We give Thee thanks, O Lord!
Not for the palaces that wealth has grown,
Where ease is worshiped—duty dimly known,
And Pleasure leads her dance the flowery way;
But for the quiet homes where love is queen
And life is more than baubles, touched and seen,
And old folks bless us, and dear children play;
For these, O Lord, our thanks!
(3216)
THEFT, A CHECK ON
Persons who have been laying in their supply
of coal for the winter months may have
noticed that many of the lumps were coated
with whitewash, and they doubtless wondered
what was the reason for the unique
decoration. Altho the white color may be
considered to have improved the appearance
of the ordinary black coal, that was not the
object in view.
For many years the railroads have been annoyed by coal thieves and thousands of tons of fuel were stolen annually. As the great car-loads, containing forty tons each, are being carried from the mines, it is very easy for unscrupulous persons to remove a ton or two from a car without causing any noticeable change in the appearance of the load. Only when the car is again put on the scales is the loss detected, and then it is too late to trace the guilty parties.
To check these depredations the railroad men have adopted the whitewash method of safeguarding their freight. After a car has been loaded a solution of lime and water is sprayed over the coal, and when the water has evaporated a white coating of lime remains on the top layer of lumps. Then, if any of the coal is removed, a black patch will be left upon the white surface to attract the attention of inspectors and station agents before the train has gone many miles from the scene of the theft, and thus the offender is easily traced.—Harper's Weekly.
(3217)
THEFTS ALL EQUAL
I saw some men playing "banker and
broker." They had some filthy-looking cards,
and some paltry pennies. They were a good-natured
lot of fellows, and the game looked
very simple. But I tell you that the great
gamblers against whom the laws are made
began their wrong-doing in just that way.
And the playing for little stakes is worse.
If a man takes from me a large sum of
money and gives me nothing in return, I can
make some excuse for him, because the
temptation was great. But if a man takes
from me a paltry dime, that is wanton. And
the man who stole a million and the clerk
who stole a quarter, and the shoe-shiner who
stole a nickel and the man who stole a ride,
and the woman who used a postage-stamp the
second time are all thieves alike.—A. H. C.
Morse.
(3218)
Theism—See Religious Instruction Denied.
THEOLOGY AS A DISCIPLINE
Men that work by doctrines are men that
think they have found out the universe; they
have not only got it, but they have formulated
it; they know all about the Infinite, they
have sailed around eternity, they know all
about the Eternal and the Everlasting God,
and you will hear them discuss questions of
theology: "No, God could not, consistent
with consistency, do so-and-so." They know
all His difficulties; they know how He got
round them. One might easily come to
think that God was their next-door neighbor.
Well, after all, whether it is true or false—their
systematic views, their dogmas—the
pedagogic views are very important to teach
young and middle-aged and old to attempt,
by philosophic reasoning, to reach into these
unfathomable depths. They produce a power
upon the brain of most transcendent importance;
they, in their way, may not increase
the sum of human knowledge, but
they increase the capacity of the human
brain for profound thought and investigation.
(Text.)—Henry Ward Beecher.
(3219)
THEOLOGY, SCHEMES OF
When Kossuth visited America in 1851, he
worked out here, with American statesmen,
a constitution for Hungary, and had plates
engraved for the printing of treasury notes,
and a system of money. When Kossuth went
down to the steamer to sail home, he had an
ideal and new republic of Hungary, and
oh, wonder of wonders! he carried it in a
handbag! Just as I have seen theological
professors carry what they thought was a
whole church, in a book of notes under the
arm. Unfortunately, Kossuth never produced
the written constitution in the character
of twenty millions. And unfortunately,
many teachers, wise in their polity, and sound
in their theology, think like God and act like
the devil.—N. D. Hillis.
(3220)
