the life was the light of men.' It is testified by these words that the true light is dispensed to every rational creature. He had it in the fullness, all that was necessary for him to complete the work which he had to do. He dispenses to every man a proportion designed to enable him to fill up and complete his work according to the will of his Heavenly Father. So long as we keep aloof from this principle in our own souls, we are alienated from God. Let us lay aside every sin that so easily besets us; let us turn to the divine light and Comforter in our own souls. It is only a light from heaven that can show us the way to heaven. He is truth and he is light; and therefore he it is that is to be our teacher. 'He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.' Then why do we make images? for should we at any time, form an image of that power that is to be our Saviour and deliverer, we become idolaters; we centre in idolatry, as much as those who worship idols of gold. "The apostle who was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, had to count it all as dross, feet of Gamaliel, had to count it all as dross, that he might win a better thing, that he might win Christ; win that anointing which means Christ; that divine anointing, the unction the apostle speaks of: 'Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye need not that any man teach you; but as the same anointing teacht all things, and is truth, and is no lie.' "Can man by his learning be supposed to know God? Can he be supposed to know how to worship him when he sets out to study it out of his own brain? Self reigns and rules; let us beware; let us sink deep into ourselves. For if holy Job, who had been living such a righteous life before the Almighty, could bear such testimony concerning himself, he could not have arrived at that perfection of which he was capable; for when he came to behold the Most High, he cast himself down and abased himself. "Let us come to be children again. We have gone out of the child's state, we have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We must go back to the point from which we started, to the place where Jehovah has placed us in our first state, when we came innocent out of his holy hands. We must come to that childlike state, where we shall have no contrivance or judgment of our own; for even Jesus, our pattern, in his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. None but those who have gone back to this childlike state, and put off the old man with his deeds, and crucified the man of sin and son of perdition, can be brought to a condition in which they can love their neighbor as themselves, and pray to God for them with a sincere desire and love. All It is time that the axe should be laid to the root of the tree; for every branch that bringeth not forth good fruit, must be hewn down and cast into the fire. Can it be a good tree that supports contention? It cannot be a good tree, and therefore it must be cut down. Can it be a good tree that excites a spirit of retaliation? it cannot be good; it must be cut down by the Gospel axe. war, and the spirit of it, must be annihilated. If it stands in selfishness, it is not a creature of God; for sin is nothing of his creation. This is a great truth: "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen?" Oh that we may be aroused to faithfulness and not look back or forward beyond the light. Keep close to it; keep close to God, and he will lead us on in righteousness, by which we shall be enabled to strengthen one another's hands, and rejoice together in love, and thank him and take courage who is God over all, blessed forever. CORRESPONDENCE. TO THE EDITORS: I just wish to commend the article in No. 23, Seventh month 21st, entitled "Our Membership." It is a calm, strong paper, and I hope every member of our beloved Society will allow the questions therein presented to go down into his spirit and see what part he or she has in this matter. It was read last evening in a company of Friends (two of whom are Elders) and pronounced "golden truth.” While it finds fault with nobody, yet it is terribly suggestive. We have long mourned the decline of our Society in numbers and strength, and have listened from time to time to earnest exhortations to greater faithfulness in maintaining our principles, etc. The lukewarmness of many of our members is often referred to, at the same time it is admitted that many of the lukewarm are living lives above reproach. Now do we realize that there is no effect without a cause, or that these Friends or many of them are silently and sadly bearing a burden laid upon them perhaps by those who rule in the affairs of the church? Have the Elders never abused their power, or was it intended when their appointment was instituted to build up a secret order in the Society to which the laity were not admitted; was not the original proposition, to "appoint_one or two elderly Friends to sit with the ministers?" was it intended to have as high as eleven Elders in I want especially to unite with the last clause of the article. We should never be afraid of inquiry into the cause of weakness and degeneracy when we know it to exist. one Monthly Meeting? Is it true that most | His total abstinence from the use of stimuof the dissensions that have produced trouble lants or narcotics secured to him the possesand suffering and even heart-burnings in our sion of all his faculties, and being an active Society have had their origin in the "Select temperament mentally and physically, he enMeeting? Is it true that Monthly Meetings joyed the comforts and pleasures of life denied have been laid down because they disapproved to many who have not attained his advanced of the appointment of Elders and declined to years. He was an advocate for all the great appoint? movements of the age for the bettering of the condition of the human family, mentally and physically. Religiously he firmly believed in the Inner Light as the only rule of faith and practice, and in all his business transac· tions this was clearly manifested. During his illness his mind was clothed with his Heavenly Father's love. Articulation ceased a few days before his death, but his countenance continued to beam with heavenly sweetness, indicating the fulfillment of a quotation he had made a few days previous, referring to the setting sun: "Bright as the setting sun, is my prospect of a future day." W. C. S. Richmond, Ind., Seventh mo. 24th, 1883. JUDICIAL OATHS.-I was much pleased to read in Friends' Intelligencer of Seventh mo. 21st, the extract referring to "Judicial Oaths." I have feared that many members of our Society are not fully alive to this important testimony, that the binding character of the "inward resolve" is not given the highest place; with a considerable degree of experience in business associations where judicial oaths are required, I have been greatly surprised at the apparent want of feeling, of solemnity when engaged in that service; that this subject is claiming the attention of those whose business it may be to administer them, is evident from the following remarks made by United States District Attorney Corkhill in the criminal court at Washington, in his recent closing address in the "Creek Murder" case : LOCAL INFORMATION. L. F. Z. Quite a large number of the committee appointed by Bucks Quarterly Meeting to endeavor to awaken a renewed interest in the attendance of meetings for divine worship, attended meeting at Plumstead on First-day morning, the 22d inst., and had a very satisfactory opportunity with quite a large meeting assembled, consisting of Friends and friendly people. Several members of the committee felt moved to address those assembled in the language of love and encouragement, and showed the advantages and importance of assembling together for the purpose of social worship. The, meeting held nearly two hours, and after it closed the people seemed to be in no hurry to separate, an evidence that they had enjoyed a very interesting opportunity to I cannot allow this occasion to pass without calling attention to the remarkable exhibition of want of character of the witnesses both for the Government and for the defense. In this case, and one tried a few weeks ago of a similar character, almost 100 witnesses have been examined, and so much perjury and utter disregard for the obligations of an oath I never saw in a court of justice. It suggests to me that those worthy and beney-gether. olent gentlemen and ladies who are soliciting money and devoting their time to reforming and Christianizing the heathen from Greenland to Africa, can find work closer home, here at their own capital. If these 100 people represent the neighborhoods in which they live, under the very dome of this temple of justice, and within the sound of the church bells, here is a field ripe for the harvest, and as worthy of labor, as fully demanding their attention, as can be found on the sands of Africa or the shores of Abyssinia. I. Č. MARTINDALE. Camden, N. J., Seventh mo. 25th, 1883. WILLIAM ZORNS, whose death was recently noticed in Friends' Intelligencer, was fatally injured on the 25th of Sixth month, 1883. There are but few families of Friends now residing near the meeting-house, a number having sold their farms and removed to other places, so that if this meeting is kept up they must have the assistance and encouragement of those who have not heretofore been members. A few years ago the old meeting-house was torn down, and a new one erected in its place, which is comfortably finished and is surrounded by a nice lawn, with the original forest trees for shade and ornament. The graveyard is on the south side, and a row of twenty carriage-sheds on the north. The situation being high, there is a fine view of the surrounding country in every direction, and it is hoped that a meeting of Friends will be continued here to be a bless There is an interesting First-day school now held in the meeting-house every Firstday morning before meeting time. ing to the neighborhood for generations yet | setting forth the glory of an earthly kingdom unborn. in which he might rule, he fled into the wilderness, into a state of retirement and seclusion, and in the stillness of his own soul, fought and conquered that within him which stood in the way of his spiritual advancement, and having overcome, "behold, angels came and ministered unto him." So to every one of us who overcomes his own particular temptation, will the angels minister. The next meeting the committee propose to attend will be at Newtown on the 19th of Eighth month. Newtown, Seventh mo. 22d, 1883. I. E. FRIENDS' INTELLIGENCER. PHILADELPHIA, EIGHTH MO. 4, 1883. SPIRITUAL STRENGTH.-The object of our lives is, by the ordering of Him who is allwise, to develop the strength and character of the individual and thus to promote the elevation of the race, and what a stimulus it is toward making the best of our allotments to feel that every vicissitude, if wisely borne, shapes us more nearly like the perfect man. Yet it is an easy matter to fall short of the full measure of development by the intrusion of the worldly nature; thus a generous impulse or a tender feeling prompts us to give of our abundance to a fellow creature in need, and upon this loving nature the Christ child in us thrives, but let our self love betray us into making a display of our virtue, lo! the heavenly essence of our offering escapes, and worldly dross and clay alone remain. The teaching of Jesus, "let not thy right hand know what thy left hand doeth," illustrates this, and he continually impressed upon his hearers the importance of doing good for the sake of the good, without looking for the approbation of others. "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in Heaven;" this reward, which is a growth of the higher nature and a broadening out toward the god-like, cannot be ours if our attention is turned without, and the mind which is satisfied with the earthly reward, misses the heavenly. Again our temptations are to be met and overcome in the retirement of our own souls if we would grow strong in our inner life. As David went forth singly from the armies of Israel to meet the mighty man of war, so must each individual oppose the strong force of the "earthly" in his own consciousness. When the tempter ambition assailed Jesus, Be it then, trial or sorrow or temptation; be it conquest or rejoicing or overcoming, each experience has a part in the work of fitting us to enter into that heavenly kingdom at whose threshold we stand; and every triumph of the spiritual nature over the worldly hastens the day when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." If we understand this "earth to mean the outward and visi ble world and all the people that dwell thereon, then shall we put the day of fulfillment of this prophecy afar off; for the longest life would be but as a moment to the slow moving ages in which God works out the elevation of the human race. But assuming the language of Isaiah to be figurative and the earth to stand for the earthly nature or the "first man " which Paul says" is of the earth, earthy," then each individual can comprehend that in us is to be wrought out the prophecy and that the "second man,” or the spiritual nature, or "the Lord from Heaven may fill and control our lives, and that "as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." BUCKMAN.-On Seventh mo, 13th, 1883, Esther S. Justice, widow of the late George M. TOMPKINS.-On Seventh mo. 13th, 1883, at his residence, in Poughkeepsie, George H. Tompkins, aged 76 years; a member of Pough- | scenery and along the wide stretch of our keepsie Monthly Meeting. His health had been perceptibly failing for the past three years, his last sickness of some four months' duration was attended with great suffering, which he patiently endured; it terminated in internal paralysis. A few days before his death, being conscious that the end was approaching, he said to his wife, who was alone by his bedside, in view of the great well;" and again, some days after, "All is change soon to take place, "All is well, all is peace, the light begins to shine." In the interval between paroxysms of pain, which were very severe, he bade his wife and attendants farewell, and desired his love and remembrance should be given to his relatives and intimate friends. His conversation gave evidence that he had not been unmindful of the life beyond. He was born in Washington, near Nine Partners Meeting, New York. Possessing more than ordinary talents, which were well improved, being a great reader, with a retentive memory, and he was an excellent biblical scholar. He was a man of unswerving integrity, and filled many important and responsible trusts. He has left behind him an example of a well-spent life; kind and genial in his nature, always interested in the welfare of others. In his death the community loses a good citizen, and the Society of Friends a wise and safe counsellor. For Friends' Intelligencer. BY THE SEA. W. C. H. What a delightful ride it is from Tom's river to Long Branch, with the ocean in sight and the invigorating breath of the sea filling the lungs one begins already to feel the influence of a sojourn by its briny waters. There is not much in the way of land scenery to attract the attention of the traveler. The many abortive attempts to establish new seaside resorts that one observes as the cars pass rapidly along are in sad contrast to the successful aspirants for public favors. One is at a loss in this, as in many other things, to see why one is chosen by the health or pleasure seeker, and the other rejected, when the surroundings are so nearly alike; but man is capricious, and that which we least expect is often brought to pass. The real charm of a life by the sea is found in its freedom from care, and the wholesome, unrestrained enjoyment it offers to the seeker after a renewal of health and vigor. These by-places which the fashionable world overlooks are often the most attractive to such, and the worker who has to crowd into two weeks all the relaxation of the whole year, cannot afford to fritter them away in frivolous pastimes that exhaust rather than invigorate the system; such things belong to the life of the world's idlers. It is gratifying to observe a growing appreciation of this fact and to know that among our beautiful mountain the ocean front there is room and place for all. The ocean is very quiet as we ride along in the closing hours of a bright, breezy summer day, not a white cap is seen upon wide expanse, the slight haze in the atmosphere blends sky and water in such harmony of meeting, the eye fails to see where one ends and sunset give ideal landscapes of surprising and the other begins, but lovely bits of cloud beauty. The golden rod is just putting forth its bright blossoms; the yellow daisy and the white umbels of the wild carrot are in the glory of midsummer bloom, making pictures by the wayside that the true lover of nature delights to copy. The sun has set and the day fades into twilight as the public stage sets us down before the door of our friend, whose home is by the sea, and faces the ocean. We sit on the verandah and enjoy the cool refreshing breeze, but everything is so quiet and peaceful that even the breakers are scarcely heard. What a charm there is about the great, salt sea, as we watch the coming and the going of the white-winged messengers of commerce that have long plowed transient furrows upon the billowy deep, and see the smokestack of their modern rivals sweep past with rapid movement, and observe the boats tween them in perfect safety, we exclaim, of the rugged fishermen pass in and out bewhat a highway of nations is this heaving, restless ocean, no longer the "waste of waters, as of old, but dotted over with floating palaces of the nomads of our civilization, every other craft that carries the trade and commerce of the world, and more than all else is binding the nations of the earth in one common brotherhood. and Hard is the lot of the roving sailor, yet with all his rollicking love of sensuous pleasures, he has a tender heart, and will share his last penny with the needy, and in the ranks of these humble wanderers upon the world's great highway are to be found as true and noble examples of purity and honor as in any other walk of life. The costly equipages of the wealthy sojourners at this favorite watering place roll by, along the admirable drive that fronts the ocean and connects Long Branch with Ocean Grove. It is very common to see ladies driving, often with a span of horses, always having a laquey or outrider in russet top boots and white small clothes, perched up behind. The frequent rains have kept the grass and hedges very green, and the whole place wears the semblance of a beautiful garden. It is a most charming spot and one is not surprised at its popularity, many of the magnates of our nation are pointed out as the carriages | draws back the veil from this enchanted land, pass and repass. First-day morning opens bright and pleasant, and we are off in due time for the Shrewsbury meeting, six or more miles distant. A Temperance Conference an hour before the time for worship requires an earlier starting -many of the Friends, ourselves among the number, are a little late, but there is much interest manifested in the proceedings, and good evidence afforded that this important subject has a strong grasp upon the minds of Friends in this locality. The meeting for worship convenes at 11 o'clock, one end of the antiquated house is well filled, a few children and many young people being among the audience. In the exhortation based upon the words of Jesus, "Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you," it was shown that doing and not professing entitles us to the name of Friends, and that all who are found obeying the will of God in sincerity and truth, though called by various names and belonging to divers sects, they are the friends of God. The divine presence and favor was acknowledged, and we felt on parting that it had been good to be there. No First-day school is held at the meetinghouse, but a union school in the village offers an excellent field for labor, which is embraced by some of the younger Friends. L. J. R. Long Branch, Seventh mo. 24th, 1883. TRAVELS IN THE FAR WEST.-NO. 2 SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., Sixth mo. 21, 183. After partaking of a fair breakfast at the hotel belonging to the railroad company we resumed our seats in the car and, bidding a willing adieu to Yuma and its naked Indians, crossed the Colorado river and entered that wonderful State, California. For over a hundred miles the road passed through an arid desert, whose barrenness is indicated by the entire absence of vegetable or animal life, and whose monotony is broken only by great drifts of sand hills. An occasional railroad station, with its two or three accompanying buildings, serves only to heighten the surrounding desolation. This waste is a portion of San Bernardino county, said to be the largest county in the world. But gradually the aspect of the landscape changes; looming up in the distance appear the mountains, with trees dotted here and there upon their surface, and the nearer plains begin to present indications of verdure. Suddenly a cultivated ranch bursts into view-a wheat field, a patch of Alfalfa, an orange tree, a few grape vines. Was ever yegetation so green, so refreshing? Gradually the beauties of California are unfolding; and, as Nature the tongue and the pen falter at thought of the presumption of one who fain would put this glory into words. Surely the brush would fail an artist to do it justice. My first stop is at San Bernardino, the county seat, situated, in the centre of a rapidly developing agricultural district. For many years it has been a trading point for miners, but now forms the exchange for an extensive fruit-growing region. Wherever I have been in California one element only has been necessary to insure universal development. That element is water. To one who has lived in the East, and witnessed the torrents of rain that sometimes fall there, and stood aghast too at the swollen stream raging and destroying in its course, this country of miniature brooks and light rains is marvelous. In its natural condition the soil is a sandy loam, the vegetation scanty, the outlook unpromising. But let a stream be conveniently near, which can be turned on to the land three or four times a year, as an aid in the necessary cultivation, and the yield is astonishing. No one can imagine the result, which, like many another wonder, must be seen to be appreciated. Water, therefore, being so essential, the Californian is constantly ditching and pumping to get it over the soil, thus directly reversing the chief aim of his Holland brother. With water and careful cultivation the farmer in California can get more off ten acres of land than two hundred will produce anywhere else in the country, which makes it seem to me that this State will eventually become the land of small farmers. The raising of fruit that can be canned or dried is already a large and profitable industry, and anything which will bear shipment a long distance, and stand a heavy freight charge, is very remunerative. Grape raising, both for drying into raisins, or making into wine, is a business firmly rooted, though at present the raisins are produced only for the home market, while the wines are sent East. This industry is rapidly growing, and the production of a small farm of ten or twenty acres would astonish an Eastern man; $300, $400, and even $600 per acre is reported. Most of the vineyards will produce from five to six tons of grapes per acre, and each ton of grapes will make wine enough to sell at $60. The raising of apricots for canning and drying is carried on very largely in the vicinity of San Bernardino and Řiverside. Oranges, lemons, English walnuts, olives and almonds are also raised in large quantities, and prove exceedingly profitable. In visiting the apricot and orange groves of Riverside, the vineyards of Anaheim and |