as a 'precipitate' a very pretty woman." The good-natured physician went through with his reaction, and the belle was restored to her membership with the white race.
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Blasted Hopes—See Disappointment.
Bleeding in Old Times—See Surgery,
Improvement in.
BLESSING THE ROPES
Every summer, at the beginning of the
climbing season in the Swiss mountains, a
solemn service is held among the guides,
many of whom are godly men, who know
they take their lives in their hands when they
ascend the Alps. So they bring their ropes
with them and lay them at the foot of one
of the mountains. Old and new ropes are
piled in a heap, and then they are "blessed"
by the pastor. Prayer is offered that the
old ropes may still bear the strain safely,
and that the new ropes may prove equal to
all the stress placed upon them. The guides
are commended to the mercy of God that
in their daily ascents they may be kept safely
and that they may succor the travelers who
trust in them. (Text.)
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BLESSINGS, CONQUERING
Goethe uttered a true word where he sings:
Yes! to this thought I hold with firm persistence;
The last result of wisdom stamps it true:
He only earns his freedom and existence
Who daily conquers them anew. (Text.)
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BLESSINGS COUNTED
When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprize you what the Lord hath done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.
When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold,
Count your many blessings, money can not buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high. (Text.)
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BLESSINGS FROM TRIAL
The naturalist reminds us how the furious
eagerness of the winged insects, which seem
to be the agents of death, is frequently a
cause of life. By an incessant persecution
of the sick flocks, enfeebled by hot, damp
airs, they insure their safety. Otherwise they
would remain stupidly resigned, and hour
by hour become less capable of motion until
they could rise no more. The inexorable
spur of the furious insects knows, however,
the secrets of putting the flocks on their legs;
tho with trembling limbs, they take to flight;
the insect never quits them, presses them,
urges them, bleeding, to the wholesome regions
of the dry lands and the living waters
where their afflictions cease.
On life's lower plains, living lives of
ease and indulgence, the strength and
dignity of the soul would perish; but
the ills of life disturb us, sting us, incessantly
attack and pursue us, until
bleeding we find the higher planes of
thought and life, until at last we reach
the sweet table-lands of which God
Himself is sun and moon. The fiery
law is a chariot of fire, lifting true souls
into heavenly places.—W. L. Watkinson,
"The Transfigured Sackcloth."
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Blessings Shared—See Responsibility.
Blessings Unappreciated—See Appreciation,
Lack of.
"Blest Be the Tie that Binds"—See
Christian Unity.
Blind Children in India—See India,
Medical Opportunities in.
BLIND GUIDES
I have read of a blind lamp-lighter. This
poor man had mastered the long street in
his city, and obtained the position of lamp-lighter.
He would go up and down the street,
opening the gas key and lighting the flame.
