was buried for ten days in a grave lined with masonry, and covered with large slabs of stone. When the bodies were disinterred they resembled corpses and no pulsation could be detected at the heart or in the arteries. Vitality was restored by warmth and friction. It is probable that the fakirs, before submitting to the ordeal, stupefied themselves with bhang (Indian hemp), the effects of which would last for some time, and the warmth of the atmosphere and soil would prevent any serious loss of heat, such as would soon occur in a colder climate, when the processes by which it is generated are made to cease. (Text.)—Robson Roose, New York Review.
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FATHER ANIMALS UNPARENTAL
In very few animals do the males ever
attempt to protect the females, even where
the latter have their young to take care of.
When the hen with her brood of chickens is
attacked, it is not the cock that ruffs his
feathers and defends them with his spurs;
it is the mother herself that defends them.
The cock is always found with hens that
have no chickens, and only uses his spurs
in fighting with other cocks that have no
notion of injuring the females. In the entire
animal kingdom the cases where the male
uses his great powers to protect the female
or the young, or to bring them food, are
so rare that where they are observed they
are recorded as curious approximations to
the social state of man. (Text.)—Lester
F. Ward, The Forum.
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FATHERHOOD
Dr. Cortland Myers, of Boston, relates the following story, as told by a ship's surgeon:
On our last trip a boy fell overboard from
the deck. I didn't know who he was, and
the crew hastened out to save him. They
brought him on board the ship, took off his
outer garments, turned him over a few
times, and worked his hands and his feet.
When they had done all they knew how to
do, I came up to be of assistance, and they
said he was dead and beyond help. I turned
away as I said to them, "I think you've done
all you could"; but just then a sudden impulse
told me I ought to go over and see
what I could do. I went over and looked
down into the boy's face and discovered that
it was my own boy. Well, you may believe
I didn't think the last thing had been done.
I pulled off my coat and bent over that boy;
I blew in his nostrils and breathed into his
mouth; I turned him over and over, and
simply begged God to bring him back to
life, and for four long hours I worked, until
just at sunset I began to see the least flutter
of breath that told me he lived. Oh, I will
never see another boy drown without taking
off my coat in the first instance and going
to him and trying to save him as if I knew
he were my own boy.
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There was once a Quaker, John Hartman, whose son enlisted in the army. Not long after he had marched away as a soldier, a battle was fought. In the list of the missing appeared the Quaker's son's name. The father went to the field of carnage, and scanned the many upturned faces. He listened to the faintest cry of the wounded to discover if it were the voice of his son. More than one lying in the agony of death thought, "I wish that were my father."
After the darkness of night fell he lighted his lantern and continued his search. Then the wind began to blow and his light went out. A new thought came to him. Forming a trumpet of his hands he called, "John Hartman, thy father calleth for thee." There was no answer. Going on farther he called again, "John Hartman, thy father calleth for thee." There was a faint moan and a "Here I am father." How gladly that father hastened forward and brought his son home!
Many are being beaten down in the fierce battle of sin and evil. They have fallen in the darkness and are perishing. The loving heavenly Father is calling to them. If they make the faintest cry of response, "Lord, here I am," how gladly will He hasten to their relief. (Text.)
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See Confidence.
FATHERHOOD THE KEY
The other day I had a cipher telegram.
Glancing it over, I could read every separate
word. But once I rearranged the words
with the key, a hidden meaning and beauty
flamed forth. Moses, Job, Isaiah, Plato,
Confucius, astronomers, poets, philosophers,
all read the separate words, but when Christ
came the key-word, "Our Heavenly Father,"
is given, and the whole heavens flamed with
the love of God.—N. D. Hillis.
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Father-love—See Lost, Finding the; Love's Completeness.
