THE QUIET HOUR
The VacaJionless Devil
“The Devil never takes a vacation,”
Is the somewhat querulous plaint which has sometimes almost
spoiled the vacation enjoyment of some good people.
And yet, what of it? don't lie wish he could?
There is no more real reason for following his example in this
respect than in any other.
While demonology is a somewhat obscure field of investiga
tion, it is possible that if lie had taken more of them he would
not he where he is.
But, seriously, one of the flabbiest pieces of reasoning in the
world is that which argues from the fact that the father and
forces of evil are always busy, to the intimation that there is some
doubt as to tin* justifiability of minister or laymen taking sever
al weeks off annually for relaxation and general refreshing up.
For a busy life there is no more profitable investment than a
snmraer vacation—whether it cover several months, or is limited
to a week or two.
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It may not be so much that he—or she—needs rest as change.
Although, if he is a minister, and is aggressively as they say of
the man in business ‘‘onto his job,” lie does need the rest. And
then the congregation well, as the physician said of his garrul
ous patient’s tongue -‘‘it. needs rest too.” Kvcn a “popular pas
tor’s” influence will not suffer severely if he goes away and comes
hack once in awhile.
Almost anyone whether an occupant of pulpit or pew will
go stale after awhile, if the unvarying routine is kept up too
long without occasional breaks. The man who boasts that lie ‘‘lias
not taken a vacation for twenty-seven years” hardly needs to
announce the fact. 11is friends realize it and they devoutly
wish he had.
This delicately constructed human machine through which the
soul works, is not intended to illustrate perpetual motion.
Anyone can work until body rtnd brain rebel, and the nerves
surpass Dante in portraying things infernal. He is the wise man
and outstrips the other, in work actually accomplished ns the tor
toise did the hare who lays as much emphasis on rest as on toil,
lie gives a practical illustration of the old saw Unit “a moment
of judgment is worth a day of energy.”
He who comes to his task in pulpit, or study, or office, or
shop, or anywhere else for that matter with the keen alertness
of an unfagged brain will increase the quantity of his work im
measurably. Any brain worker knows that there are times when
his work has wings and when its performance is sheer enjoyment.
And he also knows of times when every effort wrings out a men
tal groan. The principle that explains tin* difference in the
principle that underlies vacation days.
•P T T T *!• T "P
The essential thing in an ideal vacation is change—change of
scene, change of mental—and that means bodily too—occupation;
the making of new thought-ruts in the brain.
The sweetest phonograph re*ord will get aerate by” after
long use. So will every regulati m line of thinking.
A vacation should bring change. If you spend from two to
six hours a day with your books in your study, all the rest of the
year, it is a question if a Chautauqua is the best place to spend
your summer outing days unless you do. as you used to do in
your college mathematics occasionally “cut the classes.’’ A
week or two in the woods not necessarily in a tent with still
collars and cuffs discarded, and a general relaxation from the
tense strain of the year would be far more recuperative, and
send you Imek, to your parish, with fewer notes of addresses and
lectures, hut with your mental machinery in far better trim for
turning out your own thoughts. On the other hand, for the man or
woman whose busy, active life ordinarily crowds books out, a
Chautauqua schedule may prove the very thing needed.
There are vacations, as well as repentances, that “needs to
he repented of,” and from which people have to come home to rest.
Wise selection in the choice of vacation experiences is as im
portant as the vacation itself.
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Incidentally, and so far as the preacher is concerned, it is
money in any congregation's pocket to send its pastor off for a
month 's change of vision—even if they have to foot the bills.
As Gladstone, or somebody else said of the orator and his
audience lie gives them hack in the rain of eloquence what they
send up to him in the mists of interested attention. The re
sults will be in evidence in the matter and manner of his sermons,
and in tlu* benefits derived by his people from his replenished
stock of vitality, and his new angle of vision.
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It is well to remember that vacations clo not stand being too
much talked about.
^ e all recall Will Carletoti’s "Travelled Larson” whose con
gregation expressed its appreciation of his fidelity bv raising a
purse to send him to tiuropc and the Holy Land, and lived to re
gret it, as tliey listened to liis never-ceasing references to*‘when
I was in Jerusalem,” and “when I ascended Vesuvius.” This
does not mean that the material gathered while on these vacation
trips may not often be worked into a series of sermons to advan
tage, It undoubtedly may.
Lut, aside from this, tact will remind us of the fact that from
the many, tied to their tasks, it is sometimes a little too much
to expect^ unlimited enjoyment ot our pleasures from which they
were debarred.
A prince once gave his j. ster a
stick and said to him: "if you ever
find any one who is a greater fool
than yourself, give him the stick.”
Sonv„‘ years later the prince was ill,
and was visited by his jester. As the
sick man told him that lit- would
soon leave him, the jester said: “And
where are you going?” “To the other
world.” “Will you return in a
month's time?” “No.” “Will you
return in a year’s time?” “Not even |
then.’ “Hut when then will it be?”
“Never." “What provision have you
made for so long a journey, and for
li\ing in the country where you are
going?" “None at all." “What, none
at all? In that case take my stick,
you are just leaving for ever, and
you have not even devised any means
whereby you may live happily in
the other world whence you will nev
er return! Take my stick, for I, at
any rate, have never been guilty of
such folly as that!”
CHURCHES AND THE SALOON
Decrease In Number of Ohio Dram
Shops Followed by Increase In
Church Members.
An analysis of the Presbyterian
churches of Ohio in local option dis
tricts. by Rev. Frederick N. McMil
lan. chairmun of the committee on
evangelical work of the synod of
Ohio, shows a suggestive Increase du
during the past two years in the num
ber of communlcunts, says United
Presbyterian. From this report it ap
pears that the decrease in the num
ber of saloons is followed by a nota
ble increase In the membership of the
churches. The reasons assigned are
that when men are drinking they
have no money to sufficiently clothe
their wives and children that they
may attend church with any degree
of self-respect. The families of drink
ing men are discouraged and lack
heart to appear in places of religious
concourse. Mr. McMillan says: "Re
ligion and whisky will not mix. Drink
ing men keep women and children
away from church through shame,
fear, poverty and want of heart. Many
n woman says: ‘I haven’t the heart to
go to church when my husband is
drinking; he doesn't want us to go to
church, and I will not go because my
children and myself cannot dress as
well as others.’”
This want of heart is one of the
most depressing conditions that can
befall any one The sense of disgrace,
on account of being the companion
of a drunkard, has kept many a wife
shut up in her solitary home, nursing
the vultures that are eating out her
very heart. The consolations of the
gospel woidd give tier hope, but oh.
the humility of it; tile human nature
of it! The dread of appearing where
her very presence would be an adver
tisement of her own humiliation no
doubt accounts for many sorrowful
wives failing to identify themselves
with any church.
It requires no argument to show'
that the average drinking man will
not go to church. He takes no inter
est in such tilings. His companions
are not there. There is little in com
mon between him and those w’ho wor
ship (!od. He is at the extreme anti
podes of society. His moral sense is
benumbed, and the whole association
of the saloon is to deepen and inten
sify opposition to religion and purity
of lifo. When God plants a church
the devi! comes to plant a saloon
nearby, if he can. He must hold his
own converts, if he can. He must win
over some of the church members, if
he can. He must lay his fiery skew
ers to burn t lie feet of tlie children,
if lie can.
The way to destroy the Influence of
the devil over the lives of men and
women, is to destroy the works of the
devil The saloon system is the great
harrier between the drinker and the
church. Its destruction means saner
moments for the drinker, when he can
think more of tho tilings of the king
dom of God. and the things too. that
will promote the betterment of his
home It gives his family an oppor
tunity to take heart, to regain hope,
and to look upon life with some de
gree of joyfulness. There is no doubt
but there would be a greater disposi
tion on the part of the drinker’s fam
ily. and the drinker himself, to at
tend the public worship of God if he
spent his money at home and for his
home. A reformed husband and fath
er means sunshine to the home, and
the graceful family will have an espe
cial reason for expression of gratitude
to God by a public profession of his
name. Every argument that supports
the saloon opposes the church.
Sarah Bernhardt and Women Soldiers.
I remember when 1 first appeared
ns the Due de Reichstadt. I thought to
myself how little disadvantage sex is
to a woman who wishes to play a dis
tinguished part, not merely on the
stage, but in real life. Women are
only weak when their characters are
weak. Surely Louis XVI. did not
think women were weak when bat
talions of them were surrounding his
palace at Versailles. My experience
has shown me that Frenchwomen are
more resolute, more fearless, more
competent than the women of other
nations. They would not plead their
sex in the face of tiie enemy. Just as
Joanne d'Arc was a born military
leader, so, in case of a crisis today,
many women would be found who, if
men were pusillanimous, would cry
with Lady Macbeth: "Give tin the dag
gers!”—Sarah Hernhardt in the
Strand.
Alcohol and Tuberculosis.
Hr. Jacques Bertillon, the chief of
the finger-print department of the
French police, lias published an ar
ticle on the connection between al
cohol and tuberculosis. Dr. Bertillon
says that of the causes which in
France favor the development of
tuberculosis the most important is the
alcohol in beer and spirits. He de
clares, however, that the best enemy
of tuberculosis is wine.
in the 28 departments which form
the northern parts of France, where
cider, beer, spirits—especially brandy
—are much drunk, the deaths caused
by consumption were 230 per 100,000
inhabitants in 1906, while the propor
tion was 140 in the other departments
of Fiance, where wine is the favorite
I drink
TENDENCY TO LIQUOR HABIT
Effort# at Promoting Temperance Nec
essarily Slow Owing to Cus
toms of Ancestors.
We must not be surprised at the
great difficulty In promoting temper
ance, not to speak of total abstinence,
when we recall what a strong hold the
habit of UBlng Intoxicants had upon
our English and American ancestors
It has not been very long ago since
liquors were kept on the sideboard In
almost every home where the family
could afTord It, and were freely offer
ed to every guest as part of the hos
pitality of the day, says Temperance.
It wasnot “good form” to refuse what
was offered, and so the caller at sev
eral homes In the course of an even
ing was apt to find his head reeling
and his feet unsteady as he left his
hospitable friends and made his way
to his own dwelling
Not many considered it a very great
disgrace to be under the influence of
liquor, although hard drinkers were
npt to speak with contempt of those
who had a limited capacity and were
speedily overcome.
Far back beyond those early days,
In the old country our ancestors made
free use of beer and spirits. These
beverages were taken as matters of
course.
The consumption of beer in an ordi
nary home was enormous, Besant in
his "London” tells of a family where
21 quarts were taken daily, nearly 3
quails for each person. “We must
remember that there was no tea, that
people would not drink water if they
could get anything else, and that small
beer was the national beverage, taken
with every meal and between meals,
and that the allowance was at each
one's own discretion.” As late ns
1770 the men in a London printing of
fice look a pint of beer before break
fast, a pint with breakfast, a pint be
tween breakfast and dinner, a pint at
dinner, another at 6, and a sixth pint
when they stopped work. The pota
tions were sometimes continued du
ring the evening. Ale was also used
In large quantities. Wine was used,
but not so freely because of its great
er cost.
Drinking in England in the 18th
century was a general habit among all
classes. The clergy, merchants, law
yers, judges, tradesmen and working
men all drank. In 1736 there were
7,044 gin-shops in Ixjndon and over
3,000 other places where gin was sold,
so that one house in every five was
a resort >>r drinkers, to say nothing
of the vast quantities of beer, gin,
wine and other intoxicants consumed
at home.
Gin had grown to be the favorite
tipple, especially with the work peo
ple. some of whom spent much of their
wages in the fiery stuff that brought
speedy intoxication.
When we think how extensively in
toxicants were employed and how' the
old-time usages of ihe mother coun
try were transferred to this land, and
how general during the colonial pe
riod and for many years later here
was the free use of liquors, we must
not be discouraged at tfje slow prog
ress of efforts at securing sobriety.
DISMISSAL OF THREE CADETS
Official Action of Naval Academy
Officers Will Meet With Gen
eral Approval.
The dismissal of three cadets from
the United States Naval Academy in
their graduating year because of
drunkenness, will meet with general
approval everywhere, says the St.
Louis Star. If there is a single place
In the public service where total ab
stinence from liquor ought to he
made compulsory it is in the naval
service, where officers have responsi
bility for the lives of thousands of
men and safety of ships whose value
is not reckoned by the cost of their
construction, but by the possible con
sequences of not having them in time
of war. It is difficult to prevent drink
ing by enlisted men of either the army
or navy, and not of so much im
portance, but it can be prevented in
the case of officers, on pain of dis
missal, and few officers would prefet
liquor to their commissions. The
navy has lost much in life and ships
through drink, and in efficiency, and
the army has lost in efficiency, and is
still losing, through the same cause.
Some day it might be of tremendous
importance. Annapolis and West
Point are good places to start the offi
cers on the total abstinence road as
well as to impress them with the
truth that regulations are made to be
obeyed, and that an officer who can
not himself obey is not fit to command
others who must do so.
Glasgow a Soberer City.
The Glasgow chief constable in a
report issued recently comments upon
the remarkable increase of sobriety
in the city. Apprehensions for drunk
enness totalled 14,1 GT. a decrease of
considerably over 4,000. While lack
of money has no doubt contributed to
Increased sobriety, the chief constable
states that the growth of temperance
has been a great factor. A great deal
of money has been spent on amuse
ments, which was just as available for
spending in drink. Compared with
two years ago the apprehensions for
drunkenness showed a decrease of
nearly 7,000.
INTER-STATE
Live Stock
and Horse
Show
ST. JOSEPH,: MO.
Sept. 25th to Oct. 1st
Prize Live Stock
Farming Implements
Machinery
Automobiles
Automobile Flower Parade, on the streets of St.
Joseph, TUESDAY, SEPT. 27TH. It will be
worth a trip to the city to see this gorgeous
spectacle.
Miller Brothers’ 101 Ranch Wild West Show
will be camped on the Live Stock grounds, and
will give Street Parades and free entertainment
features each day, and a regular performance
every night.
Cheap Railroad Rates
Ask Your Local Agent
ONLY THE BEST!
That has always been our policy in
the handling of Farm Implements
Clover Leaf Manure Spreaders
in two sizes—50 and 70 bushels
Dairy Maid Cream Separators
None better on the market
Buggies, Surries, Spring Wagons
One Car Weber Wagons
One Car Newton Wagons
No eomment is necessary as to the worth of
these wagons their reputation is made.
Remember, we handle only the best implements and Farm
Machinery, and our Prices are RIGHT.
Werner=Mosiman Co.
FALLS CITY, NEBRASKA
Artistic
PRINTING
OUR FORTE
Book and Commercial Work
Handled in a Manner Pleasing to Particular Patrons
THE BREWERS SHOW THEIR PALSIED HANDS
The brewers used every artifice known to the trade to
nominate Dahlman. They have failed, if indications are
true, as a careful re-count and equally careful scrutiny of
certain documents in Omaha are likely to show.
A small army of men have been employed to go up and
down the various counties for the past three or four months
to ‘ get out” Dahlman‘s vote. We believe that were he the
candidate on the Democratic ticket in November he would
be defeated by a majority that would leave no question re
garding the attitude of Nebraska toward the open saloon.
The fact that after practically combing the state with a
fine tooth comb the brewers were not able to muster a big
vote for their ‘‘cowboy” candidate speaks volumes, and we
are most decidedly encouraged by this test.
