"'Chaste love, consecrated by betrothals, can be cultivated in the midst of work. It lightens toil, it banishes ennui, it illumines the horizon of life with delightful prospects; it excites in the young man the manly courage and the high intelligence to create for himself a position in the world; in woman, the noble ambition to perfect herself to become a worthy companion and good adviser.

"'During the stormy period of youth it is the only means of preserving the virgin purity of the heart and of the body. Does anyone believe that young men who in good season have in their hearts a love strong and worthy of them would profane themselves, as they so often otherwise do, in vile affections, in those relations of a day, giving themselves a holocaust to beauty without soul, or even to licentiousness without beauty?'"

Emerson says: "If, however, from too much conversing with material objects the soul was gross, and misplaced its satisfaction in the body, it reaped nothing but sorrow, body being unable to fulfill the promise which beauty holds out; but if, accepting the hint of these visions and suggestions which beauty makes to his mind, the soul passes through the body and fails to admire strokes of character, and the lovers contemplate one another in their discourses and their actions, then they pass to the true palace of beauty, more and more inflame their love of it, and by this love extinguishing the base affection, as the sun puts out fire by shining on the hearth, they become pure and hallowed. By conversation with that which is in itself excellent, magnanimous, lowly and just, the lover comes to a warmer love of these nobilities, and a quicker apprehension of them. Then he passes from loving them in one to loving them in all, and so is the one beautiful soul only the door through which he enters to the society of all true and pure souls. In the particular society of his mate he attains a clearer sight of any spot, any taint which her beauty has contracted from this world, and is able to point it out, and this with mutual joy that they are now able, without offense, to indicate blemishes and hindrances in each other, and give to each all help and comfort in curing the same. And beholding in many souls the traits of the divine beauty, and separating in each soul that which is divine from the taint which it has contracted in the world, the lover ascends to the highest beauty, to the love and knowledge of the Divinity, by steps on this ladder of created souls."

And this all means that when the thought of the sex-relation constitutes in the mind of either the idea of marriage, then the wedding ceremony will be supposed to remove all restrictions, and the only limit of gratification will be the limit of desire. Under these circumstances the close familiarity of a long engagement would be a mental and physical tax, because the self-control exercised is felt to be only temporary, and will be no longer needed when the wedding ceremony has been said.

But if the idea of marriage is nobler, if the sex-relation is consecrated to its highest purpose of reproduction, if marriage is felt to be only an added opportunity for self-control, which will be more difficult then because there will be no restraint except that which is self-imposed, then the engagement will be felt to be a time of gradual preparation for that closer relationship which needs more will-power because opportunity is greater.

Under these conditions the lovers will be aiming towards an ideal which recognizes that in wedded life all that is lasting in affection, in tender courtesy, in most intimate companionship, in sweetest demonstration, is possible without the physical union, which in itself is the most transitory of pleasures, but which in unlimited indulgence becomes the most domineering of passions, exhaustive of physical power and of mental vigor, and absolutely annihilating all true love.

If you ask why there should exist this marvelous drawing of the sexes towards each other if their relation is not based upon the exercise of sex-functions, I reply that sex is more than its local expression; it is inherent in mind as well as body, and therefore sexual power may be expressed in masculine courage, energy or daring, or in feminine constancy, self-abnegation, or sweet courtesy. Sexual attraction is not limited to the local expression, nor creative power to reproduction of kind, but may give a stimulus to the intellectual companionship of men and women, and result in the creation of nobler ideals and grander aspirations.

Having settled in your mind your attitude towards your lover, let us consider what it shall be towards your family during these days of the engagement. Naturally you will not feel a separation from the home circle as keenly as do the other members of your family. You two are so absorbed in each other, are so busy exchanging ideas, in becoming acquainted, that you are oblivious to the change brought about in your family. You think you two ought to be allowed the privilege of tete-a-tetes, for of course you cannot talk freely together in the hearing of others. This is true. You should have times of seclusion, when, without a sense of oppression through fear of criticism or jesting, you can rhapsodize, or quote poetry and open your hearts' treasures to each other. But you still owe a duty to your home. Doubtless your mother is not now as necessary to your happiness as you are to hers. She is thinking of you with most tender solicitude, she misses your presence, she already begins to feel the loneliness of the inevitable separation. If you are thoughtful you will see to it that the separation does not begin sooner than is necessary. Then, too, your parents need to get acquainted with this new member whom you are to introduce into the family, and he needs to know them. He will think none the less of you if he sees that you do not allow him to monopolize you entirely, that you recognize your obligations to the family and that you expect him to recognize them also, and, in addition, his obligations to show them due courtesy and attention. He is not to absorb you entirely, to take you out of the home circle, but he is to come in and be a part of it, even as you are to become one in the home of which he is a member. You need to remember that he is son and brother to women who loved him long before you knew him, and that he still owes them attention and thoughtful, affectionate courtesy.

Never allow yourself to feel jealous of his mother or sisters. The fact that he is a loving, thoughtful son and brother is in a measure a guarantee that he will be a loving, thoughtful husband.

Let me add to this advice a word more. Do not allow yourself to feel jealous of him in any way. Jealousy is the quintessence of selfishness, and no other passion is so destructive of happiness, so full of the contagion of evil. If your lover is not to be trusted, you would be wise to end the engagement at once. If he is to be trusted, that trust should be absolute. I said you should not allow him to monopolize you, neither should you attempt to monopolize him. There are other people in the world besides yourself, and other occupations than the business of waiting on you. If you make him feel that he dare not speak to anyone but you, that he dare not think of anything but you, he will begin to chafe under the restraint and feel a desire to break the bonds that are becoming fetters. If he were not your acknowledged lover, if you were anxious to win his love, but were a little uncertain as to your power to do so, you would not meet him with tears and upbraidings because he had for one moment seemed to forget you, but you would at once use every possible effort to make yourself more attractive in his eyes than any other person could possibly be. You will be wise to use those same tactics now, even though his allegiance is pledged to you. Be so charming that no one else can be considered so entertaining; that no one else can be so wise, so witty, so sympathetic, so altogether lovely, that everything but yourself is forgotten; and then believe in him so absolutely that he could not possibly swerve in his fidelity to you. Have you ever thought that to accuse one of a certain wrong act may be just the way to suggest to him the possibility of committing it? If one trusts you implicitly, that very trust is a constant suggestion to be true, and doubt is a suggestion to act worthy of being doubted.

You must trust each other or you have no sure foundation for future love and happiness. It needs a great deal of good common sense to learn how to live happily in marriage. You may have chosen wisely. The man may be honest, pure, kindly, intelligent, and Christian, but he is human, therefore not perfect. He has faults, peculiarities, moods, perhaps tempers, and he will probably not wait until you are married to begin to show them. There will come differences of opinions, divergences in desires, clashings in judgment. Now is the time to display your tact, to learn how to express an opposing opinion without arousing antagonism, to yield a desire for the sake of a greater love than that of self, to adhere to principle without unpleasant discussion; in short, to be dignified and womanly without pettiness or littleness of any kind. You remember the words of Ruskin, that the woman must be "incorruptibly good, instinctively, infallibly wise, not for self-development, but for self-renunciation," and that will be the highest development.

No doubt you will think that some of this advice should be given to young men as well as to young women, and I think so too, and were I talking to your lover I could say many warning words; but just now I am telling you things that he does not need to hear, and I do not need to tell you what, if I had the chance, I would say to him. You are to train yourself and not him, and yet I would not have you ignorant of your power over him in developing in him all that is noblest and best. You should hold him ever to his highest ideals. He should never feel so absolutely sure of your adoration as to imagine that it will endure a lowering of his standards. You have been posing a little before each other. Doubtless you were not aware of this, but, now that you have each gained the heart of the other, you may sometimes feel that you can relax; but this is a dangerous error. You should continue to be as thoughtful, as courteous, as careful as ever; you should endeavor really to be all that you have tried or appeared to be during these days of courtship. You will be none too perfect even then.

Once, in talking to a group of women, I asserted that a wife should exact of her husband as high a tone of morality as of her lover, that she should not allow him to become lax in his conversation with her any more than with any other woman. One woman thought me too strict. She said men liked to feel that at home they could do as they pleased, and would resent a wife's interference with their right to be loose in their talk in their own home. I replied that the home is not the man's nor the woman's alone; it is theirs jointly; that each has a right to demand that the other shall not pollute or poison the air, the food, the water or the moral atmosphere; and the wife who allows contamination of the thought-atmosphere of the home is as culpable as if she were to permit poison to be put into the food.

As a man admires the girl who respects herself too much to permit him to tell her questionable stories, so will he reverence the wife who refuses to allow him to degrade himself in her presence either by speech or conduct. Love would not so often fail if wives knew the secret of retaining it, and that is not by sacrifice of principle, nor by tearful reproaches and upbraidings, but by being true to the highest impulses, and while having the good common sense that can make all reasonable allowance for fallibility, still permits no lowering of moral standards, no willful falling short of the very best.



CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE WEDDING.

Said my friend:

There's to be a grand wedding, you know, With no end to the fuss and parade, With sixteen fair bridesmaids to stand in a row, With sixteen young groomsmen to help out the show, One to stand by the side of each maid.

Then there's a reception to be very fine, With all sorts of magnificent things, With silver to glitter and mirrors to shine, With tropical fruit and famous old wine, With odorous flowers and music divine, Drawn forth from melodious strings.

In the minds of many girls the wedding means only this public show, the display of elegant toilets, the reception of costly gifts; and the preparation of marriage means too often merely the making of an elegant trousseau. People generally do not ask concerning the fitness of the young people to enter on the solemn duties of life—do not ask how well they have been instructed concerning that which is before them; but the questions are all about clothes and gifts and ceremonials. No wonder, then, that the thought of the young woman centers on these things, to the exclusion of nearly all else; indeed, it may be to the detriment of health and the lessening of true happiness. The prospective husband finds his fiancee so absorbed in sewing, shopping and interviews with dressmakers that she has few moments to give to him, and these few occupied more with the thought of gowns and personal adornments than with ideals of wedded happiness.

Perhaps she even excuses herself for lessening the number of his visits on the plea that very soon now she will be all his, and so he is left to spend his last days of bachelorhood in loneliness, and made to feel that raiment is more than love. Worse still, it may be that on the wedding-day he takes to his heart a bride so wearied, so nervously exhausted by the preparations of the trousseau that she is at least temporarily an invalid. I have known more than one bride so worn out by the preparation for her wedding that instead of bringing brightness, joy and beauty into the new life, she brought illness, anxiety and care, and made demands at once upon the patience and service of the husband, who had a right to expect health and vigor and a power to enjoy.

I knew a sensible girl who said months before her marriage, "I am not going to bring to my new life a remnant of health, a shattered nervous system and a tattered temper," and she kept her word. Her sewing was done by degrees, and was all out of the way weeks before the wedding. Shopping and dressmaking were never allowed to interfere with the walks and drives, the chats and moonlight strolls. "We shall not be able to repeat this experience," she wisely said, and so her lover found her ever ready to give him her society and her thought. Her trousseau was not elaborate, her wedding-dress was simple, but in it she shone like a flower of the morning, full of brightness and health and joy.

She was wise in other respects. Only her intimate friends were invited to the wedding ceremony, and to these she said, "I want you to feel that it is you I invite, not your gifts. If your love impels you to give me some simple memento of yourself it will be cherished, but I'd rather have a pincushion made by your own hand, or a little flower painted by yourself, than the most costly purchased picture or most elegant piece of silver that you bought, because you thought it was expected. And if, when you come, you bring no gift but your love and blessing, I shall feel that that is the richest treasure."

There was no display of presents to a vulgar curiosity, no collection of duplicate butter-knives or berry-spoons to be secretly disposed of after the wedding. The gifts were few and not costly, but each told its own story of personal affection, and therefore really had a meaning.

This sensible young woman introduced another innovation into her wedding. She would not listen to the suggestion of a bridal tour. "I do not want to be stared at and commented on by strangers," she said. "Let us go to some quiet spot in the mountains or by the sea, and let us live with each other and with nature." In after years she often said, "I would not miss from my memory the picture of those happy days for anything that any trip on railway trains and sojourns at hotels could give me. We had time and opportunity to learn each other's souls as we could not have done amid 'the madding crowd;' and we have loved each other more truly, I know, because in those early wedded days we sat with Nature and Nature's God in the true companionship which such solitude alone can bring."

I never see the parade of a fashionable wedding that I am not reminded of her and of a sad contrast to her experience, when two young people were married amid a blaze of light, a rain of flowers, and under the curious eyes of hundreds of strangers took their wedding tour, while the papers glowingly described the dress and beauty of the bride, the necktie and the trousers of the groom, and pictures of the two were labeled "The Happy Couple." In two years the bride came home to her parents wrecked in health and broken in heart.

There is a beauty in a golden wedding that truly celebrates a happy union of half a century. But when life is all untried, when perhaps the two young people know nothing of what is before them, it may be are but little acquainted with each other, and have mistaken the thrill of passion for the steady exaltation of love, then it would seem wiser to make the occasion one of most solemn import, free from glitter and show, and full of that deep meaning which makes the heart stand still in reverence for life's deepest mysteries.

O, gallant young groom, it may seem a slight thing To take this young girl as your bride; To place on her finger the plain golden ring, Around her these bright flower-festoons to fling, But have you e'er thought what the future will bring To you in this life so untried?

Have you thought how your temper may often be tried? That you may grow gouty and old, That the fair smiling face of your bonnie young bride May grow pale and haggard, and wrinkled, beside, Or she prove a sloven and scold?

And you, bonnie bride, on this glad wedding day, In the midst of the curious crowd, Do you fancy that life will be always so gay? Can you work, can you wait, do you know how to pray, Can you suffer, and not cry aloud?

Can you watch out the hours by sad beds of pain? Can you bear and forbear and forgive? Can you cheerfully hope e'en when hoping is vain, And when hope is dead, and to die you would fain, Can you still feel it right you should live?

O, touchingly solemn and tender the hour, So full of deep meaning the vow You have uttered. And sorely you need Divine power To guide you and guard you in sunshine and shower, For trouble will come and love's delicate flower Be crushed, you can scarcely tell how.

And yet, dear heart, there is nothing that has such unconquerable vitality as love; but it must be true love, not self-love, not sentimentality, not passion, not any of the spurious emotions that masquerade under the name of love, and which wither with the slightest adverse wind.

Love is not an exotic, growing only in the conservatories of wealth. It is a hardy plant, covering desolate places with verdure, glowing amid the snows of mountain peaks, blossoming by night as well as by day, hiding defects, clinging to ruins, enduring drouth and heat and cold.

I know a woman who says that there should never be marriage where there are unpleasant peculiarities, idiosyncrasies, or even mannerisms; but should we act on that principle, few would marry. Love is sometimes said to be blind in the days of wooing, but wearing magnifying glasses after wedlock. True love is never blind, but he is capable of judging of true relative values, and will count as naught the slight defect when measured by the overwhelming perfection. Who has not seen men devoted to wives who were homely or peculiar, but who were genuinely pure and true?

"I don't care," said one woman, "if my husband is bald and cross-eyed, he has a heart of gold."

True love is not blind, but with a deep, keen insight looks through the encasing garment of human imperfections, and sees within the divine ego, and because it recognizes the true inner self that is worthy, hopeth all things, believeth all things, endureth all things, and never faileth.

THE END.



Offices of Publication

# IN THE UNITED STATES. The Vir Publishing Company, 200-214 N. Fifteenth St., Philadelphia, Pa.

# IN ENGLAND. The Vir Publishing Company, 4 Imperial B'l'd'g's, Ludgate Circus, London, E.C.

# IN CANADA. Ryerson Press, Cor. Queen and John Sts. Toronto, Ontario.



"What a Young Girl Ought to Know."

BY MRS. MARY WOOD-ALLEN, M.D.

Condensed Table of Contents

PART I

The origin of life—One plan in all forms of life—How plants grow from the seed—They feed on the soil, grow and mature—How the plant reproduces itself—The flower, the pollen, the pod, the seed—The office of bees and insects in fertilization.

PART II

Fishes and their young—The parent fishes and the baby fishes—The seeds of plants and eggs of fishes, birds and animals—How fishes never know their baby offspring—Warm blooded animals—Lessons from birds—Their nests, eggs and little ones.

PART III

Animals and their young—The place which God has prepared for their young—Beginning their independent life—Human babies the most helpless and dependent of all creatures—The relations of parent and child—The child a part of each parent—Heredity and its lessons.

PART IV

The value of good health—The care of the body—The body a temple to be kept holy—Girls should receive their instruction from their mothers—The body the garment which the soul wears—Effects of thoughts upon life and character—Value of good companions, good books and good influences—What it is to become a woman.



"What a Young Girl Ought to Know"

WHAT EMINENT PEOPLE SAY

Francis E. Willard, LL.D.

"I do earnestly hope that this book, founded on a strictly scientific but not forgetting a strong ethical basis, may be well known and widely read by the dear girls in their teens and the young women in their homes."

Mrs. Elizabeth B. Grannis

"These facts ought to be judiciously brought to the intelligence of every child whenever it asks questions concerning its own origin."

Mrs. Harriet Lincoln Coolidge

"It is a book that mothers and daughters ought to own."

Mrs. Katharine L. Stevenson

"The book is strong, direct, pure, as healthy as a breeze from the mountain-top."

Mrs. Isabelle MacDonald Alden, "Pansy"

"It is just the book needed to teach what most people do not know how to teach, being scientific, simple and plain-spoken, yet delicate."

Miss Grace H. Dodge

"I know of no one who writes or speaks on these great subjects with more womanly touch than Mrs. Wood-Allen, nor with deeper reverence. When I listen to her I feel that she has been inspired by a Higher Power."

Ira D. Sankey

"Every mother in the land that has a daughter should secure for her a copy of "What a Young Girl Ought to Know." It will save the world untold sorrow."



"What a Young Wife Ought to Know."

BY MRS. EMMA F.A. DRAKE, M.D.

Condensed Table of Contents

HUSBAND AND HOME

The choice of a husband—One worthy of both love and respect—Real characteristics necessary—Purity vs. "wild oats"—What shall a young wife expect to be to her husband?—His equal, but not his counterpart—His helpmeet Wifehood and motherhood—Should keep pace with his mental growth—Trousseau and wedding presents—The foolish and ruinous display at weddings—Wedding presents and unhappiness—Wise choice of furniture—The best adornments for the home.

THE MARITAL RELATIONS

The marital state should be the most holy of sanctuaries—Its influence upon character—Modesty—Reproduction the primal purpose—Love's highest plane—The right and wrong of marriage—The wrongdoings of good men.

PARENTHOOD

Preparation for motherhood—Motherhood the glory of womanhood—Maternity productive of health—Clothing—Exercise—Baths, etc., etc.—The child the expression of the mother's thoughts—The five stages of prenatal culture.

PREPARATION FOR FATHERHOOD

Questions which test the fitness of young men for marriage—Many young men of startling worth—Effects of bad morals and wayward habits—Tobacco and Alcoholics—Attaining the best—The father reproduced in his children.

ANTENATAL INFANTICIDE

The moral responsibility of parents in heredity—The mother's investment of moulding power—Parents workers together with God—Ailments during expectant motherhood—Maternity a normal state—Development of the foetus—Minuteness of the germ of human life—Changes which take place—Life present the moment conception takes place—The sin of tampering with the work of the Infinite.

THE LITTLE ONE

Baby's wardrobe—The question that comes with fluttering signs of life—Importance of wise choice of material and style of dress—Choice of physician and nurse of real consequence—The birth chamber—Surroundings and after-care of the mother—The care of the baby—The responsibilities and joys of motherhood—The mother the baby's teacher—Common ailments of children and how to treat them—Guarding against vice—The training of children—Body building—Helps for mothers.



"What a Young Wife Ought to Know"

WHAT EMINENT PEOPLE SAY

Mrs. Margaret E. Sangster

"Joyfully I send you my unqualified endorsement of the excellent book, 'What a Young Wife Ought to Know.' I wish every young and perplexed wife might read its pages."

Charles H. Parkhurst, D.D.

"It handles delicate matters in a manner as firm as it is delicate, and dignifies even what is common by the purity of the sentiment and nobility of intent with which it is treated."

Marietta Holly (Josiah Allen's Wife)

"It is an excellent book; if every young wife of to-day would read it and lay its lessons to heart it would make the to-morrow much easier and happier for all of Eve's daughters."

W.G. Sperry, M.D.

"Young wives, for whom this book is intended, wilt receive great benefits from heeding its wise words. It is good for incitement, guidance, restraint."

Mrs. Joseph Cook

"It illuminates the Holy of Holies in the most sacred of earthly relationships with the white light of truth and purity."

Julia Holmes Smith, M.D.

"Be sure Dr. Drake's book is part of your daughter's outfit. I have never read anything which so thoroughly met the use it was designed for as this volume."

J.P. Sutherland, M.D.

"A subject difficult to treat has been handled by Dr. Drake with delicacy, earnestness and straightforwardness. It is a practical book destined to do good."



"What a Woman of Forty-five Ought to Know."

BY MRS. EMMA F.A. DRAKE, M.D.

Condensed Table of Contents

KNOWLEDGE OF CLIMACTERIC NECESSARY

Why women are not prepared to meet the climacteric—The fear that unnerves many—Error of views concerning "Change of Life"—Correct teaching stated—Influence of medical literature—Three periods in a woman's life—Relation of early habits to later aches and ills—The menopause—Conditions which influence the period of the climacteric—The age at-which it usually appears—Effects of heredity—Childless women—Mothers of large families—Effects of different occupations—Excesses.

HERALDS OF CHANGE—DISEASES AND REMEDIES

Mental states during menopause—Change in blood currents—Flushes, chilliness, dizziness, etc.—Nervous symptoms—Disturbed mental and nervous equilibriums—Nature as woman's helper—Troublesome ailments—Mental troubles considered—Suggested help—Cancer—Benefits named—Apprehensions dispelled—How to banish worry—Simplifying daily duty—An eminent physician's prescription—A word to single women—Reluctance of unmarried women to meet the menopause—How to prolong one's youth—Dress during this period—The mother "At Sea"—Guarding against becoming gloomy—Effects of patent medicine advertising—Drug fiends—Lustful indulgence.

WHAT BOTH HUSBAND AND WIFE SHOULD REMEMBER

Slights and inattentions keenly felt by her—Need of patience—A word of private counsel—Value of little attentions—Wife's duty to her husband—Holding husband's affections—Making home attractive—Unselfishness.

AUTO-SUGGESTION AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS

Influence of mind over body—The mind as a curative agent—How to rise out of depression—Mental philosophy and physical betterment—Relation of health to sight—Care of the teeth—The hair—Constipation—Self cure—Choice of foods—Exercise—Physical development—Exercise of mind and soul.



"What a Woman of Forty-five Ought to Know"

PRAISED BY THE PRESS

"Will dispel apprehensions aroused by groundless forebodings."—Reformed Church Messenger.

"If the hygienic advice in this book is followed it will lengthen the lives of women and make their closing years the happiest and most useful of all,"—Herald and Presbyter.

"In no line of literature, perhaps, is such a book so much needed."—New Haven Leader.

"Those who peruse the book only from prurient curiosity will be disappointed."—Cleveland World.

"Should be read by every woman nearing and passing middle life."—Pittsburg Gazette.

"Written in that wholesome sympathetic manner characteristic of all the books in the Self and Sex Series."—Cleveland Daily World.

"Full of most admirable practical advice, and it is written in a sympathetic manner which is the outcome of oneness of sex between the author and those whom she addresses."—Syracuse Herald.

"There are some things that a woman of forty-five does not know—things which she regards with more or less terror in the expectation—which terror it is the object of Mrs. Drake to dispel."—Rochester Herald.

"There is nothing in the book that could not be proclaimed from the house-tops, and there is everything in it that intelligent and thoughtful women should read and keep for their daughters to read when the proper time comes."—Newark Daily Advertiser.



A New Book by Charles Frederic Goss

More Important than the Simple or the Strenuous Life is the Home Life

"HUSBAND, WIFE AND HOME"

By CHARLES FREDERIC GOSS

Author of "The Redemption of David Corson," etc., etc.

"This is the kind of book that one desires to read aloud to all the family. Its captivating stories, humorous often, pathetic at times, will brighten one's face into a broad smile or bring the tear unbidden. The stories are the windows that Dr. Goss opens upon the practical themes that brighten every page of this winsome book. It will drive away the "blues" and make a cross and glum person look pleasant and feel pleasant. The divorce courts would be forced to go out of business if its blessed home truths were put into practice."

ENTHUSIASTICALLY ENDORSED BY THE PRESS

"There are nearly fifty short chapters. It boxes the compass of its subject, skipping no point. Wide experience and keen observation of real life yield material which is treated with plain, common sense, good wit and no lack of humor. Thus it hits the need of the average man and woman, and all others that reckon themselves above the average. The whole book is pervaded by strong and pure moral feeling, and the chapters are well dotted with pithy anecdotes and amusing stories."—The Outlook.

"These talks are practical, pungent and full of the sap of experience."—Bookseller, Newsdealer and Stationer.

"The call of the hour is for such a book as this to be read and heeded. Every chapter is on a subject bound to come up sooner or later, and discussed plainly but from a high Christian standpoint."—Religious Telescope.

"This book is a wholesome, exceedingly digestible oatmeal of literature which is better for the mental and moral stomach than many a higher-flavored repast."—St. Louis Republic.

Price, $1.50 net, post free



A NEW DEVOTIONAL BOOK

"Faces Toward the Light"

By Sylvanus Stall, D.D.

Every phase of the Christian life—its joys and sorrows, its temptations and triumphs—is treated in a reverent and deeply spiritual manner that is sure to prove helpful and inspiring to every reader.

SOME CHAPTERS IN THE BOOK

Glory After Gloom. The Dangerous Hour. The Concealed Future. Gleaning for Christ. Hunger and Health. Direction and Destiny. God of the Valleys. Coins and Christians. Reserved Blessings. Comfort in Sorrow. The Better Service. Not Knowing Whither. Good, but Good for Nothing. No Easy Place. The Dead Prayer Office. How God Reveals Himself. Starting Late. Source of Power. Toiling at a Heavy Tow. What He Gave and What He Got. Vacation Lessons. Wheat or Weeds. The Christian's Power. Disclosures in the Cloud. Healing and Living Waters. The Concealed Future. Suspended Animation. The Source of Power. Lessons from the Leaves. Etc.



Just Published. New Revised Edition.

FIVE-MINUTE OBJECT SERMONS TO CHILDREN

Through Eye-Gate and Ear-Gate Into the City of Child-Soul

By SYLVANUS STALL, D.D.

A book for preachers, teachers, parents and all interested in the training and culture of children.

ENTHUSIASTICALLY COMMENDED

"These little delightful sermons are models at point and brevity, and reach the little hearts through the eye and ear."—Christian Observer.

"Boys and girls will devour every one of them with relish, whilst we children of a larger growth will be children again."—Lutheran Observer.

"These sermons cannot help being suggestive to every preacher who would interest children, and they also have a much wider scope than for the pulpit. The book should be eagerly sought by all Sunday-School Teachers, leaders of children's meetings and the clergymen of all churches."—Wesleyan Methodist.

"Dr. Stall has the happy faculty of presenting to children, sober truths in a manner interesting to them. The author's object is to implant in the child's mind seeds of truth and love, nobleness and justice, and all the virtues that go to make a manly boy and womanly girl, as well as a God-loving child."—Boston Times.



Talks to the King's Children

Second Series of "Five-Minute Object Sermons"

By SYLVANUS STALL, D.D.

Invaluable in THE HOME, THE SUNDAY SCHOOL, THE PASTOR'S LIBRARY, THE MISSION FIELD

A CHILDREN'S PREACHER

"Dr. Stall has few equals in this particular line of writing. He shows a fine reserve in not allowing the object used to overshadow the truth taught."—Nashville Christian Advocate.

"The Rev. Dr. Sylvanus Stall is one of the best preachers for young people in the American pulpit. His 'Five-minute Object Sermons' to children was an ideal book in its class. The present volume is a second series of the same kind, and will be found to have no less point and charm than the volume published two years ago."—New York Independent.

"The author is well-known in this community, having been a pastor in Baltimore City for several years. He is an adept certainly in furnishing bright, interesting talks to children. He writes with a vigorous, irresistible pen."—Baltimore Methodist.

THE CHILDREN GOOD JUDGES

"Those who have had the genuine pleasure and profit of Dr. Stall's first series of children's sermons will welcome this second volume. We have read them with the children and commend them very highly. The children know a good sermon when they hear it."—Reformed Church Messenger.

"Irresistibly interesting, especially to the young mind."—Christian Work.



JUST PUBLISHED

Two Important Booklets

By Mrs. Adolphe Hoffmann, who is widely known in France, Germany and Switzerland as a talented writer, lecturer and educator. She is also prominent in the great reform and educational movements in Europe.

The Social Duty of Our Daughters

A mother's talk with mothers and their grown daughters.

BY MRS. ADOLPHE HOFFMANN

An affectionate and confidential talk to mothers and their daughters on the responsibility, power and maternal duties of woman. These counsels should do much to dignify and elevate parenthood to the place intended by the Creator.

Before Marriage

A mother's parting counsel to her son on the eve of his marriage.

BY MRS. ADOLPHE HOFFMANN

This booklet embodies the counsel of an earnest mother who imparts to her son the information essential to the happiness both of her son and his bride.



Unique Original Uplifting

God's Minute

A book of 365 daily prayers, 60 seconds long, arranged from January 1st to December 31st, a prayer to each page, written expressly for this book by the most eminent preachers and laymen in the English-speaking world. At the top of each page is a selection of Scripture on encouragement to prayer.

Prayers by Drs. Wilfred T. Grenfell, W.W. Keen; Reverend Doctors, F.B. Meyer, John Clifford, James M. Gray, Timothy Stone, David James Burrell, Washington Gladden, Hugh Black; Rev. W. Griffith Thomas; Bishops W.A. Quayle, Charles E. Woodcock; President E.Y. Mullins, Mrs. Alice Hegan Rice, author of "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch." Clinton Scollard contributes an original poem.

Full cloth bound, printed on thin Rag Feather-weight paper, 384 pages. Specially priced at 60 cents a copy, cloth; in leatherette, $1.00; in art leather, $1.50.

THE VIR PUBLISHING COMPANY PHILADELPHIA, PA., U.S.A.: 200 N. FIFTEENTH ST. LONDON: 7, IMPERIAL ARCADE, LUDGATE CIRCUS, E.C. CANADA: RYERSON PRESS, QUEEN AND JOHN STREETS



"Touchstones of Success"

WRITTEN BY

160 Present Day Men of Achievement Especially for This Book

Opinions of Great Business Men

From a California National Bank: "Please find enclosed order for five copies of 'Touchstones of Success,' which we will keep in the bank for the present and future young men to read at their leisure time at the expense of the bank."

From a Widely Known California Engineer: "I enclose check for $10.00 for eight copies of Touchstones of Success'."

From a Big Business Man, Boston, Mass: "This is a splendid book for young men and it ought to be of great value to them."

From a Prominent Manufacturer in Detroit: "Please send six copies of the book. I want to distribute them among some of the employees in our office."

From a Great Manufacturing Concern of St. Louis: "I am passing copies of the book among the boys in our office because it contains some wonderful messages."

From a Widely Known New York Jurist: "I am enclosing my check for $25.00, which makes $50.00 that I have invested in extra copies of this book, so you know what I think of it."

Price, full cloth Bound, $1.25 net per copy

THE PUBLISHERS: The VIR PUBLISHING COMPANY 200-214: NORTH 15TH STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA.



A Book About Our Wonderful Bodies

Marvels of Our Bodily Dwelling

By MRS. MARY WOOD-ALLEN, M.D.

Author of "What a Young Girl Ought to Know," etc.

Introduction by SYLVANUS STALL. D.D.

In the form of an allegory—comparing each part of the human body to its counterpart in a dwelling, the author has succeeded in making this human study as interesting as a Sherlock Holmes detective story. She has laid under contribution the best scientific authorities and this book will be found abreast of the Science of today.

Cloth with cover in four colors, stamped in gold. 328 pages with fine half-tone pictures and 72 line drawings.

A Marvelous Book Upon a Marvelous Subject

THE VIR PUBLISHING COMPANY PHILADELPHIA. PA., U.S.A.: 200 N. 15th Street LONDON: 7, Imperial Arcade, Ludgate Circus, E.C. TORONTO: Ryerson Press, 29 Richmond Street. W.



Bible Selections for Daily Devotion

Selected and Arranged by

SYLVANUS STALL, D.D.

This book brings to family worship 365 passages best suited in character and length to such service.

It is intended to relieve the father or mother of perplexity and apprehension concerning the passages to be read, and to enable them to bring to the service that frame of mind indispensable to the conduct of real worship.

The Gospel narrative is chronologically arranged.

The text is from the Authorized version, while the verses are merged into paragraphs as in the Revised edition.

Difficult words are pronounced.

The selections are suited not only for use in family worship, but for the chapel service of colleges, universities, and by teachers in the opening services of public schools.

Readings are from three to five minutes in length.

Cloth. 686 pages. Price, $1.50 net.

THE VIR PUBLISHING COMPANY PHILADELPHIA, PA., U.S.A.: 200 N. 15th Street LONDON: 7, Imperial Arcade, Ludgate Circus, E.C. TORONTO: Ryerson Press, Queen and John Streets

* * * * *

THE END