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Las diagrammea suivants illuatrant Ie m*thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 MICroCOry (FSCHUTION TBI CHAIT (ANSI and ISO TEST CHAUT No. 2) mi 2.8 ■ 2J lao •^M ■^ 1^ Su£ i^'° 1:25 i 1.4 1.8 mn^ti^ ^ /APPLIED IIVHGE I ^K 1653 East Main SIfeet CJS RochMler, N«nr York 14609 LISA ^E (^'6) *82 - 0300 - Phone ^S (716) 2S8- 59B9 -Fax TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE WITH A STUDY ON BIBLE PROPHECY BV MRS. ROSA PORTLOCK (Woodstock, Ont.) PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR BY WILLIAM BRIGGS TORONTO I901 ^ V' ^ t o j INTRODUCTION. ■I T I AM reminded by many things of havin<; made a promise, to the effect that I would at r jme time give to the public a further history of myself and God's dealings with me and mine ; but how or where to begin is a question ? A boy who had a large apple given to him wished to divide it into five pieces ; but how was this to be done ? " I could cut it through the middle," he 8aid> "and divide it into tour or six pieces, but five e(jual parts is a puzzle." I feel somewhat like that boy. I could begin, as it were, at the beginning, and give an account of things I have seen or done as they come to my mind, and this perhaps would be rather amusing, but it would not satisfy me. Canadb to-day, with all its civiliza- tion, is not the same as it was thirty years ago. Move- ment is so rapid; science is makin;j such gigantic strides; men are try ig to look ii;to the future, making themselves as gods, while yet the work 'iven them to do is unaccomplished. " Replenish the earth and subdue it," was the first unconditional command (Oen. 1-28). When that command has been fully obeyed, " The 4 INTRODUCTION, e«rth «hall be filled with »k. i- of the Lord, « ZZL' '"''^'^ot theglor, '■■ '*) ;; r would th.tT eT.n«74 1 "" " ^"'^ »re one," pr»ye.l our ble Jd Ti^ \ ""l""'*" »« *« earth ; b„t.« ^e one P^ w^,,:'"*" "« ^^ "P"" creeds many, and wav« 1 " "P'"'™" '"•"y. P'«hing the work XentoTT T^ '"' •^'^■ direction, are so .simSrit ^ ''"' "'"*'''«» ">« a fool, need not JrTj^T ' ""^^'"•'"'f "-' '"o-^h the attempt to do ,o ,„av t ^^-^ """' "''""• ^et ou.. on theVt of one fn t Z^u'^" '""""'"P'- in England, near the River Ou«, iT ■ oak «o lar^ that mo« than a hundrS""" '" *" °'^ dine under its bmnches v„* ♦ ^ '*'*»"' «"> "mall seed. Onrreltl^ ^^'^ ^""» * ^^ry we count men b/Siors '"'^* ^^''^ "'» '" "»- labors ; other and'Sl^rlrCm flt"^ '"'f '''''' into mine." " ^""''w me and enter "t^ng^^fai mL'w'tif *"? "' «*'«"■ where. as a the reader Imayn^tfrf ?f '" ^'^'''K to P'ease beauty of a consltent wl*^' r/,"' **'°^ ">«"• ">e Christ, and with Christ. '"" " ''"''' ■° ^''"«*- ^'^^ B. P. CONTENTS. ClIAPTKR I. A Thriving Ontario Town A Wonderful (Igt-up A War on Our Handi New Nurroundingn . Chapter II. ClIAPTKB III. Chapter IV. 7 Chapter V. The Briti.h Nation Cho«,„ „f ,i<^ u, Coloni», Civilize and Chrutianize the World ... '"ana New Arrival! Chapter VI. Chapter VII. The Nation which God Formed for Hinwelf . . . . Chapter VIII. A Wedding that Did Not Come Off Chapter IX. '""T^mTo^' ^■"■.•'""" ^■".•"" "'■'«'■ '' to Win the 37 M fig 88 78 6 CONTENTS. CflAPTER X. The MordintB go to Orangerille Chapteb XI. A True Likenetw Again on the Move Chapter XII. Chapteb XIII. Creeds Many. Opinions Many Chapter XIV. The Everlasting Kingdom Chapter XV. A Sad Experience ■ Chapter XVI. " History Repeats Itself " A Bereaved Family Chapter XVII. Chapter XVIII. Questions and Answers - ■ . . Chapter XIX. A Nation Mourns the Loss of One Beloved 102 112 121 134 14S 1S3 163 173 184 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. CHAPTER I. A THRIVING ONTARIO TOWN. " Those who watch Providence will never wsnt a providence to watch." " Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness ; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). " How e'er it be, it seems to me, T is only noble to be good. Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman blood." — Tennynn. Berlin is the capital of Waterloo, and received its name in 1826. In 1820 it had one blacksmith's shop ; in 1825 the first factory was built and a store opened. Now, in 1899, it is one of the most thriving towns in Ontario, and well deserves the name, so often given to it, of " busy Berlin." 8 TWENTY-FIVE TEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. It was settled chiefly by Pennsylvania Dutch. It ntl.^^P"u*'°-, °^ "'?'"' ^'^^- " «t»ate on the T^f •. ™'r*y.'^"' sixty-two miles west of Toronto; It is cleanly, healthy, and has a ereat number of beautiful residences, chiefly brick It has thirty-four manufactories, three banks, an opera house, a free public library, a college, schools ItofgltaS:'"'"*^"" P"^" for the Worship of Hn^u" ^^f *i*"y » Mligious town; the people are S^^LTt ^° °°t forget to entertain strangers, bpeaking for myself, I may say that as a stranger ,Wf°§! .^^''1^'''"'"°** graciously received and mvited to their houses and their tables; and this, not because they could possibly expect a return of iom- pUments for I am not only a stranger to them, but in so humble a position of life that I am astonished. Ihey have an orphanage, too, with eight small specimens of humanity— one, a colored giri about ten years old. was spoken of as a most lovable child talcing care of the younger ones in a tender, motheriv way. I heard her spoken of in several houses as well *\-^i.*il^ '"**'^" ^^"^"- ^ ''^nt over the gaol, in which there were four prisoners; also over thi po^r- house, in which I found about ninety old, old people —some not responsible at all, and none of them able fhjfT l^" T ''''•?S- ^ ^«" *•>»' it was a good thing to have them there to be taken care of and kept clean. fh;?iL'^T-f ,°rJ'.,°°! *'''°«^ ^ ^""""l *° object to in this beautiful httle town: the small wages paid to the workmg-man, though I expect to find this same blot in many other places. When will the time come that man shall love his neighbor as himself ? I think I hear some one say That IS more general now than it ever was. I ask in A THBIVINO ONTARIO TOWN. 9 what way ? Why ! look at the amount (fiven away every year in charity. Yes, but if our employers would give better wages, build their own homes smaller, and live a little less expensively, their working-men could keep themselves without this charity, and build for themselves homes in which to dwell. Do you say, " Not in every case — some would drink it all up, no matter how much they earned, and others would squander it in waste." Doubtless you are right, but that is another ques- tion ; the employer will have done his duty, and the industrious man will not suffer. Neither of these are responsible for the others. Charity is not all charity that goes by that name, for " Charity is Love." Is there anything in life man more desires than to achieve a good name ? And to attain this some try to get wealth, some honor, some power, others devote themselves to art, science or literature, but underlying all we discover the hope that it may be their lot to obtain that after which they aspire. Is it pot true that men are beginning to see that to gain this good name and keep it their motives and their efforts must be pure ; thjy cannot afford to do evil ; it does not pay ; it will sooner or later hinder or hurt. If you touch pitch it will blacken, if you touch fire it will burn. Could we but realize the greatness of the life com- mitted to our keeping, should we not try to live more in accord with the Giver of that life ? thus developing loftjr conceptions and noble purpose, always looking up instead of either downwanis or towards self. But I hear a call to tea. I am boarding in a Ger- man family ; everybody is very kind. I must say I was rather dismayed the first day I came here as I took the seat assigned to me at the head of a well- filled table and saw nine young men take their places 10 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. and at once begin to make havoc with the eatables set before them. I had no idea that my fellow- boarders were all men. It was the first time that I had ever gone to a public boarding-place ; I felt a little shy, to say the least of it, and 1 don't know but the boys were just a little uncomfortable, too. When supper was over I went back to the parlor. Do you know what a boarding-house parlor is like ? Have you ever spent a first evening in one all alone ? I went to my room at nine o'clock, and shortly afterwards heard some one playing on a violin dance music and some of the popular songs of the day ; the last I heard before sleep took possession of me was " The Two Little Girls in Blue.* I did not meet my boys again until the next day at dinner, as they went to work early in the morning. They were polite and nice to me. The violin player was the one who sat at my right hand, a good-natured German. He and I became quite friendly ; he took a good deal of teasing from his fellow-boarders, who told me that he was verj- fond of the girk and that the violin he played on had only three strings. I soon got accustomed to their ways and placed them at their ease, though it was some time before I could coax them into the parlor ; after I was able to do this, however, we had quite a social time. When I left the town it was with the good wishes of every one of them. I had one opportunity of speaking for tb" Master, but the great day alone will tell to what extent it did good. My work for this summer has come vo me through many happenings, which some would call chance, but which I prefer to call Providence, and in mapping out that work I had three objects in view : To earn my daily bread, to regain lost health by change of air and exercise, and last, though by no means least in A THRIVING ONTARIO TOWN. 11 my consideration, was the speaking a word for the Master and His kinfrdoui. Each morninK I go out calling from house to house until noon ; each afternoon I receive callers from two till fave, to whom I give lessons in art needle work. I have already spent some, and expect to spend many more, happy days in this way. As I leave my home each morning I repeat the old familiar lines: "Forth in Thy Name, O Lord, I go, My daily labor to pursue ; Thee, only Thee, resolv'd to know, In all I say, or think, or do. " I did not start on this course without some opposi- tion, which, I am gLu to say, I was able to overcome. We are very dependent one upon another, but as long as we respect ourselves others will respect us. 1 am realy enjoying my outing; it is going to be quite an education to me, and 1 shall try to impart to others some of that which I myself receive. I rejoice in the fact that God has already used me more than once to minister to His waiting ones, and to give messages of His love and consolation. Some years ago a dozen or so of boarding-school girls may have been seen taking their usual walk in °°?^°^ our pretty Devonshire towns in England, and although there were two teachers in charge, a lad was able, unseen by them, to give into the hand of one of the young ladies a note, which she immediately put into her pocket. As soon as she was alone she eagerly scanned its contents, then, bursting into tears spoke thus to herself : " Can I do this ? Is it right ? or ought I to go home ? No, I wont; she is cruel, mean and I hate her. I will do what he asks me to do. I am nearly seventeen, and mamma was married 12 TWEOTY-FIVE TEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. m / "^r *" this woman and her y^i.,, oS r»lj?°°*'' '"'*'■■ °'' ^"* » steamer coming to Canada, was a young and pretty bride, about wyen oldy'l'^el r* ''"^ '»«^l'•«^^"« °'d horse start^dTtf with the odd figure in his wonderful get-up. CHAPTER III. A WAS OM OUR HANDS. " Search the Scriptures " (John 5 : 39). " Let God arise, to lead forth those Who march '. war ; Let God arise, anU all his foes Be scattered far." Will you pardon me if I come back to present end of 1899, and a great war is on our hands. Many differ as to the right or wrong of this because they do not study the question from the beginning. I was to-day taken greatly to task because Tsaid the British would doubtless be the victora in the end I thought you were a Christian," said mv opponent. , ' .K "m*™!*^ """a,' ^ ^*'''' "*'"' I M to see why I should not be a Christian and still believe that the bntish would be victorious." " Well, I don't know whether I will call myself a Christian or not, but I am a man anyway, and I 21 22 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OP CANADIAN LIFE. much bloodshed. And if He has the power that some of you Chr.8t.ans say He has. I <,,Wt see whrHe don t put a stop to .t. The Boers don't hurt us and 7r/. 71 IV^^'^- "''""'' ^^^ ^o*' i«' the British are a greedy lot ; they just want a little more territory and they don t care how much blood they .shed to get the.r own way. ' "I think you are a little hard on the British, are you ence '^mfh ??. "P?" .God-I speak with all rever- !v»!' f ^m". •' '« not a question of liking, or and f h. ^"''V ^^" P'*."'. '^^'■^ "^""l* i° the beginning WnrH %Tf ^^ T'""^^ ""'• He has given us Hi! Word but how few there are who live by it or attempt to understand it. Just as soon as we are perfectly obedient there will be no more need for war ; .n the meantime 'tis justice that the British are flght.ng for. I know that they are by no means per- fect, yet you must acknowledge they are the only people who take care of the countries^ they conquer giv.ng them the Gospel and civilization '=°"1"^'^' fhl ? «' India for instance. What did they find there? Supers .tion and cruelty of every kind, amon^t themselves and to other^. Their children were thrown ,nto the River Ganges to appease their Sjleft tot.~" *^'^^"*° *^^ rivPrVnkand " If a, prince or king amongst them died, his twenty- four w.ves were buned alive with him, and many other crueUies were practised on behalf of their rel.g.on. There ,s nothing of that kind now, for India .8 being c.vil.zed under British rule." to all this "' '* ^*^ '''* missionaries that put a stop mrt^'w '^- '^,''?"^<^?d' they have nobly done their part, but, my fnend, it took a superior power to A WAR ON OUR HANDS. 23 I coiKiuer and make them ready to hear the still small voice. I believe God has chosen Britain to be that superior power. But she is slow to understand God's will towards her, which is undoubtedly a reign of righteousness, showing mercy and giving liberty to those who come undei her sway. '• ^Vill you go back with me to 1845 and on to 1849, wheu the purposes of God (purposes, mark you, of mercy to the Sikh nation) demanded of Britain that she should take and hold that country of the five rivers, as the gate of Afghanistan. She refused — boldly and positively refused — as she, later on, boldly and positively refused to take Khartoum, the gate of Egypt. "Now, look back again. The Sikhs, headed by Rajah Golab Sing, crossed the Sutlej river and invaded India — a clear act of hostility and insult to the British Lion. Then followed four battles, the final one of Sobraon, on February 10th, 1846, which was the literal destruction of a noble native army that very, very nearly had destroyed their own. "They had refused the Punjaub— what was the result ? ' They had to learn a lesson drawn in blood to be paid for in treasure ' "On January 13th, 1849, the almost fatal battle of Chillianwala was fought, in which we lost guns and an enormous number of men. The 24th Foot alone lost 800 in ten minutes; in fact, that night the British Empire in India almost toppled over to its fall. A month later the Khalsa army was finally conquered in a battle of six hours' duration. Then Britain humbly accepted God's gift of the Punjaub, and annexed it. That was on March 29th, 1849. But at what a cost ! Seas of blood, so to speak, were shed to teach Britain her duty. What sorrows and mis- eries before they would yield, and what millions in 24 TWENTy-FIVE YEAHS OP CANADIAN LIFE. tro"s^rwiire=s,x> -'^ ■- -•- Christian hero These ^m?« '*''^ our glorious Just as kZ LXv If fK ° '""'', S"'" *•>« "«W once ma^ tre&^r fek Tr^.^'"'' ^"^^^ ^"' «' ^werf^the^d^olT^^^^^^^^^^^^ "But. why Britain ? " said Mr C .. Be«^use she is the only nation capable." Well. now. you really talk like a book; but I A WAR ON OUR HANDS. 25 cant see what England wants to be getting all the world for, nor I never could see what the States wanted to fight Cuba tor. I suppose they are a chip- off-the-old-block, and will want to grab all they can " " Do you ever read your Bible ? " I asked. *k"/^*'/ .''"■ ^^^^^ I don't read anything but that — and the paper sometimes." " What part of your Bible do you read most ! " " Oh, the Psalms and Proverbs, and the Xew Testa- ment. " Well, what do you see there ?" . ."Why, I see the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and a higher calling than fighting and tearing each other to pieces. St. Paul says, ' We're to live peaceably with all men. ^ " Inasmuch as it is possible," I added. " Well, now, to ask a fair question," he said, " Don't you think these people might do better by gettins ready for heaven than by trying to get a little bit more ot this earth which is to be burnt up ? " "Your question is not an easy one to answer at random ; for, you see, I believe the Bible from cover to cover, and I read it literally." " Yet you talk about this war as if God was fight- ing in It, and leading the P;riti8hers. Why should He take more care of them than anybody else?" "Another diflicult question— but if you will permit me, 1 will write an answer to both and read it to vou some evening." ' "All right, I shall be glad to have you do so ; but I don t promise to believe tl it the English are any- thing better than other people." "No, don't promise anything; but 1 shall do my best to show you that they are the right people in the right place. t- r r 'The next evening I went over and read aloud the following short paper : 26 TWENTY-FIVE TEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. I ^li *i"'' ^ "T!', ""'"^'"" V""" 'luestion by quotins G^'' i;!^;""' "'u"™' """S Ifiet is. "'Wt when oomml^ ""?' ^^ «YV' *" '"•" "" unconditional command, namely to subdue the earth." In looking up the meanmg of the word subdue, I Hnd it means- ectinn'?"fn ^ " '"PT""" P"^"""' *° '«. °- h^^'"' *'^^ ''^'^'lof that nation, is rk V^?7°'"''^, (^^°- 17:4; Romans 1:13). nJn^! ''^K ^ !i^^'T^i ^r^ -^'^-^y^ been a fighting peop e they had to fight for their own possessions in the land of Canaan. In 1 Chron. 5: 2l you will read, 'For there fell down many slain, because the showTf r^°^^ ^^^ r °"'y °"« °f "'^"y texts to show that God does countenance war. We notice that one of their punishments was to be that they should nee before their enemies. Most certainly, there is a spiritual work to do— a glorious Gospel to preach to the ends of the world There is an after life to strive for. But this is not all • A WAR ON OUR HANDS. 27 there in a world to subdue, and make ready for the coming of the King, and man has got that work to do. But Israel was not obedient, so God gave them over to their enemies, and turned them out of their land. Does that mean, think you, that He gave them up— pronounced them a failure ? No : a thousand times no ! Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He hath vi.>uce. On Thursday they visited all the neighbors round and on Saturday were taken home the ifcher by a rol of beautiful fresh butter, a chicken all ready ir the teble, and some wonderfully light biscuit such as thev had never seen before, as well as a bottle of rich genume cream. ' in^nL'°.K^°^'il^ P*°P'* "^^^ ^'^ ^en brought up n a city, these things were more or less a tr«lt, anS W^l^'" f^ "*"' ^"'"•^ '"^^ P«°P'« °* Canada kind nearced and generous. f«J^?i°f '•'! °"' ""l^J" *•■■• **°"^»°t ^^^A with a farmer for two months, and Mrs. Mordant made arrangements to work for a married lady who toTin tTt^t^r^- . ^l!r* T *° «*«y *•>«" »» th« week but to return to Mrs. Leonard's for Sunday, when Mr Mordant was also to be there an^wJ"^' °?*i\«''''K ^eiy well, she stayed home, and was surprised by a visitor, an elderly gentleman calhng himself James Watson. I will iive theT- husUnd ""' •" ^"^ '"'" words.as*?old to h^r She said "I invited him in when I found it was Sh:t "'"f"'' ""d begged him to be sired Ihen he began to question so closely that I was astonished at his nerve, though I answered him^ pa^en% as I could. After a^ while he safd. ■ We?l now. In. glad I came to see you, though I thoueht by what I was told that most likely you'd have alt- tie money by you ; but 1 am going^t^ make you he offerjust the same.' I lookel at him wonderingly What could he mean? He returned my gaze very earnestly, and after a minute or two sai/' Yes Jour 30 TWENTV-KIVK VEAHS OK CANADUN LIFE. face is an honeat one, so I am goinit to do it ' I ».. ri'Tan- '°' ' '"^- "° ■*''"« ^ ''i^ intentioL o^ as to what he was m iiff to do Tim foKU '"""-"^ harm, and he looked so tho^ut^i: ; g^l-^iJ^teK I was not very much ufraid. At^Ke saW ■ Yes r„™ rf 1 ' ^M y?" ^°'" ""« hundred and fifty dol- ara I d have hked a little .noney down but as vo„ haven t got any. why you shall have iT all the Lme —m 1. nl™ frt. oUh. I.!; " "* "»• *■' P"- *»g.„ You k„„» 0„g. WrighUhfXi™* " Yes, I know him. see the place, and I will call to-morrow mornC to see what you say about it ; so good-bye nmv ' anf he "SrtheT'- 'T"^?"^ in a maT: of woi! w^'^nr.'"' M 7^:,!^ P?'.''*'"'"' '"°'-« """^"-'d than she cTfideSerr^S '"' °' ""^ °»^ P"'""^ ^--^ nri?r/'f '^ ^¥"*'' '^°'"*"' however, had more sur- c;t;ir" ""^'^ ^°^ ^"""^'-^^ p^S'-^ James Watson sold them the house with its acre of SKW SURROUNDINOS. 31 land, part of which was a well laid out oreliard and Its outbuildir.„'8 made it really worth a great deal more money than he asked for it. • He seemed det.;rminod that they should ^et settled before tlie winter came on, so he went security for a beautiful new stove and a bedstead. A few days later Mrs. Mordant, carrying ii new broom in her hand, went to look over hor little place and to plan out the cleaning procc8.s. She was surprised shortly after her entrance to see witlun the doorway a bright comely face, and to hear a very pleasant voice say, " Good-day : I am Mrs Rollings, your nearest neighlxir; you are Mrs. Mor- dant-Oeorge Wright was telling me about you ; we deal with him. I shall be killed yet with surprises, thought Mrs. Mordant ; but aloud she said, as she shook hands " I am pleased to see you, though not very w^U prepared to receive at present-there seems to be no place to sit down except on the stove; the chairs and tables are not here yet. "So much the better-we shall not have to move them about. I have come to help you clean up, you see. I have brought a pail, brush and cloth," and almost before Mrs. Mordant had come to herself the w»'ll""*'l'i™'"^' "•^ r**"" ^"' '""'''^d, windows, walls and floors were clean, and the stove was pol- ished so that you did not need a lookincr.„Iass Now, said airs. Rollings, " you are to go and have -nius when Cliristmas came, behold Mr. and Mrs Mordan Harry Elliott, Walter Roe, with Mr. a^ M^ Rolling, enjoying their first Christmas in Oan- ada-and they did enjoy it thoroughly. Yet as Mrs Mordant said, the more you have the more you wan^i ss TWlNTV-riVB YEARS or CANADIAN Un. MO now ahe began to wish for her aUtcr Annie, who had stayed m England. Here is part of a letter written to her about that time : " Oh, Annie, I wish you were here, we are no jolly • It IS just play this keeping house. Two young girls from the next farm come in sometimes, and we nVake taffey, play games and have lots of fun, in spite of the fact that the floors are carpetless, the chain cushionless, and the table guiltless of a cover i-^i'i^^ the way did I tell you in iny letter about the little bag that Mrs. Rollmm hung up on our door the Bret night we slept in the house, it was a little white bag, and wo were not to look into it until the morning. Then we found it to contain ^ bit of bread, in token that we should never be hungry ; a bit of wood, that we should never be cold ; and five cents, so that we should never be without money ! " Shortly after Christmas James Watson paid a visit to the little house. Mrs. Mordant noticed that he was very feeble and frail-lw ' ing, so she made him a cup of tea. He was pleased, and seemed to be son - what refreshed after taking it. In the course of conversation she thanked him again for his many acts of kindness to them. " It's all ncht," he said. "I am getting old and have not done half the good in the world that I might have done; so let me do a little while I can. You'll be here perhaps when I'm dead and gone, and will I hope sometimes think kindly of me. I do not feel very well these days," he said, "and my wife is not very kind to me, she never wants me to go out, she'd keep me in all the time if she could. I guess I'll get back now and she wont know that I've been up here So good-bye, and thank ye kindly for the cup of tea." That was the last time she saw him ; he died about three days later. NEW HURROUNOINQg. 88 Suiiiincr M now clone at hanil. The little loe-liouse liKiks clieery, tlic trees in the orelianl liealtliy, and the t;artlin in full of promise. There are sounds of aniiiiul life nil around. Tliey have fowl, for I see two or three broods of young chickens ; there are Koese, and ducks, a young \>\g, an.! two calves, also a cat and dog. Most of thenu have a history, which brings out tlu^ fact that where people are ready to appreciate kindness there will be no lack. Mrs. Jlordant was very popular amongst her noighbore alwoys ready to help them with her needle, and they returned the compliment by helping her, for she being new to the country and its ways, liad much to learn. As I said, most of her animpFs had a history. The cat when hrst they went there was r tiny black and white ball, which Mr. Mordant carried in his coat pocket. She was a great pet, of course, and by and by, when she had two little kittens, it is no wonder that she was almost human in her cleverness One kitten was quite black, the other black and white ■ the latter she carried to Mr. Moitlunt every evening and placed it on his knee, the black one she placed on Mrs. Mordant's knee, then curling herself up on the rug between them she went to sleep, doubtless feeling sure that her children were perfectly safe. But this wonderful cat did something which was much more clever than that. Mrs. Rollings at one time gave them a little chickcn-a thorough-bred Dorking, which had been left an orphan. Being very young they had to keep it in the house for awhile and lest the cat should kill it Mrs. Mordant spent a little time in making them acquainted. This she did by putting them lioth on her knee and petting them together Strange to say, they soon made friends, and that little chick slept Pvery night with the cat until It was old enough to perch, then it got on the 34 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. handle that went across the basket. This, of course, was very strange to puss, and she would lie with her paw outstretched, purring and calling ever so long. Sometimes the little thing would go and snuggle down with her for a few minutes, then away. The same thing would be repeated again and again, until at last she realized that her charge was over and she must sleep alone. One other thing this clever cat did after her kittens were pretty well grown, that was to go out every morning at eleven o'clock, and at three in the after- noon, and bring in a mouse, first for the black kitten, then one for the other. She never deviated from this plan, or from the set time more than five minutes. How she knew the time so well has always been to me a mystery. The two calves had also been left orphans, and had been given to them ; one they named Sambo, and the other Jennie. Many a time I have laughed with Mrs. Mordant over the way she had to work with them. She went every morning to a neighbor's house for two pails of milk. On one occasion she did not fasten the gate securely, and when she was about half-way between the two houses on the return journey, she saw Sambo bounding towards her. She set the pails down, picked up a stick, and ran to meet him ; but her strength was nothing to his. She tried to turn him back, but he turned her into the ditch instead. She did not stay there long, however, but seizirg one pail she ran, hoping to get to, the gate bef« re he could overtake her. Alas, she could not do it, and ■ nther than go into the ditch again, she dropped it, and stepped aside. He did not get the milk, though, for he came with such force as to tip it over, and every drop was spilled. One morning, some time after this, the poor fellow NEW SURROUNDINGS. 35 was sick, and the little woman did not know what to do for him ; he could not eat anything, nor could he stand upright. She asked advice from her neighbor, Robert Clarke, who, after looking at him, said : " He's as good as dead ; you may as well give him up." Now, I mlist tell you that Mrs. Mordant was a woman who believed in prayer, anil she asked herself, " Why should I not pray about this ? If there is anythmg I can do for the poor beastie God can help me to do it." So she knelt down and prayed that He would give her knowledge and wisdom in the matter. Whilft she was yet praying she remembered some medicine that they had brought from home ; a sure remedy in such cases for human beings, and why not for animals ? She took the thought as an answer to prayer, and taking the bottle in her hand, she gave him a dose. Three hours afterwards she went to give him another do.se, which he took quite greedily, Hfting his head and licking her hand. This was at three o'clock and at six, when she went to him, he was standing up and quite ready for his third dose, f.nd very soon he was better. Jennie took the same complaint, but on^ needed two doses, as she was attended to in time. How is it that we so often forget God in our daily tasks ? Would He not make them lighter and easier if we trusted Him for guidance ? Our friends had rabbits, too, which thrived well and were very productive. ' A little pig, two days old, was brought to them which they raised. It went two hundredweight when It was killed, though it gave thein a good deal of trouble before that time. When it was a few weeks old it made its escape and got into an opposite field (Have you ever seen a small pig run ?). Three men went after it, and it 36 TWKNTY-FIVK YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. took them two full hours to catch it. He ate three small rabbits and a good-sized duck ; got amongst the poUtoes, and into the flower garden. Then while Mrs. Mordant was beating him with the broomstick he gobbled up ten little chicks before they could eet out of his way. That was the " last straw ;" he was sent to a farmer, who offered to take charge of him until he was fit to kill. The Dorking rooster had also to be killed ; he would not be peaceable inside or out. He picked at the kittens and fought every fowl in the yard— even the geese kept their distance. He was so large that he could stand at the tabi and pick off a crumb without tiptoeing ; so there were ups and downs for them in their work and in their play, though I have heard Mrs. Mordant say that she never had a happier time than that which she spent in the little log-house. The dog, which was given to them with the kitten and which Mr. Mordant carried up, one in each of his coat pockets, met with rather a sad fate. Mrs Mor- dant thought she would take him with her to the town one day, and they met the cars. She went aside on the embankment, and the little fellow followed her !5he did not think to pick him up, and he must have got very frightened as the cars drew near, for before she was aware he bounded away on the track and made for home. Of course the cars overtook him and went over him, completely severing his head from his body. Both Mr. and Mrs. Mordant were terribly cut up about it. CHAPTER V. THE BRITISH XATION CHOSEN OF GOD TO COLOXIZE, CIVILIZE AND CHRISTIANIZE THE WORLD. I '' Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possosBion " (Psalm 2 : 8). " Years of greatness and of wealth, Years of honor and of might ; Much for God have men been doing. Bringing glorious truths to light. " Good evening, Mrs. Mordant, I am glad to see you ; have you got another paper to read to us ? " "Yes; if convenient to you, that is my privilege." "It is quite convenient; I was expecting yon. Would you mind reading before some friends of ours I have taken the liberty of inviting ? ' " Certainly I don't mind ; the more the merrier, they say." "Well, thanks; come right into the dining-room; it's the most comfortable room in the house, to my thinking." 37 38 TWENTY-PIVK YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. I was then introduced to some eight or nine people who gave moat attentive audience while I read the loUowing : First, dear friends, I want to show that the British Pf^i!' J l" "*"°"' '^ '^^"^'^ °^ Ci°d- Her mission is admitted by most people, though they differ in views and pnnciples. .- *^?,°°° ^°°*'^f°"- °f Truro, said : "God has chosen the English, as He chose the Israelites of old, to be his witnesses to the heathen world." Dr Temple says : " Of all the nations that bear the Ohristian name, there is none so marked out by the providence of God to be the messenger of His wonder- tul VVord as the country to which we belong" The present Pope of Rome says : " Every one knows the powers and resources of the British nation, and the civilizing influence with which the spread of liberty accompanies its prosperity, even to the most remote regions, ' for happy is that people whose God is the Lord. Do we not all turn with hope to the English people observing, as we must do, evident signs of divine grace in their midst ? "ft Some one has said that " Britain never touches a spot on the face of the earth without improving it" Rudyard Kipling, published in the Times awhile ago a translation of a remarkable poem, which is traced to a Sikh infantryman. The last verse, speak- ing of the English, runs thus : " ''^rS?^" ""' consider the meuning of things, Thoy consult no creed or clan ; Behold, they clap the slave on the hack And, behold, he becometh a man. They terribly carpet the earth with ^ead. But ere their cannons cool, They walk unarmed by twos and threes, To call the liTing to school. " BRITISH NATION TO CHRISTIANIZE THE WORLD. 39 It is not an idle boast to say that we belong to an Empire which is unique. Rome was great, out not so great as tKe latter-day British Empire, whose centre is found in the Isles of the west ; whose sovereign is known as the Royal widow, the tender mother, the constant friend, the noble ruler, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Empress of India.* Imperial Federation is almost an accomplished fact, and we rejoice at the loyalty of our colonies to their mother in the hour of her trial. It is stated that the British Empire is peopled by more than " 310,000,000 souls, and her revenues are immense." Do you ask : How is it that England possesses so great and glorious a mission as that, which even the Pope is disposed to grant to her ? You will get different answers to your question. One may be, " That the providence of God hath con- ferred it upon her " (and this is true) ; or it may be answered, " That God chose the English, as he had chosen the Israelites of old." But, to my mind, the best answer is this, "God hath made England his special witness on earth, because she is Israel, only under another name. Isaiah 62 : 2, * Gentiles shall see thy righteou8n>;S8, and all kings thy glory : and thou shali be called by a new name, whjch the mouth of the Lord shall name.' " It is to this chosen Israel that God says : " Ye are my witnesses." (Isaiah 43: 10, and 44: 8). It is to the men of Galilee, representing the " light-bearing tribe of Benjamin," that the risen Lord says: "-Ye shall be witnesses unto me." Now, what is the mission to which this wondrous Empire is called ? * These lines were written ere the hand of death, that spares neither eot nor palace, had removed from the throne and her affec- tionat« people England's good and gracious Queen Victoria. 40 TWENTY-FIVE TEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. n JiVn ? "?'''°"i; "°^ ? company of nations. It has a national church, with a glorious history: it h^ a throne upon which is seated one of tlie seed of Cid whose first act, when she did come to thrtthrone was to^yknowledge herself the servant of the Tnjof We nmst not put these thoughts from us much ted ^^ "" ^'""^'^'^ ""-^ -l"-'-- wWch mus^ iJtf} "'^ ^%^^.^*' England's name and throne came to the front m^its turn, as other nations had done ; and Tdo nof T^r' ^r^ "'-S? '"'J f-^l'en. so shall tWs^ I do not t link we dare. The hand of God is so surdv n'X^i'l '" '\\¥frr'.''' ^^^^ ^«» «° marvel oust whch the invader has not been able to drive us No™ mlssiSulfiHe'd^ ' °"^ ^"■"^ '""«* ^^ -"P'«'-^ ^ - fares^o7ten::tttt^!;^\^"en'T2 ."r' r" "all nations " (Gen. 22 : 18) ^ ^ ^' "'"^ This is truly Britain's work. As a nation she must reach the world for God hocially, we must leaven it for Him Impenally, shall we not hold it for Him » bpmtually, we will win it for Him Is she not reaching it ? The aborigines of her colonies fade before her progress, and Lke way tor her. She is a nation clothed with power to compel a mT*ht^and' '^"^ZTl°^ ^'^™'- She has tem^ al mi^ht and strength to speak for Him with due authority She is a nation to speak to nations great and mighty, spreading abroad to the east, west forth ?ot;t^telTr|,ot ^°^'''^ ^"'^^bitants.'tot; She is, as I said before, secure from invasion, yet BRITISH NATION TO CHRISTIANIZE THE WORLD. 41 powerful at sea wherever her ships may go. She is in possession of the chief gates, and she is using all in the Master's service. In what, then, ought you and I to glory ? Is it in England's array, navy or commerce ? or is it because of these that her position has been given to her ? I think not. Nay, rather it is for God's glory, and that she may make way for the Gospel of peace which is to follow the victories of her army, navy and strategy. Now, dear friend, do not again call her greedy. It is God's will that she should rule, but she is slow to believe the promises as even were they of old, and God's gifts have to be forced upon her, as were the gates of the Panjaub and Khartoum. Before closing, just a few words about the Boers. You said to me, " They do not hurt us, why can't we let them alone ? " Do they not hurt us ? As we sit in our own dear homes, surrounded with comforts, tlie open Bible and I very liberty — they do not hurt us, they are far away. But look at their character, cruel and unjust in the extreme. With regard to our government, they have broken their word again and again. An English gentleman, writing of them, says: " They are little kings on their own farms and brook no interference. Their treatment of the blacks in their employ is shocking to contemplate." I quote from a missionary who lived amongst them for many years. England took Cape Town in 1795, abandoned it in 1802, and took it again in 1806. The question of slavery brought them into con- flict with the South African Dutch, and in 1835 Eng- land declared the emancipation of the slaves. The J 42 TWENTV-PrVE VEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. Dutch were incensed at this and mAm- r,t n. In 1848 this led to another exodus across the Vaal river into what is now called the Tmnsvaal Tht The°Dj:tcTor°"C '""' P"^"'*^^'' V -ti^e tnS" w ordinary human beings. iLir Cd w^fS S^dS,^fcbrt' "° --"' they^ig^oS .SC::^£fc-^^^--a^ tr be chenshes an intense hatred for the Boere anJ themsefvS ^ ^"^ '•"' P"^""' ■"°"'«°t *° "^^enge While the Boers are fighting us, we are holding ''»e^the natives from attacking them "^'"^ in 1876 the Boors were on the verge of bankrnnty.v crvil war and. destruction by the natives To^ave 'i::n^iX «°^«"--^~'^ theVlnsv^l! hoftig SVhrszf thtSs''-- ^""^ '*« --■ our RW?)L°T* '•"* ""j"^ H'" catastrophe, when Colley Sd.*"""^ "^" •^^'^''^^'^ --^ S- G-'-Se Mr. Gladstone by mistaken leniency, gave them back a good deal of their independence thonchfl,^ paramount authority of Great^BrTt^fn' w^^neter abandoned. Later they were again insolvent butfn BRITISH NATION TO CHRISTIANIZE THE WORLD. 43 J the lollowini; year gold was discovered, which brought thousands of strangers to the country, and Boer in- solvency was changed to ahnost fabulous wealth. President Kruger proclaimed the Transvaal open to all nationalities, with equal and just laws for all. This law was altered again and again. English was made a foreign language. The Boers were quickly out- numbered, but kept all authority in their own hands, denying every right of citizenship to those whose enterprise, money and labor made the country rich. Redress was sought, but oi'ly met with sneers and insults, and not until overtures had been again and again rejected were other moans of redress thought of. The Uitlanders have sunk millions of pounds in the Transvaal ; they own a large portion oi the land, and a very large percentage of the revenue is derived from their industry. Both white and black Uitlanders are mostly British .subjects, and the British Govern- ment has a perfect i ight to interfere on their behalf. The Boers, had they been just, could easily have had the loyal support of the Uitlanders, and thus made the republic secure. The British never sought to destroy their independ- ence, and Paul Kruger knows this quite well. The Boers are now fighting for a gross injustice. They would rule, though in the minority, and the vast working population be reckoned of no account except as contributors to the wealth of the ruling few. Doubtless they have been dreaming of the time when the British flag should be superseded by theirs, and for years they have been making warlike pre- parations to this end. The Jameson Raid gave them an excuse to disarm the Uitlanders, and helped them by making our Gov- ernment have more patience with them, thus giving them still more time to prepare for driving the hated I ! 44 TWENTT-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFl. a Snc'ipir'ThTtl'.r «f^'"« '«,''«' °n defence of » principle, ihe treatment of the natives bv thB /»mei then I say she must conquer, for Israel is tn we should go into this war. We shall soon see 3 anticipate an easy victory; the count^'T'diLu' the people are many in number; and I am afraid what will you do supposing the British do not win ?" BRITISH NATION TO CHRISTIANIZE THE WOKI.D. 45 I was silent for a minute, then said : " It is a little Inte, but I will trespass a tiny bit more on your patience and answer your question by telling you a very simple Htory ; " Once upon a time a little old lady lived in a little old house, in front of which was a small garden. She was very old, very plain looking, and very poor ; yet in spite of this she was very happy. Her clergy- man, passing by one morning, heard her singing. " ' Good morning, Nancy. You are always singing. How is it ? ' " ' I dunno, sir, 'cept 'cause I'm always happy.' " ' Now, Nancy, suppose God should send a frost which would destroy the fruit and things that you are depending on for a living, what would you do then?' " ' Well, sir, you see, I never did suppose, and I never will suppose. I'll just wait till the suppose comes ; then I'll make the best on it.' " Now, sir, that is what I am going to do ; so good night, and pray excuse me for keeping you so long." " Oh ! but I see Miss A. at the organ, so we must sing a hymn before you go." CHAPTER VI. ^y£IV AHRIVAIS. The summer had given pface tofarly fall given herself time Tote so b„^«T """"r" '"''^ «he -her garden had .!ee„ the a'dmitd^ratur^-''"^^ P«°P'«1''«1 walked miles to see Tt «dn»rer8; motWwl^fTed^dauL"T/i "^ '-»'^ -hose neighbors, and was a. hannv «* *k °^a ''^'"^ ^°' ">« Sheusedtosaytohe^hnKr ^■•'*y' «'«« long. I got a fresh siprise eviltT" ""'' ^ " ^ •^««'''™- ent here to what^they HZ fce."'"^ ''^ ^° ^'«"«'- 46 NEW ARIIIVALH, 47 " What in the aurprise thin time f " lie said, on one uccHiiion. " Well, I waN just through bathing the baby thiH morning whun the door waH opened and in walked u young woman. Shu neither knocked nor Haid ' ExcUHe me,' she just put her bundle down on one chair and Hat henelf down on another. " I said : ' ( jood morning ! Is there anything I can do for you :'' and she answered, as cool as a cucumber: ' Yes,' will you please give me some breakfast ? ' Of course I gave her as nice a one as I could, and she Naid : ' Thank you,' and went off. " Then you know how it rained this afternoon, and how cold it got Well, I saw a lot of cattle go by, and a man with a ragged ccit and an old slouch hat on was driving them. As I watched, to my great surprise he turned in at our gate. I waited for him to knock, but no, sir ; he just lifted the latch and walked in, took a chair, and sat up close to the stove. Then he gave a little shiver, saying, ' I'm about starved.' " ' Oh,' I sai7ait in Toronto at their own expense for six or eight weeks, while disputes were being settled as to the advisability of going on with the survey or not. They were eventually paid for that time of waiting, in the cases of those who had been hired to a certain date. , , Feeling was very strong between the people ot British Columbia and Canada, and I have always liked to think of the nice, quiet way m which Lord DuflFerin dealt with the case. In a speech made to the people of British Columbia, he said : " You have been subjected to much anxiety on points which were 88 TWBNTr-WVE VKAHS Or WNADIAK LIFl. ^ "tk "V*""^ '" y"' °*n territory. '^ "* delay but noT«1 government then caused some uBiay, out not, as has been said that M- m.-i ■ This was his farewell address on tho 9nth ^t '"h^otd^'K ''I'. ^''«'' biddi:?thl g,Ld £ he Cottia^ftwoS^rbr^n." '' ^-'^ ^ 4i4StflIft«A<.i CHAPTER VII. THE NATION WHICH GOV FORMED FOR HIMSELF. "O Lord, thy word endureth forever in he»ven" (P.i. 119; 89). " God mores in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform ; He plants His footsteps in the sea. And rides upon the storm." "Good evening, Mrs. Mordant, glad to see you— hope you've got something good for us to-night ; sit right down." " Why, father, let Mrs. Mordant take her bonnet and cloak off. Give them to me, Mrs. Mordant; father's always in such a hurry." " Oh, well, you see, it I was going to be spokesman I should just hang my hat up and be ready. ' Thus the good-natured fellow rattled on until we were seated and I had been presented to two who were not there before, and had asked after one who was absent, then I began my reading : 60 TWt»TY-riV« yEAM OP CAJ.ADUK UP,. i n ■I.. riv„ EuXTiS' taSTs Ts? "» «™" ""•'■ theirQid" (Gen if't'sT P°^*»"""- '""' ^ ^^i" be thou^a 0*;^ r&si»^. tor ??" sr ■ -'^ *nd in thy seed shall^ho ♦^'^ °/ '!"' eoemieg. blessed " [0T22 16 18) "' ""^'^ *^ u.rLMaTuSiSnL?rVhrr rr in.s andL^dTuTtoS^.r'^ "°"'^"'^'"' »"- andSrhroX^?'- """^ ''■*''«""« ^'"""^ great Chnat was to conie of him and be a blessing to THI RATION WHICH OOD roBMBD FOR HIMSBLF. 61 all the families of the earth, but lest there should be any miNundenitanding, UocI gave the promises over B^in to Isaac in these words: "Uo not down into hgypt; dwell in the land which I shuU tell the of: Sojourn in this land, and 1 will be with thee, and blew thee ; for unto thee, and thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thv father : And I will make thy seed to multiply an the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries ; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed " (Gen. 2C : 2-4). Note these promises are still unconditional, and notice further Abraham's faith with regard to a wife for Isaac. When he was very old he bound his servant by an oath that he should go seek a wife for his son from amongst his own kindred. He gave him full particulars, and sent him to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. He was not to go alone, " For God shall send His angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from theuce " (Gen. 24 : 7). She was Ood-given, for this man made it a mat- ter of prayer and God heard and answered. (Gen. 24 : 43-45.) Now look at the remarkable blessing she receives from her brethren. "Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions (a countless multitude), and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them " (Gen. 24 : 60). I would like you at your leisure to read this entire chapter, Genesis 24, it is so very interesting. In passing I may notice that Abraham took an- other wife after the death of Sarah and had more children, but they had no part with Isaac. They 62 TWKNTV-nvE YEABS OF CANADIAN LIFE further promLTha herou'r.t^*5 •^r'':.^"'* " west. anS to the east anTt *;. P"''',"'"'°««' ^ the south" (Gen.28-T3 io) ' """^ '° ""« hifrtT:a«::STc'o^n'''"''f'''°'' ^^^ ^^ be of him, and th?t kinTS?"^!,"^ """""^ ^l^""" loins; and'the'a^d tw h^^^a^e'^rCh""' °'}'' Isaac, to thee will I rive 1 3 ?„ 7k ''^*'? """^ '« will I give the laud foea 35 'lO°/^f '""' ''^*^'^ *»>- wi«therema£Tth:^!rj:at:tr^(G'f^^ hei:ti?prt h^hetl^^ ''■'^"^'{^ ^"^ ««' sous, as th7culm w^' He tX t" ^^T^.^ *" '"'^ had said to him and w^at h. h«i •^"'^Ph ^ha* God an everlasting pZ^n the'n teron*"^'" "" wfi Ce £ ire iftT r ?--^: mine; as Reuben and s;l /^ *°1 °^ ^Sypt. are and Simeonlthey shall ^^1°''/. P ""* °^ ««"'>«° shall be thine" fGen 48 3 e" ' "'"'''''■'" tha?tti^,^htg\TaCs^eh°^is^^^^^^^^ people (Gen. 48- 19) ^anasseh is to be a great the'S^ofhrfetS tatt"'.*^"'^^ *"--«• at .«hers have sorely grieved him. and shot at him, and THE NATION WHICH OOZ, rOBMED FOB HIMSELF. 63 the mightvQ^oU^ohfi J^"^ V *e hands of the stone of Israel ^L™T 'V"<=« >« the Shepherd, the caretaker K .S^^h^^^t' ''''' >« t° «"»« thee^In" bt t^AS^hf '^'^'t^' ^"^^ ^^all help blessings ofVeavena&;i''° '•"'"."^ *»>«« '^"^ liethuSder.ble^fn^offLi T °^.*''« deep that The blessing of hf father h'""*'' '"><^,°f the ^omb. blessings of nv nro~nifn~ '"'^^Pe^a^'ed above the the eveKng^ w"^ th^v «h '^l K "*"'°!* '~"°d of Joseph, and of thoV^^.f of thih !, °?.^''" '^^'^ °^ are' 'fcrttrCfa^^e«'P^ri -'^^^^^ Jacob, and AbrahL [« htt 'flh™'''''";/^ »"<» wantvou to notice that ?L ^ ^°^^^- N"'^- 1 you o/ were m^e when a^ t!ff r""""" ^ ^"^^ '"^ It was four hundrTd 1,^ ^^ """■{:' ^«« "° "ation. actually came to KronranSn'r "^"^ '^'^ """o" by God to bring them forth ^^°'"« T "PP"'"**** them through th^e wildemSto fZ°L^T''- \'^^ promised land, anj here we finH . '^^.,^"^«« of the for them ; but these mndTfl! <=o"d,t.ons laid down by, and do not in anrwi affp.r./""' *'^*?" "^ ^"'^ were made to thefr for Jf.tf^* the promises which commands, precepte and lfw«- T*""'" «'"ditions. towards mAinsTx^^uV^ °^'^ ^ """y helps this world as s! t^^^^ '""=h as God desires to rufe them to ChrTst"" "' ""y*' * ^'hoolmaster to bring StiSrc'krd'!'teSouf 'dtt''?^ I^"-"^' become? They are brougFt Cm Elv^if °*n '5?'^ idolatrous, arm ; His power cIS^Tl ^ °°f,« outstretched RedSeadnr shod anTthi *" '^""^ 'hrongh the death of thTir enemies *""" P°^«^ """^ the ii i e* Twiarrr-FiTE years of Canadian urn. mn?Tnf r^'''"?^'' the wilderness, alternately sin- «,t it fWrK*JK^i?J""^ *^*'''' ^«^''«'- history as we §^V T J°u ^"^ *■>« different books of God's wofd We M»„±.l!^- "P'lEpl.raim often vexing e^h other Manasseh is jealous of Ephraim on aljount of the birthright ; Esau or Edom, as a people, are consfaintlv in spite of their disobedience and sin, we find Moses Sth and fnr .t"' "^^ ^"V**" "^^^P "«'' «°"S«th thrZ,\n^ f .. P'^-""" ^™''« I'^ight forth by the sun. and for the precious things put forth bv thi Sr'aTd''/'""'^ '^'-^ '''•°«« of^th^eandfntmUS tains and for the precious things of the lastinir hills bt^r irih ^ M**"*- ^'^■'''" °^ ''^ 'h«' dwelt in th^ bush . let the blessing come upon the head of Josenh and unon the top of the head^ him that was S-' •ted from his brethren. His glory is liklthe <^t ling of his bullock and his hoL ar^ like the htrns" ^^^p^thri-^eh^^Sa^ Now, please dear friends, note this wonderful bless- u^. or rather list of blessings. They are all temwrS They were never fulfilled to the house o jTeE wnicn uoc. ^ve to them as a possession, for He eave to them as the seed of Abraha^his land, " from^he '"""•"'"'"""»■> "MM FOB, „™.,, „ Euphrates rises in 1™"^"' ^unHril '^T' ^^^ of Jerusalem. The promised land th^ miles north Armenia, with Ararat rmfK '*"''■ therefore, takes in the south. The wLtern bounH °° ' '"^ ^^^^^^ °° text, were, on September 2nd isTs'' ^^''^ ■" '" "^^^ British. On that dateat n„» w ' *^'t^° °^«'' *» 'he (then Sir Herbert, or GeJr^? fc ^'l ?''*''"'°«' the whole power of thi^Khluf '^""j^e'ier) destroyed Trench at FLh,^a: gained for '.^'"li % l?'** "^ 'h« seen that he^^^^^ be " epa«£T ""^^^ "^^ f"'^- »nd would need social help ^"""^ ^'^ *'"'''«»'. Hetr°S. iLtic'e'?f"°Jul'^"'^S''K " ^"^ "« -^. his people; let his hln^ Judah, and bring him unto thou a Lip to him fro^ h^ '"*'''."°' ^"^ «» ! and b^ ^ We willCw Ck~t'"Jr°fTr" <^«"^ 33:7) those who would^eeD fhl ^ *>•« P^Mnwes made to down for them. ^ '''^ w-mmanja of God as laid ^:ni':zt ir. tr^iri'^r -"^ '=''""?-'^- • • • fruitfulland, "^Sr.^-.",^'"' ' ■.■■ ■ plenty of bread,' ' '""^^'""' *•*«•. «^fy. • . . success in «:ar' ' ^^\\ i ' nacle or church in your midst ' ' ' t "».«*»'»>•- with you . . •^"" i „„ T- „ ■ • • I will walk derfuf blessings, and ^^mlh'i^ "?"«'''•" Won- them (Lev. 26T3-13) ^^^ "* *°-*'y *» ^r 66 TWENTT-FIVE TEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. Christ corroborates this when He says- "Seek ve hrst the kingdom of God and his righte^usn^ ,^d all these things shall be added unto you " (MaH- 33? What things are here meant ? Focid, clothing etc as you wil see by the verses above the one quoted ' enc^'^ButTf "^"^ -f^ *?l Punishments rrtibedi- rna^i;-"-^SX^^r°-1 IwillWm;f^' "^ '^''y°'"'«««»'°^a'n- • . 1 will set my face against you: . . . ye shall h.^ slain before your enemies ; . thev f W l!«f y-.^'lj^ipoveryo.;; •. ] ; and^if'^y wt not then harken unto me I will punish you seven "TenTm'es"^"".^?'""" ' ' • Three ^t^oftW^ a^ mnrlT^H "'^ " '^^"^^ """^ ^^^ punishments 3^? ♦ *t ** "?""* '^''"® ^^^ «■»« till they Wng us ofThi, h \ Ti" °\ Jerusalem. And not^onT^orf of this has failed. Asa nation they enjoyed ne^e ?I:l-'T:i'^ ^?^ " ""'« ^hile. and Is aTatWh^y TrT hfsi^? •"!?' P»""'>'»«"t for sin. IndMduI see the same things going on ' n J!]**^]? ^'^'"" ^A' "^'^ •'^ ^'^■' aud 80 death passed ICil '"'°, ^'Ji: forefathers sinned, and bS upon themselves the evils of sickness. We inherit « whiTw ''''?i '^'^J^^- »"t Christ hBs come and live -^T™,'!?'^ •" '"''"• "1°"S'' »>« <>•«■ /«' shall he "touch fhf if •>'^/r^' """^ ^'«'«° h"" *«th but to AhJ^t^r^i! his garment" may k healed. over bv^udiT ? °^ **"'"' *''*^ P«°P'« ^«'« ""led over by judges for many years; then they wanted ar^nn§ tV ^^^'^'^ \"'^^' ^ ^^' "^"to tlfe Ttions Mound them. Samuel, tlie last of the judges, made Saul king, but he displeased God and died an ^! minious death, he and his three sous in onTd^ ^ ™E.™WHrCH00Z,.0KMB..0KH,MSK.K 67 thS?,roi5';^irhet;:;,^ ''•''■^- ;»« was he reigned over Judah seCvt« '^"i > ««b«i> and m Jerusalem he reS ^k?? ""'l*'* """tts; over all l8raelandJ„dTh^."'?2Jl™^""d three yea« them on from victory to vieto.^?' •^■;*'^>- «« 'ed most of the tim» A? Jr v j ^i.^"'' 't was warfare signed in his stead "a„S"thev*h 'i,^'"'"""' ^'o^^- peace and prosperity ^ ''^ '"^y years of nat^rfi'^ut.t'fS'^Lf *V ^'"^ history of this what God fo;meithat nS fn'^t?' ^ ^^^ 'hat ju t ■t to. He is going tS have ft An^^ " r°? 'o bnog it up iutendi^ tC itThoi/°dr hT'" V'^ able. He never said one th n„ j"* '^ nnchange- He will yet be glorified "n thi f """^ '"*'«* """ther. all their sin a^nd wIckedS' '^h'^^P'^' ''' ^P'^* °f -the organ. anJrhrn^^-rvirh^la'ntSnT w;^J^r&ur^re?d'^«-°'^-°<^'hehymn eve?i^r°'^' " '"^°* -<^> I trust, profitable CHAPTER VIII. A WEDDING THAT DID NOT COME OFF. "And the people asked him, aaying, What Hhall we do then ? " (Luke 3 : 10). " We know Ood'e mighty hand is leading. Leading all the journey through ; What are we his people doing 1 Are we working with him, too? " After the men had left on their first trip, Mrs. Mordant began to wonder what kind of work she could take up for the Master. She felt that in one sense 'she had not lately been doing anything speci- ally for Him — she had had so little leisure. But now her time was her own and must be used in some way for His glory ; and very soon a way wag offered to her. Mrs. Powell took two boarders, one a middle-aged man, who worked in the foundry, John Crouch by name ; the other a young lad about seventeen years old, who worked day work for Judge Scott. As I told you, they lived close to the Rectory, and I A WEDDING THAT DID NOT COME OPF. 69 were won on verv friendly terms with the rector and hm w.fe-twot,right Chrixtians, shining for Cs that Hm-'' T'lJ'""^ '?"«'' ^y^ 'n Brampton at that time. By the way, i* there any town without wT'inTh"e Old"^?""? ''""l^°'"« expe"-- with Doys m the Old Country, Mrs. Mordant told \fr M^dleton that with his permission she would crm a Bible-class for them. He laughed, saying, " HaveTou not got Archie Braseby with vou?" "»ve you "Yes! Why?" ^ sK ^°" V^'? u y°" ""^ '^**«'- b«gin with him » " "But I intend to make him my captain " she said her ntS or'd'''- ^' "°"i'' "^^^ dLe anythinTfor ner, night or day. He certainly kept the house livel v and many a scolding Mrs. Powell go fL Sg and xter f^f **r!*^''- ^'•""•''^ ^ostunmeXly fhe poor fellow had a small lump on the top of his pllgi^r^tTcal^KT;^^ heartea in the extreme, and nofcdy could beTbet^r nurse in times of sickness. ^ "^"^ After the Bible-class was formpd M™ \r^ i i knrtttifXrJ^^S'r''""^"^''-^^^^^^^^ lowlit t1»! * " i'*^""'^ "•« °*hers would fol- t^wn K * ^^ '^"^ " "^"^^^ °^ *he toughest boys in boiWr^l'^K*^* fi°^°«^- Sometimes he got a little 70 TWlNTY-riVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. For each lesson correctly said and for early attend- ance they got one small ticket (three in the evening). They could exchange twelve small tickets for one larger, then four of the larger ones could be ex- changed for either a New lestament, prayer-book or hymn-book ; or six large tickets would get them a Bible. She also taught in the Sunday-school, besides doing a good deal of visiting amongst the very poor. She said to Mr. Middleton one day, "Visiting amongst the poor in Canada is not at all like it is in England. Jack's as good as his master here, and it requires some tact to avoid hurting their feelings." _ She was greatly amused on one occasion by a little girl about eight or nine years of age who called on her one Sunday morning. She was very dirty and very ragged, and this was the conversation that passed between them : " Please will you give ma some sweet milk ? " " Give your ma sweet milk ? Who is your ma ? " "She's Mrs. John Weston." " And where does she live ? " " Down by the mill." " Oh ! in that frame house right in the hollow ? " " Yes, ma'am." " Well, I was there last night. Did you not tell people yesterday that your ma was ill ? " " Yes, ma'am. So she was." " But you said she could not get up." " No, she couldn't; but last night she had to, 'cause we had nothing to eat." " Where wac ihe then when I called ? " " Gone to the shop to buy things tor to-day." "What did she buy, and what have you got for dinner to-day ? " " We've got " (in quite a lively tone) " boiled mutton and turnips, taters and apple pie." A WIDDINO THAT DID NOT COME OFF. 71 " You've jjot all that and yet you come out on Sun- day morning with dirty face and hands and raeged clothes to ask for milk ? " ** " Well, ma cant drink that water, and she ain't to dnnk no more tea, and she wished she had a drink o' milk, and I run up here to get her a drink." "If I give you some milk will you go "home and wash your hands and face ? " " Yes." " Very well, then, you tell your ma that I shall call and see her to-morrow." On Monday morning Mrs. Mordant found the child 8 mother at home, a forlorn-looking woman, apparently half-dead with consumption The child was right ; she had been in bed for several days and on Saturday was not able to get up durinir the day; but in the evening, when her husband took home a little money, she, knowing that she could make itp further by spending it herself than by sending for things, got up, and lor twenty-five cente she bought bread, tea, a bit of neck of mutton a turnip and a few poUtoes. The pie was made from a bit of dripping and a few apples that had been given to her by a neighbor. * In the course of conversation she said, " I was sorry my little giri troubled you on Sunday morning She ran off without telling me where she was ^ing to i.\„ T '"'!'* ^°' " ^""^ °f •n»k, and it s^ems she knew where to get it. I did enjoy it so much ; it was very kind of you to send it." Her case was laid before the ladies of the church she lived"'" ^"^ '" " ^y^*^"""^^ ^'^y «« long as' .y,^?\^^°'f'"^^- "'V^ ''*'■ constantly, and at last she fell asleep in Jesus. The grass hVs grown over her grave now for more than twenty yeara. 78 TWSNTY-nVE YBABS OF CANADIAN LIKE. The boys of that Bible-clans are scattered, and it u not known whetlier any of them received a special benefit or not. Mrs. Mordant says, "The Word was there, and since it cannot return void, it must have accomplished that whereunto it was sent." I wonder if it would be possible to belong for any length of time to a church without some trouble in the choir. It seems to be quite the fashion these days to get at loggerheads with the parson. Of course we had to have our turn at St George's. The members of the choir thought they would like to turn to the east' while repeating the creed as it seemed to have become the fashion in some of the city churches. "Will you turn, your reverence ?" asked Mr. A., an insh gentleman. "No 1 I will not, I'm quite satisfied to sUnd as I do. "Well, yon won't object to the members of the choir turning, will you ? " " I won't Object if nobody else does " AcTOrdingly, on the following Sunday the choir turned nicely to the east while repeating the creed and turned as nicely back again. ' However, there were those who objected, and to give Mr. Middleton his due he tried to overrule those objec- tions, and in some cases he did overrule them ; but one very old lady, who had gone to church there since It was first built, although she could give no definite reason for objecting, object she did, and begged that no change such as that might take place while she hved, " which won't be very long now, you know Mr Middleton, she said, "and it hurts me to see them all turn their backs that-a-way." "Do you mind it so very much ? " he said. " The choir seems to think it is right to turn to the east, and A WEDDJNO THAT DID KW COME OFF. 78 XKhSthS"%tfr''"'%^ "" 'f "^ heart, are rigni with Uod. But she could not be perauaded und tein"::hut"*«^ "'• *'"'''"'^" -uiC^Ks He spoke to the choir on the night of the weeklv practice, telling them that it must ^ot te a« he woSiS n.em"hf«n?lh'^ the organist told the rector that the T^uZ " "^T. ^'^ "°' ">'"'' it right that they should be overruled by just two or three of the Zt gregation, and that they purposed turn.Wt^ ^k' east as they had done th^sLCbefo"*' thJ 'Tf"??^ **• K^"" "><■ he said, "but wilful is %„ i, /°'''~*''?y •°"'" '"•'« ">eir own way " finish J *K*^ morning, as soon as the chant was flmshed, there was just hesitation enough to giveTh^ choir time to turn, when the rector Ld •' Let „! He «H^..*^^ were angry, and told him^o. c«S M'hvZ"'^'^^^^ '*' ^°'. y°» '^ '«P~' that creea, led bv me, at the same time that you were doing sometLng in open defiance of my Uh wouU ha e been committing „ grievous ern,r,lnd to Si have ™ °° f ""'^ ,?"*• K^^tl^men. I am sure you will ^reS.rg^I^inP:?.''*^"-"'- ''> ^— et^^^oS the°el!i'er ''■-ShSl^^T 'TJ°« ** ^««*'y- »•« -"ked " vT '' B '^^ ••*''*' "*« "«« CHAPTER IX. WHENCE COMES THIS WOXDROUS KMl'IRE WHICH IS TO WIN THE WORLD FOP (iOD. \ " Fear not : for I am with thee : 1 will bring thy need Iroi j the es»t, and gather thee from the west ; I will say to the uo.th. Give up ; and to the south, Keep not back ; bring my sons from far, and my daughtere from the ends of the earth " (Isa. 43 : 5, 6). " Whence this company of nations. Foremost in the march to glory ; Through the storm, the fire, the waters, They have come a Cfm<|Uering army. Lost awhile, through nations sifted. All thingB gone before ; Till, in western isles replanted, Thence to move no more.'' Good evening, dear friends. Once more I have the privilege of reading you something from God's word. My subject to-night is : " Whence comes this wondrous empire whic.i is to win the world for God ?" As I said, the promises God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were unconditional, as were also the blessings pronounced ou the house of Joseph by Jacob 78 WHENCE COMES THIS WONDBOUS EMPIRE. 79 wlor' "' ""'" '"''^^ "^^ '^'"''y ^''-p"-' I also said that for their sins and wicked idolatrv I.Z .. h/J^ , ■ "'^ promises are sure. He chano-PH low ^r^Siet: tLierSSd-'enT''^ ^"'^'^ f"'" ^rirn^'"^''^ ;~"^a:s^and..re 80 TWINTY-PIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. will not cast them away, but I will for their sakes remember ray covenant which I made with Abraham, Isaae and Jacob, and I will remember the land" (Lev. 26 : 40-42). I must take you back a little to the time of David His history is a remarkable one. He studied the in- terests of religion, which had been greatly neglected • he gamed many victories for God's people, yet he made some very grievous mistakes; but he was always humble and penitent afterwards, and took his punishments so patiently that to us he must ever be a great example. In his gratitude and love for God he conceived the Idea of building a temple for divine worship, but this could not be— he had been a man of blood. He was permitted to procure the material for it but Solomon, his son, was to build it. I think we may gather from the history, as we read the seventh chapter of the Second Book of Samuel, that David was disappointed ; also, that God knew this, and in His sympathy with him gave the gracious promise we have here recorded : " I made thee ruler over my people Israel, and I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have made thee a great name." " Moreover " (mark that word), "above all that I have done I will do more." " Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more ; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more as beforetime. . . . Also, the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. . . . Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee ; thy throne shall be established forever " (2 Sam WHENCK COMES THIS WOKDBOUS EMPIRE. 81 Datid tntrg GoSr tS^ -- «=^''P'- we find this could iJdiytteL"'" "^'^ '"'"* """^ disobedient Israpl ^T^a , *^°°wing how wilfully privileg:°oVSi„7'a^'us^fo/o'c:,"' ^ brought^^:tt7f'"£r„,''^''',"' f = «'= "Tho" hast God tould do once aeluF, . ^Y^^ '*" ^^at He did so do when He led h1 '"'."'^ '^° "^'"^ »"d planted them there ' P'°P'* -nto Britain and "And move no mnrn " ti,- Would it have b^en True if Pi*" '''^'^ '^^^'''^^■ placeappointed? Certa"nltnor w"f,H '*^° *•>« yeara lom the time of fUn S ^'V"° '^ thousand ject to three removals ^tT? T^ Israel was sub- 2ud. The Babylonian J:^tivfe ^irTlPt"'*^" Capt.vuy. What a mistaL tt wo'4lt Sld'^rv: 82 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN UFE. *°uH.'^i.*^*y°°'y''PP''*^ *" Canwin. The land to which they were appointed was also to be exempt from invasion. " Neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more as beforetime." We know that the children of wickedness did very much afflict them after the days of David— Assyria Babylon, Egypt imd Rome. It must be, therefore that some second land is here spoken of. If* "8 l«>k back for a few minutes. The promises of the Land of Canaan, and many others, were made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but to Jacob was an additional promise, " Thou shalt spread abroad to the east, to the west, to the north and to the south • " and he doubtless refers to this when he tells his son Joseph that he is like a "fruitful bough whose branches run over the wall," and he bequeaths to him the " blessings of the everlasting hills." I shall speak again of where this appointed place 18 to be foun.l. First, we will see further what these children go on to do: David 18 gathered to his fathers; Solomon, his son reigns in his stead a peaceful reign of forty years and the children of Israel are at rest. But— alas, that we should have to write it— Solomon turned away from God m his old age. " And the Lord was angry with Solomon, • ■ • saying, " I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant " (1 Kings 11:11). Yon must read for yourself these three chapters in the First Book of Kings, 11, 12 and 13, as I can only pve you texts to bring out the fact that God divided the kingdom. " Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom ; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen " (Verse 1,3). " The people answered the king, saying. What por- .. WHENCE COMES THIS WONDROUS EMPIRE. 83 them ■' (Verses J^ "^y^^^h, Rehoboam re.gned over this d°ay ■Tve'^i'S "'^""^'"'^ ''°"««°^ ^^-'^^ ""^o three of^horrr: 'foSe« ^f S'^T^^" ''"'^- ^'^ kinS^airfj!." ^""'^'' "*" '' '« called/had twenty-one rfchl, d.„rv, ' ™*'" "■• P»""km«t Ihey „ 84 TWENTY-FIVE YEAKS OF CANADIAN LIFE. "That they might there keep the statutes, which they never kept in their own land." .... " And they came to Arsareth." . . ,J'I^^'\.'^'"^}*' ^-^^y ""^'e until the latter time " (bsdras 14 : iC 46). nal^^'^°'*t'''"' "? " 8°°'' •^"'^ «''»"' « people called Scythia,, l^e says that they crossed t'he Araxes and cm. ,o the land of the Cimmerians, on etr°650 Bc' '* *''*"'' ***" ''"*'" ^"^ *^"* *''« The Median revolution against the supremacy of iT«?n"n*?. '^'*^°"^'? «"eees8ful shortly before the year 6.oO B.C.. an opportunity which Israel doubtless seized to escape in the manner described by Esdras • and since his account and the account of Herodotus are identical in the starting point, destination and date, th.re should be no difficulty in connecting the Scythians with the Israelites. It would take too long for me to tell you all the little things that history attbrds, to those who are careful seekers, as circumstantial evidence It IS, however, quite easy to trace them, first from tsamaria to the river Gozan ; then from the Araxes to the Sereth ; then from the Dnieper to the Elbe and the Danish Straits, then across the German Ocean into Britain. It is also a matter of history that they were called Pirates and later history tells us that the Normans came trom a people who were called Pirates We inust remember that pirates in those days were not .)U8t what we should call pirates in our later times 1 imagine it was land they were after. Howtever, be that as it may, having traced them to the shores of the Black Sea and Germany I came across a history of England, a very old one, indeed and I found that after Rome had held possession of J " WHEKCI COMES THIS WONDROUS EMPIBE. 85 through the'^lentrth and b^J?h the purpose, went PiftTaft^ttrni^^^^^^^^^^^ ?"r'- "«■ the forn. .f a eUer r^h« I, ii ^PP*? ' '''''«''' "-os i° " '^"rpf""""' ™«'CE Consul : naSnSSeraUlaS:^ tht ''^'P ^?'" "^ to the rescue, and verv s^n f h ,*^ ''•""'' ** °"=« sion Other^ came'X Xm ^d b': ^T "^ P°^«" nearly all South Britain S f ^i.^ ''??''^^* K°* full Session of that thifh t *•"'"■ '='''«f» ^'^^ soon ^se seven diffe^nrSnl '^"''^"^'•^d; There the Saxon Heptarchy It w^f ;K'°."i?'.°"'y '=''"«J to be called, fConeof tK^rh^"i"'",^''««n and from thence E^and '"'^''' ^ngleland, who are called, i^rr Wi Ha, h! r ^"'•""'"dy, and queers of Bri a n ' Bu 1"". « ^ '"'"'^''' '''* '=™- Banner said latelv " VVh! ? "'"' '^'''*«" '» the they were "ot ouTenemTes bu 'T„ 'T't'' ^"f^*"'^ none other than the tribe of BeniZn ■ F '°' . '"« It seems to me. England was 3" u '^''°™' begin in fo^e her wWorGV:^^: Em^t""''' " 86 TWINTY-nVE VIARS OF CANADIAN LIFI. History repeats itself. Jacob was ciiosen of God ; but m eonsequence of liifi own wrong-doing lie beoame a wanderer, and for a long time did not dare to return fearing hia brother's anger. His sons gave him a great deal of trouble, and Joseph, whom he dearly loved, WHS hated by his brethren and sold into Egypt M a slave. His father was made to believe him dead. Still more trouble comes to him. There is famine in the land ; no com except they go to Egypt for it ■ they go, and vou know the story. They find their brother there before them ; not only so, but he holds a high position in the land ; he is able to supply all their need ; sends for ths whole family, and sets apart a place for them in which to dwell. Now, remember the land of Canaan was theirs, given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for an everlasting possession, yet the whole family— seventy souls— go down into Egypt leaving others in possession. lif?"*;.?''"'* '»PP«°s ? They are contented for a little while, till a king arises who knows not Joseph Ihen persecution begins; they are hated and abused in every conceivable way, and the king is determined to put an end to them; but the more he tries the more they prosper. Four hundred years passed by, and God heard their ?^" ttT*'?.** ^^'^ ^o"^* *''ow us that even there God had His little flock looking and praying for redemp- tion, though, doubtless, many of them worshipped the gods of the Egyptians. But, as I said. He heard their cry and sent tioin a Saviour. All at once the niitions hear of a great people cross- ing the Red Sea, and later, that the same people are about to invade Canaan, which they do, taking posses- sion of that which is their own ; promised to their forefathers in the years gone by. Moses was reared in such a way as to be able to teach them the art of WHENCI COMES THIS WONDROUS EMWRE. 87 war; he wu led into the bush th»t h« might be able to cope w.th the difficulties of the wildfrnew. In S^i tf."" TilT^*' 9?*' ''°"'J have him be ; able .^.tit l^^ff f?°^ ^*' ••"" !^ ^"^ ^"""^ Script"" IS silent about them or nearly so, after the death of Jacob until the birth of MoBes. Now, what God did once he could do airain, and He led her by a way she knew not : He Buided her steps in the right d/rection, and led ' her near to the place He had appointed for her-the place He had promised David she should have. IniUvL'^''' ''j«,^""">» P've that little island up? Just because God wanted Tf for His own people, and fr^J^Tu^"'" "'"y \«'«- Thus the refusal of aid from the Romans, and the great need of the Britons brought about that which had been promised so many hundred years before. ' Pnm«*fi'^K*''*^-''"^."'P*°P'^ ^«'« Israel did not S th.t 1°1'T «' "^ once, remember; and the i^ * J lY* Anglo-Saxons are Israel will not be accepted all at once either. But the time will come r«lL ^^'n*7;*'°° °l *•■« ^^r '»°«'' will be re- vealed, and Britain, as Israel, will stand upon their fc^t'h."^'^!.^ ""^l' '*'*"■ '"''■"e J«<''''» by the hand, togetW they will go to take possession of their Micxocorr aisoiuTiON tbi chait (ANSI ond ISO TEST CHABT No. 2| m^ii. A APPLIED IfVMGE Inc ^=^ 1653 East Mo." Street S",^ Rochester, Htm York U609 USA r.^S (716) *62 - 0300 - Phone — (716) 286 - 5989 - Fax CHAPTER X. J!! THE MOSDANXS GO TO ORASGEVILLE. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most Hijjh shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty " (Ps. 91 : 1). " Sow ill the mom thy seed. At eve hold not thine hand ; To doubt and fear give thou no heed, Broadcast it over the land." We must pass on now to the return of our men who had gone out witli the surveyors. You may be sure it was a time of great rejoicing, and many friendly gatherings were a result. The winter passed pleasantly, and when the spring opened out the two boys joined the expedition for another year, the elder men deciding to stay at home. Early in June Mr. Mordant and Mr. Powell went into the country for a few weeks, when a sad acci- dent occurred. While using a saw, Mr. Powell got his fingers in the way, and three of them were taken oflE He suflfered a good deal, and Annie, who was quite ill at the time, was troubled at not being able THE MORDANTS OO TO ORANOEVILLE. 89 to wait on him as she wished to do. However, as all things come to an end, so it was in their case. His fingers healed, Annie was better, and they were alje to face the winter quite cheerfully by the time that season made its appearance, and we were looking forward to another return of our boys. I remember that when they came we had a very enjoyable time, for, boy-hke, they made things lively : so with fun at home and abroad, Christmas, with all its joys, once more passed by. I may mention a fact here which is pleasing to me to be able to call to mind, showing what an act of brotherly kindness will sometimes effect. One of Mrs. Powell's boarders was a young man whom we will call George. He was the son of a iMeth- odist minister, handsome and gentlemanly, but in the habit of sometimes getting, as we say in Canada, on the spree. He never went home when he was the worse of drink, so that when he did not go home this very fact told its own tale. He was invited, with the Powells, to spend Christ- mas day at the Mordants, and acceptecl the invita- tion ; but the night before Christman eve he did not go home, and they could hear no tidings of him. On Christmas eve the Mordants, who had been spending a few hours with friends at quite the other end of the town, were going home about midnight when they saw a man very unceremoniously thrust out at the side door of an hotel. They were on the other side of the road, but were able to see that he was very drunk. As they were watching him they saw him either fall or lie down. As they were not far from home, Mr. Mordant took his wife to the door, then hastened back, for he knew that it was too cold for him to be left there all night. 90 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OP CANADIAN LIFE. He soon reached him, and when he got him on to his feet was surprised to find that it was George. He took him to the house from which he had seen him ejected and insisted on them giving him a room, he himself helping him to bed, and bathing his face for his nose had been bleeding profusely Tnd he was a sorry-looking object. r j « The landlord promised that he would look after him and not let him away in the morning until Mr Mordant arrived. He went about eight o'clock and helped him to dress, then took him. very much against his will, home to breakfast. Mra Mordant made h=-. some strong coffee, then coaxed him to he down . J by peraeverance and t««t they got him to be quite himself by the evening when he became the life of the party, and as far as I know that was his last spree, fie has been for some years now a guard on the Grand Trunk Railway which means that he is a sober man Mr. Mordant was not feeling very well, and about the middle of January became seriously ill, and very soon the problem as to how to live came to the front • he was unable to work, consequently nothing was coming in. ^ j b •" One day Mrs. Mordant looked into her purse and found m it only ten cents-the last. She went to her work-box and taking out a skein of white wool and a crochet hook, she therewith made two very pretty pairs of infants' bootees. Lizzie Malum took them out and sold one pair to Mrs. Sypes (I wish she may see this and read it), and the other pair to Mrs Bos- corn. This led to her making about twenty other pairs ; and, strange to say, she was asked to stand as godmother to the first two little ones— Flora Sypes and Alice Boscom. She did so. and became well acquainted with both families. Mr. and Mrs THE MORDANTS 00 TO ORANOEVILLE. 91 Boscom are dead and she l,a« not heard anything of the other famdy for many yearn ^ „n.f '°"'f u^^-^ ^y/ '■"'« '"-'■"« "« t° the ancient custom ot having godparents, and why they had to be c..osen outside of their own family.' Many people think It a foolish custom, and wonder why.it' thev must have godparent., they do not take the father and mother of the child. They say, surely these are the responsible parties and most suitable All this IS very true as fur as the need fo.- them goes in this our tiiiie of peace, but when the custom was instituted things were very different, and the tormer plan was a wise precaution r^i, u^'P remember that in the days of t.ie e. V Church there was much persecution. At on.; time a heathen Emperor, perhaps the nex^ a Christian; then that which .s worse than heal .,. a professing Chnstian but denying the divinity Christ, thus making the Church a very insecure resting-place humanly speaking. ^ '^ ' Now, when a baby was born it was christened as soon as passible. A godmother and two godfathers were selected for a boy, while a godfather and two godmothers were selected for a giri. They were chosen trom tnends living some distance away ; and aeain each one must live some distance apart. Now please' try to imagine your-self in some home back in those' days, where there are troublous times. Anyone known to have become a Christian is hunted to the death ■ their meetings have to be very secret. As you doubt- less know, they were sometimes held in the Catacombs ot Kome, and sometimes in dens of the forest, at others in rooms which were padded so that the sound could not get forth. It was thus, dear friends, the early Chur<* had to worship her God and Saviour No time then for card-parties and picnics and such things ■ 92 TWENTr-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. not that I would say that these thinffs in themselves lire wrong, but in our day tliey so often come first. A card-party comes before a prayer- meeting, and a picnic must be attended though some duties have to go unperformed in consequence. But we were to imagine ourselves in the home of one of those early Christian families. They are gathered together in one room— the man, his wife, his aged father, and two children. What is he saying? Listen! " I am afraid I am detected, Lucinda." You gather from their conversation that they are making secret arrangements for sending their children away to two of their respective godparents. True to the responsi- bility which they have taken upon themselves, they are willing to receive these children. Then, should the time come when they themselves are called to the stake, they in turn will send them on secretly to the other godparents, thus making it possible to raise these little ones for the Lord ; no e.isy matter in those days, for young and old were often burned at the stake, or tossed to the wild beasts to be to'n to pieces. In spite of this our martyrs' blood became the seed of the Church. Our baptismal service was a reality in those days. Parents gave their little ones to God, fully believing that they became members of Christ, children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom. Have I made it plain, that godparents were in those days a necessity and the giving of our children to God a reality. I know it is not so now. Too often, when a child is to be christened, its godparents are chosen from those who can bring the most honor or give the largest presents. Parties are given— Sunday, though it be ; laughing and jesting, and sometimes drinking, goes on. The fact that they have been performing a THE MORDANTS fJO TO ORANOEVI .LE. 93 solemn ceremony never once occurs to them. Even the mother thmks only of how sweet she can make her baby look. We hear sometimes of a mother getting a min- ister to go to the house. She has five or six little ones to be christened, and she ay as well have them all done at once and it will . over; as if it were measles, whoop-ng-cough, . vaccination she was speaking about. She is asked, " Where is the father ? " " Oh, he's at work ; he won't have anything to do with it. I would have had them all done when they were little if he would have gone with me, but he would not ; so I thought I had better get you to come and do it " Dear reader, this is no fancy sketch, it is one of many such cases. Where is the faith ? Where is the prayer ? and liow are such parents to teach the little ones things to which they themselves are strangera ? I am personally acquainted with a man who says he belongs to the Ohurch of England. It is a well-known fact that as soon as hi.s children were a month old he went to church and stood for them at their baptism. When they were twelve or fourteen he insisted on them being confirmed, and he always went to church on those occasions. Thus he brought up seven boys and girls. The early part of this time their home was one ot poverty and misery. He never entered a church except on such occasions as mentioned above, and for many years his wife could only go when he was so stupid from drink that he would not know it yet he insisted on the children going to Sunday School. It was at the time of confirmation that I first got into conversation with him, and it came about by my going to speak about his fourth child, a son who wm to be at that time confirmed. 94 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. I' How are such coses as this to be accounted for > The man is oM now and still a drunkard ; the only difference is that wherea>i he at one time was master of his children, they are now masters of him, and his wife gets liberty and pcoce. I am j{lod to be able to say that she is a good Christian woman. The boys, however, do not go to church, but perhaps in God's good time a mother's prayers may prevail. Nay : should I not say they inttHt prevail. Dear reader, pardon this long digression, and we will return to Mrs. Mordant, who, from making bootees, began to make other little things for sale and to take in ladies' sewing By this she was able to keep the house nicely while her liusband was ill. I think it was in the year 18(>8, when the town of Orangeville came to the front as a smart business place, that Mrs. Mordant was asked if she would like to go there and open a branch store for a gentleman, whom we will call Mr. Green. After some consideration she agreed to do so, which agreement she carried out as soon as arrangements could be made. Mr. Green put in a good .stock for her, and she soon worked up a nice little business and was very happy in her work. Mr. Mordant's health was still uncertain. There were times, however, when he was able to run the sewing-machine, which he did very nicely, and they made all kinds of baby clothes, ladies' wrappers, etc. Mr. Powell sold his house soon after this and went to Orangeville to live, so the two sisters were not long separated. Mrs. Mordant's little girl was about eighteen months old, and was almost as often with aunt Annie as she was with her mother. THE MORDANTS Qo TO ORANOEVILLE. 96 n„I'}!.*^r"'""*" '^''° ^"^ ^"^n superintendent forii number of yea™, and who was ve^ aged Zke of res.Kn.ngh,'; position; but rather tLXa Xdd ^S- mT irTf f''?* ""' *'«"''^' •-■« •" - sistant. Mrs. Mordant beinif asked if shn «r.i,M undertake the duty, she accepted the Vition Indl beheve, carried out her work' very faithfully ' ^' ^ Stat nT ?h- ""^ ' u " ''\'''y •*"•'>' condition : "which state of things must bo altered," said Mrs. Mordnn when talking to her rector one day ^lordant, no"'^r«"s coppers .»" she ;; They all go together into the church funds." Who buys thelKwks and papers, then ? " 1 he churchwardens." u,nlu'°"''* /°" "^J*"* '° o""- becoming independent workers and separating the funds?" ^ '""'P^Ment how'^t Wout work ■- °''"' *° '*' "'""^•^ I '^-'t "^"ow cie:„''^'l;o:ir«S"' *-'* '•"^'•^ ^- --' "-^ -^ beg fconS^tr ^.'^'''"' ^'''•^'•' ""'^ -^-'^ «■* - *« There were thirteen classes, six of boys and sev^n Mr Elt'""'' 'h' ^^''^fo--' which waSed *" d..nf f u r°^ '"^'^ "^'^'^ '*>« school ; Mrs Mor- dant took charge of class-books and visitint Mr Henderson, the rector, took charge of the 1 & e.eSg^ofrsS!K.^r^^ '^^ ^ ^^^''^^ ^^e 96 TWENTV-nvE TEARS OK CANADIAN LIFE. \t: " Yes," he said ; " but want will be your master, I expect." " No, sir ; I hope to have a clean school-room by next Sunday, and a banner for every class." " I hope you get it, that's all 7 " "There are seven gentlemen teachci-s, and seven Indy teachers ; surely seven men can whitewash that room in one day, end seven women, I am sure, can scrub it. I propose, therefore, that each gentleman will on Thursday next go himself or send a substitute." " All right. If the others agree to that, I will." " Then, to make my work lighter, and to save me from having to go jtwice over the same ground, if you do not hear from me again you will be promptly on hand at eight o'clock, Thursday morning. ' To this he agreed. " Now," she said, " I want to know what color you would like to have for a banner ? " " A banner ? Who's going to pay for the banners ? " " Oh, each one will pay his share ; I shall get the work done, so they will not cost very much." " Well, if I have one, it will be Rcarlet and gold." " Then, please give me now " (he kept a dry-goods store) " one yard of merino, one of lining, a spool of thread, and ten cents, and I won't ask any more for your banner. You shall have it all made up and ready, so give me your text now that you would like to have on it." She next went to the first class lady teacher. After putting the plan before her she asked her to go to the school-room on Friday to help scrub and clean, or to send a substitute. She agreed to the latter, and also undertook to work the two banners on the scarlet merino, one for Mr. I., the other for a younger teacher who was not in a position to pay for one ; she was to see him and let him choose his own text. Thus she THE MORDANTS OO TO (.RANOEVILI.E. 97 vent to oBcli teacher, »«,' on 'riiiir«)»v ...n™; paiuhim The kdy toac.rs, who did not care to scrub, sent a wonmn and pai.l her. The younXi!^ dH ^h""^""' '"'P^'^ ^'"' ^''0 bannerH^flr Kant did the stamping, and Mrs. Mordant made them un no one refuned to have them. Thus a days wo^k' Chi.'''' -I'ool-room really repaid then, for She next undertook to have the school solf-snpport- mg^and she had the pleasure whil, she was Ke Z^l ^, '"'•![' °f «««'%' the Sun.lay School present davs in OrJnr' .^°'^''"* P»''«'<1 some very happy thing very plain here, and it is this f (,« R'ki j? 7 08 TWENTY-FIVE YEARH OF CANADIAN LIFE. 1| ' i She by no meaoH wiitlieN it to Iw underatow) that her troables were Hent to her hm puniNhment for Nin, because the fact of her gninj; into that debt waH not on her part deliberate sin ; shv never meant to disobey Qod — she even thouj^lit at the time that Ood had placed the opportunity in her way, and so she took it. Now, looking back honestly intothe post, she knows that she did follow her own deHires and wishes. It was not, therefore, deliberate sin, 'ntt carelessness in not seekin); to be sure that she was rijfht. The results following, then, are not to b).«.'.■ ,>.„. • ■ mer, tl.eir onttitain.nc ,tl?t ho W f""" '" """'■ well «« on other occa" bn« '" * ''"'""""' ^'"»"' - they gave the puhhc « chance toV^ the C teachers who went H.^LTit ^.. i* ^u""*?''''' who had opZed thpir^ •""'" ^^ «°"« '" those Nineteen years la^i '«r, in 1898, she went back to 100 TWENTV-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. Orangeville to spend a few weeks. Here is an account of her visit, in her own words : ' It is astonishing how familiar every place ap- peared! The walk from the station to the town seemed to be in no way altered. Everybody knew me, I had changed so little. Not so with them, however ; the babies I left were clerks, bankers, and grown up young ladies — in two instances wives and mothers. The children of the Sunday School and its teachers were either married or away. The clergyman and his wife were still there, and their greeting was most kindly. Nineteen years had somewhat streaked the hair with grey, but there was no other change per- ceptible. Their three little ones had grown up. The boy was a young bank clerk, the eldest girl her father's right hand and her mother's help, bright and beautiful ; the youngest, clever, full of fun and spoiled by all. I can never forget their kindness to me at all times. I treasure still the books presented to me by him from the Sunday School when I left, and the beautiful address he himself wrote. I do not know just how long he has been there, but I think it must be about forty years. How very few make so long a stay in one place. He wrote me a letter at my hus- band s death which was full of kindness and Chris- tian love." Three rather important events took place while they were in Orangeville, which I had almost for- gotten to mention. One was the birth of a baby boy to Mrs. Powell. I hardly know which was the more proud of him, his mother or his aunt Mary, who put on him his first little clothes. They named him Harry when he was a month old. He is now at the military school in London, Ontario, and has been to the Klondike and back with a regi- ment sent out to Fort Selkirk for two years. ;. THE MORDANTS GO TO ORANGEVILLE. 101 Plit!l?*''^K?'?*.*''^°* **« tlie marriage of Harrv TlZ'-J'^^'^^J'" ^"« •" ^'™- Mo^rdanfs charge ill Tu^T""^ *•"« """« that Mrs. Mordant was so .11. and she found Harry's wife a gentMender^u™" Whde he was away on this trip he hid chaiw o?!' bmt on board of which was Lorland Lady Sfffel H« was the only white man on board except them l^dy DufFerin entered into conversation with h m make his S?J\'*i^ "1^''« much, dorbtless X' had lef'Zh?i^d.'^"* '""'''' "'"' "'^ y-^g -'f« he Ales Anlr/- ' i5 '^"^^ °^ ^"^ *»>« marriage of rj^ »».-?j ^' i ''* ""' °°' hve very long. She had widow.''and°;tra^^r'' ' ^"^ "'»«» she^as left a vearikter ' H K^^ ^ ^y- ^'^^ "'^^^ again a few CHAPTER XI. A TRUE LIKENESS. " I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an ever- lasting covenant with them " (Isa. 61 : 8). " Blind unbelief is sure to err, And scan His work in vain ; God is His own interpreter. And He will make it plain." Once more we gathered round the table, and after pleasant greetings from our friends, I began to read : My paper to-night is about " A true likeness." I hope I made it plain to you that Israel was to be found in the latter days a literal people. How shall we identify them ? The Jews are in a disorganized condition, without king or government, yet we must look for a nation. "Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar ; the Lord of Hosts is His name. If these ordinances depart from before 102 A TRUE LIKENESS. 103 me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shell cease from being a nation before me forever. " If heaven above can be measured, and the foun- dations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord " (Jer. 31 : 35 to 37). The question is often asked : Where is Israel ? and the answers vary. They are scattered and cast out for their sins, and that's the end of them, says the scoffer and unbeliever. God cast them out as a righteous and final judg- ment on them, says the careless Scripture reader. God has cast them out and chosen us instead, says the Christian. And yet the Bible, which the scoffer derides, and the Christian so highly prizes, is brimming over with promises of God's love and care for them. " Thou art my servant, O Israel, I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away " (Isa. 11 : 8-9). From the moment thej' turned their faces toward the land of their captivity the voices of the prophets rang out, " Turn, O backsliding children, for 1 am married unto you " (Jer. 3 : 14). "I will betroth thee to ni' forever in righteousness and faithfulness " (Hos. 2 : 19-20). Now, knowing the Jews as we know them, it would be impossible to understand these beautiful texts and read them aright without the knowledge of the one great fact I have tried to put before you, namely, the dividing of the kingdom ; and I shall try to show you that God kept His word. There has always been a nation since the day God formed it. Now, let us look for our likeness. Israel was to be as the " sand on the sea shore " for multitude, and " as the stars of heaven " (Gen. 22 : 17). " liCt them grow into a multitude in the midst of 104 TBTENTT-FIVE YBARS OF CANADIAN LIFB. "They of Ephraim «hall be like a mighty man" ... I will hiss for them, and gather them ; for I have redeemed them; and they ^shall increase ^ thejr have increased " (Zech. 10 • 7 8) foref^^^pX^""""' "'■' multiplying faster than any In the iirb„ chapter of Hosea we read: "I will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel" Ocid^'ve™. 9)°* ""^ P'°P''' """^ ^ ^'" "«* '«y°<"- f Jllf^^^^V".*" "^pW^ity. and the kingdom ceased kinfo^f Judah'^"^^ ^"' '^'"^'"'^■•- ^-^^ -- «t^» " -.'iJ^' *^^ Tr?"^"" °^ ^^^ ^'i^'Mten of Israel shall be tf'e sand of the sea, which cannot be measured bot S f ?h! -f 'kTk"*"* "ntothem. VVare not my peo! oK![:inVS >(vr isr ''^'"' '''' "*" *'' ^°^ we^re^-fch^ntf S.-^^Tof^S ^' °'^^^' *"^' InlTLilK ^T,;, '"^^^^ '•"'" '•>« Children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together and appoint themselves one head, and they shalfcome up out of the land: for great shall be'^the daHf Jezreel" (The seed of God). ^ In^t^'T^n ^ '■ ]f '"^.t '■ ': ^" ^^'^^ <^»y« the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shal come together out of the land of the north to ytSet'"' "^"^^ ^^^" '- - inheritance unto h,J!5^'*^* *T ""^"^^ '^"°**'** *■■« y«' to be fulfilled ; but do we not see signs ? Are not the Jews walking A TRUE LIKENESS. 105 ^It"^^ ^ *''5 ^i:;"*'' l^Pl«- knowing that with them they can dwell safely, and the time is ven. near I^tU'rSeS*=°'"^ onepeopleandhave on^lc.^"«' '^ys'lt S^e IS" ''-' ^-^^'^ --^ ^» ^ '^^ "1 will allure her and bring he. into the wilderness and s^ak comfortablv unto her; and I wiTl St-Tw trfntJS^^sfc youth • ""'-^^ rae no more Uaah (that is my lord). . T „iil t'he fowrnH* '"■"^ '^^ ^*^*« °^ *»>« fl«W. and wl h untoZ'Uver"'" " "^ •. 1/'" betroth thee natl^a^^grCulTatS: ''''' °^ ^''^«'- ^^ - ^Plt^" ^f^f «\« field and the fowls of heaven we take our food, and we know not the meanin Jof famine, or need of these things meaning of "They shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the Now Tr /h^"t ' '■ '?■ '''''^ «^« tl^^ l*'^- days Israel i>n,^» n ^^ "^argument, say we are not Israel, but a Qentile nation How is it ♦»,.* ™ in every way doing what Lrael Z I V^' "^ "^ CDle "^Tn'fhf "'■^ mnltiplying faster than any other iple. In the case of our land, " the little one haa ome a thousand, and the small one a strong nrtion^ m a way peculiar to herself. ^ ' In winning the world for God she is "pushing the peoDle to the ends of the earth " (Deut. 33 :17) "Eel battle axe and weapons of war " (Jer. 51 : 20). She ! ■ 106 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. posBeases the "gate of her enemies" (Gen. 22:17). She has broken forth " on the richt hand and on the left"(l8a.54:3). Ephraim was to be a " nation, and a company of n^ '^ ins." Manasseh was to be " a great people " (Gen. 48 : 19). Britain is a, nation and a company of nations. She has sent forth " a great people " from her, bat independent of her. Even America, which we may eall Maoaaseh, yet God has given her many children after she lost the other (Isa. 49 : 19), still her children " go ftMfth, for the place is too strait for them." 1 "And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people, as a dew from the Lord, ... as a lion among the beasts of Ihe forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep; who, if he go through, both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver." " Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut ofl"" (Micah 5 : 7-9). The social motto of England is, " The brotherhood of man and the glory of God." Her influence goes forth and is, without doubt, in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord. She is not perfect by any means, ytt rompared with any other nation I should not fear the result ; and by the war news to- day it does seem as if she was going right through and treadiiig down. I think I said that Britain was not only to win but to hold the world for God. Who said to Israel, " I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to in- herit the desolate heritages " (Isa. 49 : 8). Who but Britain ever established the blessings of righteous government and benignant r le wheresoever she has gone ? To Israel was said, " God giveth thee power A TRUE LIKENESS. 107 to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant made unto thy fathers" (Deut. 8:18). "England's Imperial wealth is beyond comparison, in order that she may be able to maintain her glorious isolation." " Thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow ; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee" (Deut. 15:6).' Is not this true of Britain in every detail ? Israel is commanded to be good to the poor, and to minister to his needs, " for the poor shall never cease out of the land " (Deut. 15 : 7-11). Certainly Britain fits in here— as witness the famine in India, the fire m Hull, the Red Cross army and Patriotic Fund. How nobly all has been supported by the Anglo- Saxon people. I said England was to win the world for God. "Thou shalt be a blessing to all the nations and families of the earth " (Gen. 22 : 18 and 12 : 3). This is without doubt the work of the Anglo-Saxon. She is preaching the Gospel to all nations ; for a wit- °l fi *j * " bringing forth the fruits of the Kingdom of God. Our many noble missionary societies are all working for the good of mankind and the glory of the Master. Our blind eyes are beginning to see ; we are waking up to the fact that we are the servants of God, and must do His work in His way. " And what is this glorious Gospel with which we are entrusted?" "Listen: Life from the dead; light from the darkness; liberty from sin's bondage ; salvation for the lost ; strength for the weak ; the Bread of Life for the hun- gty; the Water of Life for the Thirsty; the heaven of God for the lonely; sweet rest for the weary; and all in Jesus — in Jesus only." This is the Gospel with which England's Church has been entrusted, and which all her faithful child- ren are charged to carry to the ends of the world. 108 TWBNTY-FIVE YZKK8 OP CANADIAN LIFE. Once more : Israel must be found in an island home, for the prophets constantly speak to them in such a home. " Glorify the Lord God in the isles of the sea " (Isa. 24 : 16). " Let Israel jp\e glory unto the Lord and declare his praise in the islands." " The isles shall wait for his law." " The isles and the in- habitants thereof " (Isa. 42). Israel is to be called by another name (Isa. 65 : 15), and we are now called Christians. " And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory ; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mobth of the Lord shall name.' As a nation this really happened at the Queen's Jubilee ; our noble Queen represented a righteous nation, seeking the truth, and kings did surely behold her righteousness and her glory. So whichever way we look, be it at her home life, her national life, or her Christian life, we can come but to one honest conclu- sion, and that is, that the likeness between the British people as a nation and description of what Israel was to be in the latter days is most complete, and I pray we may go forward to promote the brotherhood of man and the glory of God ; to bring Judah back ;. to let the oppressed go free ; to forward all that shall bring about a righteous government ; to heal the divisions of Christendom ; and not only to win the world, but to claim it for our God and King. Let me once more emphatically say, that the God of our fathers changes not. He gave His word unto Israel, and He will keep it. With all Christian love I must say, however, that our present day teaching does not uphold this. The Bible i.s almost pulled to pieces by the different sects and denominations, who take a bit here and a bit there and make up a little gospel out of just that little bit ; yet amongst all these little bodies of people A TRUE LIKENE88. 100 we find some true servants of Ood. For this we do well to thank Ood, because those who are not against Uim are for Him. No ! dear friends, God's plans are not changed. Christ did not come to start up something new, nor even to form a new church. The first martyr, St. Stephen, speaking of Christ, said, quoting Moses: " A prophet shall the Lord your Qod raise up unto you of your brethren. . . , him shall ye hear." '• This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fatners : who received the lively oracles to give unto us (Acts 7 : 37, 38). This goes to show that Stephen looked upon the Church as the same or a continuation of the one in the wilderness under Moses. Then you will say. Why did Christ come ? and what for ? He came as the gift of Ood, " Behold I have given him as a covenant to the people." First He was to be Governor of Israel. " And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda : for out of thee sh^l come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel (Matt. 2 : 6). " That shall be ruler in Israel " (Micah 5 : 2). Then he was King of Israel. " Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judg- ment and with justice from henceforth even forever (Isa. 9:7). St. Luke, speaking of Christ's birth as spoken to Mary by the angel, says : " He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest ; and the Lord Ood shall give unto him the throne of his father David." " And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for- ever ; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." He was to be Redeemer of Israel. n 110 TWlNTY-riVl YBAHS OF CANADIAN un. " And the redeemer ehall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from tranaffreesion in Jacob" (laa. 69 : 20). " Bleaaed be the Lord God of Israel, for He hath visited and redeemed His people " (Luke 1 ;68). He was the Saviour of Israel. " I the Lord am thy Saviour " (Isa. 60 : 16). "For unto you is bom this day, in the city of David, a Saviour which is Christ the Lord " (Luke !:11)._ He wu ^Iso the Glory of Israel. " Arise, shine, for Thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen i^pon tnee " (Isa. 60 : 1). " The glory of thjr people Israel " (Luke 2 : 32). He was also to be " a Light to lighten the Gentiles " (Luke 2:32). "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light " (Isa. 9 : 2). Then is He not the Saviour of the world, to all those who come to Him. " Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth" (Isa. 4.5:22). " We know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world " (John 4 : 42). It seems to me, dear friends, that Britain is now doing what we see plainly Israel was to do — namely, subduing the earth and all things therein, by the temporal power bestowed upon them ; enriching and making the earth and its waste places to blossom and bring forth fruit, as well as carrying the Gospel to all nations and being a blessing to all the families of the earth ; but to make us doubly sure that it was appointed unto Israel to do this, our blessed Lord gave His last command to them, " Go ye." " Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." " Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I A TRUE LIKENI88. Ill have commanded vou : and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world, Amen." (Matt, in : 19-20.) Miu Annie played and we aaag the ' /mn— " Rook of HjijM, oUft (or me. Let me hide mynelf in thee. Let the water itnd the blood, From thy riven aide which liow'd. Be of Hin the double cure, ClennHe me (mm itii guilt and power." After this we spent an hour in pleasant conversa- tion. I was about to leave that town, and my friends were sorry to part from me. I was sorry, too, but it had to be. I promised, however, that I would try to call on them as I was returning in the fall. I always go home for winter, as it is too cold to be out much. Years tell, and I am not as young as I was. CHAPTER XII. i AGAIN OS THE MOVE. "Hare we have no continuing citv, but we M«k one to come." (Heb. 13: U). Judge not the Lord by feeble nonae, But trUNt Him fur Hia gnce ; Behind a frowning providence He hidea a amiling face. Do you know what it is to move from one town to another with a feeling of uncertainty — askinj; your- self the questions : Am I doing right or wrong ? How shill I get alon^? I have made mistakes in the past, how shall I avoid them in the future ? This was the spirit in which Mrs. Mordant went to Harriston, not yet strong, and not yet having learnt the lesson of perfect trust in Qod. She told me that she took up the work and busi- ness in a hurried, nervous way, never staying to measure her own strength, but witii a feeling that she had in some measure to redeem t'le past. She took up work for the church, and visited amongst the very poor, and I know that God accepted IM AOAIM ON Till MOVl. lis •nd bleaaed «ome of her worlr Ti,., r , •UMhine and -hadowi, w*re «tnl„ 1 ^°' • ''7 ^•'"' deS:?;."'rwiSthe''L'?7 *°"<=''«'' her heart very A dear little woman who wb« »>.,:«» > family in a i «n»<.t„M Vn. ^?? ''y'"*? t" raise her text'-rl^ft'T ' f ""°° *■" P^ohed from th^ Khinr;;;L^\txri« '^^ r,f ;. So this little woman (whom we will call Mr. R«„l,^ way. *our of the worst cases were redeemed withni t any apparent help from outside ; th™y simply ^"n 114 TWBIJTY-FIVK YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. last drink." His wife was about to speak, but some- thing seemed to say to her, " Let well alone, so she went upstaiirt and thanked God. She told Mrs. Mordant this herself, and though it is eighteen years ago the man has kept his pledge. Indeed the whole four oi^ them are now respectable and useful members of the town in which they live ; a blessing instead of a curse to their families. Ood does hear and answer prayer. It is wonderful, too, how much God does sometimes for a family brought up by a good mother. As I said, Mrs. Beck was a gbod womfln, and she did bring up her children to love and reverence God, and they were remarkably The three elder girls are married. One to a clergy- man who is soon to go out as a medical missionary ; one to a gentleman who has become a clergyman since their marriage, and the other to a merchant exceedingly well-to-do. Three are still at home, but I believe each member of that household will, as old age creeps on, call their mother blessed. Mrs. Mordant was very energetic in helping to build a parsonage. I believe she collected the hrst five cente towards it. She also took the management of a silk quilt to be made in blocks of five inches square ; each block to have a name worked on it, for which ten cents was paid. The name of the Bishop of Niagara (Bishop Hamilton) was in the centre, for which he paid $1.00. Mrs. Mordant got on one occasion a beautiful lesson for her Bible-daas from a little incident which hap- pened in the working of this quilt, and since lessons are always acceptable to those who are willing to ham, I will record it here. Mrs. Mordant got each block ready, cutting them the exact size, stamping the letters on and putting up AGAIN ON THE MOVE. J15 the siJk with each piece to work it In fK. ment of it blocks J thl "'"'^'''t. In the arrange- eouldbeatonoedetJed '^"'^''^ «^« *hat mistakeH Sreen letters Two nf f .1/ '^^''°. •''°«'^« with light CSS ji:d,' s«'1k- -r Mrs. Mordant said " Yes I ,1r. f»>;„i .1 Whjr ! how's that ? " ^^^•|I W.11 fetch the quilt and you shall see for your- Here is, I think, a case in point '.(I 116 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. spoke of a mission they were forming in the east end of the town amongst the very poorest people. A society was formed, and the young people were asked to ioin it. Nelly, of course, thought this a direct answer to her prayer. Her father, however at once forbade it, but the more Nelly thought of it the more she was sure she ought to go. One morning her father said to her, " I have agreed to take charge of a little orphan girl who is coming from India; by all accoun: she has been veiy much spoiled and has a frightful temper. So, Nelly, you can begin your mission work on her with mv tuU approbation. Don't you think that will ^ ^^l than trying to do something that I have forbidden ? In spite of all, however, Nelly thought she ought to ioin this mission, with or without her fathers con- sent At last he told her she could go, but she was to stay with her aunt, who lived in the neighborhood of the mission work, and that she need not come home again until she had learned the meaning ot the fifth commandment. , , ,. . . t *i,;„u Almost broken-hearted she left her home. I think she really believed that she was called upon to be a ™ After working about three months, she noticed that her aunt was a great deal away from home, and one evening she remarked upon it : " Did vou not know that your sister was ill < " What '■ Bella ill ? No ' What is wrong with her ? " Over work and utter prostration, the doctor says, and since we are on the subject, I think the time has come for a little plain speaking. You know that Bella's hands were full before you left home, and thoueh you never liked housework, and perhaps did not do much, yet you did the shopping and marketing, which was a great help. This has been since done by AGAIN ON THE MOVE. 117 1 S takWcar? of iri'" t""' ?.'"•'• »°^ '«»«hing now she if down Th.^^ ^,^t^'^f *^ **" ">« r««t ! night nu^Vr^y.^arvou t?hl^*r\^i!' ""^ * will be drained to th^M^L t^t^,"* ''""*«*^ means are attendW meeting r^?'*' '"'*''" y°"' f""""*''- every Tom, Sick anS'SarrvrhftroP""'-'"'' ''^'P'°S I guess vou'd bptfp^ ft / :e? """"^^ '° y°"r way. ouf wh.t^y'u'a'el'Q'?/ '' *''"""^ "? " '''* -<1 ^^d upSiard" '"wTau^ti^'-'/ *r' **"? ''^ ^''« '-''^d in my work • pv!.^,;;?" ' ■"" ^"™ ^ «"» "<>* happy miserable- but vonTl. i§°j """^ '"'»''«« me ^ery forGod aiid T^r a°^ ^^'^ '""'*' *° ^o something an answer to mv nravor -^^ *k i t '"""ght it was I had asked C^t*^-^' ''"'* ^ ""'^ ''° '' ^^en N.lly w„t Wfc to U.r hom. , ™, „j . j.^. 118 TWENTT-FIVE YEARS OK Cai^ADIAN LIFE. Christian, and, doubtless, Bome of that work done for the mission will loom up before her when all thin^ are made plain, and she will see that though it did not fit in just as she expected it would, yet the great Father would not have it lost, but found a place for it, if only a humble one, in His great plan of the universe, just as our two pieces for the quilt fitted in to two single corners, therefore were not wasted. Of one thing 1 feel sure, if we are God's children our mistakes will be used by Him to advance us in the Christian walk, and lead us forward, purifying and ennobling our chariy:ters, rewarding us even in this lite. Nelly was the means of controlling her little cousin's temper, moulding and forming her character, and at last had the unspeakable pleasure of presenting her to God— a suppliant at the throne of grace. Instead of her home-life being, at of old, irksome and tedious, it became a pleasure to her, and she was able at last, as she said, to make a pudding that pleased her father. . , u • The Harriston people were very proud ot their parsonage when it was finished, and the winter months were made gay with penny readings and simple enterUinments, in order to raise money for the payment thereof. The Mordants were very happy there, and it was a grief to them to leave ; but it seemed to be God s plan for them, and so we find them again on the move. This time to the pretty town of Woodstock, where she has a«ain been permitted to work for the Master in the Sunday School, in mission work, and for a while as Bible-woman, but of this she v.ill tel you herself. I found the work of Bible-woman in Canada to be very different to what it had been in England, yet withal it was a very necessary work. AOAIK ON THE MOVE. 119 One other portion of niv work in u,J,;„i. t * i great delight was the me-.'s^BibtcL i fi fW their presence Sunday after SMr,^a fe" that " Death came and took her away Just in the morning c her day" is 120 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. May she bo happy, is tho earnest prayer of one who loves her. Yes, as I look back I feel that those were happy times. Many precious hunrs were spent at c^r mothers' meetings and our Dorcas meetings. Who would dare to say that the hours thus spent were wasted? The Word of God was there, earnest prayers were offered, hymns of praise were sung. Busy fingers worked for God's poor mothers who had their hands full of babies. I will answer for it that every word spoken, every stitch put in, and every article given in the precious name of Jesus shall have its reward. For a very short time we had a temperance meet- ing, but it did not grow and did not last long. Yet, I thank God that it was attempted, for in the short time it was working we did enrol amongst its mem- bers six men who were very seldom sober, and out of the six three received a blessing. One I do not think has ever broken his pledge ; anotlier has done so, but never went back to what he was before he joined us. The third left the town. I have heard of him occa- sionally, and have every reason to believe that he is perfectly steady. I mention this to show that we must sow beside all waters, because we do not know which shall prosper, either the morning or evening seed, or whether they both shall be alike good. Changes come to us all. My husband has beta laid to rest, and my lingers have had to be busy ; but as I said at the beginning of this little book, I still find time to do some work for the Master, and I pray that He will always find me something to do until He shall say, "It is enough, she hath dune what she could." CHAPTER XIII. CREEDS MAA^Y. OPINIOm MA.VY. »elve. toachew having itching ea™ *^ ''*"? ^ '*■»■"■ shalltft^^tt'Ss'^"^ *'"''' "»" '""■ '"e truth .„d " Weak M you are, vou shai, not faint. Or faintmg, shall not die ; ' wui aid you from on high." bee/t'lLn"'^ "^fr V*""*" "=*"« *J"'« '"""•ning. I have and I found Cr^os^ S:Xt^V°HT^''°'l seemed to overflow with lovf to r«H t t^^^^ several questions, amonl othe^ ii she h^^f f ^"^ been a Christian Scientlt ? Sh" told ,L ^o^'Th^.' •«■ I lli 122 TWKNTY-FtVE YEARS OF CANADIAX MFt " Come to our meeting on Sunday morning and we will tell you." I did not go in th« morning, but I went in the evening. It was held in an uppor room, and I was surprised to Hnd it very much like other meetings — the chairs arranged as in school-rooms, two reading desks, a clioir, an organ, and a collection. The lady I had spoken to was called fii-st reatler. A gentleman was second reader, that is to say he read texts ot Scripture, as she gave them to him, bearing upon her discourse, which was upon the " Love of Ood." I found afterwards that the evening service is more particularly for the public. Had I gone in the morn- ing I might perhaps have been told what they mean by holding the truth. It is wonderful how many diflferent things in the Bible are put forth as the truth, and how much is written at different times by different people to explain different parts ot Scripture in their own way, and to suit their own line of thought, instead of t'«''.ing the Word ot God as it stands. I often wonder where commentators get all their talk from. On five or six verses of Scripture you find whole pages ot comment, verses that are simply a statement of facts. This body of people called Christian Scientists is growing very fast. I do not purpose speaking of the theory they hold, as I know so little alx)ut it, but I suppose as it is with all the churches throughout our land, so with them, the wheat and the tares will grow together. That same morning I met a gentleman who was very pleasant. He did not want a book, as he read only one, that was the New Testament. We had quite a chat, in which he told me that he had no use for the Old Testament, as that was done away with long ago. The great truth he wanted to proclaim was the new birth ; he, having that, could not commit sin. CRBEDS MA\r. OPINIONS MANV. 123 Anything he miglit do thot was wronjf was no lonjrei- inqu?re/°" '^'°"*^ '° "'^ Plymouth Brethren?" I Ch'i.^o^'I/' p'^P"*t''- " ^ ?° "°'- ' ^™P'y belong to the Uiurcliof GocI; I used to belong to the Church of aJLt"'"' •"" ^ "°'"'' ""' "^y "-«> afterl Sm "Why could you not Htaj ? " I asked. »n?? r '^ as though he really pitied my ignorance by saying "How could I stay there amount people who wouTd dance and drink, and smoke, and call thorn! Come out of her, and I came. Now, I live no longer m the flesh, but m the spirit." '^ T ^ ^iu • r J ^""i"^ '••'« *o understand you. Suppose Sfd ^,! ' i^'^.f'" '?■>'."'" ""^ ^^*' 'o J° His will, yet find myself often doing and saying wrong th n*s wouW you say that I have got'^wEat you^i?l tfe alYf^' ^°" "°'"* P""""^ "^'"' '° "' l-"' yo" are not Kuroir °" y°",T?"''' °°' «ti" belong to any Church, for you would hear the call to come out of her wouff noT fr ^"' rr "^"y- Then you not only 7eZit" " ^^ '" "'''*■ ''"* J'°« ^""W not is that quite fair ? You did not How do you know what it is " Now," I said, look at the b'ok about ? " ' No ! " he said ;tw.= ^1 "7 ''J''^ no* look at it. but I saw that he N? t'V*""^ T '^°°' ^*"* 'o read anything but the^New Testament, so that we can know it off by 124 TWEjnr-rivi yeahs of Canadian life. " What do you think of the Clirintian Scientists t " I asked him. "O, not much," he said, "they doii't think they need a new birth at all ; they are born rieht if they can only live right But here, onlv last week, did they not let a poor little chap die of diphtheria, and would not send for a doctor ? " Oh I I heard of that, but did they not have a doctor at the last ? " " Well, yes, the neighbors sent word to the mavor, and he sent a doctor. They did not want to let him in, but he was bound to get there and see the child ; he was hardly prepared for the sight he saw, though. There was the little chap on the woman's knee, liis throat as big as his body, his face bloated, and around his eyes and nose quite black, while his lips were so dry that they were like a brush. " ' Are you his mother ? ' asked the doctor. " ' No, sir.' " Then the mother came in, and he asked her what she had been doing for the child. " She said, ' We have prayed for him.' " ' Have you not given him anything ? ' " ' No, sir.' " ' Not even a drink of water ? ' he asked. " ' No, sir.' " ' Do you know that he is dying ? ' " ' No, sir ; we hope he will get better. This is a lady doctor, and she has the case in hand.' "'Well,' says he, 'let me tell you that he will be dead in five minutes. I am going to make out a certi- ficate, and I shall call it murder.' " With that he went out, and I can tell you the lady doctor made herself scarce. She was off on the ilext train." This was quite true ; the child died within the five CRMD8 M4KV. OPIVIONS MAMV. 126 minnto., and it wm the talk of the town for a little This is only one of many «uch cases that have come t^n7KTK'"','''"'=' *''^"- Tims, it appean. to me °h^? though they have some very lovely cf,iLten amonm them, they have also some that are very unlovely 1 went home pondering these things in mv heart s^ol"^al^^"' '^^'t ^'.r^'^ •=»*« in wj:ich wt should be all of one mind, or if it ever would be 1 lound a letter waiting for me which took mv herel^h^'"'" '•>"' /■^»'J<"=' ^o' the time be^g an5 here .8 the answer I wrote to the daughter of the fhe° waTetc"' "'"" '""" ' ""^ '^*"* '^' ^^^ - nr.» \r. i, . October 20th, 1899. noon .lL hf . T~'~^ ''^'"'}''^ your kind letter this of f h» vn -.7 """'' '"^"'^ • ^ "n l^^'ding on one of the hills, with a verv nice old lady. I hope you will Tf, P*y ™e a visit before I leave. .JuU°u^ ^'^*'' **'?* ^ ''*""°' «y e^'aet'y when I shall be abe to leave here, but will write a few days ahe«l I thmk; it will be early in November. Tl wan? Ev^kr'''J"''.^'"^- My'paperwiU be T-Z WW I mL f"f;^°'"' ^°" '"y. ''" '^"n'" to know what I think of the war now, and if I am not shaking in my shoes tet the Boers win and become ,„S of the 81 nation Please give iny kind regai-ds to him and tell him I do not wear shoes, I always wear boots "nd I am not shaking at all, though I am deenly 1 think I said to you at one time that I was afraid our people were too self-confident, and went out there thinking they could just say to the Boers, " Get back you," and that they would be obeyed ^^"^ "a*"* They have, however, found out their mistake ; they 126 TWKNTY-riVE VKAHM OF CANADIAN LI^'E. have met with i\ i letermiaeU people and an unaerupu- lous foe. Lctl by such a man an Ki u);or, they Htop at nothing, anJ an> afraid uf nothing but the bayonet, apparently. Now, my dear girl, about your own newH. I am ho glad to hear that you have given your conticnt to Clarence. When he wus here lie told me how very much he desired to gu to the front,but he coulil not bear to gu against your will. Now you have given con- sent, he will go with a light heart. May (iod go with him, be with him there, be with you at home, and bring him safely liack again, is the earnest prayer of your sincere friend. Ask your father if he does not think it wonderful, the way in which the Colonies are turning out their men, and gathering round their old Mother in the West. Please remember mo to all enquiring friends, and give my best love to your mother, thanking her again for all her kindness to uie when I was there. And now I must conclude for the present. Beliuv,. 'le with love to be, Yours faithfully, Mary Mordant. As I said, my morning visits gnve me food for thought, and I looked back into the past, then into the Word — and I heard the Lord Jehovah saying, " And these words, which I comi.i.ind thee this day, shall be in thine heart : " And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up " (Deut. 6 : 6, 7). The Lord Jesus Christ says : " Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets : I am not come to destroy but to fulfil. . CREBUH MANY. OPtVlOKH MANY. iff " Whosoever therefow . . . ,h«II do and tMch hire;!'?- (Xtt fiSTiS'"" ^" '- "-' ''"^°^°' hurt anybody , feelmgn. but the truth rau»t be told liear parenU, what arc you doing with your little oncHj Are you teachi„K them to £e obedient, truth! Ood for Hi8 piid.nK care through the day, and Hin uroteeion throuKh the night, and Ih your tewlZ backe,J up by example < Thank Ood for th^w S can answer Ye«; and may Ho have pity ortho«e whose answer mu.t be No. ft"" mose If these two commands were fully obeyed manv things today that are would not be ^ "Mother, why don't papa sit down and hear you read, and kneel down when we do I " ^ What must the answer be ? Is it any wonder that, as the children get bigeet- he n,other gradually abandons the custom Xl' there are the fum.lies who never begin the «„.tom But I want to say something about these sad divi- sions ,„ our midst These littTe bodies that spring up here and there and spread out in all directions, tliey remind me of my quilt blocks. ' tZ^t ^.T' •'"'yingourOod is raising is to be a p.r. n^rf.nr'^'"^- ^"'•'■"g'^i" go in there to mar^iL gether ^"""^ '""'' ^ fitly .joined to- r know that man is so constituted that there must oeditterences of opinion on some matters, but is it not a fact that all true Christians think alike on thow r/^Sl'hat pertain to Eternal Life ? For instance?^ true Christian believes that God is the Father of our of man. He believes that the Holy Spirit is able to 128 TWENTY-FIVE YEA.K8 OF CANADIAN LIFE. ill guide him into all truth, and that Christ died for our sins and rose a£;ain for our justification, and it is plain from the Word itself that whosoever believes this and is baptized shall be saved. Whence then come all these divisions ? We hear of them even in St. Paul's time. " Brethren, mark them which cause divisions and avoid them " (Rom. 16 : 17). " Now, I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you " (1 Cor. 1 : 10). The sowing of the tares still goes on, and divisions must needs be. The Church of Rome tried to check it and to bring everybody to one mind, as it were, but they did not do it in the spirit of love, and it led to a violent per- secution, such as we, who can worship when and where we like, can hardly understand. Then the Church of England tried to check it and bring every one to her way of thinking, but she also lacked the spirit of love, and this led up to a great persecution of the Scottish Church. But God has always got His own servants ready to send out on any special mission. He had Luther ready for the work to which he was appointed ; He had Wesley ready to come at His call, and to do His bidding. Why were these men called out but to rouse the Church to do her duty in the world ? But these are not the divisions that are dangerous, because as a Church we all agree on the vital points of religion ; but it is those who say they can live without sin, those who believe they can become perfect in health and in obedience by their own efforts, those who say they have the gift of divine healing and go around to make money by it, and those who have got beyond prayer and have no need to worship God, as they live in the Spirit. CREEDS MANV. OPINIONS MANV. 129 them, they know ih V- re X'i,/-' T '° '""^"^ ^''^ them see anything ell - i'Jf '"i ^°" '^'"" ""'ke plain is thii th?t tarly "a r,P:""b'J,,:roV° '"''';'' have some wnii;..„ Bodies oi peop e they are geCne theTar°"^-'* ^''.f ">' ""'^ "^^fre characters r therefore, fese«t.f"""!i"^ T^ °°'>'« when He says- " Let thp.n W. "'"'^°'" °^ O""- ^'•d the harvest." ' "" ^°"' S™^^ together until BaUrw^To"„f;;Ja!;^],t:s°t'^ -^ t- >ng togetlierin rooms or smit In '''f"?' «"*''«'•- purpose. an,l calling there^esbv cHff'"^ '°'' ^'^^ (thus was in Oxford^Engknd n^ .l""'"' "*"""« opposition, think vo„" wi' '?"'^ '"«<'t with pea^lewhoshonUh^lt ''^; ''^'•'ainly they did; of t^ricks on thel ZIT" ^l"«' ?'">''=') "" «oHs hoMing a prayer-mee^nl '"''"■J ^'''^ ''"^^ ^e^" snufferl. wLch wo^ld 'TA gunpowder put into the wentto'snuffth^rldes rr^P'"-^! ^'''^" *hey a trap and let out amonlt th.'^ ^^^""^ *''^« '° were in the midst of n« *''^^^°'"«n JUst as they tricks I remember ^^^'' ^^''' ^"^ ^ f«^ of the wat^r:x%\Sgt ^4?-^; r ""^« *»>- together; one of them w™, I H ^"^^^^'boys would go keep it ^p until sol of 1 ^•"'''^'l'"b»'><=««"d inte^rfere amUry t^Tu'n LL ouVV"'''""*^. ^°"''' would go to the rescue an ..^- ^'^ "^o^rades then the ligffts out and T, T • . ^^I^"^ ''°"'"^e to put result^ ' '' *" ^ ^"^' " *'•«« fight would be the asoJ^S^l-^&tri'e-ss^l^^^ them; they lived on and tTT u"' "^^ S°°d ^or II fl i I ill 130 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. selves by different names, out of which army Christ will call His bride. I must not forget General Booth, seventy years of age now. Surely he was called to the work and fitted for it ; not one in ten could have undertaken so great a task. What opposition they met with — mud, stones, rotten eggs, blows and imprisonments, but in spite of all obstacles the work haa gone on and we hear of them in every part of the world. They also stirred up the Church, until now England has got a very large Church Army working on similar lin( s. They reach people which the churches do not reach, and no doubt are doing a wonderful work. Now, having pondered these things in our hearts, where are we ? Just where we started. We know there are divisions amongst us, and we know these ought not to be, yet we are powerless. Suppose we go to work to pull up the tares ? Where shall we begin? Shall we go to what we call the dens of wickedness ? Shall we go to our prisons ? or to our so-called infidels ? Or shall we not go to those in high life, dwelling at ease in our lar^e cities ? yea, right amongst those who profess to be followers of the Lord Jesus? Methinks, perhaps, the great reaper might begin there. Did I say we were powerless ? That surely is not so. We have power to pray ; we have as individuals power to stand firm by the word of the living God, taking nothing from it and adding nothing to it. Will you take a look with me at one of our large towns ? There is a Catholic church, an English church, two Methodist churches, two Baptists, a Lutheran, a Congregational, a Quakers' meeting house, Salvation Army Barracks, a Christian Scientist meeting, and a Gospel meeting. What vast truth does this proclaim ? Divisions and want of unity. a I CKEEDSMANY. OPINIONS MANV. I31 n.ind. what ^S'^J^ ""« '-» w-e of o„e There would b^^nYJ° ^"Y ^°"'d be for good well of Xit&„ out ofT '""^'^ ''^' ''"'' -""k^Ta to sprinkle or t^iXlZTrnZ'^'.'^i' "^j!* to use wine at the con>m.,„" , ?''*"? ' ^^ 't right a surplice or a b ack 00^^ JV' right to wtar to tu^ to the eait or^ ^,^,11"^^ 'V I« it right Even children talk crutch „^/;P.r*'"« 'h^ eree^d ? almost quarrel as to whw! i, th! ^ . ^T^^'"'- '""^ got the nicest teacher in SunH„ J Jt'* T*^ '"'"'''> '"^s children who keep up two si/vs'^^^^^^ ""fj '^°°'^ 'nay get to both enLwnS 5 Ph '?'''''* '^''^ and both picnics in summer Chnstmas time Yes' *'*Th'e"^ibf " •, '' *^^« °° ^elp for it > matt" ;as'nXthe™"^n?; ^r T £' "« '" ""« we do not teach ouTchildten tW ,°^^,^ ^j'''^' grow up as they like to ^^^n ""'^ "ea»owed to "«k' S'oii -^^^^ - o°utTth?ra7 '''''°°' remember t^e' «r ^ F ^7^*1°"'' *° ''"^ rule. I people's Chi drenwenrtoSf'"."^ V'l'' °°'y POor few ladies camtforward tn f k^Iu^"''""'' »"^ ^"'ne poo'Tc'hiSnttWe'dl^t^^^^ °V''^ '^'"'^-f- by Robert Raikes thp I ,^ ^'"""^ ""1^ ^ught all his poverty he i ^iroTp'i' ^^° !^°"''' ^"'b liid he work LneT C h! ^f' ^'"^^"^ Jewels. «- • ^>o . he no sooner began than 132 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. Satan began alongside of him, and the tares were sown with the wheat, and are stil) growing' abund- antly. One thing, however, I will maintain. If a teacher goes to take a class in the name of the Master, plead- ing for them and teaching them with a single eye to God's glory, he or she shall in no wise lose their reward ; but is it not too often a fact that our Sunday School teachers are trying to give to others that which they do not grasp for themselves ? Can we si.igle these out ? No ! they must grow together till the harvest. Should any read this who are losing courage, may I sfiy to them, Look up, ,the great Reaper Himself will be able to do that which we cannot do. I hear people say, sometimes, I don't go to church for I see people there who are not what they pro- fess to be ; they are only there to show ofF their fine clothes and because it is the fashion to go to church. Well, dear friends, supposing you are right, and doubtless you are in some casses, will two wrongs make one right '. ■ i.- Is there not a special blessing in the public worship of God 1 I think so. Do not break away, then ; stay and strengthen ihe cords; single out one of these people you complain of, first asking God to guide you in your choice, then pray for that one. Give God no rest until you see a change for the better. It will succeed it you are in earnest, and the fact that you are praying for any one v^'ill have a good effect on year own life. Having asked God for a gift, your faith will become stronger, you will pray more earnestly and more frequently than before. The good effect brought to bear on any person when trying to help another is wonderful in the extreme. Dear friends, it you have not tried this, I pray you CREEDS MANV. OPIKIONS MAXV. jgg do »o in humble faith, and see how it will f,«i v ■f you are not permitted to see tTp „ff * ^'^V^''^" you are praying for vo„ win -.u *''^?* °" "■« one it in your own^life Xh w ll'^''''"''',''.""'''' '^^^^'^ lift you higher """ ^^P'""'- broaden and toglKtt^f:^ SK,*''^^^ ^T? '•>- secret, as it were befwfl»n ,/."" ^'" "a^e a win draw you:^.^:^.^:^^^' -'^''' CHAPTER XIV. THE EVERLASTIXG KINGDOM. Hi " For the kingdom is the Lord's : and he is the governor among the nations " (Psa. 22 : 28). '* Deep in unfathomable mines Of never-failing skill, He treasures up His bright designs, And works His sovereign will." Eakly in November, after a warm welcome from my old friends, Mr. and Mrs. C, I sat down to read, according to promise, a paper on the Everlasting Kingdom, or the Kingdom of the Heavens, which 1 am told is the most correct translation of the King- dom of Heaven, as St. Matthew puts it, or the King- dom of God, as St. Luke puts it. I think our first hint of a kingdom of that kind is where God says to Moses, "Ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation " (Ex. 19 : 5. 6). , . . ,. He also tells them that when the time comes m the ■ THE EVERLASTING KINfiDOM. I35 overt! wLtStLrG^Xnthct' ''"^ anrdied^Vh'"*^ n*^-?""!' "^"^ '>'^ ^^«" disobedient ?t°8eem« ^""'"^ .T^'^ '""'^J'^"''' '^"'^ sovereignty ? It seems to me that it was a nart nf t;,,. iv ■ their King, and righteousness their ruling prnciS .£5r.^r,s?«-ss,f; re After telling David that Solomon was to rei™ in wi/chastonr; with the .i!d"oVnr-* '""^"■1{ £^ea.rever^^^^S--^---i Him for'^Hi^J^ ""'"'^ P'^'i'^'^S «°J «°d thanking "Thn„ h . gracious words and promises. *' Thou hast confirmed to thy self thy people Israel to be a people unto thee forever ■' (2 Sam 7^%1) dani^Z Tf '•!' ■'''°' ^^^^ ^^^ perpetuity of the king- dom of David is secured bv the occuoancv of thL "I will establish his kingdom" (2 Sam. 7: 12). !(■ 186 TWENTr-FIVE YEAHS OK CANADIAN LIFE. " For thus saith the Lord, Uaviii xliall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel." " If ye can break my covenant of the day . . . and night . . . that there should not be day and night m their season ; "Then may . . . David my servant . . . not have a son to reign upon his throne " (Jer. 83 : 17-26). Now let us see what Daniel has to say about the kingdom. Most people are familiar with the book of Daniel. They like to read it because it is very interesting, but how few understand it. Why ? Because they have got into the habit of thinking it is all a mystery and not to be understood or fulfilled until some future time. Let us see how much of it will bear reading literally. The house of Judah was taken captive to Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar was their captor, and he bade his servants bring with them " some of the king's seed, and of the princes, clever men with under- standing " (Dan. 1 ; 3, 4). Among the men thus chosen was " Daniel, who was called Beltshazzar " (ver. 7). " Ho had under- standing in all visions and dreams " (ver. 17). Now this king had a dream, and Daniel, after prayer, was able to interpret it (Dan. 2 : 28). I dare say you remember the dream, the great imago, his head of gold, his body silver and brass, his legs iron, his feet clay. A stone cut without hands smote the image upon his feet and broke them to pieces, then became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This was the vision. The interpretation thereof was that " The kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold. After him was to rise another kingdom interior to him, then THE EVERLASTING KINODOM. 137 a third kingdom was to bear rule over all the earth ■ a fourth kingdom «trop taught that the fifth kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, though I cannot seS why t^e gLT^ ^""^ '" '^' ^y' °f these kings shaH the God of heaven set up a kingdom . . and it aid iS.'" rrr^ cou^uLm these kin^s tht I- f l**?"* forever" (Dan. 2:44). Only by doZ'',!f'''°^^T°'"!,°^ '^'^ '""'•''^ "^e become the king- doms of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever '■ (Rev 11 • 15) untoThJt"' -'^^ ■!■ ^""'"''^ '^^a'"' ^hich was like unto the kings in its meaning. He saw four beasts «^ich represented Babylon, the lion; Persia The bear Greece, the leoparf," which in a few years gained Persia, » great part of Asia, Syria, VypT India and other nations. '^O'F'' 188 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. Rome, the fourth beast, not like any other, which in its glory held the kingdoms of Italy, France, Spain, Qermany, Britain, Sarmatria, Panonia, Asia, Oreece and Egypt. When these three last fell away the Turkish empire rose in their place. (Notk. — the little horn speaking great thingH.) . . . "he shall wear out the saints of the most High," but " they shall take his dominion, consume and destroy it. . . . The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to tlie people of the saints . . . whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him " (Dan. 7 : 27). Now this is very plain, the people of the saints, the separated ones, GckI's own people. And who are they ? "The people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance (F.s 33 : 12). " For thou di'lsi, separate them from among the people of the earth to be thine inheritance " (Jer. 10:16). In speaking of his vision, Daniel says : " I beheld till the thrones were cast down," (these four great kingdoms) " and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool : his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire." This makes one think of Isaiah, " Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as wool, though they be red like crimson, they shall be whiter than snow." But Daniel goes on to say, " I beheld till the judg- ment was set, and the books were opened." Christ says, " For judgment am I come into this world." Daniel goes on to say, " Behold, one like the Son of man . . . came to the Ancient of days. . . . And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a THE EVERUSTINO KINODOM. 139 kinplom . . . an overlnsting kinjrdom that shall not be destroyed" "'B"o"> • . . ^„l'*'''*r'"** °^ '.''^ ""«^ "'gh «''«" take the kinir. dom.^and po«,«« the kingdo.nSor ever, even for evf; wi?h*fh ' ^^^'^ "*",'• ""^ "'« ""'« '""-n " made war with the saints and prevailed ; iinHi lul kingdom [present tense, notice]. . ^ Whose kingdom IS an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him " (Dan 7-9-27) ''"'"°"* fh.f X""" ^^'^ "'''"' "*'°'" *he nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; . ThaM be utterly wasted" (Isa. 60:12) ' • • • »""" i,i^°*i'!u""*' ^^^ kingdom is given to Christ in vers,. 8 "rh'-! ^'f^L^^^--^ to t»ke the kingdom in ve^ people and the kingdom of the heavfns I literal ^LZ\u }"^T,^'*^ " descendant hi David and from the time of the promise there has never Wn wanting a man to sit upon that throne in mi'VT«'^- f-*^^-" *.° ""de^f^nd unless we keep in mmd the distinction between the two houses ■ afi ThTs H ?■ °? '''^^'*°'"J "■« '>""■'"' °f Judah ?he othe rhis distinction is made very early in their historv long betore the house of Judah were called Jews ^ " Yoxi may ask, how do you know that there has SZo^r ""^ '^--'l-tof D-id to sirui^n^ i HI 140 TWENTY-riVB TEARN OF CANADIAN UFE. If wu know everything;, tlial istosay, if everything was made very plain to uh, where would the exercise of our faith come I The " search the Scriptures " of our Lord would have been an unnecessary command ; and I do not think He ever gave a command that could not be obeyed. It is enough for me, then, that Cod said it, thouuh we are not without proof if we seek it out, and tne promise is that the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth. Now, then, Christ was a king, is a king, I should say. " Behold thy king cometh unto thee . . . riding upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass " (Zech. 9 : d). " And when he was come nigh unto the Mount of Olives the whole multitude . . . shouted blessed be the king . . . who cometh in the name of the Lord" (Luke 19:37-38). " Qod shall give unto him the throne of his servant David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for- ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1 : 32-33). The prophet Micah says, " Christ is to be ruler in Israel ; the Jews rejected him and crucified him." Thus you see that text would be a failure had there not been a remnant of Israel in which to reign, or over which to rule. St. Matthew tells us that after Christ, riding into the city, had been met by the multitude, shouting Hosanna to the Son of David, that he went into the temple, cast out those who bought and sold there, saying : " It is written — my house shall be called the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves " (Matt. 21 : 4-14). " The chief priests and the elders asked him : By what authority doest thou these things ? " He did not tell them but by a parable. THB EVBRUUiTINO KINOUOM. 141 A householder planted a vineyard . . lot it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country • ■ . loter he sent )ii« servants that they mijfht receive the fru.ts of it . . . but they were^Cen a..d stoned. a.,d killed . l.»t of 111 h. sent Ms Un\ him' „i '"'>'.•»'''.*'"« '» "'« heir, come let us kill hira and the inheritance shall be ours they caught him. ca,t him out of the vineyard and' slew him What then will the lord of the vineyar. do unto hese men f They say unto him, he will miser ably destroy these wicked nfenand ^ive the vineyaVd to othen, . who will render him the fruits ™ nationr """^ ^°'""^ "'"'"■ °''" '°"^'""' ■Jesus saith unto them. Did ye never read in the scriptures, the stone which the buil.lers rejected the same >s become the head of the corner: tiiis is the ,"1? ''°'"»f' '^"'^ ■' •" marvellous in our eyes " 0«1 Mh«n r"; i'^y "'"" y°" ('fows^. the kiuKdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation . n^t"n ^"lu- *'•' f^""" t'-^^'f ; ««"' whosoever shall tap on this stone shall be bi-oken. but on Xm- brJken*''"'^ certainly fell on that stone and they were Daniel saw in hi.s vision " the stone cut without with nh ^^T "^'V^' K'"^°™ °f O"'' ""-"eth no with observation. What does this mean but that it « a kingdom formed by God. maintained by Hs Cd<;m'"„f^pS"M '''"^''°'" °f *"■« heavens^■the kingdom of God. the .same which John the Baptist said^ was at hand, and of which Christ said. Ft is thpfc *rf '■!"=°^'^e it. the stone which smote tiie image on the feet / 142 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. u «:!i; To whom was it transferred ? To the great evangelical community of the faithful, mainly composed of the Gentiles, says some of our commentators. But Christ says to a nation. Which one ? Let Isaiah answer. " He shall cause them that come of Jacoh to take root (note, this implies a planting); they shall blossom and bud, and till the face of the world with fruit " (Isa. 27 : 6). Now, if Israel was to do this how could God make such a mistake as to give it to some other nation to do ? Yet Britain is doing it to-day. " Humane laws, just administrations, charitable institutions, freedom and prosperity, are being sown broadcast over the earth; nations and families are being bl&ssed ; its benevolence is ciending over the world the Gospel of grace, and the word of the living God. We call her Britain, but God says it is Israel's work. Has God made a mistake, then ? No ! a thousand times no ! The same God who says Israel is to do it, or the seed of Jacob is to do it, also says, they shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Just before his death, our blessed Lord gave to His disciples bread and wine, after which He said to them, " I appoint unto you a kingdom as my Father hath appointed unto me " (Luke 21 : 29). Does not this corroborate what Daniel says ? On one occasion Christ asked His disciples. Whom say ye that I am ? Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God. And Jesus said, ... I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter ; upon this rock (or confession) I will build my chilrch. ... I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom. Oh, how much has been written about those keys, yet how simple the word.s and the fulfilment thereof. Peter u.sed the first key when he opened the King- THE KVERLASTINO KINGDOM. I43 S irZnd th °' ^''"' '" ih« »«»« of Jesus ChS. verse d8, and there were added about 3,000 souls and thesewerenot Gentiles, remember forPeteratThif 'ff^„ would not have admitted a Genti?eNrthey were of either one of the Ho.ses of Israel, whoby reS mg and acceptrnj; Christ were reinstated uTr a new covenant anj a new name. Now before Petpr would use the second key. or admit a Gen He fnto SmaS" So wT'-'f. '*'*'? ^ ™'=«'^« - '-^" irom a.oove. bo we have the vision of the shepf I«f down irom heaven (Acts 10- 10-17) Then Peter went t« the house of Cornelius opened his month and said. Of a truth I Svethat Ood IS no respecter of persons . the worW wKil he sent to the children of Israe 8peakin7il bv Jesus Christ is not to be confined to the! ^ Fo^ yx>n the Gentiles also was poured the^ift of Se Holy Ghost . . And Peter commanded them to te &r '*•" "r/ ^f '•••' ^'^ (Acts 10 : Si-^ ) HjJven to"th7n^^'*''" r"'"^ '••« Kingdom ^f whfch Chrii t ?'° ''^''' u'.''"' "«'■"& "'« i^o keys 1ft .n''*'^ ^""^ him, namely, the power to do that which was given him to do. In the^fl^e of this can we dare to say that the Kingdom was^fvpn into the hands of a Gentile people 1 Vo itXK to Davids greater Son, and by Him jriven to HU P^PJV" ''""•g«' ""d l*t" taken by tha? peopl^ and them until He comes personally i„ His own good Ket°readvforffili''f H-''-^°."''' '^'y "°' ^'^^^ *« get ready for Him at His coming? Look how they f 144 TWENTY-FIVB YEABS OF CANADIAN LIFE. are worlcinc for the Empire, putting forth all their energies solw to bring about a righteous government, to liberate the slave and let the oppressed go free, obeying the commands of God in a great many cases uncon^iously ; but if we knew ourselves as His own people, and were making ready for His return, ex- pecting Him, looking for Him, building upon the S iSstead ^f the stnd, so that tribulation, distress of nations and other things which shall come upon the earth, may in nowise disturb our peace ; but tl^t our faith being strong, we may dwell in God and Ue in us: " Fearing not the darkest hour, Dreading not the tempter's power ; Trusting Him on whom we lean. The guide of our most gracious Queen, For is He not the nation's King 1 It seems to me that God's people, the Anglo-Saxon race, are standing their trial. The judgment is set, but of this I win speak more again. I must con- clude now, though I will, if convenient, read you another paper in which I will give you some idea aa to how the kingdom can be traced back to David from our beloved Queen. t t -,f itf,. We then sang the hymn, "Jesus Lover of My Soul," and this closed a very pleasant evening. CHAPTER XV. A SAD EXPERIENCE. "The Lord knoweth them that are His " (2 Tim. 2 : 19). " Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin, The blood of Jesus whispers peace within." After our friends had gone, we spent an hour very pleasantly in chatting over the paper I had read, and over the war news, which about this time began to look very serious. Miss C. had bidden her lover good-bye, and he went with our first contingent to South Africa, 1,000 strong, sailing on October 30th, 1899. Our Queen must feel very proud of her colonies — her daughter nations — Canada, New Zealand, Aus- tralia, eagerly willing to uphold her hands and her Empire, and I believe the men are made better men by the send-off they got, and the noble speeches that were in some cases made to them. I will give you part of one made by Canon Dann, of London, Ont.: " We are all proud of you. We have every hope 10 145 If 146 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. that you will do credit to your country. That which made your forefathers great soldiers will make you the same, trust in God and faithfulness to duty. Never be untrue to yourselves, to your Queen, or to your God. If you have to fight, fight knowing that God's eye is upon you. Never strike an unnecessary blow, so that when all is over you will have the approving voice of your Master, ' Well done, good and faithful servants.' We wish you God-speed, a happy voyage, a brilliant campaign, and a safe return." It remains to be seen how many will be left m that far-off land and how many will be spared to tell of dangers past. Doubtless many are gone out not know- ing why they go, not actuated by any thought of the Master, but you may depend upon it He will meet them there, and by His grace He will save them there. We are not privileged to look into each heart or to know who bends the knee or lifts the voice before going into battle, but what a glorious thought it is that to God all hearts are open, all desires known, and that from Him no secrets are hid. He is on both sides and can speak peace to the dying Boer as well as to the British soldier. The day following our soldiers' departure frv. J Canada, General Sir Eedvers Bulbr arrived in Cape Town. I believe the difiiculties of the work before them is beginning to impress our people at home now ; they are beginning to realize the great task they have undertaken and that it is not a few uncultivated people, but some of the picked men of Europe, who are leaders of the Boer army. The next morning we went for a drive. As we were leaving the town we stopped at a small house, at which Miss C. left a basket, which I had before seen packed full of provisions. A SAD EXPERIENCE. 147 J r *??.'■ °P«"«<* I saw a woman's iace which caught sight of mo she drew back. I puzzled for a whL "^^ rr ''»'«v^°ndering who she wa. and 1/ K f1 .T" ''^'■' "' !««' I a^ked her name and when told I remembered at once where I had known her. I went to see her and to-day am still in touch with her, that i.s to say, we correspond As a family their history is remarkable and I think interesting, so with her full permission I am going to give yon a brief sketch o^ it, only of course sup- pressmji the name. ^ We must go back to the time when we lived in Harnston. We were well acquainted with a church family who were very regular attendants and greatly respected. They were farmers and had three sons and four daughters. The two eldest sons were married and lived m town The oldest I did not know except by hearsay He had joined a little body of people who called themselves Brethren of the Kingdom and PhH^t A. !•• "'Tfy". ^°°^'''« ^°'' *he coming of Christ. At one time the date was fixed and they were all in white the night through, expecting Hm at any moment. » o j After this disappointment there seemed to be some break up of the meeting and a new lender came to r?*^-., He taught that any one who liked could have the gift of the Holy Spirit so completely that they would know at all times just what to do This same little body of brethren gathered around the new leader, and many others joined them, amongst whom was the second son of the farmer, whom we will call Mr. Berry. Both he and his wife were greatly troubled, but talking was of no use. As I sail, I did not .I'now the elder one, but the second one Dick I knew quite well. He had a lovely wife and two little 148 TWENTT-nVE TEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. boys. They lived in their own house and they had a share in a good-paying; business ; she was a wise mana- ger and they were as happy as could be. She had been brought up a Methodist, but went to church with him so as not to be separated. Most evenings he was at home, and would play the violin while his two little boys danced around him. It was quite a treat to spend an evening there. He built up their blocks, trotted out the animals from Noah's Ark, and just acted like a boy himself until their bedtime ; then sometimes he read aloud, some- times she did, or when a friend would drop in they would play authors or' dominoes, as the case might be. But after this new leader came and he had been to a few of his meetings all this was changed. He put away his violin, burned the dominoes and authors' cards, took all the books upstairs out of the way except the New Testament, and that he ^ept con- stantly about him. The children were not allowed to lay when he was in the house, and he never smiled ; is hearty laugh was a thing of the past. I never thought it possible that any one could change so much in so short a time. At first his wife resented it, then she tried to talk him out of it, but it was of no use. I heard that he had gone several times to this man's meeting, but did not think seriously of it until he acted strangely one even- ing at the cottage Bible reading, which was in my charge at that time. I always kept a written prayer in the front of my Bible, and sometimes read it at the opening of the meeting, which I did on that particular evening. When we got up from our knees I noticed that he had not knelt down, but sat upright with his arms folded. " Do you always read a prayer out of that book ? " he said. h: A SAD EXPERIENCE. 149 , " ^'°>". { ■'fPl'^'l ' , " I sometimes pray extempore, but to-niRht I felt that the written prayer was just what I needed." " Don't you know that all written prayers are use- less, he said. "Why no; where can you find more delightful prayers than in your own beautiful Church service i " " They are all trash and not a bit of good," he said I made no answer but turned up the lesson, when he turned to the peoplf, assembled and said : " Friends the Holy Spint sent me here to-night to lead this meeting, which I am bound to do." And he did. But from that hour to the present I could never tell you ![^,. m • ^**=^P* '"»'■ ®^"ery Church was wrong, the Old Testament a fraud, and only those to whom the Holy Spirit spoke personally was right. After the meeting was over he still lingered, and when I l«ft the house he walked beside me to my own door. I asked him in, hardly expecting that he would go, but he did. My husband was out, and he began to talk, and I was poweriess to stem the tor- rent. From being a man of comparatively few words he had become a preacher. I would not dare to try to tell you all he said. Hut one thing he made very plain, which was that the Holy Spirit had told him to go to that meeting and lead it, and that He would give him one soul out of it; that he was to forbid me keeping it, as I was only trying to fill thechurch which was a place full of all sorts of wickedness and hypocrisy. I waa really beginning co get nervous when my husband came in, and I was afraid that he would begin all over again, instead of which he put his lestament into his pocket, buttoned up his coat, said a short " Good-night " and went. Hypnotism was not so much talked of then a.-* it 150 TWENTY-FIVE YEABS OF CANADIAN LIKE. hu been since, but I really think it must have been at work there, for words could never make the reader understand the change in the man. He broke up our cottage-meeting, for go to it he would, and talk he would. Things went on like this for a little over a year. His wife told mu that money was short ; he did not attend to his business, and at last they dissolved part- nership. When things were settled, there was so little coming to them that she wondered where it had all gone to ; but his partner told her that for the past year he had been constantly drawing money, and that was why he was determined to dissolve the partner- ship. While things were in this unhappy state, the elder brother lost his share in a business that he had t^ken up. The proprietor told his father, Mr. Berry, that he talked the " Coming of Christ " and the " Gift of the Spirit " to every one who came in and all through the business hours, until it became a complete nuis- ance. He tried to break him off, for he was a good workman, but he got so angry every time he was spoken to that the only way was to break with him altogether. In the end both families left town. The elder man was never quite so bad (if I may use the term) as the younger. I believe when they got into a strange place they came to their senses a little bit. They joined the Brethren there, which was rather a nice body of people, who were willing to let the Church have some saved souls within its walla After three years the mother died, and two of the children. The father married again, and, I believe, did very well. But poor Dick — his wife told me that he had been almost crazy ; they had moved from place to place, and she had to work with her own A SAO EXPERIEKCE. 161 liaiidB to help keep things together. Only for their parents they could not liave lived and brought up their children at all. " It is seventeen year« since we left Harriston," she said, "and 1 have never known an hour's peace in all that time until the last month. Dick has been very ill with brain fever, and the doctor tells me that he is afraid his mind will be a blank, and that it will be all of three months before he will be strong enough to work, and it may be years before his memory comes back to him, if it ever comes." " Does it ever strike you that there may be a bless- ing under this great trial i " I asked her. "Yes," she replied; "I would rather that I and the boys worked for him to the end of his life than that he should go back to his ol'l craze. But come in and see him, won't you ? He will not know you ; but he does not mind strangers at all." Oh, what a wreck he was, so wasted, his cheeks hollow and thin, but the eyes were to me such as when I first knew him, bright and laughing — they had entirely lost the wild look which had crept into them when he took up his religious mania. He did not know me, the name stirred no memory ; he just spoke of his illness- and hoped soon to be up and able to work. The clergyman in that town was a very sensible young man, and I advised her to tell him as much as she deemed necessary, so that he might know how to deal with the case, which he did wisely and well. He frequently called upon him and treated him in every way as he would a full member of the Church, talked to him and kept his mind to it as much as it was possible, without being a trouble to him. The boys were both working and she told me that the neighbors had been very kind to her— the family I 162 TWENTY-riV« YEARS OF CAKADUN LIFE. was staying with, in particular -sending her baskuts of cooked food, to save her the trouble of cookini; while he was so ill. I hear from her constantly. She tells we that he has never by one word referred to his old craze, as she still calls it. She goes on to say, " His father and mother came to see him soon after you saw him, but he did not recognize them. I said, 'Dick, here's your father and mother come to see you.' He shook hands with them in the same way he would with a complete stranger, and when they spoke of anything at home he took no notice whatever. He is getting stronger and likes to walk out each day with me or with Frank, my eldest boy, but ho takes very little notice of Jack, the younger one. I can only wait ; I do not doubt but things will be right in God's own good way and time. It is so good to be able to write vou, and such a relief to my mind. I was terribly lonely until you called on me that day, when my surroundings were so dark and dismal, but I think I begin to see the silver lining and I am looking for- ward to a brighter future." This was such a singular case that I thought it would interest my readers as it had me. God's deal- ings are so remarkable that, as I said before, if we watch Providence we shall never want one to watch. The week I spent amongst my friends passed very quickly and brought me to the evening on which I was to read a paper as to " The Transferring of the Kingdom." I will give this in another chapter. To- morrow, all beinf veil, I shall return to Woodstock for the winter months. CHAPTER XVI. "HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF." Hia puipuaes will ripen fut, enfolding every hour ; The bud nay h«re a bitter tiste, But «woet will be the flower. " I» any thing too hard I'or the Lord ? " (Gen. 18 : 14). Mt paper to-nifjht is on " The Trangferrinjr of the Kingdom. I want to show you that we are not left without some proof that the king.lom of the House of Judah WM transferred to the House of Israel, both from Gods word and history. As I said before History repeats itself." To Abraham, God's friend, in a vision or dream, He said: 'Know of a surety, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs . four hundred yeara;. . . in the fourth generation they shall come hither again " (Gen. 1.5 : 12-13). And it came to pass as he said it would. To David, who was the man after God's own heart. He made a promise of an additional land for Israel' 103 154 TWENTY-riVE VEARH OF CANADIAN LIKE. \ where they Nhoald " ilwell in peace," uiul no more bo removed by invasion or tlie children uf wiclcedneiui. Why should this promise fail any more than the other ? When Jo8ei)h was a boy he "dreamed dreams," which made his brothers envious of him, and they hated him. But remember every dream was fulfilled in a far country, and he in his turn interpreted the King's dream and became a great man in the kingdom. Do we ever thinlc of doubting the fact, that Ood of His own purpose brought this about, or that Joseph was sent into Egypt ttf prepare a place for his father and his brethren that the divine purpose may be carried out and the nation formed according to His promise to Abraham. Daniel in Babylon dreamed dreams and also inter- preted the king's dream, becoming a great man in the kingdom. Why should not his areams come to pass in a far country — just as they were supposed to do — as well as Joseph's ? Ezekiel saw visions, spoke riddles and prophesied according to Qod's word to him. Why shouUl they not be literally fulfilled as well as Joseph's > Now, suppose we say, as it is generally conceded, that Christ does not reign personally upon the earth, but that He will some day. Is He not a king > Certainly, He is King of kings and Lord of lords. Will the fact that He ivill come bridge over the interval of time from Zedekiah, last of the kings of Judah, to the ad- vent of the promised heir ? No ; the prediction still awaits fulfilment in the person of Jesus ; hence there must be still a kingdom in the hands of a lawful de- scendant of the House of David held in reserve until He comes whose right it is. When, and where shall it be looked for? How shall it be known ? I think I have already made it 'HIHTORV KEPtATS IT8EI.K." 1S5 plain that I believe it to be the Hftli kinKdoni, which wus to break in pieces the other four. Seeing then tlwt If this be so, ttnd the kingdom is still Bmone men. wh»t of the sceptre of Juduh ? Notice ; David "*,■■ "*^8'" *° 'w.l' a »uccessor to wt upon the throne of the HouHP^ ,,t Israel, designedly put in place of Jnilan, for that house ceased from being under the sceptre when it went into captivity, and from that time, even to this day, has remained without it ; still It was not to depart from Judah. Hence God's prom- iM that ho would make David a house, for David was of Judah. Now, where is the temporal history of the sceptre in the interval to be traced ? From David to Jehoiakim. son of Josiali, the descent IS clearly given in the Books of Kings and Chronicles. 1 hen there was a change because of Jehoiakim 's wickedness; the succession was passed over to his brother, named by Nebuchadnezzar, Zedekiah "Therefore thus aaith the Lord of Jehoiakim king r f." •?.; , "•'*" ''*'"' """e '° "t upon the throne of David (Jer. 36 : 30). " And king Zedekiah the son of Josiali reigned in- stead of Coniah [Jechonias] the son of Jehoiakim. (Jer. 37 : 1;. St Matthew traces our Lord's genealogy through this rejected son, Jechonias, so our Lord was legal heir to the throne by male line. The kingship was cut off from Jehoiakim's pos- . tenty for all time, though remaining vested till He pleases to assume the kingdom in person; yet, as we have shown, it must remain in the hands of a lawful descendant Zedekiah received it, but he was the last king of Judah. From this point Judah ceases to be under its sceptre. From this point, therefore some part of the House of Israel must of necessitv come under it Zedekiah's sons were slain before his 166 TWKNTr-FIVE YEARS OP CANADIAN LIFE. eyes, so his male posterity was cut off (Jer. 39 : 6), but he had daughters, and to one of these it would revert (Num. 27 : 8). Seeing thea that the sovereignty of Israel — that is the united houses of Israel and Judah — was estab- lished by the most solemn decrees of God, forever in the line of David ; and that when Israel of the ten tribes was carried captive (B.C. 720) and Ephraim was broken that it was not a people the nationality was preserved by the union of Benjamin to Judah, according to Gods purpose (1 Kings 12 : 21-24). The tribe of Benjamin continued with Judah until Christ came, and of course were called Jews. When the Jewish polity was overthrown in the- reign of Zedekiah — his sons having been slain — the nationality was maintained, as far as I can see, by the transfer of the sceptre in the female line to a portion of the other house established in some other part of the world, called by the prophets, " The isles afar off," " The isles of the sea," etc. How can we account for the transfer of the king- dom to Zedekiah's daughter ? We will go back to the peculiar mission that God gave to Jeremiah when he was appointed a prophet. " See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms [plural], to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant " (Jer. 1 : 10). Now, at the time we are writing of, this had only been accomplished in the first half of it. He had rooted out the kingdom of Judah, and pulled down the house, but he had yet to build— What ? A House and plant a kingdom. Judah must give place to David, his House and kingdom. Jeremiah with his scribe, Banich, and Zedekiah's daughters, were carried down into Egypt by force "HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF." 187 Int t^^ :V\ ^.'^ "* Tahpanhes it was revealed unto him that a few should escape, as Egypt was threatened with an invasion, and certainly we think he would take notice of the warning, and make good his escape with Zedekiah's daughter, the sole hSZ the throne. He would not be likely to go back to Judea, but he would be likely to take s^hlSva^ t^s as the Danite and Phoenician traders might offer to go beyond the sea. The time of this period was somewhere about B.C. 685. and it was also Vbout of F,;"^ or a I'ttle later according to the Chronicles of Jinn and other Insh histories, that there landed a prophet or revesler called Ollam Fodhla, together with his secretary. Simon Breech and an Eastern Prin- cess, who ultimately became the queen-wife of Eo- ehaid Heremon King of Ulster. This Heremon was a prince of the Tuatha da Dauan, or tribe of the Uanites (who proUbly began to colonize in Ireland as early as the twelfth century before Christ), and bv his union with the princess. Tea Tephi, who is reason- ably Identified as the daughter of Zedekiah the sovereignty or sceptre of Judah literally passed over J?'!k •"" ^°"'? °* ^«™«'- « t"^" identification be gojjd, the succession is traced through the subsequent rulers of Ireland down to A.D. 486 ; thence through kin^s of Argyleshire from King Feargus to King ^^rV Vk°tt\*''?u"' '•'■■""Sh kings of ScotlanI from Keneth II. to the union with England under vSa ■ ^^"^' '"''* *•»«"<=« toour K^adous Queen ■ .T^! °F^y, ''"'' °^ "''''«'' * « chapel and laid with his head resting upon the stone he had cared for so long and held m such wonderful reverence. Some time after his d^th it was Uken for safe keepinu to Scone Abbev, and was held in reverence by the kings of Scotland until Edward the First carried it to t-ngland, where it has remained ever since What more shall I say ? Will you be like the noble Bereans, search the Scriptures," to see if these tnings be so. Keep the House of Judah and the House of Israel separate, and remember that the Kingdom of God is a literal kingdom and that it is among you The Lord is at hand-shall we make the same mistake as that made at His first coming ? „J !?• .T ^"^ ^H Scriptures, they had the temple worship, they had the sacrificial services, they called themselves the servants of God, they were expecting n 160 TWENTY-FIVE TEARS OP CANADIAN LIFE. the Messiah, yet when He came they did not know Him. While He was in their midst gomg about doing good they would have none of Him, and at last they put Him to death. They had the Scriptures, but they did not know them. They wanted a Messiah to come in their way. and when He came in His ■» "-« «vU to come " " ^i2*."" should'st call me to resign r^ ■"?»» I P"^«. it ne'er w Wood has been shed, many famihes have been bereaved ; our heVrts have been saddened many times by coming °n contact wth those upon whom sorrow anigrief hl^ fallen It fell particularly heavy on the family of a young SlW^h.".T P"f".' °^ "!'°^' """^ ^ho^ mother (af true PhJl^^ been extremely kind to me. She was a true^Chnstian, and we had spoken t<3get.her of thing^ :i 164 TWINTT-nVE TEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. Breakfast was ready in their little breakfast-room as she entered it one mominjt and rang the bell. " Where is Master Frank ? Has he had his break- fast already ? And Louise ! Where is she ? " " They have not come down yet, ma'am. You are a little early, are you not ? " "Perhaps I am. I could not sleep any longer. 1 felt I should be better up. Oh, here is Louise ! " " Well, mother mine, do you feel better that you are up so early ? Where isiFrank ? Not down yet ( " " Will you go and call him, Jane ? Tell him that I am down and would like a drive this morning." " We won't wait, Louise. What are you going to do to-day, as it is a holiday ? " Just then Jane came back, saying, " I can't make him hear ; I have knocked three or four times and tried the door, but 'tis locked." " Go, Louise ! see what is the matter," said her mother, rising hastily. "Sit still now, mother; I'll go and rout the idle fellow. Come with me, Jane, please." She could not make him hear, however, but sud- denly thought of the spare room, and going through it and on to the balcony it was not much trouble to fet over to his and look through the window, but the lind was down. Then, finding the window unfastened, she threw it up and stepped into the room. " Oh, Jane ! she cried, " he is not here ; his bed has not been slept in ; what shall I do ? How shall I tell mamma? It w i'l kill her." " Oh, dear ! oh, dear ! I'm afraid it will ; I wish the master was home. But look. Miss Louise, here's a note." " A note ! Yes, it's for mother ; but what will it say ? He's gone to the front, you may depend, and mother will die ; I dare not give it to her. ' A BEREAVED FAMILT. les v ,", 9''' ."** ""*' 8° down, there is the breakfast-room bell, said Jane. " I am afraid you will have to irfve it to her." * Thus in fear and trembling they went down. " Have you finished breakfast, mamma," said Louise as cheerfully as she could. "Yes, dear. Why did you stay so long, then?" As she caught sight of their pale faces, she took »'*™- " What is the matter ? What has happened ?" Now, dearest, don't get excited ; he has gone away ; here is a note for you, but sit down and read it quietly ; you know you are not strong yet, and, mother, remember you've got me." " Mv dearest daughter ! my pet ! give me the note." Both Jane and liouise watched her intently as she read. When she got to the end she was pale to the lips. " I will lie down a little, dear," she said, " if you will arrange my pillows. Frank has gone to the front ; he could not trust himself to say good-bye, but will see your father this morning. They made her comfortable, and as Louise kissed her she closed her eyes ; then, after drawing down the blinds, Louise sat down beside her. As time passed, she wondered at her sleeping so long, yet she was glad that for a while at least she could forget her grief. Poor girl ! she never heard her mother's voice again ; she had gone to her long home. Her heart was not strong enough to bear the strain. In a town about twenty miles distant, and about the same hour, a jroung man entered an hotel. After making an inquiry at the oflSce, he ran lightly upstairs and knocked at No. 69. " Who's there ? " 166 TWINTY-KIVB YEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. " It is I, father ; may I come in t " "Certainly, my boy, a8 be opened tlie door; bat what is wrong. Your mother — " " Is all right, father. She was a great deal better laat night than whe has been fur a long time. We played whist until ten o'clock." " Was Janet there, or who made the fourth ? " " Oh, Jimmy was there. He is to go out to see his old n-eat-aunt this morning. She sent for him. That willM a good thing for him, perhaps, for she is quite wealthy.'^ ' " There now, I am dressed. We will go down to breakfast, then you can tell me what you want" As soon as they were seated, Frank began : " Dear father, I must go to the front. I have come to the conclusion that it is my duty. I have been accepted and have promiseil. I should have been amongst the first to enlist but for mother's illness and her being so much against it." " Has she given her consent now, then ? " "No; but the last time we had a talk about it she did not seem to feel so bad, and I said to her, ' Some time I shall fly away and you wont know where I have gone to.' ' Oh, I should guess,' she said, smiling. So that is really what I have done. I left the house last night by the balcony and stayed with Jim. We left on the early train this morning. Mother will have got my note by now telling her good-bye, and that I would see you and send love and kisses to-day." " Are they expecting me to-day ? " " Either to-day or to-morrow you said in your last letter." " Oh, yes , well, I could go to-day, but I will go with you to Halifax, or part of the way will be better, then I shall get back by to-morrow night. Did you write to Janet ? Did she give her consent ? " A BIBIAVID FAMILY. m " Ym, a little unwillingly ; but it W8«, yes. She it reading my letter of farewell just now, I expect," said he, looking at hit watch. " Well, you will want Mome extras, won't you. We had better go out and get what you neeil, for your train gDea at twelve." * This they pioceec' 'd to do, and when they had everything ready it was near train time. When they got down to the station, however, the father snid, " I think 1 will change my mind, Frank, and go home. There is a train due fifteen minutes after yours, and the dear ones at home will need a bit of comfort." A few minutes later he said, " Here Hhe comes, my boy. Oood-bye, be faithful even unto death ; yet I pray Qod to let you cume safely back to us." " Oood-bye, father ; comfort mother all you can and tell her to write soon to her soldier boy." There was not time to go buck to the hotel, so the fifteen minutes were spent in walking up and down the platform, and the telegram which was waiting for him he never got Tims he went blindly home to the greatest trouble of his life. He went into tho smoking car for a few minutes, but felt too restless to sit still. Throwing away his cigar he walked into the forward car. As he took his ceat a young girl on the opposite side looked up from a note she was reading, saying, " Why, Mr. W., where did you come from ? I am just going to your house." " Why, Janet, this is an unexpected pleasure, and yet if I had known you were on the way to my house I believe I should have gone on a piece with Frank. He left me fifteen minutes ago. Of conrw you knew he was going ? " 168 TWINTY-riVI YIAHS or CANADIAN MfE. _ " Ym, I have a uute here which I only received at eight o'clock this moniinj;. I got ready at once, for I knew that Louise and dear Mrs. W. would need cheering up a little, and I knew you were away." " Well, I am glad you have corae, and here we are. I will take a cab and we shall get the quicker there." The station-master came up to them as they got off the train, saying, " I am deeply grieved for you, sir. There is a cab waiting — 1 thought perhaps you would need one." " Thank you, I shalf be glad to get home, though it will hardly be like home for a little while." _" No, sir, I am sure it won't ; one so much loved will be surely missed." "_0h, well, let us hope it will only be for a little while; please Ood, he'll soon be back again," and with that the cab drove off. " By George ! 1 don't believe he got the telegram ; he thought I was speaking of his boy going off, and does not yet know of the greater trouble,' said the station-master. Meantime the fly drew up at the back of the house, as thev could take a nearer cut that way. They entered by the side door, and -wondered to find Jane in tears. " Oh, sir, sir, this is a trouble, sure ! " Then Louise flew into his arms, crying, " O Papa, Papa, what shall we do ? " " Why, my dear, 'tis sad to part, but you must not take it to heart like this. Look at Janet, how brave she is, and how does mother take it ? " Louise drew back, looking at her father and Janet with wide open eyes as she said, "Oh, don't you know ? Did you not get the telegram to say that mamma was dead ? " "Your mother dead! Oh, my God, this is too much > " and, strong man though he was, he fell faint- ing to the floor. A BEREAVED rAMlLY. 109 I gathered the above from Louise and Janet, who both came to see me after the funeral. They stayed more than an hour with me, and it > med to comfort t'liil me they had 1 ;,-, :'i,il his •le wuu; i ieel llill. HO Iciu tg Louise to tallc of her mother. S! written to Franlt, but did m» mother was dead ; the father tl ' BO badly that they would keei poasible. _ I have not seen or hearn m^t'i'u^' if i,l>.' i a, i|y since I left the town, but (> li.iil t, . ,; h^u i v;w an account in the paper of a Vnuil. W — ^- fiyin;; of enUric fever; I think most hkely if vas >)m wme boy, because the name was an i.nc< moii uiit. To the public and through the newspui/<. -s ',10 whs only one of many who went out 10 South Africa and died there. Yet thin whole story, with all its pathetic and touching sadness, may also be only one of^many such. Truly God is no respecter of persons. From the humblest homes, as well as the noblest, he has taken men, even to the grandson of our Queen. Indeed Britain has been learning many lessons which, we trust, will help her to follow on to know the Lord and to look unto the hills from whence cometh her help. 1 would not like to endorse all that the newspapers say, by any means, but I do think it wise sometimes to read them and the Bible together— there are so many unconscious corroborations of Scripture in the daily press. One writer, on the occlusion of the Queen's 81st birthday, speaks of " the countless mil- lions of her people in every part of the dominions that are as wide as the earth." When he does this, he recalls the words spoken to the ancestors of the chosen people. " Be thou the mother of thousands of millions." We all remember the Queen's Jubilee, There was 170 TWBNTy-nvi ybabs of Canadian life. a sense of overwhelming splendour in that celebra- tion, the extent of her dominions was such as had never been beheld in history. Some critics thought that the glory of the British Empire was too great to Isst, and wondered whether her sons had retained at the core the energy and fighting power and courage of their fathers. While the Boers dwf 't on the theory that British power had become the golden idol with the feet of clay, and that they were the appointed ones to break them in pieces, they therefore felt sure of victory ; but they had no nigns of Israel, they had no gates to defend them. It has been upon the fields of South Africa that these questions have been once for all thrashed out and settled. They know now that God is against them, or rather against their cause. They know now that the British, who won at Waterloo, and many battles in India, as well as those of Eg}-pt and the Soudan, have been able by Qod's hip to beat them. He is against them because they are cruel and treacherous, and will not give liberty to the colored races. I have before me a diary of some of the events of the South African war for 1900, which, I think, may be interesting in time to come. On January 2nd we have rather an amusing entry : " Natives evacuated Douglass ; the Canadians acting as escort and carrying the babies." I have since spoken to one of those boys, and he told me it was great fun for the time being. January 10th. — "Lord Roberts and Lord Kitehener arrived at Cape Town." January 13th. — " British War Office accepted Lord Strathcona's oflTer to provide a mounted force for South Africa." (Which went out on March 17th.) February 15th. — " Kimberly was relieved by Gen- A BEREAVED FAXILT. 171 eral French." (Of eoune there were great rejoicings.) February Slat.— We got our first sad account of Canadians, " twenty killed and sixty wounded." February 27th.— "Cronje surrenders his entire force of four thousand men on the anniversary of Majuba Hill." February 28th.—" Ladysmith was relieved by Lord Dundonald, after a siege of one hundred and eighteen days." On this occasion the Lord Mayor of London, in his speech said, " I thank the Almighty for the glorious news we have waited so patiently for." May 18th.—" Mafeking relieved." July 14th.— "Some of our invalids arrive at Quebec." August 10th.— "A plot on foot to shoot British officers and make a prisoner of Lord Roberts." The guilty party is " tried, condemned and shot on August 24th." August 27th. — " Great rejoicings over some of our returned soldiers." September 1st— "Lord Roberts proclaimed the Transvaal annexed by Great Britain." November 30th. — " Lord Kitchener succeeds to the command of the British forces in South Africa. Review of the Canadians at Windsor Castle by the Queen." December 5th.— "The Canadians, with Colonel Otter, visit Westminster and are addressed by Mr. Chamberlain." December Uth.— " Lord Roberts left Cape Town for England." December 25th.— Christmas day. We people of Woodstock welcomed home some of our soldier boys. Some people seem to think that the war is prac- tically over, bnt others, and I am one of them, think quite differently. The Boers are too stubborn a people 172 TWBNTY-FIVB TBAKS OF CANADIAN LIFE. to give in while they have (as the saying is) a leg to stand on ; but we shall see. I notice that Canada will send one thousand recruits for Colonel Baden-Powell's Constabulary Force in South Africa, so they evidently do not expect things to run too smoothly. I have just received a letter from Miss C, telling me that Clarence has i-eturned, looking bronzed and healthy. He was only a short time off duty while he was away. One of his iingers was shot off; he says he left them that as a legacy. Enclosed was a list of questions from her father which he wishes 1 would answer, either by paying them a visit or in writing;, that his daughter may read aloud to him and the friends who are interested in the subject. I have written to congratulate Miss C. on the safe return of her lover, and promised to look over the questions and do what I can by way of answering them. I musl, however, leave it for another chapter. CHAPl'ER XVIII. QUESTIONS AND ANSWEHS. " What I do thou knuweat not now ; but thou shalt know hereafter " (John 13 : 7). •'() Lord, our Saviour King, Help UB the news to ring. The lost are found. Are we thy chosen race i We'd bow Ijefore thy face, And asking for thy once. Tell it around.' I WILL now try to answer some of the qaestion.s sent to me by my friend, Mr. (' The first is : " Are our great men called by God to their work in the world, as the Bible characters were to theirs ? " I answer emphatically, yes. Adam received an unconditional command which has never been with- drawn. It was given to him as the first of his race, and is still being fulfilled to the letter: "Multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it " (Gen. 1 : 28). This command was repeated to Noah (Gen. 9:1). 173 174 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OP CANADIAN LIFE. Was he not called, think you, to prepare the ark and as a preacher of righteousness ? Would he have been doing God's will or obeying His commands, if he had done the preaching and left the ark unbuilt ? Abraham was called to receive a gift with great and precious promises ; he was to be the father of a great nation, and he was to be the father of the faithful. Through him was to come a multitudinous seed, which was to have dominion and rule the world in right- eousness; through him was to come the one seed, Christ, the Redeemer and Saviour. His work was to believe, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness. A type of the Christian Church. Jacob, through suffering, became great; he had " power with God as a prince and prevailed." His name was changed to Israel, and he became the father of the patriarchs who formed the twelve tribes of Israel. As a bereaved father he mourned for his beloved son, who was restored to him in Egypt, where he went with a small band (seventy souls). They were brought back a mighty nation. What was Joseph called upon to do ? To bear wrong patiently, to overcome temptation, to prepare a place and food for his father and his brethren, and to speak to the king in their favor, a very wonderful type of Christ. Again, Moses was prepared and fitted for the work, then called to it. He led that great nation out of Egypt through the wilderness to the borders of the Promised Land. Joshua led them across the Jordan, and gave to them their inheritance. Judah was the next to lead them forward, and so through all the Bible history. One after another took up the work, and all through the ages it has continued to be so. QUESTIONS AND AMSWERS. 175 To Samson was appointed the task to destroy the enemies of ( ;od. He did his work, but he was his own enemy, and suffered much by his own wrong-doing. He fell into temptation instead of overcoming it. Are not some of our great men of to-day like that ? David was a mighty king, but he also studied the interests of religion. He loved God and loved the people of God. Elach prophet had his particular work to do, and spoke concerning the heathen nations as well as their own, and their words have been wonderfully fulfilled. •^ Christ was called, the apostles were called, St. Paul was called. History tells of great things done by men of our own day, things which have brought about this vast Empire -Alfred the Great, Queen Elizabeth, Victoria the Good, all noble rulers. Then Wellington, Nelson, Roberts, Kitchener, and Rhodes. Most decidedly, men like these have been called and prepared for the work that they each had to do. Study such characters and you will find that the more faithful they have been the more perfect their work. I think I may say that never before, in the history of the world, have the people of any one empire made such rapid progress in the same length of time. The earth is being replenished ; its waste places are blossoming and giving forth fruit. It is being sub- dued. Man has searched out its riches, and found out secret things ; even the sea has disclosed its hidden depths, the mighty beasts of the forest, and the cattle upon a thousand hills have been subdued by the power of man, and I maintain, that those who have been leaders in this work have been called of God, led by God, and taught of God. Some of them may 176 TWENTY-FIVB TEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. not know it ; they may boast ; and say — I did this, I found out that, and so forth; but unless God had fiven to them the strength and the power they could ave done nothing. Mr. Gladstone was a great statesman. It has been said that he made a mistake with regard to the Boers — and it does look like it ; but suppose this war had come on at the time we think it should have done so, would Britain have been so well prepared for it, or would our Colonies have turned out as they have done ? We cannot tell. Mr. Gladstone was not only a great statesman, he was a great Christian. For many years an old man had swept a street crossing near the House of Parliament. One day he was absent Upon inquiry he was found by a city missionary, ill in a little attic chamber, barely furnished with cot and stool. " You are lonely here," said the missionary. " Has any one called to see you ? " " Oh ! yes," he replied. " Several persons have called — Mr. Gladstone for one ; he called and read to me." " Mr. Gladstone called ! What did he read ? " " He sat on the stool there, and read the Bible to me. What a beautiful position — the great statesman sitting on a stool in an attic reading the Word of God to a street-sweeper. The Earl of Shaftesbury was another great states- man who was also a great Christian. He did a great deal of g'lod in his life of which the world knows very little. The Government was against many of his movements, and very slow in passing some of his bills through Parliament, but he was so persevering that he seldom dropped a bill until it did pass. He said on one occasion : " It is not enough to lift the public up ; we should support them when they are up." QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 177 As a statesman he put down child labor, and got better dwelhng-places for the poor. In one narrow court, near Drury Une, there dwelt in fourteen houses two hundred families-about one thousand persons To make this known, he called a meeting m the middle of the court on November 4th ISO* One who was present said it was filth and stench from garret to basement ; several hundred loads ot hlth were carted awav with a solid mass of livine vermin three or four inches thick. He had new buildings erected, and in 1855 called another meeting to witness the change. In nine small rooms eighty-four persons were found in a dark cellar, on payment of five cents a night a lodger was provided with a sack for coverin<^- bo'vs and girls both sleeping there. " In another part nine hundred persons were found living m fourteen crazy houses, where a woman would sell her daughter for a dollar as readily as she would an old shawl. It was from such degradation as this that Lord hhaftesbury bent all his energies to deliver them, and he did deliver a great many. New dwelling-houses and model lodging-houses have in many instances taten the places of those to which I called your atten- tion. It was not easy work by any mean.s. It was said : Leave them alone ; they are there and they will stay there, and if you get them out they will return to their wallowing in the mire. But the result has been exactly the reverse. It is no longer as it was. " For us the streets, bmad Imilt and populous ; For them unhealthy corners, garrets dim. And cellars where the water rats may swim ; For us green paths, refreshed by frequent rain ; For them dark alleys where the dust lies grim " 12 178 TWENTV-riVI YEAH8 OF CANADIAN LIFE. This great man's rent-roll was about sixteen thou- sand pounds a year, and he spent it chiefly in doing good. He entered into the work of a friend who was intent on reclaiming thieves. At one time he received a round roli^ (under cover) signed by forty of the principal thi>;ves and burglars in London, anking him to meet in a l - Mn place appointed, to give advice as to how the, s'lould obtain an honest living. He went and ff'.Uiu nearly four hundred men, from mem- bers of the I. .veil mob in black coats and white neck- cloths, to the most fierce-looking, half-dressed savages you could conceive ot A large majority of that four hundred were re- formed, and the good work in tbiefdom went on. At that time London, England, was a most dangerous city to live in. Now it is reported by the chief com- missioner of police to be the safest in the world. The Earl was so well known by all classes that when on one occasion his watch was stolen, valuing it very highly, he advertised it, and within twenty-four hours a bag was left at his house, in which was the thief, bound and gagged — a young lad with the watch round his neck. His fellow-thieves had sur- rendered him to be dealt with by his lordship himself, who succeeded in reforming the lad instead of sending him to prison. Time would fail me to tell one-half of his good deeds that did not come under the lieatl of statesman- ship (even if I knew the half of them), but some of them I cannot pass by. He followed so very closely in the Master's footsteps, he litBi-ally went about doing good. In the beginning of his life's work the Ragged School movement was set on foot, and soon became the Ragged School Union, which now is of gigantic proportion, and, like the octopus, its tentacles spread guisnoNs and answeiui. 179 Zl V ^'ffot'O"?. embracing the whole of Christen. .^^" -n C '^ !>«>?"">'«>« WRS veiy small, and few, if of Q,^ L fK *"* ^V^y^^"^ "'« ^Sinner was cal I'ed of God to the work. What a simple little thing it was which led up to it. A young man. very anxiouf to do some h.ng for the Master, stlod oie day wateh ng some of the London street araba playing cherry stonef and Imtening to their iokes. one on the^otnTut once a thought struct him, and singling out one of them frc., the others, he asked him to>t the evTning PfPf ' !,"^ ^,^°«. i* to his rooms, saying, " I shall bf at the door looking for you." wWhe^ brought the paper the young man asked him how long it would tafee him to selFwhat papers he had ? ^ " O 1 he says, " about half an hour." have^t:a'wthYeT"'''''"''' **''"" """y°" """'-"•I " Go 'lon^ ; what yer mean ? " *hi"„l'fr°-'?!!'7''** ^ ^l' I ^'^ ^ 'o°«'y that I do teMh me how to play cherry-stones " rhe bov looked tim .straight in the face for a minute; then he said: " V ° * ^^"^ ^* °° father nor mother ? " . «,° ;, ",?r * hrother or sister either.' Well, 1 11 come; " I'll be back." I'll get rid o' these in a jiffy, an' two in {°"°g"«°^. asked his landlady to set tea for h« f^VK- '" V'i'i'S;"^'"' *•"! ^hen the boy came bLra„H"^.'"*r*"' ^'f'""™' P"' ^"tor into the basin, and gave him a clean towel, doing it all as a matter of course and not intheleastappearing to notice looking-glass and the comb and brush he burst into a hearty augh, and taking a little bit of coiTbourof h.s pocket he said : ■■ Now, I 'low this is good enough 180 TWINTY-riVK TEAB8 OF CANADIAK LIFl. for me, Mr. — what's your name ? " with an inquiring " Oh, my name is Fred ; what is yours 1 " " Well, I believe my right name is Jimmy ; but 1, m gener'l, gets Jim ; so Jim let it be." " All right then, Jim, we'll go in to tea. After tea Fred did what he could to amuse him and Bive him a good time, and while he was reading to Kim a rather comic story Jim ^sf'J; _," My T lANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) II 1.8 ^ APPLIED \MA3E In Sr^ ^^^^ ^(»> Uo'" street ^.S Rocriester, New Yorti 14609 USA r.^S (716) *82 - 0300 - Phone —SSZ (716) 20a - 5999 - fat 182 TWEVTV-FIVE TEARS OF CAKADIAN LIFE. He was delighted to become an honorary member o( the Worshipful Company of Costermongers, and considered it one of the red letter days of his life when he was admitted and presented with a handsome trained donkey, which was named " Coster " in memory of the event. His lord.ship was very proud of this donkey, and often had it on view in Grosvenor Square, and later it drew his lordship about in a bath chair. There is an old donkey forty years old, maintained at the common expense of the costers in Golden Lane. " What does he do ? " they were asked. " Why," said they, " he walks about and plays with the children " The costermongers at one time were the most law- less, a nuisance to society and a danger to the police. What is their character now ? Honest, orderly, well conducted. So much for the regenerating power of the Gospel administered by loving hands. These people were taught to take care of the poor dumb animals who served them, and in practising this had become kind to each other. One beautiful little incident comes before me, show- ing his loving nature. He must have known every child in the village school by name. One day, while standing in front of the old village church (where his remains now rest), the school was dismissed, the kindly face smiling down on the chil- dren as they passed. Two little girls in scarlet cloaks and hoods came along, the elder one tripping past with a smile and curtsy, while the younger one ran up to him, and lifting her sweet baby face, the picture of innocence, said, " Oh, Land Shaftie." He bowed forward with the words, " You darling," and kissed QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 183 her, just as the sun's rays fell upon the aged man and sweet village child. At one lime it was illegal for more than twenty people to meet together for the study of God's Word unless they got license from the Bishop. Lord Shaftesbury was instrumental in getting that law done away with, and he was the first to encour- age lay speaking and out-door preaching. He was President of the Young Men's Christian Association from its beijinning to his death. There is hardly anything one can think of aa a good work but hiii name will be in someway connected with it. Now he has fallen asleep in Jesua The work is not finished. Who will take it up and throw heart and soul into it as ho did ? As I said before, all through history we do not read of any man having finished a work. One lays it down, another takes it up, and so it will be until the earth is subdued, sin is put away and death conquered. We must not forget that our noble missionaries are helping on this great work, and you will notice that it takes its place side by side with the work of the Empire— it follows the British flag. The conquering power goes first, followed by the persuasive influence of civilization. This makes a way for the ever-glori- ous Gospel, softening and melting to tenderness. I think I have answered the question, "Are our great men called of God ? " As my time and space is limited, I will select just two questions from the list Mr. C. has sent me. 1 hey are diflicult (lucstions, and I shall not attempt to give positive answers to them. I will say what I think will, to a certain extent, be explanatory and leave my reader to accept that which may appeal to him. I shall, however, reserve these answers for another chapter. 'CHAPTER XIX. A NATION MOURNS THE LOSS OF ONE BELOVED. "The Master is come, and calleth for thee '' (John 11 : 28). "The oars have dropped from the tired hands, The Master is drawing near ; ' It is I,' He said ; ' Come home, my child ; It is I, be of good cheer.' " *' Gould we hear her speak from that far-off land. Where her guerdon is now ' Well done I ' We feel she would say to her people's heart. My friends, love well my son." The nation has been stricken with a keen sorrow. All have felt it, from the throne to the humblest cot- tage. We all do mourn our great and gracious Queen. But would we wish to keep her ? Was not for her the change for good ? She was tired, for she worked hard for her people. She was patiently waiting and ready when the call came. I am wondering if she has been taken from the evil 184 A NATION MOURNS THE LOSS OF ONE BELOVED. 185 to come, as I am reminded of King Josiali. When God was about to punish his people for sin, He took Josiah home first. Yes, it is true — Victoria the Queen is dead, and Edward her son reigns in her stead. Never before in history have we seen or heard of such a funeral. People from all parts of the world did homage to her worth — even the nations who hate Britain as a nation sent messages of sorrow and condolence. Her son purposes to walk in her footsteps, and I pray God he may, for if God be with him as He was with his mother who can tell what this ne— century may bring forth? Prophecy is be ng s. ailed so rapidly that soon I trust the wholt world will be reached for God, and His people be scattered over it in such a way as to make th , ; cess ,if leavening it easy. Another great event has taken place in the history of our Empire which we may not pass by, namely, the Confederation of Australia. On May 10th, 1901, the Duke of Cornwall opened the first session of the first parliament of that new nation. The words as publicly announced are : Aus- tralia, our daughter, now ranks as a new nation, and joined to Canada on the west, and India and New Zealand in Australasia, fulfils Genesis 35:11 and 48 : 19. (RV.) We are a nation and a company of nations. Thus, imperially, we are in a position to hold the world for God. Martin Tupper has written nicely on this subject, as follows : *' All to be one ; what a blest Federation ! Britain, Imperial Queen of the world ; Sealed as one heart, one life, and one nation, Und^r one cross, one standard unfurled : 186 TWgNTT-FIVB TEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. I'll' Owning one Uw of reli|{ion and reuion, Speaking one language and rich in ita wealth ; Proud of the past and tne bright present season, And the grand future of health and wealth ; So may the whole world's glorious communion, Nature and science and cummei'ce rejoice, Qrowing together in one happy union. Filling the welkin with gratitude's voice. Canada, Africa, Zealand, Australia, India, continents. Isles of the Sea, Adding your jewels to Britain's regalia. One with old England, the home of the free. We are told that 12,000 people in the Victorian capital witnessed the splendid ceremony of this opening of a tirst parliament. The heir apparent concluded his address by reading the following message from the king : " My thoughts are with you. I wish the Common- wealth of Australia every happiness and prosperity." This message comes from an invisible sovereign. Then in a calm voice which can be heard from the speaker in their midst comes the words, " 1 now, in his Majesty's name and on his behalf, declare this parliament open." Thus was the calling into being of a new nation, joined to the memory and tradition of a common past, which promises to the future Imperial growth. When the first inter-ocean railway was completed in the United States, nothing made a more vivid im- pression upon the imagination of the world than the ingenious arrangement by which the last rivet, made of gold, was driven home by a silver hammer, so con- nected with an electric apparatus that the final taps echoed in every telegraph office of the Republic. Australia improved on that device. A transmitter was fixed upon a table in front of the Duke of Corn- wall, and the opening of the Federal Parliament was no A NATION MOtKNS THE LOSS OF ONE BELOVED. 187 sooner declared than the pressuri of a magic button caused the Union Jack to fly to the mast-head in every town and village and station to which the tele- graph can reach throughout the whole continent. Just here, dear reader, I laid down my pen, and leaning back in my chair I have been thinking, thinking of the flight of time; and as we look far into the past it seen to me that it moved slower than it does now. I )ems hiird to realize, when we think of New Zeala' Australia and our Canada, also the United States, that three hundred years ago they were the hunting-fields of Indians and the homes of the beasts of the forest, where now we have cities, towns and villages peopled by many nationalities, though chiefly by the Anglo-Saxon. Twenty years ago Uganda was a very unsafe place for a white man ; it was there that Bishop Hauning- ton and thirty of his native followers lost their lives But now things are quite difTerent ; the little native king is only five years old and the British flag flies over his palace — he is being brought up as a Christian. They have a church, a bishop, nice residences, schools, hospitals and mission houses. The natives are peace- ful, living in their own huts and building their own churches. Think of the change in twenty years and what may be in twenty years more if we were only more earnest in our prayers and in our mission work. I will now give you the substance of the an.swer I sent to Mr. C. His question was, " Do you not think it was less diflficult to believe in God in the old times, when He spoke personally to His people, than it is now ? " I might simply answer. Yes ! and there would be many people ready to object. I might simply answer, No ! and there would still be people who would object. f n ■; I 188 TWENTY-FIVl TEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. Why is this ? It is because so many people have got very exaggerated ideas as to what belief in Qod really means. Let us go back to the Garden of Eden, where Ood walked and conversed with our first parents. Did they believe in God > 1 think I hear you say, "What a question ! Of course thev did ; why, Ood spoke to them personally." But did they ? I think not ! They believed in a God, for, as you say, He con- versed with them ; but did they believe what He said > Did they believe in Him ? I will suppose you to know Mr. A., who lives in your town— you have spoken to him many times. One day he said to you, " I heard jjrou were going to give up your position — is that so ? ' " Yes, that 18 my intention ; I shall get more wages where I am going." " Well," said Mr. A., " I would advise you not to make the change ; that man is going to fail, then you will be out of work. I'd stay where you are if I were you." , . ^. Now, if you had believed Mr. A., or believed in his good-will towards you, you would have acted on his advice ; but you did not. Instead, you went to an- other friend, who, as =t happened, wanted to get the position you then held. You told him what Mr. A. had said, and he flatly contradicted it, said it was not so, and that you would be all right in making the change. His advice being according to your desires, you followed it, to your own undoing. You believed him because he advised you to follow your own inclina- tions. This was very much the case with our first parents. God advised tham to a certain course and told them what would happen if they deviated therefrom. Satan came along and appealed to their desires— A NATION MOURNS THE LOSS OF ONE BELOVED. 189 contradicted God, and told tliera a lie. They believed hiui, and, acting upon that belief, they slew theuiselveH, so death of the body posMed upon all men. They believed in a (Jod, but did not believe what He said ; did not believe in Him or in H'm power to carry out His word. If they had they certainly would have obeyed Him. It has been this way all down the ages : God has always had some who believed in Him. Noah's belief led him to be obedient to His word. Abraham believed, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Joshua believed, and compassed the city of Jericho according to His word. Now, what about the people as a nation ? They believed in a God, they Knew there was a God, but they did not always believe in Him, or they would have obeyed His -'0100. They were constantly fall- ing into idolutry — seeing the guds of the heathen made of wood and stone, they would have gods that they could see also. From time to time God appeared to them in some special manner, when they would repent ; but when left to themselves they soon lapsed into idolatry again. You know what happened when God's patience was tired out. After the return of the Jews from Babylon they did not again fall into the sins of idolatry ; but they broke up into little sects, they taught the people the traditions of men, and put upon them burdens hard to bear. They believed in a God (and so they do now), but they did not believe in Him. So it came to pass that when Christ came they did not know Him. Now, are you inclined to say, as I have heard from some : If I had seen God's works in Egypt, at the Red Sea, on Mount Sinia, or at the striking of the rock, I should have believed in Him and been obedient. Then I would say to you : Look at my next picture and ask yourself the question, Am I more or less guilty than my 190 TWEHTY-FIVE YCAB8 OF CAKAUIAN LIFE. brethren of the Old Testament i "Tin nineteen hundred years Hinee the Saviour came into our midst. He went about doing good, and wo have a written record of His doinas ; He spolte parables of wondarful moan- injj tor our study; He left beautiful words, simnle and easy to understand, that we may read and live by them ; He died a cruel death in our stead ; He prayeU for His murderers with His dying breath. He was buried. . ■ i He rose again and ever lives to make intercession for us. His last command was that we preach His Gospel. He left us to return to His Father, but He will come again, and of all this we have a written record added to tV record of the doings of our ancestors, which we may re,id and rewl if we will ; but more than all this, we have the Holy Spint sent by this dear Saviour to dwell with us, and in us, to guide us into all truth ; we have only to ask and have, to seek and find. Dear Mr. C, I must give you back your question in another form. „ , „„ , v u Which ought to be the least difficult ? 1 hat which was mainly types and shadows, or that which is the fulfilment of those things ? The believing in God, while under the ban of condemnation, or ma loving Father whose wrath has been appeased ? Believing in God when led by human leaders, or when we may be led by the Spirit ? Now, what shall our answer be ? , ,, , It is the same today as of old. We are to d by the Word, to "love God with all our heart, with all our mind, and with all our strength, and our neighbor as ourselves." But Satan puts before us gold, honor, power, pomp, and riches. , We believe in a God, but we see tnese things and A NATION MOURNS THE IX>88 Of ONE BKLOVCO. 101 desire to have them. I do not «ay that in all cases we consciously choose between Qoil and these things. No ! we want both. Here, then, in our danger. The heart can only hu. ' ^o much. What if these things till it to overtlowinf ' with all reverence I say, where does Qod come in i If we believetl in Him we should truKt Him, and believe that by seeking — fir.st, the kingdom of t)od and His righteousneiss, all other things would be added unto us ; we should be obedient to His Word Most of our young men would be highly offended if the/ were asked, " Do you believe in God ? " But do they t My young friund, do you believe in (iod when you spend Sunday morning in bed, on the door step, or it may bo in reading a novel or a iicwspaper :' I have been told, " Oh, I make no profesaion ; I am not converted." Believe mt, this wdl not help you. You are living in a Christian country, within reach of churah, and within sound of a church bell. A Bible can be bought for a mere trifle. If you neglect so great a salvation, what will you do when you nave to give an account of your time. Supposing you may be saved, that yau just get into heaven, as it were, what will you feel like ? — no word of praise for work well done, no reward, no stars in your crown. Boys and men, you will do w^ell to begin to think of these things; the hurt cannot possibly fall only on yourselves. It must hurt others, too : your little children or your little brothers are watqhing you, and soon they will be trying to follow your example. Stop and think right here. Turn now to the foil who made you, to the Son of God who redeemea you. Aek guul.ince from the Spirit of Gotl who is willing and waiting to sa .3tify you and make you all he would have you to be. " Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die, O House of Israel ? " IM TwiNTv-riv, vwM or casadus urt. W openly. tKlfoS" Ye7a 'Y «v t' "'"" idle, they arc not searcl.in^ f h« L " ! ^' '.''*^ »™ making no prewiraTi^n ?£ .t ^^/'P""*"- they are Was it not lew* diffinnU r.'"^"'^ ^ »? "'e Muertion : when He °pokT wSl^ T^if "'^u'" *''* »''' «"•« I think I must w^nT V ""*"" ',H" "'"^ '" "nd unbeliever of tW^' J!^nt thn~' ^ '''•°"'<» "y, the "•nil »« to Ci do Li TCr"- ""' ""y we, as a peonle ar« h^tL.. «. ' . ?* ™ whether know, fhave'heard of I ? """"^ ^""^ *^"'' ^ ^o not o. SS'i"/'<,';~;a£' •*"•" "•'•". i»r- A NATION MllUltN!) THt LUSM OF ONE IIBI.OVGD. 19:) Hometliiiig is wroiij;, the beauty ot the work in iMarred. On the contrary, if the work is rijjht it is (|uit« iinpoMiblo to form an idea of its beauty from tliat Hide. 1h thin the way with Uod's work, I wonder I Per- haps We can only see the wron}{ siiio now ; but, like the carpet, it will burst upon our view in all its nm;;ni- Hcence when it is turned to face us. Kenieniberinjr that we are the threads being woven into this jjroat carpet, which the great Hcac {-keeper is weavinj;, another thought conies to nie from the carpet factory : There are in use there testers of strength and tcaters of coloring; also a waste-box c-i hand. No thread is used in the best carpets that will not stand these tests, and each day tl-i waste- box gets more or less full. I do not want you to ui .rstand that the contents of this waste-box are entirely thrown away, for they are not. They are u.sed in making rugs and mats of an inferior quality, and sold at a oher -'ir rate, of course. Now, dear reader, where do we stand ' Is faith in Christ, God's gift, our strength ? That will stand well any test. Is love to God and our neighbor our coloring > That will also bear the test. Does the kingdom of God and His righteousness take the first place in our daily work ! Then we need hardly fear the waste-box. Lit us then make no divisions. Let us avoid divisions ; but let us be careful how we condemn those who do not think just as we do. God, who knows eaeh motive of our heart, will judge or condemn aright, which we could by no means do. What we know not now we shall know hereafter. 13 191 TWENTY-FIVK TEARS OF CANADIAN LIFE. I Will now draw to a close. As I look throueh page after page, I feel how little I have done to make the world better than I found it. As I read them, how little there seems to be in the words I have written to commend themselves to those who read; and only that I know how much is there from God's own word, which will not return unto Him void, and that in humble faith I have asked so earnestly that He would guide my pen and my thoughts, I should be afraid to send them forth into the great world • but I do send them in His name to do with tl.em ai He will ; to prevent or go before with His grace, that they may not hurt or hinder, to follow after with His blessing that thby may be a help to some. I wish that I could add one more chapter in which I could say the war is over, and to publish an account of the joy that will undoubtedly be manifested at such an event. But it is not to be. God's time has not yet come. 10 many its long continuance is a great trial. Some tbink that our national sins are causing the Lord's face to be turned against us. We know not the plans of God, or why He permits this long continuance, ex- cept it be that He is showing a marvellous patience towards our enemies. One thing we do know, the Boers have no sense of honor; they will keep no oath of loyalty one moment beyond their own convenience, but will take the first chance to make an attack in spite of it. It is hard to make peace with an enemy of that kind, or witli thoie who hate us as the Boers do Yet South Africa is Christ's, and must be added to His Kingdom. A patched-up peace would be vain We n.ust be patient, then, until God is pleased to put down our enemies; but let us pray that it may be soon, according to His gracious will, and let us A NATION MOUKNS THE LOSS OF ONE HELOVEI.. 195 Z7h^i "'!■ ^t P*°P^' """y "='""'= '>««r«'- ""'l nearer HU eo-nfL "• ■ '-'■"*''r " •« ■" J««"«' looking ?o ■• O give thanks unto the Lord : for he is Mod • Wause 1,18 mercy endureth forever ^ ' ever . """^ '*^'' """ •»''* '""•"y ^n^ureth for- " Let them now that fear the Lord say that hi« mercy endureth forever" (Ps. 118 T-l). • " How precious is the Boiik divine By inspiration given I Bnght as a lamp its doctrines shine, lo guide our souls to heaven " THE KNI).