Sometime in the future—God knows where—This troubled heart will find surcease of care,And then—when consciousness has left my breast,And angel lips have kissed my own to rest,It will not matter what the world has said.Nor praise, nor censure can affect the dead.But now? As balm of Gilead to meA little word of praise or cheer would be.
Sometime in the future—God knows where—This troubled heart will find surcease of care,And then—when consciousness has left my breast,And angel lips have kissed my own to rest,It will not matter what the world has said.Nor praise, nor censure can affect the dead.But now? As balm of Gilead to meA little word of praise or cheer would be.
Sometime in the future—God knows where—This troubled heart will find surcease of care,And then—when consciousness has left my breast,And angel lips have kissed my own to rest,It will not matter what the world has said.Nor praise, nor censure can affect the dead.But now? As balm of Gilead to meA little word of praise or cheer would be.
Sometime in the future—God knows where—
This troubled heart will find surcease of care,
And then—when consciousness has left my breast,
And angel lips have kissed my own to rest,
It will not matter what the world has said.
Nor praise, nor censure can affect the dead.
But now? As balm of Gilead to me
A little word of praise or cheer would be.
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PRAISE, UNITED
The British Government at great cost is causing the national anthem to be translated into the languages of India, including Arabic, Persian, Hindustani, Bengali, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Kavarese, Marathi, Gugerati, Tunjabi, Malay, Taniel, Tilugu, Singhalese and Burmese, so that the natives in their jungles may unite in “God Save the King” on all important occasions.
The British Government at great cost is causing the national anthem to be translated into the languages of India, including Arabic, Persian, Hindustani, Bengali, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Kavarese, Marathi, Gugerati, Tunjabi, Malay, Taniel, Tilugu, Singhalese and Burmese, so that the natives in their jungles may unite in “God Save the King” on all important occasions.
We have a greater spectacle described in Rev. 5:9–13, where the unity of praise includes all the tongues and nations of the earth.
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PRAISE, UNNECESSARY
An interesting story in regard to General Miles comes from a recent encampment of the Grand Army at San Francisco, and is published inThe Saturday Evening Post. The General, while being entertained at a club, was rallied good-humoredly by an old-time comrade for his failure to win a laudatory “send-off” in his retirement papers.
“In reply to that,” remarked General Miles, “let me tell a story. The application may seem a trifle egotistical, but as the story is a good one, I’ll venture it.“In the early days of the West an itinerant preacher, stopping for refreshment one day at the pioneer home of one of his parishioners, was served, among other things, with apple-pie. It was not a good pie. The crust was heavy and sour, but the encomiums which that preacher heaped upon it were great. The good wife knew that she had had bad luck with the baking, and as she was in reality an excellent cook, she determined that the next time that preacher came her way he should have a pie that was faultless.“He told her when he was to return, and on that day she set before him an apple-pie that was the real thing. He ate it, but to her astonishment vouchsafed not a word of commendation. This was more than the housewife would stand.“‘Brother,’ she exclaimed, ‘when you were here last you ate an apple-pie that wasn’t more than half-baked, and you praised it to the skies. Now you have eaten a pie that nobody needs to be ashamed of, but you haven’t a word to say in its favor. I can’t understand it.’“‘My good sister,’ replied the preacher, ‘that pie you served me a few days ago was sadly in need of praise, and I did my full duty in that direction; but this fine pie, bless your heart, does not require any eulogy.’”
“In reply to that,” remarked General Miles, “let me tell a story. The application may seem a trifle egotistical, but as the story is a good one, I’ll venture it.
“In the early days of the West an itinerant preacher, stopping for refreshment one day at the pioneer home of one of his parishioners, was served, among other things, with apple-pie. It was not a good pie. The crust was heavy and sour, but the encomiums which that preacher heaped upon it were great. The good wife knew that she had had bad luck with the baking, and as she was in reality an excellent cook, she determined that the next time that preacher came her way he should have a pie that was faultless.
“He told her when he was to return, and on that day she set before him an apple-pie that was the real thing. He ate it, but to her astonishment vouchsafed not a word of commendation. This was more than the housewife would stand.
“‘Brother,’ she exclaimed, ‘when you were here last you ate an apple-pie that wasn’t more than half-baked, and you praised it to the skies. Now you have eaten a pie that nobody needs to be ashamed of, but you haven’t a word to say in its favor. I can’t understand it.’
“‘My good sister,’ replied the preacher, ‘that pie you served me a few days ago was sadly in need of praise, and I did my full duty in that direction; but this fine pie, bless your heart, does not require any eulogy.’”
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Praising Rival—SeeSelf-estimate.
PRAYER
Many prayers that fail would be answered if means were used by the petitioner like those employed by Paul Kruger, the former president of the South African Republic.
At one time, when game was very scarce, he went with a party to hunt the hartbeest. They scoured the veld for days without a sign for their prey. Paul Kruger announced then his purpose of going into the hills to pray for food, like a patriarch of old.He was gone for a number of hours. When he returned he announced that in three days a large herd would pass that way. The party camped. In less than the appointed time the prophecy was fulfilled, and much game was secured. The Boer hunters were much struck with wonder, and dubbed Kruger “the man of prayer.”Some time after, the Kafir who accompanied Kruger on his expedition of petition told the truth of the affair. Kruger, when he left the hunting party, had struck out for a neighboring Kafir kraal, and informed the natives that his men were starving. If they, the natives, did not discover game in three days, he said, he would bring his whole party over the hill and kill every Kafir. The natives, being sore afraid of the Boer methods, all turned out, scoured the region, and drove the game to the Boer camp. Thus Kruger’s “prayer” was answered.
At one time, when game was very scarce, he went with a party to hunt the hartbeest. They scoured the veld for days without a sign for their prey. Paul Kruger announced then his purpose of going into the hills to pray for food, like a patriarch of old.
He was gone for a number of hours. When he returned he announced that in three days a large herd would pass that way. The party camped. In less than the appointed time the prophecy was fulfilled, and much game was secured. The Boer hunters were much struck with wonder, and dubbed Kruger “the man of prayer.”
Some time after, the Kafir who accompanied Kruger on his expedition of petition told the truth of the affair. Kruger, when he left the hunting party, had struck out for a neighboring Kafir kraal, and informed the natives that his men were starving. If they, the natives, did not discover game in three days, he said, he would bring his whole party over the hill and kill every Kafir. The natives, being sore afraid of the Boer methods, all turned out, scoured the region, and drove the game to the Boer camp. Thus Kruger’s “prayer” was answered.
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Stonewall Jackson never failed to invoke the Prince of Peace to preside over his battles. Old Jim, his faithful servant, said:“De gen’al is de greates’ man fo’ prayin’ night an’ mornin’ an’ all times. But when I sees him git up sev’al times in de night, besides, an’ start in prayin’, I knows dar’s gwine ter be semp’n up, an’ I go straight an’ pack his haversack, ca’se I know he’ll be callin’ for it ’fo’ daylight.”—The Sunday Magazine.
Stonewall Jackson never failed to invoke the Prince of Peace to preside over his battles. Old Jim, his faithful servant, said:
“De gen’al is de greates’ man fo’ prayin’ night an’ mornin’ an’ all times. But when I sees him git up sev’al times in de night, besides, an’ start in prayin’, I knows dar’s gwine ter be semp’n up, an’ I go straight an’ pack his haversack, ca’se I know he’ll be callin’ for it ’fo’ daylight.”—The Sunday Magazine.
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The tenor of Scripture is that if we are in tune with the divine mind, and so are receptive of the secret whispers and suggestions of the Spirit of God, then that Spirit will first inspire in us the prayers which our Heavenly Father can consistently answer.
Every prayer is a transaction with order. You go home with a packet of seeds for your little girl, and you take her out, and say: “This little plot shall be yours. Whatever comes of this packet of seeds shall be yours.” Now, what can come of a penny packet of seeds in all this infinite universe, with stars and systems whirling round? Beauty can come of it! Life can come of it! Why? Because your little gardener is transacting with order. She is dealing with law, and law will deal with her, and out of the seed she sows there shall come beauty to gladden her. When she kneels an hour or two later, and breathes forth from a pure heart a prayer to the eternal God for blessing upon herself and you, will you say, “What good can come of it?” Good can come of it! Good must come of it! She comes to where law rules, where right is triumphant. Prayer is not a dip into a lucky bag. It is dealing with eternal law. (Text.)
Every prayer is a transaction with order. You go home with a packet of seeds for your little girl, and you take her out, and say: “This little plot shall be yours. Whatever comes of this packet of seeds shall be yours.” Now, what can come of a penny packet of seeds in all this infinite universe, with stars and systems whirling round? Beauty can come of it! Life can come of it! Why? Because your little gardener is transacting with order. She is dealing with law, and law will deal with her, and out of the seed she sows there shall come beauty to gladden her. When she kneels an hour or two later, and breathes forth from a pure heart a prayer to the eternal God for blessing upon herself and you, will you say, “What good can come of it?” Good can come of it! Good must come of it! She comes to where law rules, where right is triumphant. Prayer is not a dip into a lucky bag. It is dealing with eternal law. (Text.)
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SeeEarth, Cry of;Faith and Prayer;Prejudice Disarmed.
Prayer, A Child’s—SeeChildren’s Religious Ideas.
PRAYER AND DEED
A farmer whose barns were full of corn, was accustomed to pray that the wants of the needy might be supplied; but when any one in needy circumstances asked for a little of his corn, he said he had none to spare. One day, after hearing his father pray for the poor and needy, his little son said to him, “Father, I wish I had your corn.” “Why, my son, what would you do with it?” asked the father. The child replied, “I would answer your prayers.”
A farmer whose barns were full of corn, was accustomed to pray that the wants of the needy might be supplied; but when any one in needy circumstances asked for a little of his corn, he said he had none to spare. One day, after hearing his father pray for the poor and needy, his little son said to him, “Father, I wish I had your corn.” “Why, my son, what would you do with it?” asked the father. The child replied, “I would answer your prayers.”
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PRAYER AND EFFORT
A pastor tells of a man who had been caught on the river in a sudden break-up of the ice, and who himself expected to be drowned, and whose neighbors had given him up as lost. The man had thrown himself on his knees on one of the pieces of ice, and was engaged in what he supposed was his last prayer on earth, when his friends on shore noticed that the pieces of ice had readjusted themselves so as to make a safe way from where he was kneeling to the land. They lifted their voices and shouted to the poor man to stop praying and runto the shore. He opened his eyes, saw his opportunity and was saved. Prayer and deeds must go hand in hand.
A pastor tells of a man who had been caught on the river in a sudden break-up of the ice, and who himself expected to be drowned, and whose neighbors had given him up as lost. The man had thrown himself on his knees on one of the pieces of ice, and was engaged in what he supposed was his last prayer on earth, when his friends on shore noticed that the pieces of ice had readjusted themselves so as to make a safe way from where he was kneeling to the land. They lifted their voices and shouted to the poor man to stop praying and runto the shore. He opened his eyes, saw his opportunity and was saved. Prayer and deeds must go hand in hand.
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Governor William E. Russell, of Massachusetts, who died at the age of thirty-nine, but had in that short life been mayor of his city and governor of his State, and had gained national fame, early began to think and act right. As a schoolboy, when boating with five companions, his craft was overturned and he swam a mile to shore. Asked by his mother about his struggle to reach land, he said, “I thought of you, prayed to God, and kept my arms and legs in stroke.” (Text.)
Governor William E. Russell, of Massachusetts, who died at the age of thirty-nine, but had in that short life been mayor of his city and governor of his State, and had gained national fame, early began to think and act right. As a schoolboy, when boating with five companions, his craft was overturned and he swam a mile to shore. Asked by his mother about his struggle to reach land, he said, “I thought of you, prayed to God, and kept my arms and legs in stroke.” (Text.)
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Prayer and Guides—SeeBlessing the Ropes.
PRAYER AND THE BODY
In the shadow, unseen, keeping watch above his own, is the genius of the inventor. The earth gives iron, the sheep give their wool, the soil gives the dyes, the steel gives the shuttles, the spinner gives his fingers, but Arkwright and Jenner explain the warm cloth against the snow and chill of winter. Nature is a loom, the days and the nights are shuttles, the sunbeams tint the texture, forests and mines, herds and flocks furnish the threads, and the cloth of purple and gold is brilliant with towns and cities—but God is the weaver of the web. And if man with higher laws can set aside lower ones, if man with an X-ray can make the body transparent, think you that the great God by His influence upon man’s intellect and imagination can not start influences spiritual that will soon manifest themselves through man’s body upon forces that are physical? If man were spirit, and spirit alone, prayer could not be answered in a physical realm, because there would be no point of connection between a spiritual being and a physical universe. But man’s body is the medium of communication, and the God of spirit moving upon the spirit of man acts through the body of inventor, scientist, surgeon, sower, reaper, nurse, teacher, statesman, and plays upon these delicate strings called the forces of nature and so answers prayer.—N. D. Hillis.
In the shadow, unseen, keeping watch above his own, is the genius of the inventor. The earth gives iron, the sheep give their wool, the soil gives the dyes, the steel gives the shuttles, the spinner gives his fingers, but Arkwright and Jenner explain the warm cloth against the snow and chill of winter. Nature is a loom, the days and the nights are shuttles, the sunbeams tint the texture, forests and mines, herds and flocks furnish the threads, and the cloth of purple and gold is brilliant with towns and cities—but God is the weaver of the web. And if man with higher laws can set aside lower ones, if man with an X-ray can make the body transparent, think you that the great God by His influence upon man’s intellect and imagination can not start influences spiritual that will soon manifest themselves through man’s body upon forces that are physical? If man were spirit, and spirit alone, prayer could not be answered in a physical realm, because there would be no point of connection between a spiritual being and a physical universe. But man’s body is the medium of communication, and the God of spirit moving upon the spirit of man acts through the body of inventor, scientist, surgeon, sower, reaper, nurse, teacher, statesman, and plays upon these delicate strings called the forces of nature and so answers prayer.—N. D. Hillis.
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PRAYER ANSWERED
A penitentiary convict had been converted, and was released from prison in Chicago. He found it impossible to get work. He woke in the night, and arose and prayed for help. He prayed till daylight, crying in agony, “Oh, God, give a poor fellow a chance!” Then he drest and went out again to hunt work. Presently he heard a cry and saw a runaway horse coming down toward him. He snatched up a cracker-box and smashed it on the horse’s face. Then he seized the bridle and stopt him, tho he was dragged some distance; and in the crowd gathering about him was the father of the children in the carriage, and he was the man God sent to “give the poor fellow a chance.”—Franklin Noble, “Sermons in Illustration.”
A penitentiary convict had been converted, and was released from prison in Chicago. He found it impossible to get work. He woke in the night, and arose and prayed for help. He prayed till daylight, crying in agony, “Oh, God, give a poor fellow a chance!” Then he drest and went out again to hunt work. Presently he heard a cry and saw a runaway horse coming down toward him. He snatched up a cracker-box and smashed it on the horse’s face. Then he seized the bridle and stopt him, tho he was dragged some distance; and in the crowd gathering about him was the father of the children in the carriage, and he was the man God sent to “give the poor fellow a chance.”—Franklin Noble, “Sermons in Illustration.”
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Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. How many of us really expect an answer to our prayers? How many of us wait for God as they who wait on the morning? Yet it is this expectant attitude of the soul resting upon the divine promise that triumphs over hindrances. There is an example of this in the life of Charles Kingsley. When a young man, he had become engaged to a beautiful girl to whom he had given his whole love. But her parents deemed him an unsuitable match, and they forbade absolutely all communication between the two young people for two years, which were to Kingsley the darkest and most terrible in his life. But in his diary he tells us that during that period he lived on one verse, Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say unto you what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Before the two years were over, Kingsley’s prayer was answered, and the girl became his wife.—Donald Sage Mackay, “The Religion of the Threshold,” page 296.
Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. How many of us really expect an answer to our prayers? How many of us wait for God as they who wait on the morning? Yet it is this expectant attitude of the soul resting upon the divine promise that triumphs over hindrances. There is an example of this in the life of Charles Kingsley. When a young man, he had become engaged to a beautiful girl to whom he had given his whole love. But her parents deemed him an unsuitable match, and they forbade absolutely all communication between the two young people for two years, which were to Kingsley the darkest and most terrible in his life. But in his diary he tells us that during that period he lived on one verse, Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say unto you what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Before the two years were over, Kingsley’s prayer was answered, and the girl became his wife.—Donald Sage Mackay, “The Religion of the Threshold,” page 296.
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PRAYER, AVAILING
In the first parish where I labored lived a man who was not only agnostic in his attitude toward things religious, but even derided them, and was wont to chaff his wife on her devotion to her Church. The wife, however, went on her quiet but earnest way, living out her religion in the home. One morning very early the husband awoke and discovered his wife beside his bed absorbed in whispered prayer. Her pale, upturned face was fixt with intensity upon the Invisible, and her warm hand was resting upon his own, she supposing him to be asleep. As the husband’s eyes opened on the unexpectedscene, the suggestion came like a flash to his soul, “My wife’s God is more real to her than her husband is. If she is so earnest for my welfare as to rise at such an hour and pray alone for me, it is time I had some care for my own soul”; and he instantly arose from his bed, knelt beside her and added his own prayer to hers. He gave his heart to God on the spot, and that very morning came to the early meeting at the church and announced his change of heart; the next Sabbath he united with the Church.—H. C. Mabie, “Methods in Evangelism.”
In the first parish where I labored lived a man who was not only agnostic in his attitude toward things religious, but even derided them, and was wont to chaff his wife on her devotion to her Church. The wife, however, went on her quiet but earnest way, living out her religion in the home. One morning very early the husband awoke and discovered his wife beside his bed absorbed in whispered prayer. Her pale, upturned face was fixt with intensity upon the Invisible, and her warm hand was resting upon his own, she supposing him to be asleep. As the husband’s eyes opened on the unexpectedscene, the suggestion came like a flash to his soul, “My wife’s God is more real to her than her husband is. If she is so earnest for my welfare as to rise at such an hour and pray alone for me, it is time I had some care for my own soul”; and he instantly arose from his bed, knelt beside her and added his own prayer to hers. He gave his heart to God on the spot, and that very morning came to the early meeting at the church and announced his change of heart; the next Sabbath he united with the Church.—H. C. Mabie, “Methods in Evangelism.”
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PRAYER BY GREAT LEADERS
The following is fromThe Saturday Evening Post:
At the critical hours of American history when the noonday sky was midnight and the atmosphere saturated with murk—where do we find our great American leaders unable by human eyes to see before them? We find them, do we not? on their knees beseeching divine guidance and groping for a clasp of the Unseen Hand which would lead them and this people into the light again. The whole winter of the American troops at Valley Forge is an historical panorama of heroism, self-denial, and sacrifice. Yet every noble incident of that season of doom and dread furnishes but details of the background for the great central picture which the American mind loves to dwell upon—Washington on his knees at Valley Forge. It was Lincoln who in 1864 declared: “God bless the churches, and blest be God who in this hour giveth us the churches.” And Washington, in 1789, immediately after he was made the first President of the republic, wrote to the bishops of the Methodist Church:“I trust the people of every denomination will have occasion to be convinced that I shall always strive to prove a faithful and impartial patron of genuine, vital religion.... I take in the kindest part the promise you make of presenting your prayers at the throne of grace for me, and that I likewise implore the divine benediction on yourself and your religious community.”
At the critical hours of American history when the noonday sky was midnight and the atmosphere saturated with murk—where do we find our great American leaders unable by human eyes to see before them? We find them, do we not? on their knees beseeching divine guidance and groping for a clasp of the Unseen Hand which would lead them and this people into the light again. The whole winter of the American troops at Valley Forge is an historical panorama of heroism, self-denial, and sacrifice. Yet every noble incident of that season of doom and dread furnishes but details of the background for the great central picture which the American mind loves to dwell upon—Washington on his knees at Valley Forge. It was Lincoln who in 1864 declared: “God bless the churches, and blest be God who in this hour giveth us the churches.” And Washington, in 1789, immediately after he was made the first President of the republic, wrote to the bishops of the Methodist Church:
“I trust the people of every denomination will have occasion to be convinced that I shall always strive to prove a faithful and impartial patron of genuine, vital religion.... I take in the kindest part the promise you make of presenting your prayers at the throne of grace for me, and that I likewise implore the divine benediction on yourself and your religious community.”
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PRAYER, CONVINCING
George W. Coleman, in his book “Searchlights,” says:
One of my ministerial friends, who has resigned his pulpit because of his out-and-out socialistic views, naturally stirred up a good deal of angry opposition in some quarters, altho he has one of the sweetest characters I have ever known. Hateful and contemptuous things were said. There was much damning with faint praise, especially among former friends.A level-headed friend of mine, a woman of sixty years or thereabouts, heard something of the commotion, and, to satisfy her curiosity, dropt into the church one Sunday to hear for herself what the minister really had to say for his peculiar and unpopular views. When I met her soon afterward, her only comment was, “Well, I have only to say that a man who can pray like that can’t go very far wrong, whether its socialism or anything else.”
One of my ministerial friends, who has resigned his pulpit because of his out-and-out socialistic views, naturally stirred up a good deal of angry opposition in some quarters, altho he has one of the sweetest characters I have ever known. Hateful and contemptuous things were said. There was much damning with faint praise, especially among former friends.
A level-headed friend of mine, a woman of sixty years or thereabouts, heard something of the commotion, and, to satisfy her curiosity, dropt into the church one Sunday to hear for herself what the minister really had to say for his peculiar and unpopular views. When I met her soon afterward, her only comment was, “Well, I have only to say that a man who can pray like that can’t go very far wrong, whether its socialism or anything else.”
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PRAYER FOR COMMON NEEDS
Mrs. Scranton, a missionary in Korea, writes in the Bible Society’sReporterof a Korean Christian woman whose reply to a neighbor was a beautiful testimony to her faithfulness in prayer:
The neighbor said she could not pray—she had no time, and furthermore she had no skill with her lips. The Christian replied, “Am I not a busy woman, and yet I pray. When I get up in the morning I say, ‘My Heavenly Father, You have given me these garments with which I clothe my naked body. Without them I should be ashamed. Now please clothe my soul that it may never be ashamed or afraid.’ When I wash my face and hands I pray that I may be made clean inside as well as outside. I make the fire; and if I put on much wood it burns brightly, and I ask that the Holy Spirit may kindle just such a fire in my heart. Then I sweep the room and I say, ‘Please sweep away all the bad there is in and around me.’ When I cook the rice I pray that heavenly food may be given to my soul to keep it from starving to death.” Has not this woman learned the secret of prayer?
The neighbor said she could not pray—she had no time, and furthermore she had no skill with her lips. The Christian replied, “Am I not a busy woman, and yet I pray. When I get up in the morning I say, ‘My Heavenly Father, You have given me these garments with which I clothe my naked body. Without them I should be ashamed. Now please clothe my soul that it may never be ashamed or afraid.’ When I wash my face and hands I pray that I may be made clean inside as well as outside. I make the fire; and if I put on much wood it burns brightly, and I ask that the Holy Spirit may kindle just such a fire in my heart. Then I sweep the room and I say, ‘Please sweep away all the bad there is in and around me.’ When I cook the rice I pray that heavenly food may be given to my soul to keep it from starving to death.” Has not this woman learned the secret of prayer?
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PRAYER FOR OTHERS
James Whitcomb Riley writes this altruistic prayer:
Dear Lord, kind Lord,Gracious Lord, I prayThou wilt look on all I love,Tenderly to-day!Weed their hearts of wearinessScatter every careDown a wake of angel-wingsWinnowing the air.Bring unto the sorrowingAll release from pain;Let the lips of laughterOverflow again;And with all the needyO divide, I pray,This vast treasure of contentThat is mine to-day! (Text.)—The Reader Magazine.
Dear Lord, kind Lord,Gracious Lord, I prayThou wilt look on all I love,Tenderly to-day!Weed their hearts of wearinessScatter every careDown a wake of angel-wingsWinnowing the air.Bring unto the sorrowingAll release from pain;Let the lips of laughterOverflow again;And with all the needyO divide, I pray,This vast treasure of contentThat is mine to-day! (Text.)—The Reader Magazine.
Dear Lord, kind Lord,Gracious Lord, I prayThou wilt look on all I love,Tenderly to-day!Weed their hearts of wearinessScatter every careDown a wake of angel-wingsWinnowing the air.
Dear Lord, kind Lord,
Gracious Lord, I pray
Thou wilt look on all I love,
Tenderly to-day!
Weed their hearts of weariness
Scatter every care
Down a wake of angel-wings
Winnowing the air.
Bring unto the sorrowingAll release from pain;Let the lips of laughterOverflow again;And with all the needyO divide, I pray,This vast treasure of contentThat is mine to-day! (Text.)—The Reader Magazine.
Bring unto the sorrowing
All release from pain;
Let the lips of laughter
Overflow again;
And with all the needy
O divide, I pray,
This vast treasure of content
That is mine to-day! (Text.)
—The Reader Magazine.
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Prayer for the Devil—SeeReadiness in Retort.
PRAYER IN SECRET
After I became interested in religion, in seeking a place for retirement for my secret devotions, I thought of a large closet out of the spare chamber. That closet was a place where my mother kept her blankets, comforters and various kinds of bed-clothes. It was large and without a window. When the door was shut it was total darkness; no eye but that of Him who “seeth in secret” could behold any one who there sought retirement from the world.In that closet I erected my altar for secret prayer. It was my Bethel; and none but God can ever know the Bethel seasons I there enjoyed in communing with the Savior in that time of my first love, and until I left my home to prepare for the work of the gospel ministry. (Text.)—Asa Bullard, “Incidents in a Busy Life.”
After I became interested in religion, in seeking a place for retirement for my secret devotions, I thought of a large closet out of the spare chamber. That closet was a place where my mother kept her blankets, comforters and various kinds of bed-clothes. It was large and without a window. When the door was shut it was total darkness; no eye but that of Him who “seeth in secret” could behold any one who there sought retirement from the world.
In that closet I erected my altar for secret prayer. It was my Bethel; and none but God can ever know the Bethel seasons I there enjoyed in communing with the Savior in that time of my first love, and until I left my home to prepare for the work of the gospel ministry. (Text.)—Asa Bullard, “Incidents in a Busy Life.”
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SeeService, Unseen.
PRAYER MEDIA
The ether is the medium not only of light, electric and other force-vibrations, but of thought-vibrations also. The two souls at the ends of the two thousand miles of distance are something like two wireless telegraphic stations. One sends up its cry for help, its prayer-vibration, into the ether; the whole celestial hemisphere quivers with that cry, that soul-vibration. The soul of the friend at this end of the line, being sympathetic, or keyed in unison, picks out of the ether its own; it hears and reads the cry of the beloved soul yonder, and sends back, through the ether, its answer of comforting thought and suggestion. Now, grant that that sort of thing is a fact in human experience, and we have what is very nearly a demonstration of the possibility and nature of prayer. If two human souls can hear and answer each other irrespective of space and time, then the human soul and the divine soul can do likewise. We have only to think God immanent in the universal ether, filling it as a soul fills the body, and our case is complete.—James H. Ecob.
The ether is the medium not only of light, electric and other force-vibrations, but of thought-vibrations also. The two souls at the ends of the two thousand miles of distance are something like two wireless telegraphic stations. One sends up its cry for help, its prayer-vibration, into the ether; the whole celestial hemisphere quivers with that cry, that soul-vibration. The soul of the friend at this end of the line, being sympathetic, or keyed in unison, picks out of the ether its own; it hears and reads the cry of the beloved soul yonder, and sends back, through the ether, its answer of comforting thought and suggestion. Now, grant that that sort of thing is a fact in human experience, and we have what is very nearly a demonstration of the possibility and nature of prayer. If two human souls can hear and answer each other irrespective of space and time, then the human soul and the divine soul can do likewise. We have only to think God immanent in the universal ether, filling it as a soul fills the body, and our case is complete.—James H. Ecob.
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Prayer-meeting Maintained—SeeImmigration.
Prayer Only in Name—SeeDiplomacy, Cowardly.
Prayer, Power of—SeePersecution and Prayer.
PRAYER, TAKING TIME FOR
“One might as well rush into the street unclothed,” said Mr. Spurgeon, “because he had no time to dress, or into battle unarmed because he had no time to secure his weapons, as to go forth to the experiences of any day without taking time to pray.”
“One might as well rush into the street unclothed,” said Mr. Spurgeon, “because he had no time to dress, or into battle unarmed because he had no time to secure his weapons, as to go forth to the experiences of any day without taking time to pray.”
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PRAYER, THE CALL TO
The call to prayer heard from minarets five times daily in all Moslem lands is as follows: The muezzin cries it in a loud voice and always in the Arabic language: “God is most great! God is most great! God is most great! God is most great! I testify that there is no god but God! I testify that there is no god but God! I testify that Mohammed is the apostle of God! I testify that Mohammed is the apostle of God! Come to prayer! Come to prayer! Come to prosperity! Come to prosperity! God is most great! God is most great! There is no god but God!” In the call to early morning prayer the words “prayer is better than sleep” are added twice after the call to prosperity. (Text.)—Samuel M. Zwemer, “The Moslem World.”
The call to prayer heard from minarets five times daily in all Moslem lands is as follows: The muezzin cries it in a loud voice and always in the Arabic language: “God is most great! God is most great! God is most great! God is most great! I testify that there is no god but God! I testify that there is no god but God! I testify that Mohammed is the apostle of God! I testify that Mohammed is the apostle of God! Come to prayer! Come to prayer! Come to prosperity! Come to prosperity! God is most great! God is most great! There is no god but God!” In the call to early morning prayer the words “prayer is better than sleep” are added twice after the call to prosperity. (Text.)—Samuel M. Zwemer, “The Moslem World.”
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PRAYER, VIEWS OF
The Christian conception of prayer is “enter into thine inner chamber and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father, who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.”
With the Moslems the first requirement of correct prayer is that it be in the right direction; that is, toward the Kaaba at Mecca. Because of this, private houses, as well asmosques, all over the Mohammedan world, are built accordingly, and not on meridian lines. It is often pathetic to hear a wayfarer or a Moslem who travels on an ocean steamer ask which is the proper direction to turn at the hour of prayer. To pray with one’s back to Mecca would be unpardonable. Many Moslems carry a pocket-compass on their journeys to avoid all possible errors of this character. (Text.)—Samuel M. Zwemer, “The Moslem World.”
With the Moslems the first requirement of correct prayer is that it be in the right direction; that is, toward the Kaaba at Mecca. Because of this, private houses, as well asmosques, all over the Mohammedan world, are built accordingly, and not on meridian lines. It is often pathetic to hear a wayfarer or a Moslem who travels on an ocean steamer ask which is the proper direction to turn at the hour of prayer. To pray with one’s back to Mecca would be unpardonable. Many Moslems carry a pocket-compass on their journeys to avoid all possible errors of this character. (Text.)—Samuel M. Zwemer, “The Moslem World.”
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PRAYERS
Mr. Keppel in his book “Christmas in Art,” tells this story:
I remember a touching little incident which occurred in New York. My dear old mother, who was a Methodist, had died, and our kindly Irish cook prayed twice daily for the repose of the old woman’s soul. A Catholic friend of the cook’s told her that it was wrong to pray for a deceased heretic, and the cook carried the question to her father-confessor. The good priest’s decision was in this wise: “My daughter, I can not tell you whether such prayers can do good to the soul of a deceased heretic—but your prayers will certainly do good to your own soul.”
I remember a touching little incident which occurred in New York. My dear old mother, who was a Methodist, had died, and our kindly Irish cook prayed twice daily for the repose of the old woman’s soul. A Catholic friend of the cook’s told her that it was wrong to pray for a deceased heretic, and the cook carried the question to her father-confessor. The good priest’s decision was in this wise: “My daughter, I can not tell you whether such prayers can do good to the soul of a deceased heretic—but your prayers will certainly do good to your own soul.”
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Prayers Unanswered—SeeFaith, Steadfast.
PREACHING
Whitefield was just twenty-one when he received deacon’s orders, and he at once leapt into fame as a preacher. “I intended to make 150 sermons,” he says, “and thought I would set up with a good stock-in-trade.” As a matter of fact, this greatest of English preachers only possest a single sermon when he began his preaching career. In his humility he put his first and solitary discourse into the hands of a friendly clergyman, to show how unprepared for the work of the pulpit he was. The clergyman used one-half of the sermon at his morning service, and the other half at his evening service, and returned it to its astonished author with a guinea by way of payment.—W. H. Fitchett, “Wesley and His Century.”
Whitefield was just twenty-one when he received deacon’s orders, and he at once leapt into fame as a preacher. “I intended to make 150 sermons,” he says, “and thought I would set up with a good stock-in-trade.” As a matter of fact, this greatest of English preachers only possest a single sermon when he began his preaching career. In his humility he put his first and solitary discourse into the hands of a friendly clergyman, to show how unprepared for the work of the pulpit he was. The clergyman used one-half of the sermon at his morning service, and the other half at his evening service, and returned it to its astonished author with a guinea by way of payment.—W. H. Fitchett, “Wesley and His Century.”
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SeeConsecration;Education to be Prized;Speech, Common.
Preaching, Call To—SeeInfluence, Individual.
PREACHING CHRIST
Some man went to hear Spurgeon preach one day, and when he came back to his friend’s house, his friend asked him: “What do you think of Spurgeon?” He replied: “Nothing at all.” The friend in amazement repeated his question, and again the answer was: “I do not think anything of him at all,” and then he brushed away some moisture in his eyes and added: “But I never can forget his Savior.”—Cortland Myers.
Some man went to hear Spurgeon preach one day, and when he came back to his friend’s house, his friend asked him: “What do you think of Spurgeon?” He replied: “Nothing at all.” The friend in amazement repeated his question, and again the answer was: “I do not think anything of him at all,” and then he brushed away some moisture in his eyes and added: “But I never can forget his Savior.”—Cortland Myers.
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Preaching, Fearless—SeeFitness.
PREACHING FROM MANUSCRIPT
One year I invited the pastor of a great church in Cincinnati, and he came, and he spoke on Sunday morning. He pulled out a forty-page manuscript and stood there and read the gospel for a whole hour, and those good country people never saw it done before, and when they adjourned for dinner they got under the trees and talked about the proceedings. They said, “What do you think of that letter from Cincinnati?” And I never see a fellow pull his manuscript now that I don’t wonder where that letter is from.—“Popular Lectures of Sam P. Jones.”
One year I invited the pastor of a great church in Cincinnati, and he came, and he spoke on Sunday morning. He pulled out a forty-page manuscript and stood there and read the gospel for a whole hour, and those good country people never saw it done before, and when they adjourned for dinner they got under the trees and talked about the proceedings. They said, “What do you think of that letter from Cincinnati?” And I never see a fellow pull his manuscript now that I don’t wonder where that letter is from.—“Popular Lectures of Sam P. Jones.”
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PREACHING, GOSPEL
I have seen an advertisement reading thus: “If the druggist says, ‘We haven’t Brown’s soap, but here is something just as good,’ don’t take it! Go somewhere else.” The Church is in business, and Church attendance is controlled by business principles. The man who drops in wants the gospel, nothing else will answer, and he can not be expected to continue dropping in unless he gets it.—David James Burrell.
I have seen an advertisement reading thus: “If the druggist says, ‘We haven’t Brown’s soap, but here is something just as good,’ don’t take it! Go somewhere else.” The Church is in business, and Church attendance is controlled by business principles. The man who drops in wants the gospel, nothing else will answer, and he can not be expected to continue dropping in unless he gets it.—David James Burrell.
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Preaching Occasions—SeeOpportunities Improved.
PREACHING, RESPONSIBILITY IN
Those who have inadequate views of their responsibility in preparing to preach the gospel ought to be impressively reminded of their failure in this respect, as was a moderate minister, who was a keen fisher, when he said to Dr. Andrew Thompson: “I wonder you spend so much time on your sermons, with your ability and ready speech. Many’s the time I’ve written a sermon and killed a salmon before breakfast.” To which saying Dr. Thompson replied, “Well, sir, I’d rather have eaten your salmon than listened to your sermon.”
Those who have inadequate views of their responsibility in preparing to preach the gospel ought to be impressively reminded of their failure in this respect, as was a moderate minister, who was a keen fisher, when he said to Dr. Andrew Thompson: “I wonder you spend so much time on your sermons, with your ability and ready speech. Many’s the time I’ve written a sermon and killed a salmon before breakfast.” To which saying Dr. Thompson replied, “Well, sir, I’d rather have eaten your salmon than listened to your sermon.”
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Preaching, Roosevelt’s—SeeSpeaking to do Good.
Preaching Spoiled—SeeSympathy, Lack of.
PREACHING THE WORD
When Dr. Cuyler, of Brooklyn, died, the Sunday-school remembered that he used to come in every now and then during the years of his history, and repeat just a single verse from the superintendent’s desk; and the next Lord’s Day after the funeral, they marched up in front of it in a long line, and each scholar quoted any of the texts that he could recollect. The grown people wept as they saw how much there was of the Bible in the hearts of their children, which this one pastor had planted. Yet he was a very timid and old-fashioned man; he said he had no gift at talking to children; he could only repeat God’s Word. If preachers and teachers would follow such a simple example, what a power there would be in their ministrations. (Text.)
When Dr. Cuyler, of Brooklyn, died, the Sunday-school remembered that he used to come in every now and then during the years of his history, and repeat just a single verse from the superintendent’s desk; and the next Lord’s Day after the funeral, they marched up in front of it in a long line, and each scholar quoted any of the texts that he could recollect. The grown people wept as they saw how much there was of the Bible in the hearts of their children, which this one pastor had planted. Yet he was a very timid and old-fashioned man; he said he had no gift at talking to children; he could only repeat God’s Word. If preachers and teachers would follow such a simple example, what a power there would be in their ministrations. (Text.)
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PRECAUTION
A California vine-grower, in a region where once in a great while the temperature fell a few degrees below the freezing-point, thus endangering his crop, rigged up an electric-alarm system which signalled to him when the temperature out in the fields had fallen low enough to require the lighting of fires to prevent frost. A neighbor, more fond of his ease, immediately improved on this apparatus. He fixt his brushwood ready for firing, and then arranged his electrical apparatus so that when the temperature fell to thirty-two degrees a current should be sent through a platinum wire in some fine combustibles and light the fires, instead of signaling him to do the work himself. The apparatus is cheap and more reliable than hired men, so that it is likely to be adopted in the parts of the state exposed to inopportune frosts.—PhiladelphiaLedger.
A California vine-grower, in a region where once in a great while the temperature fell a few degrees below the freezing-point, thus endangering his crop, rigged up an electric-alarm system which signalled to him when the temperature out in the fields had fallen low enough to require the lighting of fires to prevent frost. A neighbor, more fond of his ease, immediately improved on this apparatus. He fixt his brushwood ready for firing, and then arranged his electrical apparatus so that when the temperature fell to thirty-two degrees a current should be sent through a platinum wire in some fine combustibles and light the fires, instead of signaling him to do the work himself. The apparatus is cheap and more reliable than hired men, so that it is likely to be adopted in the parts of the state exposed to inopportune frosts.—PhiladelphiaLedger.
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Justice Willes about 1780 sentenced a boy at Lancaster to be hanged, with the hope of reforming him by frightening him, and he ordered him for execution next morning. The judge awoke in the middle of the night, and was so affected by the notion that he might himself die in the course of the night, and the boy be hanged, tho he did mean that he should suffer, that he got out of his bed and went to the lodgings of the high sheriff, and left a reprieve for the boy, or what was to be considered equivalent to it, and then, returning to his bed, spent the rest of the night comfortably. (Text.)—Croake James, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”
Justice Willes about 1780 sentenced a boy at Lancaster to be hanged, with the hope of reforming him by frightening him, and he ordered him for execution next morning. The judge awoke in the middle of the night, and was so affected by the notion that he might himself die in the course of the night, and the boy be hanged, tho he did mean that he should suffer, that he got out of his bed and went to the lodgings of the high sheriff, and left a reprieve for the boy, or what was to be considered equivalent to it, and then, returning to his bed, spent the rest of the night comfortably. (Text.)—Croake James, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”
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PRECAUTIONS
The day when an engineer could drive his train ahead at full speed, at his own discretion, and make up as much lost time as the recklessness of his daring permitted, has passed with the romantic age of railroading. No longer does he gamble thus with death to win back minutes. A cool-nerved human machine sits in an office miles away and tells him exactly how fast he may go. Mute signals stretch out their arms to him by day or glow red-eyed at night along the track and halt him if he rides too fast or if there is danger ahead. At intervals of from a thousand feet to five miles there are towers with men in them who note the minute and second of his passing, and telegraph it forward and back over the line. Nowadays the engineer is rarely out of touch with possible orders for more than a few minutes at a time. In place of the daring and the old speed madness that used to characterize the making up of time, the man who lasts the longest now in the cab is the one who possesses the calculating skill developed by long experience. He accomplishes much more simply by taking advantage of every trifle in winning back his time second by second.—Thaddeus S. Dayton,Harper’s Weekly.
The day when an engineer could drive his train ahead at full speed, at his own discretion, and make up as much lost time as the recklessness of his daring permitted, has passed with the romantic age of railroading. No longer does he gamble thus with death to win back minutes. A cool-nerved human machine sits in an office miles away and tells him exactly how fast he may go. Mute signals stretch out their arms to him by day or glow red-eyed at night along the track and halt him if he rides too fast or if there is danger ahead. At intervals of from a thousand feet to five miles there are towers with men in them who note the minute and second of his passing, and telegraph it forward and back over the line. Nowadays the engineer is rarely out of touch with possible orders for more than a few minutes at a time. In place of the daring and the old speed madness that used to characterize the making up of time, the man who lasts the longest now in the cab is the one who possesses the calculating skill developed by long experience. He accomplishes much more simply by taking advantage of every trifle in winning back his time second by second.—Thaddeus S. Dayton,Harper’s Weekly.
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It is said to be scarcely possible to induce working men engaged in dangerous employments to take the most rudimentary precautions against disease and accident. The knife-grinder neglects his mask, the collier his lamp; they are ingenious in evading the regulations framed for their safety.
Similarly in our recklessness and presumption we ignore the things which are designed to secure the safety of our character, the peace of our soul. Let us be sure that we prize those manifold and gracious arrangements by which God seeks to save us from the power of evil, that we profit by them to the utmost.—W. L. Watkinson, “The Transfigured Sackcloth.”
Similarly in our recklessness and presumption we ignore the things which are designed to secure the safety of our character, the peace of our soul. Let us be sure that we prize those manifold and gracious arrangements by which God seeks to save us from the power of evil, that we profit by them to the utmost.—W. L. Watkinson, “The Transfigured Sackcloth.”
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Probably the greatest menace to the safety of navigation at sea is the fog. Modern steamships are seldom endangered by the severest storms, but when the impenetrable envelop of mist encloses a vessel, she is exposed to the most terrible of perils—a collision at sea. A single ship may be comparatively safe even in a fog, but when there are a fleet of vessels the danger is greatly multiplied. In addition to the customary fog-horns and sirens a fleet of war-ships often will keep informed of their relative positions by the firing of signal-guns from the flagship. Another excellent method generally employed is the use of the fog-buoy.Each vessel in a warship fleet carries a fog-buoy, a large cask painted a bright red. This is cast overboard at the first sign of any fog and floats from the stern of the vessel attached by a rope of grass fiber which does not sink beneath the surface of the water. Sufficient rope is paid out by each vessel, so that its fog-buoy floats at the bow of the ship next astern—two cable’s-length (four hundred yards) when in close order and double that distance in open order. By this means the exact stations of the individual ships of a fleet are maintained even tho proceeding at a moderate rate of speed.—Harper’s Weekly.
Probably the greatest menace to the safety of navigation at sea is the fog. Modern steamships are seldom endangered by the severest storms, but when the impenetrable envelop of mist encloses a vessel, she is exposed to the most terrible of perils—a collision at sea. A single ship may be comparatively safe even in a fog, but when there are a fleet of vessels the danger is greatly multiplied. In addition to the customary fog-horns and sirens a fleet of war-ships often will keep informed of their relative positions by the firing of signal-guns from the flagship. Another excellent method generally employed is the use of the fog-buoy.
Each vessel in a warship fleet carries a fog-buoy, a large cask painted a bright red. This is cast overboard at the first sign of any fog and floats from the stern of the vessel attached by a rope of grass fiber which does not sink beneath the surface of the water. Sufficient rope is paid out by each vessel, so that its fog-buoy floats at the bow of the ship next astern—two cable’s-length (four hundred yards) when in close order and double that distance in open order. By this means the exact stations of the individual ships of a fleet are maintained even tho proceeding at a moderate rate of speed.—Harper’s Weekly.
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PRECAUTIONS, SCIENTIFIC
The teller of a bank standing behind his window in these days of electricity can touch a push-button close to his hand and close the door of every safe in the place before a thief could have time to operate, and by the same signal he can call the police or give the alarm to all the bank officials.
The teller of a bank standing behind his window in these days of electricity can touch a push-button close to his hand and close the door of every safe in the place before a thief could have time to operate, and by the same signal he can call the police or give the alarm to all the bank officials.
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PRECEPT AND PRACTISE
One of the great railroad companies has begun a campaign against the use of tobacco by its employees, and, while none are to be discharged because they indulge in it, they are requested to break the habit if possible. This may be a good thing, but example speaks louder than precept; if the officers want the employees to abandon smoking and chewing, the reform ought to begin in the president’s office and go down all along the line until it reaches the trackmen and laborers. A well-known railroad executive, now deceased, said it was of no use to preach temperance to railroad employees if officers’ special cars ran over the road with wines and liquors on board to be consumeden route. He set an example by keeping intoxicants out of his car even when he had guests.—Manufacturers’ Record.
One of the great railroad companies has begun a campaign against the use of tobacco by its employees, and, while none are to be discharged because they indulge in it, they are requested to break the habit if possible. This may be a good thing, but example speaks louder than precept; if the officers want the employees to abandon smoking and chewing, the reform ought to begin in the president’s office and go down all along the line until it reaches the trackmen and laborers. A well-known railroad executive, now deceased, said it was of no use to preach temperance to railroad employees if officers’ special cars ran over the road with wines and liquors on board to be consumeden route. He set an example by keeping intoxicants out of his car even when he had guests.—Manufacturers’ Record.
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I am unjust, but I can strive for justice,My life’s unkind, but I can vote for kindness.I, the unloving, say life should be lovely;I, that am blind, cry out against my blindness.Man is a curious brute—he pets his fancies—Fighting mankind to win sweet luxury.So he will be, tho law be clear as crystal,Tho all men plan to live in harmony.Come, let us vote against our human nature,Crying to God in all the polling-placesTo heal our everlasting sinfulness,And make us sages with transfigured faces.—Nicholas V. Lindsay,Unity.
I am unjust, but I can strive for justice,My life’s unkind, but I can vote for kindness.I, the unloving, say life should be lovely;I, that am blind, cry out against my blindness.Man is a curious brute—he pets his fancies—Fighting mankind to win sweet luxury.So he will be, tho law be clear as crystal,Tho all men plan to live in harmony.Come, let us vote against our human nature,Crying to God in all the polling-placesTo heal our everlasting sinfulness,And make us sages with transfigured faces.—Nicholas V. Lindsay,Unity.
I am unjust, but I can strive for justice,My life’s unkind, but I can vote for kindness.I, the unloving, say life should be lovely;I, that am blind, cry out against my blindness.
I am unjust, but I can strive for justice,
My life’s unkind, but I can vote for kindness.
I, the unloving, say life should be lovely;
I, that am blind, cry out against my blindness.
Man is a curious brute—he pets his fancies—Fighting mankind to win sweet luxury.So he will be, tho law be clear as crystal,Tho all men plan to live in harmony.
Man is a curious brute—he pets his fancies—
Fighting mankind to win sweet luxury.
So he will be, tho law be clear as crystal,
Tho all men plan to live in harmony.
Come, let us vote against our human nature,Crying to God in all the polling-placesTo heal our everlasting sinfulness,And make us sages with transfigured faces.—Nicholas V. Lindsay,Unity.
Come, let us vote against our human nature,
Crying to God in all the polling-places
To heal our everlasting sinfulness,
And make us sages with transfigured faces.
—Nicholas V. Lindsay,Unity.
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Preciseness Overdone—SeeScruples, Minute.
Precision—SeeAhead of Circumstances.
PRECOCITY
Precocity is not always a cerebral disease, certainly, tho where it is pronounced the presumption is not in its favor. Slower growths are the surer and attain the greater heights. Usually precocity wants a depth which is not supplied to the subject in more mature years. With the comparatively few exceptions that can be noted, it lacks staying power. The most remarkable case of collapsed precocity that occurs to us is that of the Englishman Betty, the “young Roscius.” He went on the stage at the age of twelve years in 1803, playedHamletand other prominent characters, and in four years amassed a fortune of over $150,000, at a time when money was worth twice its present face value. For twenty-eight nights in Drury Lane he earned over $3,000 a night. He left the stage to go to school, and on his return, three years later, made an utter failure and never amounted to anything as an actor thereafter.—New YorkWorld.
Precocity is not always a cerebral disease, certainly, tho where it is pronounced the presumption is not in its favor. Slower growths are the surer and attain the greater heights. Usually precocity wants a depth which is not supplied to the subject in more mature years. With the comparatively few exceptions that can be noted, it lacks staying power. The most remarkable case of collapsed precocity that occurs to us is that of the Englishman Betty, the “young Roscius.” He went on the stage at the age of twelve years in 1803, playedHamletand other prominent characters, and in four years amassed a fortune of over $150,000, at a time when money was worth twice its present face value. For twenty-eight nights in Drury Lane he earned over $3,000 a night. He left the stage to go to school, and on his return, three years later, made an utter failure and never amounted to anything as an actor thereafter.—New YorkWorld.
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It is said of Jonathan Edwards that he commenced the study of Latin at six years of age; at eight he was keenly interested in spiritual matters. At ten he wrote, like a philosopher, a quaint and humorous essay onthe immortality of the soul, and at twelve years of age wrote an original paper on the habits of the flying-spider.
It is said of Jonathan Edwards that he commenced the study of Latin at six years of age; at eight he was keenly interested in spiritual matters. At ten he wrote, like a philosopher, a quaint and humorous essay onthe immortality of the soul, and at twelve years of age wrote an original paper on the habits of the flying-spider.
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Of Mrs. Wesley’s father it is gravely recorded that “when about five or six years old he began a practise, which he afterward continued, of reading twenty chapters every day in the Bible.” The phenomenon of a child not six years old who solemnly forms, in the cells of his infantile brain, the plan of reading twenty chapters of the Bible every day—and sticks to it through a long life—would in these modern days be reckoned nothing less than astonishing. Of Hetty Wesley, the sister of John, it is on record that at eight years of age she could read the Greek Testament. Do any such wonderful children exist in these days?—W. H. Fitchett, “Wesley and His Century.”
Of Mrs. Wesley’s father it is gravely recorded that “when about five or six years old he began a practise, which he afterward continued, of reading twenty chapters every day in the Bible.” The phenomenon of a child not six years old who solemnly forms, in the cells of his infantile brain, the plan of reading twenty chapters of the Bible every day—and sticks to it through a long life—would in these modern days be reckoned nothing less than astonishing. Of Hetty Wesley, the sister of John, it is on record that at eight years of age she could read the Greek Testament. Do any such wonderful children exist in these days?—W. H. Fitchett, “Wesley and His Century.”
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SeeProdigy, A.
PREDICTION, FALSE
Mr. James A. Briggs cites a paragraph from the BostonCourierof June 27, 1827, then edited by Joseph T. Buckingham, one of the ablest and most liberal of New England editors. It was but sixty-two years ago that he thus spoke of the projected railroad from Boston to Albany:
Alcibiades, or some other great man of antiquity, it is said, cut off his dog’s tail that quidnuncs might not become extinct from want of excitement. Some such motive, we doubt not, moves one or two of our natural and experimental philosophers to get up a project for a railroad from Boston to Albany—a project which every one knows, who knows the simplest rule in arithmetic, to be impracticable and at an expense little less than the market value of the whole territory of Massachusetts; and which, if practicable, every person of common sense knows would be as useless as a railroad from Boston to the moon.
Alcibiades, or some other great man of antiquity, it is said, cut off his dog’s tail that quidnuncs might not become extinct from want of excitement. Some such motive, we doubt not, moves one or two of our natural and experimental philosophers to get up a project for a railroad from Boston to Albany—a project which every one knows, who knows the simplest rule in arithmetic, to be impracticable and at an expense little less than the market value of the whole territory of Massachusetts; and which, if practicable, every person of common sense knows would be as useless as a railroad from Boston to the moon.
The road was built, and there is no more prosperous road in the country.—Harper’s Weekly.
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Preferences—SeeSelection.
PREFERRED CREDITOR
An Israelite without guile, doing business down in Chatham Street, New York, called his creditors together, and offered them in settlement his note for ten per cent on their claims, payable in four months. His brother, one of the largest creditors, rather “kicked”; but the debtor took him aside and said, “Do not make any objections, and I will make you a preferred creditor.” So the proposal was accepted by all. Presently, the preferred brother said, “Well, I should like what is coming to me.” “Oh,” was the reply, “you won’t get anything; they won’t any of them get anything.” “But I thought I was a preferred creditor.” “So you are. These notes will not be paid when they come due; but it will take them four months to find out that they are not going to get anything. But you know it now; you see you are preferred.”—Heman L. Wayland.
An Israelite without guile, doing business down in Chatham Street, New York, called his creditors together, and offered them in settlement his note for ten per cent on their claims, payable in four months. His brother, one of the largest creditors, rather “kicked”; but the debtor took him aside and said, “Do not make any objections, and I will make you a preferred creditor.” So the proposal was accepted by all. Presently, the preferred brother said, “Well, I should like what is coming to me.” “Oh,” was the reply, “you won’t get anything; they won’t any of them get anything.” “But I thought I was a preferred creditor.” “So you are. These notes will not be paid when they come due; but it will take them four months to find out that they are not going to get anything. But you know it now; you see you are preferred.”—Heman L. Wayland.
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PREHISTORIC WOMAN