IS'.fJ 



GLEANINCS IN 1U<:E CUI/rURE. 



337 



soon as it liad passcii iis |)iiiiit'. A bcaiilirul 

 picoi' of staliiaiy siooil in oiic ooiiicr of tiic 

 gardi^ii. ami inmitiu'ialile fountains oast a sil- 

 very spiay all foniui about it. 1 ft'aicci llic Ko- 

 dak I'ould iiaiiily do such an ('xiliil)lion jiislici'. 

 but 1 niadc tlic atlcnipL nolwIMistaiuiing. and 

 you i-an sec tin- result. 



Il gives you a little glimpse of a nartof the 

 hott'l balconv that sunounds tlie wlioU' inner 

 court. The lower porch is not visible, but you 

 can see the upper ones. The rooms for the 

 guests all look in upon this tropical garden: 

 ihey also look out upon tlie other side on the 

 (X'ean where its restless waves are constantly 

 pounding the white saiuly beach as they throw 

 the briny spray and give forth at times their 

 deafening and unceasing roar. Every one who 

 goes to the I'acilic coast — at least all who ven- 

 ture near San Diego — should visit Coronado 

 Heach and look over the great hotel. Beauti- 

 ful grounds and grassy lawns cover several 

 acres of ground around the liotcl. liath-houses. 

 museums, ostrich- gardens, and other attrac- 

 tions, are to be found in the vicinity of this 

 popular resort. 



OURSELVES ANDOUR NEIGHBORS. 



Ye are not vour own, for ye are bought with a 

 price.— I. Cou. 6:19. %). 



A little bit of a yellow-covered booklet came 

 floating through the mails, all the way from 

 Melbourne. Australia. On the back of it we 

 found written. "' F. Chambers. CJladstone Build- 

 ing, Franklin St." The book is by George 

 Miiller; and the title of it is. " Scriptural Ad- 

 vice to Christians Conc(M-ning their Earthly 

 Occupation.'' The very luinute 1 read the title 

 it occurred to me that I should be very glad in- 

 deed of some advice from Miiller hiiuself 

 on this perplexing question; hence I turned 

 with eagerness to the tirsi page, and read the 

 following lines: 



The cliildren of God, who are strangers and pil- 

 grims on eartli, have at all times liud difficulty in 

 tlie world, for they ai'e not (tt home, l)ut//r)/n home; 

 nor should they, until the lelurri of the Loid Jesus, 

 exi)ect it to be otherwise witli tlieni. FJut while 

 this is true, it is also true lh;it the Loid has pi'ovid- 

 ed u". in all our ditlirullies. wit li sotiietliiii^ in his 

 own word to meet them. All difficulties niav lie 

 overcome by acting according to tlie word of God. 

 At this time I more especially desire to point out 

 the nieiins whereby the children of God, who are 

 engaged in any earthly calling, may be abletoover- 

 conie the difficulties which arise from competition 

 in liusiness, too great a number of persons being 

 occupied in the same calling, stagnation of trade, 

 and tlie like. 



I read the above again and again. I have 

 read it at the noon service, and I have read it 

 in the prayer-meetings, both young and old; 

 and every tirru^ I read it the concluding words 

 seem to me like a glimpse of clear sky through 

 the troubles that gather like clouds in regard 

 to finance, labor, capital, etc. The special 

 point.about too many people being occuiiied in 

 the same calling is one that interested m<' 

 greatly. While in New Orleans there was 

 much talk about too many people being engag- 

 ed in the cotton business, and hence the low 

 prices and stagnation. At the horticultural 

 institute. Jackson. Mississippi, the speakers 

 dwelt especially on this one theme: and in the 

 North we have all heard the talk about 7.5-cent 

 wheat, and the conclusion that many seemed 

 rushing to. that " farming don't pay." What 

 is the trouble'.' Let me give you a few words 

 more from oiw good friend Miiller. By the way. 

 I shall have to ski]) a good deal: butw hiMiever 



1 (haw the line it seems really too bad lo omit 

 what follows: 



Now, supjiose the believer is in a calling in which 

 hi' can abide with (iod, the next point to he settled 

 is; Why ilii I ((iiTii on this IniKiniss, i>r irhn inn I tii- 

 U<i<i'<l ill ""'••< ''■'"'' '"• i)nilissi(iii y III most inslaiK'es, 

 so far as my experience goes, which I have gathered 

 ill mj' seiAice among the saints dmliig the last 

 forty-tlve years, I lielie\'eltie answer would he: "1 

 am eiigageil in my earthly calling, that I may earn 

 the means of obtaining the necessaries of life for 

 m.vseir and family." Hi-ie is the chief error from 

 wliicli almost all the rest of the eirois, which are 

 entertained by the cliildren of (Jod. relat ive to their 

 c:illing, spiing. It is no rijiht and scriptural mo- 

 tive, to he engaged in a trade, business, or profes- 

 sion, //km /// in order to earn t lie means for the ob- 

 taining of the necessaries of life for ourselves and 

 family, hiil in- xlmiilil inuk lin-ausr it is tin Lunl s will 

 viDici luiutj lis. This is plain fi'om the following pas- 

 sages: 1 thess. 4:11, l;i; -' Tliess. 3:10— 13; Eph. 4:28. 

 It is quite t i-iie. that, in general, the Lord provides 

 the necessaries of life liy means of our ordinary 

 calling; but that that is not tlip irasim why we 

 should work, is ])laiii enough from the considera- 

 tion, that, if our possessing the necessaries of life 

 deiiended upon our ability of working, we could 

 never have /(■(■( (/';//! from tni.rictjj; foi' we sliou Id al- 

 ways have to say to ourselves. And what shall I do 

 when I am too old to work 'f or when, by reason of 

 sickness, I am unable to earn my bread ? But if, 

 on the other hand, we are engaged in our earthly 

 calling because it is tlie will of the Lord coitccniinu us 

 tlidt ICC should work, and that thus laboring we may 

 provide for our families and also be able to sup- 

 port the weak, the sick, the aged, and the needy, 

 then we have good and scriptural reason to say to 

 ourselves: Should it please the Lord to lay me on a 

 bed of sickness, or keep me otherwise, by reason of 

 infirmity, old age, or want of employment, from 

 earning my liread by means of the labor of my 

 hands, my business, or my profession, he will yet 

 provide for me. Because we who believe are ser- 

 vants of Jesus Christ, who has bought us with his 

 own precious blood, and are not our own, and be- 

 cause this our pi'eeious Lord and Master has com- 

 manded us to work, therefore we work; and, in d/)- 

 iiKj so, our Lord will provide for us; but whether in 

 this way or any other way, he is sure to provide for 

 us; for we labor in obedience to him; and if even a 

 just earthly master gives wages to his servants, the 

 Lord will surely see to it that we have our wages, if 

 in obedience to him we are engaged in our calling, 

 and not for our own sake. 



When I first got tlie book I read the above 

 extracts to Mrs. Root, as we sat together one 

 evening, without telling her who the author 

 was. When I had tinished I said, " There, 

 what do you think of that? Who should you 

 judge wrote this little book?" and ] held it up. 

 She replied, '• Why, I am sure I cati not tell; 

 but it evidently comes from somebody who 

 stands on a higher plane of spirituality than 

 the most of us do." Then when I told her that 

 it was George Miiller we both had to laugh. In 

 very truth, Miiller does stand on a higher 

 spiritual plane than the rest of us; and, by the 

 way, it does seem to me as if the gr(>at wide 

 world — th(! business world as well as the Chris- 

 tian world — were passing Miiller by, giving him 

 and his work but iitth? thought or attention. I 

 once dreamed that I discovered a machine or 

 principle for navigating the air; and I expected, 

 of course, the whole world would stop its work 

 and look while I deiuonstrated over their heads 

 and before their eyes my new principle. 1 was 

 a good deal disappointed because folks did not 

 pay very much attention to lue or to my " navi- 

 gation." Some of them stopped their work and 

 looked a minute or two. and then they went on 

 hoeing corn and driving business as usual. In 

 fact, a great part of them did not look up at all. 

 They evidently felt content to stay on the 

 fjrdund and let folks navigate the air who felt 

 that way. So in regard to Miiller. He came 

 upon the spiritual and financial world so sud- 

 den, that, for a tiiiH-. it was almost startling. A 

 f(!vv people stopped and considered the matter. 



