# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1887_S2 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) The Lutheran Pioneer. The Bell in the Sea. In a traveller's account of his voyage we read the following: Of the coast of Wales a large bel] has been placed in the sea to warn vessels against too near an approach to the shoals above which it swings. It is so placed that at every motion of the waves, however slight, it sends forth its sound. The people of a town that lies along | the shore, more than a mile distant, may not hear it among the din of business; or if they hear, they may not heed it, because used to its tones, as the ticking or striking of a clock in} our room is after awhile totally enntticedl But whether forgotten or remembered, the bell | is sending forth its signals of danger or its softer notes, day after day, and night after night, and hour after hour. | Sometimes when the gale has rushed across} the bosom of the Atlantic it rings a wild and! rapid alarm; sometimes it almost seems to shriek amid the sullen moanings of the storm; some- times at the touch of the rip- pling breeze it tells of gladness, like the chime of marriage bells; and sometimes as the wind is sinking into a great calm its melody steals over the water like sweetest music. Merchant ves- sels may speed along the track of trade; tempest tossed mari- ners may struggle to gain the i port; pleasure parties may sail around it with song and shout; funeral barges may pass it with the remains of the dead; but its voice is never silent, and to all it conveys a lesson if they have ears to hear. The bell in the sea reminds us ‘ of ‘‘the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever,’’ (1 Pet. 1, 23). Although too often unheard or unheeded, it is sounding its solemn warning and its tender entreaties each day of the year. Without it the soul would be stranded and wrecked upon the dark shores of a hopeless eternity. y Its terrific declarations of God’s wrath against sin are the notes of warning to arouse sinners from their deadly slumber. Its assurances and promises are the notes of silvery sweetness that come floating across the waters to delight the child of God. They are heard every morning as he renews his voyage heaven- ward; every evening as he lies down toslumber, a day’s sail nearer home; in every hour of trouble; in every night of sorrow; in every time of trial, ringing out more and more clearly as he approaches ‘‘the shining shore.’’ May the Lord lead us to listen to the word, only to the word, constantly to the word. And may we recognize in it God’s own voice and yield to His will a happy obedience in all things! ‘Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound,’’ (Psa. 89, 15). i The Wealth of Heaven. The wealth of heaven never perishes, never departs, never ceases, never brings with it care or envy or blame, destroys not the body, cor- rupts not the soul, is without ill-will, heaps not up malice; all which things attend on earthly wealth. That honor lifts not men into folly, doth not make them puffed up, never ceases nor is dimmed. Again, the rest and delight of heaven endureth continually; ever being immovable and immortal, one cannot find its end or limit. Nothing which comes to an end is much to be desired; whatever ceases, and to-day is, and to-morrow is not, though it be very great, yet it seems little and contemptible. Then let us not cling to fleeting things which slip away and depart, but to those which are enduring and immovable.— Chrysostom. ‘The Infant Saviour. As with gladness men of old Did the guiding star behold, As with joy they hailed its light Leading onward, beaming bright, So, most gracious Lord, may we Evermore be led to Thee! As with joyous steps they sped To that lowly manger bed There to bend the knee before Him whom heaven and earth adore, So, may we, with willing feet, Ever seck Thy mercy seat! As they offered gifts most rare At that manger rude and bare, So may we with holy joy, ’ Pure and free from sin’s alloy, All our costliest treasures bring, Christ, to Thee, our heavenly King. Holy Jesus every day Keep us in the narrow way, And when earthly things are past, Bring our ransomed souls at last Where they need no star to guide, Where no clouds Thy glory hide. An African New-Year’s Card. Of course all boys and girls know what the cactus is—a green, grotesquelooking plant, al- most covered with spines and bearing a most gorgeous flower; but I am sure they do not know all of the uses to which the cactus can be put, nor do I believe that the most ingeni- ous guesses could come near to the truth. It is a native of America, but it has been taken to Europe and Africa, and now grows in the latter country in great profusion. But, after all, the oddest use of the cactus prevails in Cape Town, South Africa, where its leaves are made to serve the purpose of visiting-cards. Fancy carrying about in your coat-pocket a lot of thick leaves covered with spines as sharp as needles! But, waita moment. The leaves of the particular kind of cactus so used are not very prickly, and, moreover, they are not carried about, but left growing on the plant, which stands at the foot of the front steps. When a lady calls she has only to draw out one of those ever-ready hat-pins, with which ladies are always provided, and with the sharp point scratch her name on the glossy, green sur- face of a leaf. A gentleman generally uses the point of his pen-knife. The lines turn sil- very white and remain on the leaf, clear and distinct, for years and years. On New Year's day, these vegetable cards are espe- cially convenient, and ladies who wish to keep the calls of that * day apart from those of other days, appropriate a branch of the cactus to that purpose. One gentleman in Cape Town has a cactus plant which is nearly fifteen feet high. Its great thick leaves are almost all in use as visiting cards, so that he has a complete and lasting record of his visitors. It cannot be said that this practice adds to the beauty of the plant, but then it is oddity and not beauty that is desired in such cases. -There is one cactus, not so plentiful as that just described, which is of a very accommodat- ing character. It not only has smooth leaves, but the spines it has are so large and stiff that they can be used as pens for writing on the leaves.—NV. J. ; 7