PROSPERITY, PERIL OF
The following extract points a needed caution to those who are blest with prosperity:
Some time ago we saw a tree that had
been struck by lightning and actually rent
asunder. It had been blown open as perfectly
as if the pith of the tree had been
lined with gunpowder and touched off. The
reason for this is easily explained. The
tree had been struck by lightning before it
had been wet by the storm. Consequently
the lightning bolt followed the line of least
resistance, which was the damp wood under
the bark. The electric current heated the
sap, and, converting it so quickly into steam,
the explosion was the result.
How very like that tree are a great many people! Prosperity is the electric current. Coming upon them so suddenly, as is so often the case, they are unable to bear the pressure of elevation and honor and distinction, and are rent asunder with a crash. They "go down" with a thud.
As the forest tree that has been struck by the killing bolt drops only to rot, so does the man who has been overelated by prosperity.
(2565)
PROTECTION
One of the artizan class of Manchester
was the owner of a very pretty black spaniel
dog. The little thing followed him and
nestled to his side as a child might, and by
many endearing ways evinced the winsomeness
of its disposition. It happened that the
man was worse for drink, became irritated
by the affectionate attentions of his dog and
vowed he would throw her into the lion's
den in Manchester; went there for the purpose,
and reaching out, took up the little
fawning thing and flung her through the
bars of the cage. The spectators expected
that the lion with one muscular movement
of its paw would stun and kill it, but the
dog fawned up to the lion and the lion
turned and licked her. They became good
friends, and when presently the lion's food
was brought, the dog even snarled at her
new protector and began to partake first,
keeping the lord of creation waiting. So it
went on for some weeks. The papers were
full of it; crowds came to see. The news
came to the man; he repented of his rash
act; he went to the gardens and said to the
keeper, "I want my dog." The keeper said,
"I don't dare to attempt to bring your dog
out of the den." "Oh," the man said, "of
course I must have it." "Well," said the
keeper, "if you want it, you must get it yourself."
But when he called to the dog, the
dog slunk closer to her new protector, and
when presently he tried to exert force, the
lion gave such an ominous growl that the
man shrank back. From that moment the
lion and the dog lived together, and any attempt
made to extricate the dog was met
instantly by the low growl of the lion.
You have been too long the slave of
lusts, of passion, of pride, of sin. I
want you to get under the covert of
the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and then
if your old enemy shall endeavor to induce
you and get you back, remember
that the Lion of the tribe of Judah is
going to interpose between you and
your old master.—F. B. Meyer.
(2566)
There are ways of escaping evil influences, just as there are of protecting oneself from sunstroke:
Attention is called in the New York
Medical Journal to the fact that sunstroke
is due to the chemical, and not to the heat
rays, as generally supposed. The writer's
argument is based on "the fact that no one
ever gets heat-stroke from exposure to a
dark source of heat, and when there is an
absence of chemical rays. The actinic rays
are the dangerous ones. They will pass
through anything except an interposed color
filter. It is therefore necessary, in order to
ward off sunstroke, to treat the body as a
photographer treats his plates, and surround
it with red or yellow. He mentions the case
of an Egyptian army officer, who had had
several sunstrokes, and avoided further
difficulty of the kind during five years' exposure
by lining his helmet and coat with
yellow. (Text.)
(2567)
The queer Chinese change pigeons into song-birds by fastening whistles to their breasts. The wind of their flight then causes a weird and plaintive music that is seldom silenced in the pigeon-haunted cities of Peking and Canton. The Belgians, great pigeon-fliers, fasten whistles beneath the wings of valuable racing carriers, claiming that the shrill noise is a sure protection against hawks and other birds of prey. As a similar
