Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

THE CHRISTIAN INDEX, PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY MftRNINO 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. If suffered to overrun theyea*-, Two Dollars and one-half will be charged in all cases. SAMUEL BOYKIN, Editor. VOLUME XXXIX. Book Notices. Corn in the Blade, Poems and Thoughts in Pro3e ; by Crammond Kenedy ; with an introduc tion by C. B. Conant. Derby & Jackson, N. Y.; SI,OO Crammond Kennedy, as many of our readers know, spent the winter of ’SB and ’59 in Georgia. Most of the time he staid in our house ; and we learned to love and respect him for the qualities ol heart and head which he exhibited. We, there fore, hail with pleasure the appearance of this book. Many of the pieces we recognize : sever al of these were written in our own house; and one at our suggestion, we furnishing the initial lines to the verses. This was done merely as an experiment. [“To the Missionary,” on page 116 is the poem.] “The little, laughing blue-eyed Child,” was written on our supper-table, while waiting for the evening meal. “An Appeal,” on page 119, was written at our request to follow *To the Missionary,” in the Christian Index. “The Separation,” page 125, was written in the parlor of our old homestead in Columbus, amid a crowd all noisely discussing the just-ended Con vention : C. K. was aroused from his composing rapture by laughter at his metrical countings. He then read the piece for the gratification of all.— Little Alice dwells in Albany, Ga. “The Steam Horse” was written sitting beside the Rail Road track near Atlanta, just after a train had passed. “Immortality” was written one Sab bath morn, between breakfast and church-hour— C. K. walking up and down our parlor, occasion ally stopping to pen his thoughts on the piano.— This piece appeared in the “Southern Field and Fireside,” and gained the author much credit in Georgia. “There is a God,” was written for and first pub lished in the Christian Index: a gentleman of highly cultivated taste has labelled it “good.” “The Conflict between Night and Darkness,” and “The Angel and the Child,” were first com posed in our study. To evidence C. K.’s wonder ful memory, we will relate that he lost the manu script of this latter piece, and told us of it the next day, averring Chat it made no difference as he could re-write it from memory. We bade him sit down and do it; and so he did, we looking on.— By chance we found his lost MS. afterwards, and on comparing it with the memory —written copy, found them alike, word for word. The found MS. we never returned. We recognized several other pieces written in our house among which is the first half of “The Love of Christ”—probably the most ambitious piece in the Book. Indeed, we think C. K. indebted to the inspiring beams of our Southern Sun for some of his best poems; hence we commend his book to our read ers. , That “Corn in the Blade,” written by a youth 16 ©r 17 years old evinces poetic genius, no one will deny: its versification is generally very smooth and his expressions very chaste—chaste in a strictly -hal sense, in contradiction to tur gid. The ideas are often new and startle us by their practical appropriateness. Witness the fol lowing from “The Crucifixion,” one of his best pie ces : Well may the orb of day grow dim ! Well may the dead arise ! For earth and hell and heav’n are moved, When God incarnate dies. They’ve nailed his hands, they’ve pierced his side, And bruised his noble brow ; They’ve mocked, they’ve scourged, they’ve cruci fied— And he is dying now. “Jehovah, can this ever be !” The wond’ring angels cry, “Among the host of heav’n, for Christ, Who would have feared to die? Who nails the Lord of glory there ?’ Who will ? who dare ? who can ? From hell profoundest, demons cry, “ We dare not—it is man /” The greatest charm that pervades those poems and which will keep them popular notwithstand ing some immaturity of thought and expression is the vein of piety moving through the whole. The love of God has found a nest in C. K.’s bosom and it will trill forth its melody amid the poet’s warb ling. No one will read this book without positive pleasure ; it therefore deserves to be bought ; and we hope that thousands will buy it. Many Geor gians, we know, will be glad to obtain it : it may be obtaiued at the Baptist Depository, Macon, Ga. We ought not to omit to mention that the mechan ical getting up of the book is very neat and hand some. Robert Cushman ; or, Rival Students. Charles ton, S. C. Bap. Pub. Society. The baleful influence of an unholy ambition, and its disastrous termination ; the sad mistake of par ents who instil in the minds of their children an emulation which seeks to excel as its only end; the temptations of a College life, and the dangers of yielding to the first temptation—are most graph ically depicted in this little volume; showing at the same time, the imorptanee to young men, of having enjoyed in early life, the benefit of relig ious instructions at home. Parents and their children will both derive prof it from reading this book. It is a simple narra tive, unpretending in style, yet attractive and thrilling. No one will begin to read it and lay it aside unfinished. An inordinate love of self, will find here a rebuke written in crimson lines, will unfold its finale in a maniac’s cell. THE DEVIL REPULSED. Luther says: “Once upon a time the devil came to me and said, ‘Mar tin Luther, you are a great sinner, and you will be damned!’ ‘Stop! stop!’ said I, ‘onething at a time; lam a great sinner, it is true, though you have no right to tell me of it. I confess it; what next ? ‘There fore you will be damned ?’ Tiiat is not good reasoning. It is true I am a great sinner, but it is written, ‘Jesus Christ came to save sinners,’ therefore I shall be saved. Now go your way. So I cut the devil off with his own sword, and he went away mourning because lie could not cast me down by calliug me a sinner.” ■ Those Christians who are most stren uous in things of little importance, are like the Pharisees of old, most likely to fail in the weightier matters of the law. It is those who are yielding in non essentials who are most apt to be stable in fundamentals. The willow will ben Ito the blast, yet keep its root in the ground, while the sturdy pine, proudly opposing its unbending trunk to storm, fails often at the root. —Bishop Griswold. , - - - -■ f rgan of % da. sap. Conkntion: tokrttfo to piss wits, Mgioit, antr % Interests of % baptist Jenommation. NORTHERN LETTER. Theophilus takes a tour —visits the Great Eastern, and is pleased with his feet on board—gives us some interest ing ideas in reference to certain great men. Saratoga Springs, July. I have been passing to and fro for several days, and send you some ex tracts from my unpublished, (and 14) to this time unwritten) diary, which I hope may not be without some inter est to your readers. July 5. Left Philadelphia at 10 a. m., this morning for New York. I need not mention the route; for tho’ there are several, they differ very little from each other, and all are con trolled by that mammoth corporation, the Camden A Amboy R. R. Cos. The State —New for more than thir ty years, ha9given to this Cos., the ex clusive right to transport freight and passengers through her territory. — The consequence is, a monopoly inflic ting upon the traveller high prices, or dinary accommodations, and some times serious disasters. The Jersey ites, however, are amply remunerated, as the road pays a bonus for the privi lege, so large as almost to supercede taxation in the State. I was soon joined, .after taking my seat, by a friend of early days, now in the ebb of life, but without God in the world.— His brother, the late Dr. Nevins, ot Baltimore, (whose practical thoughts have given him a tongue, though he sleeps in death,) was a man of emi nent piety; and I took this fact as a text, from which to urge upon him the importance of faith in Christ. The mention of his brother evidently touched a tenter chord, and I hope a deep impression was made. Mem. — Be sure to put in a word wherever you can, for the honor of the dear Savior. Four hours and a half brought me to New York, where I found the weather, wtiich was very oppressive in the morning, uncomfortably cold.— Having an hour at my disposal, I re paired to the Great Eastern, and spent the time in exploring its mighty cav erns. I walked rapidly the unbroken deck, and found that I was occupied just two minutes and a quarter in per forming the feat. Tne length of the vessel is 692 ft., and the width is 83 feet, and the depth from the deck to the lowest hull, is 83 feet. This will give some idea of its magnitude. The proportions are fine, and the monster does not seem to be so prodigious as she really is. The exterior of the ves sel is wholly of iron. The plates of the iron are some two and a half feet in length, and one foot and a half in width, and were rivetted together by strong bolts, when subject to heat enough to make the operation easy.— The plates vary in the thickness from three quarters of an inch to an inch. There are 2,000,000 of these rivets in the ship, and the weight of the whole vessel is twelve thousand tons. Some of the state rooms are so spacious that you might readily suppose that you were in a commodious and comforta ble parlor. The ladies saloon is per haps the most beautiful room in the boat. Costly mirrors, curtains, and carpeting combine, with ornamental columns of the most beautiful finish, to make the apartment all that could be desired by the most fastidious and ex travagant. But the principal charm of the vessel, and that which will se cure for it, (should it be confirmed,) the widest popularity, is that, owing to the enormous size—there is comparative ly little motion, even when running at the highest speed. One of the officers of the boat who came over from Eng land assured me that there was no per son on board who was sea sick, though they encountered two days of rough weather. Any company which can construct a vessel that will relieve us from the stomach tax, which Nep tune so commonly imposes on novices, and sometimes on old tars, should be held in grateful remembrance, and should be patronized by all sea faring people; for only under such an ar rangement can they have any fare at sea. In case of emergency the Great Eastern it is said, can accommodate ten thousand passengers; though in the luxurious style in which she is now arranged, there are sleeping places for only about one thousand passengers. Six o’clock found me steaming up the Hudson, in what would have been a very respectable boat, had I not just debarked from the monster. The Isaac Newton is only 400 feet long, and three stories high, with about 250 state rooms —quite an insignificant af fair comparatively. She supplied me however, with a good supper and a comfortable room; and after gazing upon the ever varied and beautiful scenery which adorns the banks of the river until night drew down the cur taiu, I sought the kind protection of Him who can guard us everywhere, and was soon in the land of dreams. July 6. At six o’clock this morning we landed at Albany, the thriving cap itol of the Empire State—population about 75,000. Bepaired to the Dela van House, where I paid 75 cents for a moderate breakfast. Thought of one Thompson at Atlanta, Ga., who used tosay to his customers: “Walk in, gen tlemen, eat ten cents worth and pay me a half dollar.” Here it was 75 cents for ten cents worth, At half past 7 I had taken my seat in the car for Uti ca. What strikes one in this section, is the multitude of people whom you meet at every point. On the present occasion there were ten or twelve cars, and every one crowded to its utmost MAGON, GA., WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 1860. capacity. The ride along the valley of the Mohawk, which we are now passing, is exceedingly picturesque.— The country is in a high state of cul ture, and the well appointed farms and handsome country homes, supply a most agreeable variety with the lulls and rocks, which in many places skirt the banks of the river. * * * * July 7. Reached Rochester at 8 o’clock this evening, being here by in vitation of the dudson Society to preach before them to-morrow even ing. Rochester is a thriving town, of some 50,000 population. It is now in teresting to Baptists as the seat of their Lmiversity. Within a few years, two hundred thousand dollars have been raised for the academic department, & nearly one hundred thousand for the Theological. I know of no college or seminary in the land, offering superior advantages for the acquisition of knowledge. Though it lias been in op eration but a few y ears, there are for this year, thirty-one graduates in the Literary, and fourteen in the Theologi cal department. And yet, there is an other institution equally thriving at Hamilton, under the control of the Baptists. Rev. A. C. Kendrick, well known as the author of sundry Greek books, and as editor of Olshausen’s commentaries, is the Greek professor. He is a brother of Rev. J. 11. Ken drick, of Charleston. Asa preacher, the latter is the superior ot the Profes sor—whilst in learning the Professor must take precedence of his brother in Charleston ; though the latter is far from being an ordinary scholar. The princical Professor in the Theological school is Rev. E. G. Robertson, at one time pastor of the Baptist church in Norfolk, Va., and one of the constit uents of the Southern Baptist Conven tion. He is a man of remarkable ac quir meats and of commanding pulpit powers. July 8. Heard a sermon this morn ing from the Rev. Geo. B. Ide, D. D., ot Springfield, Mass. Twenty years ago, Dr. Ide was thought by many to be flie finest model of a pulpit orator, which the denomination in the north ern States supplied. He is not yet an old man, being just 55 years of age.— His discourse to-day w r as from the words; “What is that to thee? follow thou me.” He considered and exploded several reasons which uneducated per sons allege in extenuation of their dis regard of religion. He addressed 1. Those persons who refuse to believe because the Bible contains so many things which are to them utterly mys terious and incomprehensible. 2 : Those who refuse because they cannot understand the origin of moral evil.— 3: Those who will not believe because, amid the diversity of sects they can not tell who is right. 4: Those who excuse their neglect because profess ing Christians are so inconsistent. — These points were elaborated with much beauty and force, and made a strong impression on the congregation. At 8 o’clock a large audience assem bled'to listen to a discourse from John 17: 20 & 21. Though the sermon was overall hour in length, (quite too long,) the audience sat very patiently throughout, I had intended to continue my ex tracts, but my paper is filled, and I must spare sou tor the present. — Whilst you have been suffering from intense heat, the weather in this meri dian has been most delightful. Ad vices from Philadelphia, announce the arrival of Dr C. D. Mallary, Rev. C. M. Irwin, and other well known Geor gians in that city. Pass them along. The influence ot your good men on the people whom they meet here is most salutory. Could the good people of the different sections see more of each other, there would be less prejudice and bitterness than what now, alas ! prevails. Theophilus. HINTS TO A YOUNG MINISTER, And a notice of such boohs as are lihely to be useful to him. [The following series is by one who for the first time enters the arena as an Index gladiator, against ignorance and mis-conception. Were we not ex pressly forbidden, we might make a flourish ol trumpets over his name. Number 1. Dear Bro: You ask me about books,’ which may guide you in your laudable efforts at self-education. L will cheerfully give you what aid I can, believing that many a man has been usefully educa ted for the ministry, in thework of the ministry'itself And while you know the earnestness, witll which I would urge upon all who can go to a Theo logical Seminary, to avail themselves of the numerous advantages which are there concentrated and combined; I am equally anxious that the much larger number of valuable brethren, who cannot, as things now are, have access to these advantages, should be enabled to avail themselves most effi ciently of those opportunities for self improvement, which are within {heir reach. A good cliQrch is a most valuable education institution. Some of us have known the blessing of having a thoughtful, intelligent, candid triend among our early hearers, to encourage our excellences, and repress our de fects ; and the motherly advice of some faithful, yet affectionate aged sister, who is herself a pattern of piety, as j well as good sense, has often proven • more eflective than a dozen learned lectures would have been. Brother ministers too, will sometimes greatly aid us by judicious counsel. But the most extensively valuable and univer sally accessible assistance is to be de rived from books. Now a word or two about the use of books. Some men load their brains with such a mass of other men’s ideas that their own have no chance to move. This is a great perversion of a great good. It is the result mainly of mental indolence. Reading is easier than thinking. It is easier to apply your lips to the conduit pipe provided by another’s care, than to pump up fresh waters from your own cistern. This is being like a sponge, which ab sorbs, but does not appropriate the fluid into which it is dipped. It has only become heavy, and sobby, and drip ping : it is no less a sponge than be fore— only a sponge after all. The careless glancing over many books which retains nothing from any, is even worse than that. The man does not think himself, neither does lie retain the thoughts of others. Squeeze a sponge, and you will get something, though the sponge was only the place of its deposit; squeeze a sieve, anti you won’t even get borrowed mois ture. Reading, to produce valuable re sults, must be digested. Thought is the-food of the mind. There must not be a surfeit of it, neither must it pass through, as by a kind of mental diar rhoea, so rapidly that none of it is taken up into the blood. Unless the thing which a man reads gets into his blood, so to speak, and thus reaches his heart, it is little likely to benefit him. One of the best methods of proving to ourselves that we have digested, and appropriated to ourselves, what we read, is to try to communicate it to others. Hence the opportunity of free conversation with intelligent Christian friends, is as I said before, a most val uable aid to seZ/-education, as we call it, though we shall find that this self education usually consists in the earn est use of all the sideway facilities, when the more direct processes of in struction are out of our reach. Try to tell any sensible friend what has struck you in the last book you read, and see how much of you can state clearly. And remember, you have got only so much of it as you can retain and use. It is not the having a thing merely, that makes it worth having: it is the being able to use it. What is a watch worth to a Hotten tot, or Lord Rosse’s telescope to a Fee jee islander ? Don’t read too many books. I know somebody lias said, “Lege, lege, ali quid hcerebitP “Read, read some thing will stick.” But you have not yielded to the hallucination that everything that happened to be writ ten in latin is necessarily true or wise. Read a good deal, write a good deal, talk a good deal, and think above all. Read the best books on a subject.— What is the use of reading poor books, when there are enough good ones to till a lifetime almost, in reading .them ? Why, (except for curiosity, or some special object,) read the vapid pages of some wishy washy author, with one grain of truth to three bushels of chaff, when you have access to books that are all instruction, nutritious, wholesome ? It is a good plan to r >ad upon apian. Some judicious system will not only give you a more definite and encour aging idea of what you have accom plished, but will actually aid you to do more. % Suppose, for instance, that yon determine to look through someone subject, or even someone text of scrip ture. Yon will find that when you have examined all the cognate pas sages* and all the related topics which are needful to its comprehension, you have gained not only a surer and moie settled understanding of that one thing, but materials for the accurate study of the next thing, which the mere curso ry reader and thinker would never tiave thought of noticing. You will probably break your plan, when you have formed it. Always break it, when you are sure you can substitute for it a better. But don’t give it up from simple indolence or fickleness. If you find your purpose thwarted, or your resolution failing, through weakness of the flesh—“try, try again.” I will not detain you longer now, but will try in my next, to give you, in a sort of conversationaFway, some of my notions about particular books, which it may be worth your while to read. B. M. J. Our readers will welcome, in this new pontributor, a most valuable ad dition to the able corps of writers for the Index. SABBATH SCHOOLS. I. In this utilitarian age, results are considered the only proper tests of the value of any theory, system, or of any thing. We are perfectly willing to have the value ofSabbath Schools thus tried, premising this, however, that re sults are twofold, immediate and re mote. We presume that all that can be as ked is, that the results shall be certain. The father who sends his children to any other school, does not expect that they can be educated in a year, and be at once fitted for the duties oflife, but is satisfied, if, during their minority, they shall be prepared to act well their part, when their majority shall come upon them. Certainty is all that is asked. It is true he is not satisfied un less he sees them progressing to that point, nor should he; yet witl^reason able evidence that he will not be at last disappointed, be is willing to wait. The remote result justifies him in the expenditure of time, care, and means. The remote results ofSabbath School instruction, when regularly and faith fully imparted andneceived, are abso lutely certain, so far as this world at least, is concerned. We forbear in this article the hack neyed, but true remarks concerning the tenderness of the young mind, and its consequent fitness for the reception of religious truth ; but we do say that no class of mind, however educated and refined, or ignorant and barbarous, is as prepared for the benefits of relig ions instruction as that found in the Sabbath-school. There are no outposts to be carried. Scepticism, nor the love of gain, nor ambition, nor pride, nor passion, have had time to create them. Thegates of the citadel of the heart are not barred and bolted yet, but stand wide open for any comer. How im portant that the Sabbath-school teach er should then enter, and introduce with him purity and truth and holi ness! Priority of acquaintance is ev ery thing. Let truth impress the judg ment then ; let it be received as the guardian of conscience, and make its impress on the emotional nature, and the child will feel its kindly influences through all coming time. It will stay there to whisper peace to passion, anil to throw the rein 011 raging lust. It will stay there to excite conscience to its work of approval when the good is pursued, or to use its scorpion lash when the evil is embraced. It will ‘stay with him in the day time to give its instructions, or to whisper to him in the night season when alone on liis pillow, and will often mingle itself with his dreams. The boy may not be as good as he should be, but he will not be as bad as he would be. The writer of this article is not theo rizing. He is giving results—the his tory of his life; and though in that his tory there lias been much to abase him, and cause him to weep, yet he has been saved trom excesses and depths of in iquity into which others have plunged, by the truths of God, learned in the Sabbath-school. And now that nearly 50 years have oassed over his head, he thanks God for the Sabbath-school and for the Sab. S. teacher. Memory brings up the com panions in that School; some have gone to their reward—some are preach ers, members of the church, and oth ers, though unsaved, are good raem bu pof society—honorable, moral men. There has not been one, who lias be come a social outcast, or who has been recreant to his duties as a Christian. Another remote result I will barely touch. It is this : the best members of the church have been Sabbath school scholars. Their minds are more thoro ughly furnished with religious knowl edge, and are more under its influence, and they constitute the most, zealous workers in the cause of righteousness. An enlarged acquaintance with many churches justifies this broad and un qualified remark. But there are immediate results that justify the importance of Sabbath schools, and we gladly submit them to this test. These we will consider in our next article. * -x- jt*** WESTERN LETTER. June 6th, 1860. Dear Bro. Boykin : In the country around Minden are several churches ; some with and some without pastors. At Homer, the Par ish town of Claiborne, the Baptists have a flourishing church of about one hun dred members, and Bro. W. C. Crane Pastor. This is the seat of Methodism for North La. At Antioch church, ten miles north of Homer, there is ft membership of one hundred members, but no pastor. And all through the country here there is a vast destitution of preaching, of the right sort. There is no field of labor, perhaps, in the world, that would pay better than the destitue regions ot this State. The people are here, they are religiously disposed, and the ground is partly prepared. Will not some of our Georgia Associations take this field into consideration at their annual meet ings which are soon to come off? I find an extensive drought prevail ing, and understand that it is quite common in this section. It now ex tends even into Western Texas. This is the objection, to all this country as a farming country. June J oth. —Left Minden, and after one of the most dusty, and disagreea ble rides in a “stage,” that perhaps any man ever survived, over a billy, and rather poor country, I arrived at Shreveport. In this route we pass 9 or 10 miles up the valley of Red River. Shreveport has a population of 3,000. It is a larger, and better place than I expected to find. Some private residences are quite creditable to the place. It has considerable com merce, and like all such places the population is largely foreign. It is an exceedingly wicked place. A .friend whom I tound there, informed me that it was a common occurrence for two or three men to be killed in a week. There are several good church build ings. The Baptists seem somewhat awake in the town. They have a pret ty fair building with a brother Hay, I think, as Pastor—sell their books in the town —and seem to be willing to avow themselves. There is a Young Men’s Christian Association here.— There is one great desideratum wan ting here, to the citizens, and, especial ly to the traveling public—good ho tels. Os all the places it was nfy mis fortune to find on this route, the worst is the hotel in this place. And though there are two of them this is the best, as lam informed. They buy the wa ter they use in the town from a com pany owning a large spring in the vi cinity, and give you cistern water ,full of vermin to wash in. This does not comport with the feelings of a Geor gian who is from that land of “brooks and streams.” But Shreveport is des tined to exert a controlling influence, for j’earsto come, over the country a round. The morals of it are much im proving. On account of the dust, and badness of travel, and on account of the drought prevailing in all parts of Texas, I could not resist the tempta tion to abandon a short trip to Marshall in Texas, and take passage in the stea mer “Moro,” for the* “Crescent city.” No change is more sensible than that trom a western “stage” to the clean and comfortable cabin of one of these “floa ting palaces.” The river is rapidly falling and this is the last good boat that will descend. P. SALIENT POINTS OF THE ALA BAMA PULPIT. Rev. Jesse A. Collins, of St. Clair county, is a man of pith, point, and parts—of a zeal fervent and uniform in his great work, that balks at no obstacle. An undying love for the work, is the secret of success in the ministry—not talents nor learning nor force of character. Mr. Collins was trained from child hood to the calling of a sportsman, horse-racing and gambling. We once heard him say that parties would have wagered almost any amount upon him, at cards, against almost any antagonist, at twelve years of age. When he be came a youth, divine grace arrested him. Resolving upon the ministry as the work God had given him to do, and disinherited on account of it, he set on foot to a distant State to attend school. His father, a wealthy man, has oflate years, given him something, we believe, and relaxed in his opposi tion, perhaps given it up entirely, be ing rather gratified at his sou’s honor able and consistent career. His aged mother, we think, lias received bap tism at his bands ; may it be so with his father ! The appearance of brother C. is cal culated to arrest attention in any as sembly—unique, piquant, solemn ; his statue and bearing that of a Ran dolph, informed and genial with a boundless benevolence. We hope and trust, as we heard him say of the righteous when he first be gan to speak for God, that when liis work is done, he may be borne to hea ven by a convoy of angels. Chill. RENFROE. How invaluable one great heart con nected with superior endowments! We think brother Renfroe is a little snarled up in certain prevailing discus sions, for the time,but have not a doubt that he will come out of the mists, in the end. We rejoice in all such men given to the church. Mclntosh, and McCraw, and Tiche nor, and Henderson, and others, on our borders, are too well known to need sketching ; I have written enough, and conclude with this communication. Chiel. “WILL IT GROW?” This question was asked a short time ago of seed which a man was planting in his field. “Yes, sir,” said he. “How do you know ?” “I have three reasons for my opin ion : “Ist. The seed is perfect. “2nd. I am planting it well , and at the right time. “3rd. God will make it grow.” Here, thought I, is a lesson for us: yes! for you and me, dear Sunday school teacher. There was philosophy, labor, and faith in that man. The seed was per fect. He had examined, tested, proved, and selected it in preference to any other. He had closely exam ined every kernel. Dear teacher, you are planting seed. Have you examined it carefully ?—tak en each precious golden grain and carefully inspected it by God’s Holy Spirit, and are you certain you are planting it and it alone f Many fondly flatter themselves that they are .sowing this seed day after day, and Sabbath after Sabbath, yet are so little acquainted with it, that they can scarcely recognize it, or even distinguish it from poor, foul, worth less seed. God says, “He that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corrup tion ; but he that soweth to the Spirit, 6hall of the Spirit reap life everlast ing.” What seed are yon sowing ? If you would answer this question fairly and honestly, you must be dili gent students of the word of God.— You must know what you teach. — You must have clear and intelligent ideas about Scriptural truths yourself, before you can impait them to your children. You must be able to dis criminate between things that differ. \ou must not give strong meat to babes that require to be fed with milk. Therefore you must prepare your Terms of Advertising. For all transient advertisingjOneDollarper square of ten lines for tbe first, and 50 cents per square for all subsequent publications. RATES FOR CONTRACT ADVERTISING* 1 square of 10 lines per 3 months $ 4 09 “ “to lilies ** 6 “ 700 “ “10 lines “ 1 year 10 00 These lines are the text advertising lines and th e * charge is for the space occupied by ten sr eh li+ a as are used in the body of an advertisement. Lon geradvertisementsin the same ratio. . N. S., VOL. gB, NO. 31. lessons. Many teachers go to their classes to expound God's word, who seldom look at their subject till they sit down with their scholars. This is wrong. You may be sowing the good seed, but are you wisely sowing it at the right time ? 1 our time is the present moment. God impress that on your mind as with a pen of iron. What hopes and fears —what joys and sorrows—what fearful destinies, hang on this present mo ment! Oh! could you only realize that this may be the last moment you will ever have to labor for Christ—that this Op portunity would be tbe last you would ever have of sowing this precious seed, and that if you did not now sow it, the precious souls, lost because you lost this moment’s opportunity, would come up in the judgment and con demn you—how earnest, how careful, how prayerful would you be ? “Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.” Do yon sow it well ? Do you break up the fallow ground, pick out all the lumps, pull all the roots and weeds, dig about so as to find the best, mel lowest and warmest ground to lay the seeds carefully upon, so that they ipay take deep and strong root; then dig about again to find the best soil with which to cover it, so that nothing shall be able to root it up, or even to oppose its growth. A FLY OPENING A MAN’S EARS TO THE GOSPEL. A speaker at a Sunday School Con vention, trying to show the children what flies were good for, told the fol lowing story: An infidel, who lived opposite a church, was very desirous to attend, that he might hear the organ played. But he did not wish to listen to the Bi ble, nor hear the prayers of the man of God. He determined to attend, but concluded to stop both his ears during the services. It so happened, providentially, that during the read ing of the Scriptures, a fly alighted on his cheek bone, and stung him severe ly. He bore the pain as long as he could, but was compelled, finally, to unstop his ear to brush him off. At that moment the minister was reading, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear !” It made such an impression on his mind and heart, that he was con verted to Christ. The Christian Intelligencer authen ticates the above as a true story, but corrects it in one or two particulars: The substance of the foregoing is corrct, but not all the details. The of ficiating preacher was Rev. Thomaß Haweis, who died in 1820, nearly ninety years old. He was long one of Lady Huntington’s chaplains, a rousing and successful preacher, and a sweet Christian poet. V number of his hymns are to be found in ohr book ; among them, “Dark was the night,” etc., “From the cross uplifted high,” etc. The man whose ear the fly open ed was a coarse, drunken, profane tav ern-keeper, living six miles off* from the Aldwinkle church, where Dr. Haweis was rector, and where crowds were in the habit of resorting. His love for music led him to the church, and there God met him in the singular way recounted above. Alter walking with God for eighteen years, “he died, rejoicing in hope, and blessing God for the minister of his conversion.” A COURTEOUS CLERGYMAN. Some years ago, a young man, a bricklayer by trade, removed from New.Hampshire to work in the city of Lowell. He cherished at heart a strong prejudice against ] ?'-ssed Christians, considering them i.-. and supercilious, and ever ready to say to him, “Stand by thyself; we are ho lier than thou!” His feeling of repug nance was so deep seated, and had such a controlling influence over his intellectual nature, as to generate skeptical thoughts, and lead him to question the truth of the Bible. One day, as he was going to his work, he saw a gentleman approaching, who liad been pointed out to him as Rev. Mr. , and represented as one of the most affable and courteous of his profession. “Now,” said he, “I will put this matter to the test. Here lam in my work day clothes. If this man notices me, I will think there is, after all. something good in religion.” 1 They met. The clergyman raised his hat, bowed, smiled, and looked as if he would say, “I should be happy to become acquainted with you.” The young bricklayer passed on to his la bor, but could not forget his promise. The next Sabbath, he went to hear that “gentlemanly minister,” and an acquaintance of the most agreeable and salutary kind ensued. His skeptical notions melted away before kind treat ment, like snow in an April shower; and he soon became an honest inquir er after truth and mercy. Now he is the beloved pastor of a flourishing church. How clear does the fact prove that a kind and courteous attention to young men is a very cheap and effec tive mode of usefulness. No men ought practically to study the apostol ic injunction, “Be courteous,” more than the ministers of Christ. When I was young I was sure o£ev ery thing ; in a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before ; at present I am hardly sure of anything but what God has revealed to man. — Wesley.