odour rather than light; the huge wax candle on the glittering altar, the range of gas lamps on our streets, all have their stories to tell. All, if they could speak, might warm our hearts in telling how they have ministered to man's comfort, love of home, toil and devotion." These may be mentioned also as in contrast with the modern incandescent lamp and the electric-lighting systems. The poet says and sings:

The night has a thousand eyes,

And the day but one;

Yet the light of the bright world dies,
With the dying sun.

The mind has a thousand eyes,

And the heart but one;

Yet the light of a whole life dies,

When love is done.

FRANCIS W. BOURDILLON.

TOPICAL SUGGESTIONS:

1. The normal, physical, mental and spiritual life of man as seen within the three score and ten years.

2. Life a great opportunity. Suffering may be a guide.

3. Our great Creator honours man in making him a co-worker in developing the world. The earth and solar systems show no marks of man's hand, but the vegetable kingdom and the wonderful achievements in the industrial world show co-operation. 4. Light and heat. Light the complement of sight. All a void without light.

5. Light not only a purifier of the atmosphere but gives color which delights the eyes.

6. The utilities of light.

7. The exhilarating effects of light.

8. Harmonies of nature observed through light.

TH

XXII

THE ELEMENTS

HE elements, commonly known by the ancients as earth, air, fire and water, but scientists would probably add another to this list called ether which pervades all the elements and saturates all life or known existence, conveying light to the eye.

Under Geology we have treated in a small way the strata of the earth, so we will pass on to the next element called Air. This element, treated chemically, will show the formula Oxygen and Nitrogen, with a small mixture of carbon dioxide.

Air appears to be the substance above all others necessary at all times to keep man and beast alive, so important is this to our very lives that God in His goodness has provided it without stint, and, like the rain, is enjoyed by the just and unjust alike. It does not require any argument to show that in this element, air, there is a constant reminder that life is hanging, as it were, upon a slender thread. Air through the lungs in moving, never-ending process of absorption and assimilation and expulsion receiving and absorbing the oxygen, nitrogen, casting out the carbon dioxide contributes to the physical body the necessary particles to enrich the blood and preserve life. Man scarcely begins to live before he begins to breathe, and must continue to function, using the air as a means of preserving life.

It is also the vehicle of sound to the ear without which

this kind censor could not function. The wave motion is long and very slow in comparison with the wave motion of the ether which conveys light. Light travels at the rate of 186,000 miles per second, while sound travels 1,000 feet per second.

The receptacles of the ear are finely adjusted to the density and wave motions of the atmosphere and sound, while the delicate organs of vision or sight are just as finely adjusted to the medium, ether which conveys the wave motions of light to the eye.

So in all our relations of life air is the medium conveying the healing and life-giving stream of life to the lungs, both when asleep and awake, acting automatically by pressure to suit the delicate organs. So in the pleasures of life, as the sense of hearing functions in music, song or thunder warnings, air is the great outstanding vehicle contributing to the welfare of mankind.

Then Fire, another of these wonderful gifts to man, finds a large place in man's life. It may be found in the field of chemistry, marking the combustion of gases as they play upon each other in the experimental laboratory or in the home in domestic life as food is prepared in the kitchen; in the mill or foundry where the liquid metals are poured and moulded and pressed into form, or in the incinerator where the refuse of cities and towns reach their final quietus through fire; or under the boiler to produce steam for running machinery of mill and factory, or in the illuminations of town or city, this great gift to man is always ready as a handmaid and helper to man. It is so useful, yet so deadly in its functioning, that colour, the red signal of danger, always marks its approach.

With the coming of electricity as a great factor in the affairs of man, and in the generating of this power, we

find fire as a factor in producing the steam to operate the machinery where such power is needed. In the coal fields and industrial sections, in the lumber camps and forest, in the great cities in their lighting and power systems, in our railroad and transportation systems by land and sea, the use of electricity generated by fire brings man face to face with nature's wonders, and one would say with the Hebrew writer:

"Wonderful are thy works, oh Lord, and thy ways past finding out."

Then we must consider water as another element contributing to the welfare of man.

The chemical formula H2O is the most common, aside from air and ether, in its proximity and use. It is so common that two-thirds of the earth's surface is covered with water, river, lake, sea and ocean; the waters bear the commerce of the world and furnish the means by which man can circumnavigate the earth. It is so common that we scarcely appreciate its contribution to our immediate welfare. Without water the great western hemisphere might have remained undiscovered to this day. With the discovery of steam a new civilization was projected. The application of the power of steam or the expansive power of water gave a new impetus to the machinery of to-day, which may be considered man's handmaid and industrial helpmeet in all its relations, assisting in practically all of man's appliances of a mechanical nature.

In domestic life it is of course indispensable. In preparation of food, in sanitation and purification, in medicinal and surgical applications, in flushing not only the sewers of the city, but the sewerage system of the physical body, as well as cleansing the outward body. In all these relations, adaptations and purposes, in the

use of water the goodness of God is manifest. But we may show you yet other ways, in vegetable and animal life. In the rainfall and dewdrop to soften the soil in agriculture we see that water contributes, not only to his welfare but is absolutely necessary to man's existence.

As the elements above mentioned are so intimately connected with our lives and are found so necessary to our existence, may we not yet find, as we look into the Creator's great works, a more wonderful contribution to man's welfare in the unseen, yet penetrating power called ether?

As ether is the vehicle by which light travels and reaches the human eye, may we not reason that the great universe is a vast unfathomable ocean of ethereal life, as yet little understood by mankind?

As there are many stars, suns and systems whose light has yet to strike our vision and press their influences upon our planet, may we not reasonably imagine that the benign influences yet to penetrate the mist and spread the light, may so quicken our mental and spiritual perceptions that we shall see more clearly the benign hand of God in all creation?

As the Psalmist suggests: "The heavens declare the glory (goodness) of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork, day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night showeth knowledge, there is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard."

This would indicate that God is appealing to man and teaching us through the wonderful creations and their benign influences trying to show us His wonderful goodness. When the light and influences of these far-away spheres reach us, may not their appeal be irresistible? The closing verse of the 107th Psalm says: "Whoso is wise and will observe these things even they shall know