the story of a gentlewoman at Salisbury, who, having a sore leg, sent for a country surgeon, who pronounced that it must be cut off. The gentlewoman, unwilling to submit to the operation, sent for another more merciful, who said he could save her leg without the least operation. The surgeons conferred. The ignorant one said: “I know it might be saved, but I have given my opinion; my character depends upon it, and we must carry it through.” The leg was cut off. (Text.)—Croake James, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”
When Lord Hardwicke’s marriage bill was in the House of Commons, Fox, afterward Lord Holland, saying that one clause gave unheard-of power to parents on the marriage of minors, proceeded to lay open the chicanery and jargon of the lawyers, and the pride of their mufti, and drew a most severe picture of the Chancellor under the application of the story of a gentlewoman at Salisbury, who, having a sore leg, sent for a country surgeon, who pronounced that it must be cut off. The gentlewoman, unwilling to submit to the operation, sent for another more merciful, who said he could save her leg without the least operation. The surgeons conferred. The ignorant one said: “I know it might be saved, but I have given my opinion; my character depends upon it, and we must carry it through.” The leg was cut off. (Text.)—Croake James, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”
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CONCENTRATION
It has been told of a modern astronomer that one summer night, when he was withdrawing to his chamber, the brightness showed a phenomenon. He passed the whole night in observing it, and when they came to him early in the morning and found him in the same attitude, he said, like one whohas been collecting his thoughts for a few moments:“It must be thus; but I will go to bed before it is too late.” He had gazed the entire night and was not aware of it.
It has been told of a modern astronomer that one summer night, when he was withdrawing to his chamber, the brightness showed a phenomenon. He passed the whole night in observing it, and when they came to him early in the morning and found him in the same attitude, he said, like one whohas been collecting his thoughts for a few moments:
“It must be thus; but I will go to bed before it is too late.” He had gazed the entire night and was not aware of it.
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SeeAbsorption, Mental.
CONCERT, LACK OF
Crazy people never act together, says the superintendent of a large asylum for the insane, quoted inThe Medical Times. “If one inmate attacks an attendant, as sometimes happens, the others would look upon it as no affair of theirs and simply watch it out. The moment we discovered two or more inmates working together we would know they were on the road to recovery.” It is on this account that there are so few concerted mutinies in insane asylums; so that the number of attendants does not have to be large.
Crazy people never act together, says the superintendent of a large asylum for the insane, quoted inThe Medical Times. “If one inmate attacks an attendant, as sometimes happens, the others would look upon it as no affair of theirs and simply watch it out. The moment we discovered two or more inmates working together we would know they were on the road to recovery.” It is on this account that there are so few concerted mutinies in insane asylums; so that the number of attendants does not have to be large.
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Conclusion, A Reasonable—SeeEthical Principle.
CONDEMNED, THE
“Vessels fitted unto destruction”—how many may be unconsciously so marked by their Maker! A vessel is condemned as unseaworthy; her sails are sold, her spars and rigging, and when all that can be moved is gone, the dismantled hulk is moored in some coaling station. There, black from stem to stern, with a great white number painted on her side, she floats until her timbers rot to pieces—
“Vessels fitted unto destruction”—how many may be unconsciously so marked by their Maker! A vessel is condemned as unseaworthy; her sails are sold, her spars and rigging, and when all that can be moved is gone, the dismantled hulk is moored in some coaling station. There, black from stem to stern, with a great white number painted on her side, she floats until her timbers rot to pieces—
Anchored forever—sea-lord once, and free—Fouled by the creeping weeds that work unseen,Lashed by the mocking winds that erst we braved,Dread we the coming of the Southern night.Stars that we tamed to guide our prows of oldLaugh in their sky of purple tapestry—Ay, laugh: we are condemned of man to die! (Text.)—Margaret Gardiner,Century.
Anchored forever—sea-lord once, and free—Fouled by the creeping weeds that work unseen,Lashed by the mocking winds that erst we braved,Dread we the coming of the Southern night.Stars that we tamed to guide our prows of oldLaugh in their sky of purple tapestry—Ay, laugh: we are condemned of man to die! (Text.)—Margaret Gardiner,Century.
Anchored forever—sea-lord once, and free—Fouled by the creeping weeds that work unseen,Lashed by the mocking winds that erst we braved,Dread we the coming of the Southern night.Stars that we tamed to guide our prows of oldLaugh in their sky of purple tapestry—Ay, laugh: we are condemned of man to die! (Text.)—Margaret Gardiner,Century.
Anchored forever—sea-lord once, and free—
Fouled by the creeping weeds that work unseen,
Lashed by the mocking winds that erst we braved,
Dread we the coming of the Southern night.
Stars that we tamed to guide our prows of old
Laugh in their sky of purple tapestry—
Ay, laugh: we are condemned of man to die! (Text.)
—Margaret Gardiner,Century.
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CONDESCENSION
A learned counsel (Mr. Brougham, as some say), when the judges had retired for a few minutes in the midst of his argument, in which, from their interruptions and objections, he did not seem likely to be successful, went out of court, too, and on his return stated he had been drinking a pot of porter. Being asked whether he was not afraid that this beverage might dull his intellect, he replied: “That is just what I want it to do, to bring me down, if possible, to the level of their lordships’ understanding. (Text.)—James Croake, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”
A learned counsel (Mr. Brougham, as some say), when the judges had retired for a few minutes in the midst of his argument, in which, from their interruptions and objections, he did not seem likely to be successful, went out of court, too, and on his return stated he had been drinking a pot of porter. Being asked whether he was not afraid that this beverage might dull his intellect, he replied: “That is just what I want it to do, to bring me down, if possible, to the level of their lordships’ understanding. (Text.)—James Croake, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”
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SeeGreatness;Personality, Influence of.
Conditions Before the Advent of Missionaries—SeeMissionary Work, Value of.
Conditions Modify Rules—SeeDevotion to the Helpless.
CONDITIONS SUGGEST COURSES
During the last years of his life a brain disease, of which he had shown frequent symptoms, fastened its terrible hold upon Swift, and he became by turns an idiot and a madman. He died in 1745, and when his will was opened it was found that he had left all his property to found St. Patrick’s asylum for lunatics and incurables. It stands to-day as the most suggestive monument of his peculiar genius.—William J. Long, “English Literature.”
During the last years of his life a brain disease, of which he had shown frequent symptoms, fastened its terrible hold upon Swift, and he became by turns an idiot and a madman. He died in 1745, and when his will was opened it was found that he had left all his property to found St. Patrick’s asylum for lunatics and incurables. It stands to-day as the most suggestive monument of his peculiar genius.—William J. Long, “English Literature.”
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CONDUCT, CANONS OF
Coleridge lays down three canons of criticism in literature, which hold equally in conduct and endeavor:
First, What has the author attempted to do? Second, Is it worth doing? And, third, Has he done it well?
First, What has the author attempted to do? Second, Is it worth doing? And, third, Has he done it well?
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CONDUCT, PAST, UNCONSIDERED
Paul’s doctrine, that he who offends in one point is guilty of the whole law, is illustrated in this anecdote:
A notary public was convicted of forgery and sentenced to be hanged; and being asked if he had anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed, remarked that it was very hard that he should be hanged just for one line, considering the thousands of harmless sheets he had written in the course of his life. (Text.)—Croake James, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”
A notary public was convicted of forgery and sentenced to be hanged; and being asked if he had anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed, remarked that it was very hard that he should be hanged just for one line, considering the thousands of harmless sheets he had written in the course of his life. (Text.)—Croake James, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”
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CONFESSION
One of the duties of the writer during the first days of his clerkship was to “lock up.” One morning in the very first week of his employment he found the door unlocked and a policeman standing guard. Had he forgottento lock that door? A hasty survey revealed that nothing had been taken away, and the policeman was dismissed. Should he confess the delinquency? It was almost sure dismissal. But he resolved to make a clean breast of it, and when his employer came in later he told all the circumstances, and bravely admitted that he must have failed to lock the door. While making this confession, the policeman walked in, to report finding the door unlocked. But his report had been forestalled, and, with an injunction to be more careful in future, the matter was dismissed. The confession forestalling that report was all that saved dismissal. But that confession won the confidence of his employer, and won a higher trust and esteem than existed before. This is one of the first lessons to learn. Confess instantly a fault, a loss, a mistake, and it is half retrieved.—James T. White, “Character Lessons.”
One of the duties of the writer during the first days of his clerkship was to “lock up.” One morning in the very first week of his employment he found the door unlocked and a policeman standing guard. Had he forgottento lock that door? A hasty survey revealed that nothing had been taken away, and the policeman was dismissed. Should he confess the delinquency? It was almost sure dismissal. But he resolved to make a clean breast of it, and when his employer came in later he told all the circumstances, and bravely admitted that he must have failed to lock the door. While making this confession, the policeman walked in, to report finding the door unlocked. But his report had been forestalled, and, with an injunction to be more careful in future, the matter was dismissed. The confession forestalling that report was all that saved dismissal. But that confession won the confidence of his employer, and won a higher trust and esteem than existed before. This is one of the first lessons to learn. Confess instantly a fault, a loss, a mistake, and it is half retrieved.—James T. White, “Character Lessons.”
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SeeFalsehood.
Among the hard-working Labrador fishermen was a rich man who had opprest them, but whom they believed to be strong enough to defy them. Dr. Wilfred Grenfell, the medical missionary, who is also a magistrate, went to the offender and told him that he must confess his sin and pay back to the fishermen a thousand dollars. He curst the missionary. At the next church service, the doctor announced that a sinful man would confess his sin that night. They couldn’t believe that the rich sinner would yield. At the evening service, Dr. Grenfell asked them to keep their seats while he went after the sinner. He found the man at a brother’s house on his knees in prayer, with all the family.“Prayer,” said the doctor, “is a good thing in its place, but it doesn’t ‘go’ here. Come with me.”He meekly went, and was led up the aisle, where all could see him, and, after the doctor had described the great sin of which he was guilty, he asked, “Did you do this thing?” “I did.” “You are an evil man of whom the people should beware?” “I am.” “You deserve the punishment of man and God?” “I do.”At the end of it all the doctor told the man that the good God would forgive him if he should ask in true faith and repentance, but that the people, being human, could not. For a whole year, he charged the people, they must not speak to that man; but if, at the end of that time, he had shown an honest disposition to mend his ways, they might take him to their hearts.The man finally paid the money and fled the place.
Among the hard-working Labrador fishermen was a rich man who had opprest them, but whom they believed to be strong enough to defy them. Dr. Wilfred Grenfell, the medical missionary, who is also a magistrate, went to the offender and told him that he must confess his sin and pay back to the fishermen a thousand dollars. He curst the missionary. At the next church service, the doctor announced that a sinful man would confess his sin that night. They couldn’t believe that the rich sinner would yield. At the evening service, Dr. Grenfell asked them to keep their seats while he went after the sinner. He found the man at a brother’s house on his knees in prayer, with all the family.
“Prayer,” said the doctor, “is a good thing in its place, but it doesn’t ‘go’ here. Come with me.”
He meekly went, and was led up the aisle, where all could see him, and, after the doctor had described the great sin of which he was guilty, he asked, “Did you do this thing?” “I did.” “You are an evil man of whom the people should beware?” “I am.” “You deserve the punishment of man and God?” “I do.”
At the end of it all the doctor told the man that the good God would forgive him if he should ask in true faith and repentance, but that the people, being human, could not. For a whole year, he charged the people, they must not speak to that man; but if, at the end of that time, he had shown an honest disposition to mend his ways, they might take him to their hearts.
The man finally paid the money and fled the place.
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CONFESSION NOT CONCLUSIVE
Two men named Boven were convicted in a Vermont court, mainly upon their own confession, of the murder of a half-witted dependent brother-in-law. They even said that certain bones found were those of the supposed victim. But the brother-in-law was found alive and well in New Jersey, and returned in time to prevent the execution. He had fled for fear they would kill him. The bones were those of some animal. They (the Bovens) had been advised by some misjudging friends that, as they would certainly be convicted upon the circumstances proved, their only chance for life was by commutation of punishment, and this depended upon their making a penitential confession. These and many similar cases have satisfied English and American lawyers that confessions alone are unreliable as evidences of guilt. When it is known that one accused, especially one charged with a capital offense, intends to make a confession, it is the practise in our courts to delay the trial in order to give him ample time to decide whether or no he will pursue that course.—BostonGlobe.
Two men named Boven were convicted in a Vermont court, mainly upon their own confession, of the murder of a half-witted dependent brother-in-law. They even said that certain bones found were those of the supposed victim. But the brother-in-law was found alive and well in New Jersey, and returned in time to prevent the execution. He had fled for fear they would kill him. The bones were those of some animal. They (the Bovens) had been advised by some misjudging friends that, as they would certainly be convicted upon the circumstances proved, their only chance for life was by commutation of punishment, and this depended upon their making a penitential confession. These and many similar cases have satisfied English and American lawyers that confessions alone are unreliable as evidences of guilt. When it is known that one accused, especially one charged with a capital offense, intends to make a confession, it is the practise in our courts to delay the trial in order to give him ample time to decide whether or no he will pursue that course.—BostonGlobe.
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CONFESSION, UNREPENTANT
A sergeant was accused, once upon a time, by his brethren of the court, of having degraded their order by taking from a client a fee in copper, and on being solemnly arraigned for this offense in their common hall, it appears from the unwritten reports of the Court of Common Pleas, that he defended himself by the following plea of confession and avoidance: “I fully admit that I took a fee from the man in copper, and not one, but several, and not only in copper, but fees in silver; but I pledge my honor as a sergeant, that I never took a single fee from him in silver until I had got all his gold, and that I never took a fee from him in copper until I had got all his silver, and you don’t call that a degradation of our order!” (Text.)—Croake James, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”
A sergeant was accused, once upon a time, by his brethren of the court, of having degraded their order by taking from a client a fee in copper, and on being solemnly arraigned for this offense in their common hall, it appears from the unwritten reports of the Court of Common Pleas, that he defended himself by the following plea of confession and avoidance: “I fully admit that I took a fee from the man in copper, and not one, but several, and not only in copper, but fees in silver; but I pledge my honor as a sergeant, that I never took a single fee from him in silver until I had got all his gold, and that I never took a fee from him in copper until I had got all his silver, and you don’t call that a degradation of our order!” (Text.)—Croake James, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”
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CONFESSIONS
The Rev. Jonathan Goforth gives some striking instances of the confessionsof Korean converts during a revival:
A prominent Christian who had bought some property for the mission confest that he had only paid eighty yen for the property, but had charged the mission five hundred yen. He sold his land so as to make restitution.Another confest that he was proud and censorious, but this did not relieve him. A few days later he confest that he had stolen three dollars and a lamp. Still he failed to get peace. After a few more days of agony, he confest that during the war while he acted as manager of transport he had cheated the Japanese and Koreans out of two hundred yen. He made restitution and received blessing.The leader of a robber band with some of his followers was converted in the great spiritual movement. He confest his sin, then went to the magistrate and delivered himself up. The official was so astounded that he said: “We have no such law that we can condemn a man without an accuser. You may have your liberty.” Here the Spirit of God was more effective than police and detective force. They needed not either to spend a term in the reformatory, for they were made new men in Christ Jesus.
A prominent Christian who had bought some property for the mission confest that he had only paid eighty yen for the property, but had charged the mission five hundred yen. He sold his land so as to make restitution.
Another confest that he was proud and censorious, but this did not relieve him. A few days later he confest that he had stolen three dollars and a lamp. Still he failed to get peace. After a few more days of agony, he confest that during the war while he acted as manager of transport he had cheated the Japanese and Koreans out of two hundred yen. He made restitution and received blessing.
The leader of a robber band with some of his followers was converted in the great spiritual movement. He confest his sin, then went to the magistrate and delivered himself up. The official was so astounded that he said: “We have no such law that we can condemn a man without an accuser. You may have your liberty.” Here the Spirit of God was more effective than police and detective force. They needed not either to spend a term in the reformatory, for they were made new men in Christ Jesus.
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CONFIDENCE
Confidence is well placed when it rests upon a proved experience.
A traveler, following his guide amid the Alpine heights, reached a place where the path was narrowed by a jutting rock on one side and a terrible precipice on the other. The guide passed over, and holding on to the rock with one hand, extended the other over the precipice for the traveler to step upon it and so pass around the jutting rock. He hesitated, but the guide said, “That hand has never lost a man.” He stept on the hand and passed over safely.
A traveler, following his guide amid the Alpine heights, reached a place where the path was narrowed by a jutting rock on one side and a terrible precipice on the other. The guide passed over, and holding on to the rock with one hand, extended the other over the precipice for the traveler to step upon it and so pass around the jutting rock. He hesitated, but the guide said, “That hand has never lost a man.” He stept on the hand and passed over safely.
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The medical missionary among the Afghans, Dr. T. L. Pennell, on one of his journeys came to a village across the border late at night. Many outlaws infested the village, but the chief to whose care he had entrusted himself took the precaution of putting his bed in the center of six of his men, fully armed, each of whom was to keep guard in turn. Dr. Pennell being very tired after a hard day’s work, soon fell sound asleep. This proved to be his safety. Some of the fanatical spirits wanted to kill him in sheer wantonness, but the others said, pointing to his prostrate form peacefully sleeping, “See, he has trusted himself entirely to our protection, and because he trusts us he is sleeping so soundly; therefore no harm must be done to him in our village.” His confidence disarmed their deadly impulse. (Text.)
The medical missionary among the Afghans, Dr. T. L. Pennell, on one of his journeys came to a village across the border late at night. Many outlaws infested the village, but the chief to whose care he had entrusted himself took the precaution of putting his bed in the center of six of his men, fully armed, each of whom was to keep guard in turn. Dr. Pennell being very tired after a hard day’s work, soon fell sound asleep. This proved to be his safety. Some of the fanatical spirits wanted to kill him in sheer wantonness, but the others said, pointing to his prostrate form peacefully sleeping, “See, he has trusted himself entirely to our protection, and because he trusts us he is sleeping so soundly; therefore no harm must be done to him in our village.” His confidence disarmed their deadly impulse. (Text.)
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