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THE CHRISTIAN INDEX,
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY MORNING
AT MACON, GEORGIA.
BY A COMMITTEE OF BRETHREN,
FOR THE
GEORGIA BAPTIST CONVENTION.
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION,
Two Dollars in advance : or paid within the year.
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one-half will be charged in all cases.
E. \V. WARREN, Editor.
VOLUME XXXIX. 1
New Scries.—Volume XXVIII. )
POETRY.
The New Year.
BY HATTIE SMITH.
Gone down to the deep sepulchre of the past,
Laid away wiih the host long buried there,
Is the old year, and like mourners from graves—
With the melancholy cadence, “ dust to dust,”
Long after sadly ringing in their ears,
Our thoughts do sad and solemn turn away
From the tomb where Time has claimed his own,
Yet mournfully echo the “dead old year;”
Yea, dead! with his record of each life’s deeds,
Locked closely and fast in his icy arms ;
And he’ll calmly rest till hes tomb is full -
Rest—till the laxt year in Time’s mighty chain,
Has fallen therein, and Death’s reign is done ;
Then as earth yields up her mouldering dead
Each rising form shall meet, uprising too,
Its own life story from the grave3 of time.
But the New Year comes with his yet blank page,
Comes forth from His hand who gendeth the years,
And calleth them home when their cycles end,
Comes with his coronal of fresh hopes crown’d :
We see the fair vision his hands hold up,
Where, down a bright vista of smiliug mouths
Gleam Spring flowerets and Summer sunshine
Twined in radiant dreams of coining joy.
And is this all, will we pass through the scene
Os varying beauty, on to the end,
And looking back only say we have lived
Through another year’s swift gliding changes?
Bnt he’ll carry down to his grave a tale
Told unto God and his angels alone,
Os how men used the treasures he brought them,
Then up! as the dawning of New Year comes, i
Give it a welcome with brave, earnest hearts ;
Let us grow better, nobler, and wiser,
And live more nearly up to the true life.
There is a cup called Christian charity,
And all who drink of the precious elixir
Through life, walk nearer to God, and purer ;
With a draught let us welcome the New Year,
And all through the beautiful months we’ll hear
Like carols of song birds gushing out
Amid the young Spring’s meek-eyed flowerets,
And ail through the rustle of Summer leaves,
And rolling, like an anthem, through Autumn’s
Shadows heavy, and rieli, yellow sunshine,
Nature’s sweet chant of “Love one another—
God and our Savior.”
There may be sad hearts, weary with w eeping,
Who look on the New Year through mikts of tears.
For hopes once deemed the sweetest and dearest,
Lie dead ’neath the folds of the old one’s shroud,
To such may it come, and with pure teachings—
With patience and meekness, mould of their lives
Most touching and beautiful lessons from God.
Oh! let us all so live, when the New Year goes,
His record will ne so bright and so fair,
So full of love and peace, on earth ’mongmeu,—
Os how the name of Christ is a theme for
Human tongues —men telling one another,
And the breezy tones of woman bearing
To sinners’ listening ears the story,—
Our Father will smile to own his children,
And angels strike their harps anew to see
The glory of God so shine among men.
CONTRIBUTIONS.' -
Predestination and Election.
Thus have I disposed of two of the
propositions submitted, and will now
briefly discuss the last, to wit: If
God knew all things from the begin
ning, and disposes of men and nations
as he pleases, who is to be saved ?
When were they chosen ? and what are
the conditions upon which their salva
tion depends ? I maintain, that God
determined in his mind, before the
world began, that some of the children
of men should be saved, and provided .
the means for their esfcapo from that
deatli that never dies—but is does not
necessarily follow, that He decreed , as
some foolishly say, that the balance
should he lost; hut knowing who would
repent, believe and be saved, and also
who would not repent, believe and he
saved, he provided an atonement which
in its extent and eflicacy, was sufficient
to save all, hut as all would not be
saved, he determined that some should
and provided means which should he
sufficient for all, hut as all would not
be saved, he determined that it should
prove efl'ectual to some, and applied
it to those who would finally accept
the terms of .the gospel. This, says
one, looks like partiality, hut I refer
the objector to Paul, and proceed to
show, that the scriptures teach this
solemn truth most abundantly. t
44 For the promise is unto you and
your children, and to as many as the
Lord our God shall call.’ Acts 2nd c.
39th verse.
“ And when the Gentiles heard this,
they -were glad, and glorifled the word
of the Lord, and as many as were or
dained to eternal, believed.” Acts
13th c. IS v.
Now let ns look at these two passa
ges of scripture, and And, if possible,
their two interpretations, in the first,
the promise is extended to as many as
the Lord our God shall call and no
more,” in the second, as many as were
ordained to ‘eternal life believed and
no more. Now as the same gospel
was preached to all who were present,
why did no tall believe? Some may an
swer, because they would not; but the
sacred writer says that all believed
that had been ordained to eternal life,
then, those who did not believe, were’
not ordained to eternal lite, and there
fore they did not believe, but it all
may be saved, then they must he saved,
although they were not ordained, and
this would involve Divine lawgiver
in inconsistency, and contradict the
divine record. Again, 44 all that the
father giveth me shall come to me, and
him that cometh to me, I will in no
wise cast out.” John 6th c. 37 v.
Here it will he perceived that Christ
says, that his father hath given him
some of the chiluien of men, that all
thus given to him shall come unto
him, and he will in no wise cast them
out. Now if he gave all to him then
all shall come with him and he will in
no wise cast them out, and the conclu
sion is therefore irresistible, that all
will be saved; but the doctrine of elec
tion reconciles the idea that all who
were given to Christ will be saved, and
the balance lost. But, when were they
given to him ? I answer. 44 Who hath
save us and called us with an holy call :
ing, not according to our works, hut
according to his own purpose and grace
which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began.” 2nd Tim.
Ist, Orb v.
In this passage it. is affirmed, Ist.
That we are saved 2nd, Called. 3rd,
Not on account of our works. 4th. Ac
cording to his purpose in Christ. This
salvation and determination to some,
was bfore the world began, and there
fore before we were born. Being saved
according to his purpose, by the ever
lasting covenant, in due time, by his
Iloly Spirit, the chosen one is called
and made to walk in the light of his
countenance. Again, 44 you have not
chosen me, bnt I have chosen you and
ordained you, that you should go and
bring forth fruit.’ 2nd Thess. 11th
13th v.
Here it is affirmed that the sinner
does not choose God. On the contra
ry, it is implied, that he is an alien to
God, and to the commonwealth of Is
rael, that his heart is deceitful above
all things, and desperately wicked,
full of wounds, bruises and putrifving
sores, from the crown of the head to
to the sole of the foot, and although
the sinner is thus morally depraved,
God has chosen and ordained him to
eternal life. I will not multiply proofs
on this subject. The position is too
sit” ngly fortified by the Bible to ad
mit of doubt, and I leave it to he pur
sued by others more competent than
myself.
But it is asked, 44 If a sinner does
the best he can will he not he saved.”
I answer emphatically no. Certainly,
not because he does the best he can —and
why ? The answer is plain. If a sin
ner pays the preacher, attends church
and listens attentively to the gospel,
visits the sick, clothes the naked, pro
vides for the poor, sends the gospel to
the heathen—is an indulgent father,
kind master, and affectionate husband,
many would say lie is doing the best
he can,and yet will it be insisted that be
cause lie has done all these tilings, and
perhaps many more equally praisewor
thy, that therefore, he wili or ought to
he saved? Surely no Baptist will
maintain a proposition so absurd. If
he is saved because he has done these
then, these things are his saviour, and
Christ is, thereby, rejected. The Jews
expected to get to heaven by a strict
observance of the ceremonial law, and
rejected Christ. The Pharisees expec
ted to do likewise, because he did
many wonderful things, and rejected
Christ, and the Jew and Parisee, were
alike condemned. To say that a man
may be saved because he does the best
Ipl can, is down-right infidelity. Such
is not the experience of the truly con
verted soul. When the sinner ima
gines that he has “done the best he
can,” at hist he must fall at the foot of
the cross and say, “God be merciful
to me a sinner, Lord save, I perish.
Jesus thou son of David, have mercy
on me,” and like the dying thief, ex
claim, “Lord remember me when thou
comest into thy Kingdom ;” and like
•the perishing Israelite in the wilder
ness, Look at the brazen serpent and
live.
A sinner must feel his lost condition
before he will look to Christfor help,and
the Holy Spirit must make him feel, or
else he will remain callous forever, and
the Iloly spirit is the gift of God, and
the salvation of the soul is, therefore
by grace. Suppose a man to have fal
len in a deep well, he knows that he is
unable to extricate himself, and there
fore will call for help, because he feels
the need of it, and because he does call
for help and has been saved, he should
not by any means, say that he is not
indebted to the friend who rescued him.
The truth is, the only thing a poor sin
ner can do, is to cali for help from the
heights of calvary, and then, aid there
only will a sweet voice emanate
from the cross. 44 Peace be still.”—
Finally the doctrine of Election and
Predestination, Ist, humbles the pride
of man, 2nd, excludes the idea of
chance, 3rd, exalts tlie grace of God,
4th, renders salvation certain, sth, and
affords believers great consolation.
L. T. DOYAL.
Griffin, Dec. sth 1859.
For the Index.
Micco Creek Nation.
Nov. 10th, 1559.
Dear Bro. Warren : Two weeks
ago, in company with Bro. Buckner
and son, I started down into the Choc-’
taw country for the purpose of secur
ing another laborer for the Creeks.—
From the enclosed notice you will see
that success attended our efforts, and
that a helpmate every way qualified
fior missionary duties was secured.—
By the way, spd&kiug of additions to
’ the field, I see from the last Index, that
the Georgia Association has appointed
brother Jas. A. Preston a student at
Mercer for this field of missionary la
bor —indeed he wrote brother Buckner
a letter with —as usual —a thousand
and one questions. We truly rejoice
at this prospect of addition to our
number, especially as ’tis said, he is a
man of “ bone as well as biain.” Just
seek for a field to a directing provi
dence dear brother, and fear not the
difficulties, dangers and toils. These
you will meet with and must undergo
no doubt, but 44 the Indians ” are not
half so had as many seem to think.—
AVe are no* - savaaes out here, nor do
we live on parched corn and jerked
meat. I guess there are this day more
deer in five miles around Penfieid than
in all the Creek country. I have been
here now two years and have seen but
11'crur deer—two wild and two tame. —
As yet I have not tasted or seen a piece
of hear meat, and only on a border
trip some 100 or more miles west of
this place, did I get any buffalo meat.
Game of every kind is very scarce.
Wild ducks and geese in winter are
plenty, and squirrels and partridges
may be found in some abundance. It
would make no difference though if
game were ever so plenty, a missiona
ry will find but little time to hunt.—
44 There is no rest for the wicked,” is a
frequently quoted scripture (?) quota
tion. Certainly there is none for the
missionary. But this is a digression.
I started to write a few incidents in con
nection with a visit to the Choctaw
nation. On Saturday and Sabbath,
29th and 30th Oct., we constituted a
church at Skallyville (old Chotaw
agency) of seven members. Brother
Burns lives near, and preaches at this
place. At present religion is at a low
ebb, but Bro. Burns is an energetic
man and a zealous preacher, and under
God’s care, through him we trust the
old ship will swim.
For the first time since I have been
in missionary labors, I visited “white
folks” country, having gone down to
Fort Smith, Ark. This is a place of
considerable importance, furnishing
the only market for all the Indian coun
try. Again the overland roads all con
verge to this point. Alas! like many
other thriving western towns there is
no Baptist church in F’t. Smith,and but
little Baptist influence. A young man
of talent and energy could find a prom
ising field for influence at this ptoint.
The Ist Sabbath in November, I at
tended a choctaw funeral and “cry.”
This “cry” is an ancient and most af
fecting custom, barely to he recom
mended, yet not to he condemned.—
The “modus operandi ” is on this wise :
After preaching, and as soon as the
benediction is pronounced, the nearest
female relatives of the deceased file oft*
followed by all sympathizers in long
procession, for the grave, where imme
diately upon arriving, they fall upon
their knees and faces, uttering all the
while, the most mournful wails and
crys. The men stand around with
bowed heads, while those who are
Christians sing some mournful song. —
The scene is affecting in the extreme.
On Monday the 7th, we arrived at
our station, finding the whole town in
confusion and commotion, owing to
the excitement caused by the meeting
of the grand peace council of the five
neighboring tribes, then holding its
meeting about a mile from the town.
I visited this council yesterday, in
company with Mrs. Murrow and sister
Buckner, and w r as much interested.
The objects of the council, are to
form an intertribal league or compact,
to agree upon international laws, settle
any old disputes or claims, and consti
tue more friendly and intimate rela
tions between the several tribes. Sev
eral of the most intelligent and promi
nent men in each nation were present.
Were Ia good “reporter,” I would
have taken down some of the speeches,
but as I make no pretentions to this
profession you must be content with
one or two illustrations made by llo
po-eth-le-yo-bo-10, in an opening speech
before the council. After referring in
an eloquent and forcible manner to the
ancient “glory ” of the red men, their
numbers, territory and power, and af
ter expatiating for some time upon
their ways, and bewailing their pres
ent condition, he illustrates their pres
ent condition thus : “At the mouth
of the Chattahootchie, there is a small
Island. Once it was very large ; the
waters have been gradually washing it
away, until now it is very small. Soon
it will he all gone. The people will
ask where is the island ? and will be
answered, the waters have washed it
away and it is now overflown. Our
condition now is like that of the little
island. Once we were a large people
and owned a great country. The white
people like the waters of the river have
washed us away until we are now very
small. We can almost shoot an arrow
over the little country we now possess
and yet the whites want to rob us of a
portion of this. Let us not agree to
this, brethren. Let us build a strong
hank around our island, that the wa
ters may not overflow us.’’
Ho-po-eth-le-yo-ho-lo is a Creek.—
The very same man who led the party
that killed Gen. Wm. Mclntosh. He
is not very popular out here now, but
still wealds much influence. It is said
he was once very eloquent. His por
trait may he found in White’s Statis
tics of Ga.
Gen. Chilly Mclntosh was also pres
ent. He is a son of Gen. Wm. Mcln
tosh, and has perhaps more influence
over the CrCeks than any other man
amongst them. Old uncle Moty Ke
nad, a strong Baptist deacon, and prin
cipal chief of the lower district was
present, and added much interest to
the council.
But I have written more than enough
for the present. Ere long you may
hear from me again.
Yours truly,
J. S. MURROW.
Valuable Little Hints. —A short
needle makes the most expedition in
plain sewing.
Put your balls or reels of cotton into
little bags, leaving the ends out.
Dirty windows are very reliable
telltales ; they give the character of
the lady of the house with great cor
rectness.
A leather strap, with a buckle at one
end and tongue holes at the other, is
useful in the house.
Virtue and happiness are mother
and daughter.
MACOX, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1800.
John’s Baptism.
BY REV. J. H. CORLEY.
In presenting to the public ad
| ditional arguments and reflections
jon the subject of John’s Baptism
j the writer is not wholly ignorant
of the difficulties with which he
have to contend. There are some
who will tell you that the subject
is already exhausted ; others, that
the attempts heretofore made to ex
plain the nature and design of the
baptism of John having failed to give
general satisfaction, they have not
much to hope for from attempts that
may be made in future ; while others
still, have formed their opinions, and
whether right or wrong, are not inclin
ed to change them. I shall not at
tempt; to meet or answer these objec
tions, or any others that might be urg
ed, hut shall stale my positions plain
ly, argue them in a simple and a com
uionsense manner, and leave the result
with God. My general position is that
John's Baptism was essentially the
the same, in all of its leading features
as that administered at the present day ,
by the regular Baptists of the United
/Sftes. The Baptists, basing their
j v ictice upon the great commission
given by our Saviour, maintain that
none should be baptised but such as
have first been instructed in the things
pertaining to the kingdom of God ,
and the salvation of their own souls.
That John required the same of
those whom he baptised, is, to my mind
satisfactorily established by the follow
ing considerations, viz :
Ist. 44 He preached to them the doc
trines of repentance before he baptis
ed any one ” See Math. 3 : Ist and 2
verses. 44 In those days came John
the Baptist, preaching in the wilder
ness of Judea, and saying : repent ye,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
lie did not baptise and then preach to
them repentance, as some suppose, but
called upon the people to repent first.
But.
2nd. The inquiry John made of the
Pharisees and Sadducees, who came to
him demanding baptism, proves that
he required them first to receive the
warning instructions of the Gospel.—
“ Who hath warned you to flee from
the wrath to come ?” With such an
inquiry as this before my mind, made
as it was by the Baptizer himself, and
at a time when the unconverted and
unwarned were pressing upon him for
baptism, how am I to resist the con
clusion that John required his subjects
to be warned, to flee from the coming
wrath before he would baptise them?
For what other purpose could he have
asked the question, and who can give
a reasonable sdlutsou of his inquiry
without incorporating in it the idia
that a warning is a necessary prerequi
site to baptism?
3d. My third argument on this point
is drawn from the confessions made by
John’s disciples. Matthew says they
‘‘were baptized of him in Jordan, con
fessing their sin.” Mark mentions
the same fact. “ And were all baptiz
ed of him in the river of Jordan, con
fessing their sins.” Now if these con
fessions were genuine and hearty, (and
we cannot doubt hut what they were,)
then it must be conceded that they
were the fruits of such teachings and
warnings as convinced the people that
they were sinners, and made them feel
the necessity of confessing their sins
to their offended God.
But again, Baptists hold that none
should be baptized hut such as having
been warned, have actually repented
of their sins and believed on the Lord
Jesus Christ. The question now to be
examined is : did John require repen
tance and faith of those whom he bap
tized. AVe affirm that he did, and
proceed to give the proofs. John
might have received and baptized thou
sands without necessarily having given
theHerms upon which they were ad
mited to baptism, hat whenever it be
come necessary for him to reject ap
plicants, justice to them required that
the cause of their rejection should be
made known. Such a case of rejec
tion we have recorded in Mat. 3:
7,8, 9v. and Luke, 3: 7, Bv. “Then
said he to the multitude that came
forth to be baptized of him, O genera
tion of vipers, who hath warned you
to flee from the wrath to come ?
Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of
repentance, and begin not to say with
inyourselves. We have Abraham toour
father: for I say unto you, that God is
able of these stones to raise up children
unto Abraham.” From this case it
must appear, even to the most super
ficial observer as well as to the man of
investigating mind, that John baptized
only such as could bring forth fruits
worthy of repentance. I presume no
one will assume that those applicants
were baptized, and if they were not ,
then evidently they were rejected, and
if they were rejected, it certainly was
because they did not bring fruits wor
thy of repentance. The condition of
John’s baptism therefore, was, that the
applicant, in order to be received had
to bring forth fruits worthy of repen
tance. If then, we can ascertain what
the fruits worthy of repentance are,
we shall have no difficulty in deciding
upon the character and qualifications
of John’s disciples. If John had said
bring forth therefore fruits, and had
1 there stopped, we might have been
troubled to know his meaning, but
when he adds that descriptive sentence
— 4 worthy of repentance ,’ it does seem
to me there can be no necessity what
ever, for misapprehending his real
meaning. If I should say ‘that design
is worthy of its author, or that 6on is
j worthy of its father, or those apples
1 ire worthy the tree that bore them,
what man of common sense could mis
understand my meaning ? Why then
shall I not be understood when I speak
of fruits worthy of repentance ? But
the requirement contains an unanswer
ed and unanswerable argument in its
own fitness and appropriateness. Re
pentance yields the same fruits, and
those fruits bear the same marks in
every penitent, whose penitence is of a
Godly sort, in every country and clime,
and in all ages of the world. There
fore, John, in fixing the basis of admis
sion to baptism, set up au infallible
guide for all the servants of the church
es in all time to come. Call for the
fruits of repentance, and if they are
unmistakably given, you may proceed
without fear to administer the ordi
nance. But it may he asked, what are
those fruits of repentance about which
you have so much to say ? Well, it
suits my purpose precisely to answer
that inquiry. Repentance itself, as de
fined by Mr. Webster “is real sorrow
or grief of heart for sin as au oftense
and dishonor to God, a violation of his
holy law, and the basest ingratitude
toward a Being of infinite benevo
lence !” According to this definition
a heartfelt sorrow on account of sin is
the very commencement of repentance,
and Paul says, “ For Godly sorrow
worketh repentance to salvation not to
be repented of.” Now if repentance
commences in Godly sorrow for sin, its
natural and philosophical tendency will
be to cause the penitent to hate sin
and to turn from it. The first fruit
therefore, of repentance is to hate sin
and the second is to turn away from
it, as from a deadly poison. The man
who says he is sorry for, or on account
of his sins, and yet clings to them un
yieldingly, is not to be believed. The
second natural tendency of a Godly
sorrow for sin is to produce in the pen
itents heart a disposition to ask forgive
ness of that God whom he has so base
ly offended, and to confess to him the
very worst of his guilt. Therefore we
may record confession and prayer as
the third fruit of repentance. But
again, God has promised that those
who confess their sins shall be forgiven,
hut as none can he forgiven in any
other way than through the merits of
Christ, and as the merits of Christ are
not vouchsafed to unbelievers, it fol
lows that God, in the promise of for
giveness to penitents, guarantees to
them that grace of faith by which men
are enabled to believe on the Lord
Jesus. And in confirmation of the
position here taken, I may call atten
tion to the fact that when we see men
genuinely repenting, we very natural
ly expect their penitence to end with
faith in Christ. The philosophy of
the matter seems to be this, the peni
tent that by his sins he has incur
red an immense debt, lie attempts to
discharge it in various ways,—by ref
formation, by good works, by pray
ers and finally the law pressing heavi
ly upon him with its vast and yet just
demands he is driven from everything
else and driven to Christ, whereupon
he embraces him joyfully and makes
Him his only offering, and bis only
plea. May I not, then, in all good
faith and conscience incorporate faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ as one of the
44 fruits of repentance?” I 1 ink so.
Then it follows that if faith m Christ,
is one of the fruits of repentance, John
baptized only believers.
The Holy Spirit regenerates the
spirit of man, and produces repentance
as its direct and natural effect, where
upon the whole train of Christian gra
ces follow in the order of cause and
effect, so that each subsequent grace
may be considered, either mediately
or immediately the fruit of the first
one, and it is the fruit of the Holy
Spirit. In conclusion, to bring forth
fruits worthy of repentance is sim; ly to
bring forth a chiistian experience in its
completeness. Bnt says an objector,my
strong hold is still unshaken. John said
to his disciples, “I indeed baptize you
wiih water unto repentance,” and
therefore I conclude that he baptized
them first and then required them to
repent afterioards. Stop one moment,
dear reader, and let us examine that
text, it may be that your own scripture
will sustain the views given above. —
The proposition there rendered u unto
is eis ,’ and in my Greek Lexicon it is
defined, “ On, unto, upon.” Now as
the circumstances require it, in order
to make John consistent with himself,
and as the sense of this particular text
will be improved by the change, and
as the Lexicon fully authorizes it; I
propose to read the text, “ I indeed
baptize you with water upon repen
tance. Now the matter stands thus :
John required the people to bring forth
fruits which shotjd demonstrate the
fact that they had repented, and upon
the settlement of the question of their
repentance he baptized them. And
this view of the subject corresponds
precisely with the description ot John’s
baptism given hv Prul, in the 19tb c.
of Acts. “ Then said Paul, John veri
ly baptized with the baptism of repen
tance, saying unto the people,that they
should believe on him which should
come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
When they (the people) heard, they,
(the people to whom John preached)
were baptized in the name of Lord
Jesus.” I haver mitted the word ‘this,’
in the above quotation, because it is a
supplied word, and serves only to mis
lead the reader, by strengthening the
impression that the word ‘they,’ in the
sth verse refers to ‘disciples ’ in the
Ist verse as its antecedent, whereas, I
am satisfied it refers to people, in the
4th verse.
Wise men make more opportunities
than they find.
Journal of Bro. Reid, in Africa.
August 22d.
During ihe forenoon Marami was
engaged in distributing cowries to the
poor, for the King, who had 10 bags
distributed worth 575.00 in this place.
Although it was called a day of alms
giving to the poor, vet they did not
receive all the beueilts of it. Alrns
fiving is one of the boasted tenets of
[ahomedanism, which they, as the
Pharisees did, love to do that they may
be seen of men. Truly, as Christ said,
they receive their reward.
During the afternoon, Marami, as
directed by the King, went with me
to’ show me the town. He put on
quite a number of charms, aud took
his instruments of execution in his
hand. While thus guarded I felt per
fectly safe from all kinds of insults
from any one however desperate in
their character.
We proceeded in a weste.ly direc
tion till we came near to the wall, here
we stopped tosalutea special friend of
Marami While there, a young man
came up with rather an old looking
book in his band, which indicated that
he was a student. I asked to see the
book, he hesitated to give it to me, but
the old man whom we had called to
see, told him to give it to me. After
looking at it a little, I returned it and
asked him to read some in it. He re
marked that this was the book of ser
mons and was much harder to read
and understand than the Koran. He
then read and explained to me the live
cardinal points ot their doctrine.
He seemed to have a very good
knowledge of the Arabic, and well
drilled in their doctrine. I was much
pleased with the ease and freedom with
which he expressed himself.
After lea/inghere we turned rather
aN. E. direction, and in about a half
hour we came to the residence of a
loruban chief who received us with
great respect. After some general con
versation I spoke some to him about
Christ, and was listened to by him
self, and the large crowd around, with
marked attention. When I closed, he
exclaimed to the crowd, “Do you hear
what the white man has said ?
Hot having any Kola nuts, he gave
Marami some cowries to buy some for
me. The Kola is always given as ato
ken of respect and friendship. We
then proceeded homeward, as it was
growing late.
After tea, an intelligent young Ma
homedan came to visit me, he said, to
learn something of the doctrines which
I taught. I replied that if he would
listen respectfully, I would take pleas
ure in giving him instruction. He lis
tened some time with great respect,
and expressed himself much pleased.
I did not, however, believe this, be
cause what I had said was in direct op
position to Mahomedanism. He wrote
the Arabic very beautifully and easily.
He left me after 10 P. M.
Our conversation attracted a large
crowd who also listened with great at
tention.
August 23d.
At 10 A. M. we set out to visit an
other part of the town, and passed
through the Gambaree on Hansa mar
ket. This market generally attracts
the most attention because of the vari
ety of its trade. Here we find a mix
ture of native and Arabian articles to
see, and which is not found in the oth
er markets. While in this market a
rain came up and we had to leave with
but little examination of anything.—
•On account of the rain we were not
permitted to visit much during the
day.
After tea, in; the evening, I had the
privilege of talking some to the peo
ple who gathered around the door of
our little room and in it together.—
During the day it was impossible to
talk to the people with any hope of
profiting them, because of the bustle
which was constantly going on, but at
night, when their evening repast was
over, they would listen very quietly
and attentively.
• August 24.
At 9 A. M. we set out again to see
the eastern part of the town. Noth
ing striking attracted our attention.—
AVe passed the house in which the Tapa
King lived when he sought refuge from
his enemies at the hands of the people
of Ilorin. Though protected by them,
and by them re-instated to his kingdom,
he is now an enemy to Ilorin, and is
using his influence to stop the trade of
horses, &c., with Ilorin. This is an in
stance among many which occur, which
proves how little sincerity and depend
ance is found in heathen rulers and
people.
AVe returned at 12 from our morning
visit, took some refreshments, and rest
ed till 3 P. M., when we started to re
visit the Gambaree market. Our en
try into the market was soon made
known to all by the great excitement
and desire among the people to see the
white man. I had a good opportunity
of examining the market, which was
truly pleasant. The merchants were
expert in exhibiting their goods to me,
and really some were equal to some of
our city merchants in their politeness.
One man was rather unusually polite
and accommodating, for after he had
shown me his articles of trade and some
curiosities, he took out a small piece of
loaf sugar, broke it, took a piece him
self, and then gave me some. At this
I was both amused and surprised. It
is customary in all this country, to
taste whatever is presented to eat or
drink before giving to another. This
i3 a safeguard against poison, which is
one of the principal means of revenge
among this people. ,
My visit to the market was both an-,
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NUMBER 2.
| noyinsr and amusing to myself and oth
ers. When I would stop the crowd
would gather around me as densely as
possible, which almost wholly exclu
ded the breeze which was so necessary
to cleanse the atmosphere from the im
purity caused by the crowd. When I
would rise and start, the crowd would
recede in such rapid confusion as
run over children, overturn calabash
es, and scatter the various little arti
cles of trade upon the ground, calling
iorth squalls Pom the children, and
curses from the women. Occasionally
a native musician would run up close
ly and pour forth iu his crude strains,
aud then bow down before me for pay
for what he regarded an excellent per
formance.
I found many articles from Arabia,
such as small pieces of silk cloth, beads
bridles, <fcc. I saw a great many slaves
in this market, as well as in all the
other markets, for sale.
In all the markets I visited, ‘except
this one, the women were the sellers,
as is the case all over the Yoruban
country. I found in this market, how
ever, that men were the sellers. This
is the principal market in which the
Arabs trade.
Although I was much gratified with
my visit to this market, I was never
theless glad when I was released from
the annoyance connected with it.
I returned to my lodgings much fa
tigued, yet greatly pleased with what
I had seen of tills great town. One
part I have not mentioned, that is, the
great number of blind persons sitting
and standing on the public streets. I
sometimes saw from 5 to 10 with their
hands joined chanting very merrily
some native song. Some were tolera
bly well clad, while others were not.
I was told that so much blindness was
caused by the use of Shea butter in
their food instead of palm oil. There
is another fact worthy of note, that is,
the abundant use of milk and butter
instead of palm oil. Every man who
can, is allowed to have cows in llorin.
But there are many poor people who
cannot own cattle, these have to use
the shea butter.
In all the.Yoruban country none but
tlie rulers, or privileged characters, can
own cattle, but palm oil, which is abun
dant, supplies their uses.
After returning I sent a message to
the King that I expected to leave the
following day for Ogbomishaw.
[concluded next week.]
THE BOOT BLACK.
About a hundred years ago, there
lived in the city of Oxford, England, a
boy whose name was George. He was
very poor, so much so, that he was
compelled to clean the boots of the
students at the University to obtain
money with which to buy the neces
saries of life. His countenance was
one of no ordinary appearance. His
eye was keen and piercing, his fore
head was noble and lofty, and every
every feature of his face was perfectly
developed. By his easy and polite
manners, his obliging disposition, and
his warm and generous nature, he soon
won the confidence and esteem of
many of those upon whom he waited.
The poverty of clothing served better
to show the richness of a mind which
needed only cultivation to make it one
of the brightest in the whole country.
The students of the University, seeing
such noble qualities in the lowly and
humble boot-black, determined to edu
cate him, and many of them devoted
no little share of their time to that
purpose. They found him ready, wil
ling and studious. He lost not a mo
ment of his precious time, but applied
himself diligently, perseveringly to his
studies, and soon become an equal, if
not a superior, to some of his instruc
tors.
His advance in merit waa very rap
id ; so great was it, that numbers were
unable to recognize in the gifced and
talented young man, the once poor and
needy boot black. About this time
there arose a sect, which, from the pe
culiar habits of its members, their
strict observance of the Sabbath, their
faithful reading of God’s Word, their
frequent and stated engagements in
prayer, was called Methodist. With
this party George immediately con
nected himself, and soon became one
of the ablest and most consistent mem
bers. The youths who once sought
his company, now treated him with
sneering contempt.
Ail this did not move him. Like
Moses, he preferred a life of Christian
consistency to the enjoyment of 6in
for a season. He soon became one of
the most talented preachers in Eng
land ; and such numbers flocked to
hear him, that the largest house in Lon
don couldnot contain them.
He preached in the open fields to
thousands upon thousands; and the
great amount of good which he did,
eternity shall tell. Dear boys, do not
mind the sneers of your companions.
Do your dutv, let the consequences be
what they may. Be industrious, ener
getic. Don’t mind difficulties. They
only make your arm stronger, your
heart braver. If this poor boy could
arise from the lowly position of a boot
black to that of one of the most pious
and eloquent preachers England ever
produced, cannot you “go and do like
wise ?” You have no idea what you
can do till you try. Energy, combin
ed with earnest prayer, will accom
plish the most difficult task. Boys,
would you like t 6 know the name of
the boy who blacked the boots of the
students at Oxford University ? It is
George Whitfield.
Zeal without knowledge is fire with
out light.