Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

For the Christian Index. SUNDAY SCHOOLS IN THE WINTER In response to the call of the Sunday School Board, I have received notices from the following persons that the Sunday Schools with which thay are connected shall be sus tained, Providence permitting, during the winter months: Rev. D. Will Gwin writes that the “Griffin Sunday School intends to meet throughout the winter rain or, snow or hail.” W. R. Boggs writes that the Doctors Creek church Sunday School of the Sunbury Association, Mclntosh County, will keep open all the winter. In 1862 a Sunday School was organized iu connection with the Sardis Church in Ter rell CduDty. It has been conducted exclu sively by ladies until recently, when a male Superintendent came to their assistance. The schoot numbers 55 scholars and 6 teach ers, and does not suspend during the win ter. J. 11. McMullan reports that the Sunday School in Goshen, Lincoln County, will be continued through the winter. Mr. A. C. McMiken of Rehoboth, Wilkes County, Ga., says, (very prettily) “We in tend that our school shall he an evergreen. It shall flourish in the winter unless the yan kees drive us from our homes.” G. W. Morsh of Hebron church, Lee County, and R. LeSueur of Fort Valley. Houston County, write that they expect to carry on their schools during the winter. So also reports the Superintendent of the school.at Forsyth. These are all the return which I have re ceived in answer to the call. I presume that many of our schools have been interrupted by the unsettled condition of our political interests. Probably some of the reports have not reached me owing to th interrupt ion of mail transmissions. There are many other schools, especially in our larger towns and villages, where I know the exercises are not suspended in the winter months. I hope the day may not be distant when all Our schools will, in the happy metaphor of Mr. McMullan, prove to be “evergreens.” If thare ever was a period when Christians should be zealously engaged in the Sunday School work, it is surely the period through which we are now passing. The “faithful Sunday School teacher is a “worker togeth er with God.” What dignity ! What bless, edness! W. T. Brantly. Augusta, Jan. 21st, 1865. THE WRONG SERMON. A wr.aer in the Congregationalist gives the following investing incident, from a sketch book of ministerial memories, which seem to magnify the guiding, rescuing grace of God: A few years ago a minister of Christ, then young, had occasion for a single half day to supply a pulpit to which he was an entire stranger. It was only two miles from the place of his temporary sojourn, and arrange ments were made for his conveyance within the last half hour preceed'ng the service. In his ignorance of the yarticular religioas condition of the people he was to address, he selected, and byjjthe way of preparation for services, carefully read over a sermon which he thought would do no harm, if it did no good, in any circumstances that might exist. Greatly to the preacher’s discomfort, the person who was to carry him to the church did not call for him till within a few mo ments of the hour for service. In the ex citement aud agitation of this unexpected delay he then hastily seized, as he supposed, the seleojen sermon and hurried away. It was in a state of body and mind sadly con trasting with that which he had hoped to possess, that he entered the sanctuary ana ascended the pulpit, to whose empty seat the waiting congfegation had been for some time looking in wonder. Scarcely had he reach ed his conspicuous position, “the observed of all observers,” before toe prompt old sex ton was by his side, with the faniilliar, and sometime trying demand, ‘Your hymns, sir,’ For this trial, however, the preacher had provided in part, as he had carefully noted the hymns on the margin of his chosen ser mon. Very confidently, therefore, he took from his pocket the manuscript that he might transcribe the numbers, when lo! he was appalled to discover that, in his haste, he had brought the wrong sermon—a sermon designed specially for anxious inquirers! There was, however, no time for debate, or deliberation, or even apology, and the only course left to pursue was to give the sexton the first hymns that occurred, and forthwith proceeded with the service. Whether the people ciscovered the emo tion which agitated the young preacher, the writer never knew ; but, before the sermon was half delived it was evident there was emotion in she. congregation. A marked stillness pervaded the whole house. Here and-there was a heart oathed in tears. What could it mean ? The preacher hrd another engagement in the afternoon, and was obliged to leave the place immediately after the service, without stopping to ascertain what it meant. But, within two or three days he received a most welcome message from two different sources, in which was expressed the greatest grati tude to God that a stranger had been sent to N. to preach that particular sermon on that Sabbath. One lady, who for many months had abandoned herself to almost ut ter despair, and to whom the kindest and best of Christian counsel had again and again been addressed in vain, while she listened, saw, as if the light of heaven had suddenly broken upon it, the way to be justified and saved, and at once emerged from the dark ness and wretchedness of her soul’s protract ed imprisonment, into the joys of a conscious and complete deliverance. Others were led to inquire after the way of life, and a pre cious season of refreshing followed. FIRST AND LAST VISIT TO A DRAM SHOP. Timothy Truesdell is the name we shall assign to a very worthy, industrious, and thriving mechanic of New York, who be came a burden to himself, a curse to his family, and a nuisance to society at large. A writer, in strong language, says of him, that during his devotion to strong drink, “he would have uncorked the bottle amid the quakings and thunders of Mount Sinai, and drained it by the crater of exploding Vesuvius.” Yet this miserable and aban doned drunkard was cured—cured by a wo man’s love mingled with a woman’s inde pendence. . Timothy Truesdell had. a wife and five beautiful children; yet he neglected his work, squandered his earnings, which daily grew smaller, and spent his time at the pot house, till the nigh prostration*of all his faculties, or the distasteful words “ up more trust!” warned him to seek the shelter of his wife’s care and protection. His children could not go to school, because learning \yas dear and rum was cheap; the landlord dunned for his rent, and Mrs. Truesdell was obliged to keep at home, as she had no dress fit to appear abroad in, having pawned the last to pay a fine imposed upon her spouse by the police court. Misery, utter destitu tion, and famine, stared the unhappy family in the face. It is impossible to exaggerate the picture, even had we room or inclina tion. Mrs. T. was a heroine, though not of romance. She loved her worthless husband, and had borne his neglect, the tears of her children, the gripe of famine, and the rail ing of the drunkard without repining.- Never had her exertions slackened—never had a harsh word passed her lips. At night, when she’ put her children to sleep, she wept and watched for his coming, and when he did come, drunk, as usual, she undressed and assisted him to bed, without a murmur of reproach. At length, her courage well nigh exhausted, she resolved upon one last, desperate effort. At night, having disposed of her three oldest children, she took the two youngest by the hand, and bent her steps to the grog gery her husband was accustomed to fre quent. She looked into the window, and there he sat, in the midst of his 1)000 com panions, with his pipe in his mouth and his glass in his hand. He was evidently excited, though not yet drunk. Great was the as tonishment of that bad company, and enor mous Mr. Truesdell’s dismay and confusion, when his wife, pale as marble, and leading two tattered and barefooted babes, stepped up to the bar, called for three glasses of brandy toddy, and then sat down by his side. “ W hat the devil brings you here, Mary ? “ said he, morosely. “ It is very lonesome at home, and your business seldom allows you to be there,” replied the meek wife. “ There is no com pany likTe yours, ana as you cannot come to me, I must come to you. I have a right to share your pleasures as well as your sorrows.” “ But to come to such a place as this!” expostulated Tim. “No place can be improper where my husband is,” said poor Mary. “ Whom God hath joined together, let not man put asun der.” She took up the glass of spirit. “Surely you are not going to drink that?” asked Tim, in huge astonishment. “ Why not? You say you drink to for get sorrow, and if brandy has that effect, I am sure no living creature has so good an excuse for drinking as I. Resides, I have not eaten a mouthful to-day, ajid I really need something *o support my strength.” “ Woman ! woman ! you are not going to give the.children such stuff as that!” cried Tim, as she handed each of the children a glass of liquor. “Why not? Can children have a better, example than their father’s ? Is not what is good for him, good for them also ? It will put them to sleep, and they will forget that they are cold and hungry. Drink, my children; this is fire, and bed, and food, and clothing. Drink—you can see how much good it does your father.” With Beeming reluctance, Mary suffered her husband to conduct her home, and that night he prayed long and fervently, which he had not done before for years. The next evening as he returned home ward with a steady step, he saw his oldest boy run into the house and heard him ex claim, “ O mother, here comes father, aud he is not drunk !’’ Tears coursed down the parent’s cheek, and from that hour he has not tasted strong drink. He had never been vicious or unfeeling, and as soon as his emancipation from the thraldom of a debas ing appetite became known, friends, em ployment, and prosperity, returned to him. As for Mrs. Truesdell, she is the happiest of women; and never thinks without joy and gratitude, of her first and last visit to the dram shop. BAPTIST RESPONSIBILITIES. If baptism, as we allege, is a meaning rite of utmost significancy—if the symbol of a death unto sin involves also, as a conse quent figure, the life of God in the soul, and is enjoined on every follower of Jesus, in order that by his burial in the baptismal wave, his personal death unto sin may be set forth—nothing is more reasonable than that those who differ from us should require to see all this evinced in the pure and holy lives of the baptized; that they should de mand the evidence of greater grace as tes tifying the possession of a sounder fai.h.— Are we able to render that evidence ?** Can we confirm the Diviue authority of our practice by pointing to the purer piety and greater Christian energy and faithfulness of the baptized churches of Christ? If we are unable to do this, and turn in sadness and shame from the inquiry, then must we acknowledge that we, ourselves, are a chief impediment to the progress of the truth we profess to love. Is it, then, strange that others fall back on their own ground, and become doubly encased in their cherished prejudices? This will not justify, indeed, a neglect of the evidence of the Scriptures, nor lessen their independent sufficiency, but it may tend greatly to explain why men neglect that evidence, and may bring us in as guilty causes of it. The Scriptures are the sole and sufficient exponents of the Di vine will’ in baptism; but the holy lives of the baptized were designed and adapted to be a mighty confirmation of that will; if not, indeed, “strong as Holy Writ,” yet possessing a peculiar fitness to win attention to it. The lofty edifice of error has been often shaken. It has seemed again and again to be ready to totter to its fall. May not we, brethren, be withholding that last blow that would level all opposition, and complete in the Church of Christ a perfect copy of the Divine pattern—“ One Lord, one faith, one baptism?” Let those an swer the question who have grown cold in faith; who restrain prayer; who call not on God in their families; who r neglect the as sembling of themselves together, a3 the man ner “of too many is; who spend the Sab bath in journeying, or in idle gossip; who “ grind the faces of the poor;” and who “ are not zealous for the truth,” or whose hearts, during the terrible baptism of blood through which this nation is passing, are more intent on ’amassing money than in re lieving the distressed, or in promoting the cause of true religion and holy charity on the earth. And let all remember that a zeal for our peculiar rite is only a shame and a mockery, unless we can point to the piety, and purity, and actiye usefulness of our Churches, as attesting the divine character of the baptism by which they are distin guished. Our Divine Master highly re garded this rite. He submitted to it Him self, with the striking words: “Thus it be cometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” On us descends, in His providence, the duty of maintaining by holy living, even more than by Scriptural argument, this important por tion of the truth. — Rev. Dr. Crawford. GENERAL BURN’S ALLEGORY. I thought I was sitting, a little before daylight in the morning, with my deceased brother, on the wall of the parish Church yard. We remained silent for some time, Ttnd then he asked me if I would not go with him into the church. I readily con sented, and immediately rising up, walked with him towards the porch, or outer gate, which I thought was very large and spa cious; but when we had passed through it, and came to the inner door that led directly into the body of the church, somfi way or other, but how I could not well conceive, my brother slipped in before me; and when I attempted to follow, which I was all eager ness to do, the door, which slid from the top to the bottom, like those in some forti fied towns on the continent, was instantly let down more than half way, so that I now found it requisite to bend myself almost double before I could possibly enter. But as I stooped to try, the door continued td fall lower and lower, and consequently the pas sage so narrow that I found it alto gether impracticable in that posture. — Grieved to be left behind, I determined to get in, if possible, and fell down on my hands and tried to squeeze my head and shoulders through; but finding myself still too high, I then kneeled down, crept, wrestled, and pushed more eagerly, but all to no purpose. Vexed to the last degree, yet unwilling to be left outside, I came to the resolution of throwing off all my clothes, and crawling like a worm; but being very desirous to preserve a fine silk embroidered waistcoat which I had brought from France [ kept that on, in hopes of being able to carry it with me. Then laying myself flat on my face, I toiled, and pushed, and strove, soiled my embroidered waistcoat, but could not get in, after all. At last, driven almost to despair, I stripped myself entirely, and forced my body between the door and the ground, till the rough stones and gravel tore all the skin and flesh upon my breast, and (as I thought) covered me with blood. In different, howevey, about this, an! perceiv ing I advanced a little, I continued to strive and squeeze with more violence than ever, till at last I got stffely through. As soon as I stood upon my feet on the inside, an invisible hand clothed me in a long fffiite robe; and as I turned round to view the place, I saw a goodly company of saints, among whom was my brother, all dressed in the same manner, partaking of the Lord’s Supper. I sat down in the midst of them, and the bread and wine being administered to me, I felt such joy as no mortal can ex press. I heard a voice call me by name, saying I was wanted at home. My joy was so great and overcoming, that it soon broke the bonds of sleep, and made me start up in bed, singing the high praise of God. THE FIRST VERSE OF GENESIS. This simple sentence denies atheism—for it assumes the being of God. It denies polytheism; and, among its various forms, the doctrine of two eternal principles, the one good and the other evil; for it confes ses the one eternal Creator. It denies ma terialism ; for it asserts the creation of mat ter. It denies pantheism; for it assumes the existence of God before all things, and apart from them. It denies fatalism; for it involves the freedom of the Eternal Being. It assumes the existence of God ; for it is He who in the beginning creates. It as sumes His eternity; for He is before all things; and as nothing comes from noth ing, He himself must have always been. It implies His omnipotence; for. He creates the universe of things. Ii implies His ab solute freedom; for He begins anew course of action. It implies His infinite wisdom; for a lcosmos, an order of matter and mind, can come only from a being of absolute in telligence. It implies His essential good ness ; for the Sole, Eternal, Almighty, all wise, and all-sufficient Being, has no reason, no motive, and no capacity for evil. It pre sumes Him to be beyond all-limit of time and place, as Ho is before all time and place. — J. G. Murphy. KEEP THE HEART ALIVE. These words of Bernard Burton are good. Often good and wise men in other things have rendered their old age cheerless and unlovely from a want of attention to them. “The longer I live, the more expedient I find it to endeavor more and more to extend my sympathies and affections. The natural tendency of advancing years, i3 to narrow and contract these feelings. Ido not mean that I wish to form anew and sworn friend ship every day, to increase my circle of in timacies ; these are very different affairs.— But I find it conduces to my mental health and happiness, to find out all I can which is amiable and lovely in those I com<s in con tact with, and to make .the most of it. It may fall very far short of what I was once wont to dream of; it may not supply the place of what I have known, felt, tasted • but it is better than nothing; it seems to keepthe feelings, and affections in exercise ; it keeps the heart alive in its humanity ; and till we shall be all spiritual, this is alike our duty and interest.” INCREASING LIGHT. Christianity has kept pace with science and the arts. At no previous date of the world’s history has it been professed in great er purity of doctrine, by as great a number ofJhumari beings, and with so much of the respect and reverence of mankind. It is now more than ever the religion of the world. Every advance in science, every investiga-. tion oi the ruins of the buried past, every step staken in the emancipation of the race, serves but the more to confirm its claims, to illustrate its truth, to develop© its energies, and to strengthen its hold upon the con science and heart. Every thing indicates that ere long every other religion must give place to the religion of the Bible, and flee away as the shadows of night before the ris ing sun. HERE AND THERE. HERE ! All is vanity; surely every man walketh in a vain show.— Psalms 39 : 5, 6. there! . • Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered in the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them which love Him.—l Cor. 2:9. “Eye hath not seen it, my gentle boy, Ear hath not heard its deep songs of joy; Dreams cannot picture a world so fair; Sorrow and death may not enter there, Time cannot breathe on its fadeless bloom, For beyond the clouds and beyond the tomb, It is there, it is there, my child.” From the Christian Observer. SAD HEART, BE STILL. Sad heart, be still: The rod is in a Father’s hand, And given in love, To guide thee to that better land, * Prepared above. Those loving ones— Who are not dead but gone before— Have reached that home; And standing on the “shining shore,” Are- calling, “ Come.” * Earth’s trials o’er, Their pure and happy spirits dwell In God’9 own light No sin, no fear of death to quell— And “ there’s no night.” INFIDELITY AT THE NORTH. An influential writer in the N. Y,’ “Ob server” speaks with alarm of the “ advancing tide of infidelity.” He says :—“There are certain stubborn facts increasing daily, in every part of the country, to which no Chris tian can close his eyes. The word of God is fast losing its authority, and this declen sion is as manifest among professors cf re ligion and church-goers, as in any other class es. He states that there is, “to a great ex tent, a distaste for Biblical preaching,” and that “the consequence is the pews are de serted in the afternpon in churches where such preaching can be heard,” and that “un der the formal respect for religion a real in fidelity exists in the majority of those who attend ohurch.” EDUCATION OF SOLDIER’S CHIL DREN. A man of great gallantry, after three years of hard service in the Army of North ern Virginia, was stricken down in a late battle. Just before his death, he remal-kcd to a clergyman, that he was not afraid to die —death had no terrors for him—but that he did desire to live that he might educate his children, who, without his care, must grow up in ignorance. He was assured that am ple provision would be made for them in this regard. “Then,” said he, “I have nothing more to desire,” and passed away to the spirit land. Wrestling with Temper.—lt is said that Rev. Robert in the earlier part of his ministry, was easily irritated ; but if he lost his temper he was deeply humbled, and would often acknowledge himself to blame. On one- of these occasions, when a discussion had become warm, he suddenly closed the debate, quitted his seat, and re tiring to a remote part of the room, was overheard, by a lady who was just entering, to ejaculate, with deep feeling, “Lamb of God, Lamb of God, calm my perturbed spirit.” LIFE OF ELDER JACOB KING. CONTENTS: I. Lithographic Likeness. Preface. 111. Sketch of life of Elder Jacob King. IY. Sermon by Elder Jacob King. Y. Funeral Sermon, by Elder 11. F. Tharp. , Price.—Single copy by mail, $2.35; 5 copies or more, $2.00 each. Address, W. C. WILKES, Nov. 10, 1864. Forsyth, Ga. THE MAGNOLIA WEEKLY.—It compri ses eight pages, containing thirty-two col umns in new and beautiful type, devoted to the encouragement and dissemination of South ern Literature, Embracing Romance, Biogra phy, Poetry and Miscellany, The “Magnolia will be furnished to subscri bers tor twenty dollars per annum, or 12 dol lars for six months. All Correspondents please address SMITH & BARROW, Publishers, Richmond. Va, MONROE FEMALE UNIVERSITY. The Second Session will begin on Monday 16th of January, 1865, and close Friday, 14th of April. If the fortunes of war permit, the Third Session will open April 17th, and close July 12th, Commencement da} 7 . All charges must be paid in advance. Tuition for Second Session, $75 ; Music Lessons on piano, guitar or violin $75 ; French lessons, $25 ; use of mu sical instrument, $10; contingent expenses, $3.00 Board, washing and fuel for Second Session of three months, sixteen bushels of corn, four bushels of wheat, sixty pounds bacon hams, and six pounds hard soap. Those who are not planters, or live too remote to transport pro visions, will be charged their value in Con federate money. Boarders must furnish their own toilet, candles, towels, bed linen, coverlet and blanket. W. C. WILKES, Pres’nt. Forsyth, Ga., January 6th, 1865. •WANTED. A situation as instructress in the Literary Department, by a lady of Southern birth and education, who has had considerable experi ence in teaching. Situation preferred in South-Western Georgia. References given, if required. Address immediately, MISS “ BELLE,” Dec. 29—3 t pd. Millcdgeville, Box. 230. The Child’s Index. Published and edited by S. Boykin, Macon, Ga., is a Sunday School paper, admirably adapted to interest, instruct and improve chil dren. Wherever it has gone, it has become a favorite, and children, once accu-stomed to it, cannot do without it. It contains instructive stories, pleasing anecdotes, illustrations of history and natural history, and, by its scrip tural enigmas, sets the young to “searching the Scriptures.” Its influence in'horae-life is good, and it inculcates all the lessons contained in the Ten Commandments. It is embellished with beautiful cuts, and is sustained by an excellent corpsof writers. The general verdict concerning it is, that it is the best child’s paper the South has seen. Terms.— s4.oo for each single copy. When five or more copies are sent to one address, it is $3.00 per copy. Clubs must always be sent to one address: when such is not *the case, $3.00 per copy is charged. CHRISTIAN INDEX A FAMILY RELIGIOUS FAPBIt PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY AT MACON, GA. SAMUEL BOYKIN, Editor. TERMS. Four months, - - $lO 00 Two months, - - - 5 00 ALWAYS IN ADVANCE. All Baptist Ministers are agents; aud Po masters are athorized to remit money. Orders lor change of direction must give the Post Office, county and State to which th epaper has bee l7 and is to be sent. Money due the office may be sent by mail at tL risk of the paper. Notice.—To send money with safety, seal the letter carefully, and mail it yourself, saying Dothing to any one about the money, not even the Postmas ter. Address “CHISTIAN INDEX,” Macon, Ga. RATES OF ADVERTISING. For advertising our terms are $2,00 for each square of ten lines J'or each and .every inser tion. EXCELLENT DAILY PAPERS. With which we exchange, and which we can recommend most highly: Telegraph & Confederate , Macon, Ga. Daily three months $24,00 Daily, two months 16,00 “ per month 8,00 Tri-weekly three months. 12,00 “ two months 8,00 “ one month 4,00 The Daily Constitutionalist. Daily, three months S2O 00 Daily, one month - 7 00 Tri-Weekly three months 15,00 “ one months 5 00 Weekly, three months 6,00 Six months • 12,00 Mobile Advertiser & Register. Daily paper per month $ 6 00 “ six months 35 00 “ Single copy 25 Tri-weekly per month 5 00 “ six morfths 30 00 Weekly paper one year 20 00 “ “ six months.... V 1200 “ “ three months 700 Daily paper, per hundred 20 00 Atlanta Intelligencer, Atlanta, Ga. Daily one month $lO 00 “ two months : & 20 00 “ three months 25 00 Weekly, for three months 10 00 Richmond Examiner, Richmond Va. Daily for twelve months S6O 00 “ six months 35 00 “ three months 21^,00 “ one mouth 700 Semi-weekly, per year 25 00 “ six months 15 00 “ three months 10 00 Weekly, per year 15 06 .“ six months 10 00 The Charleston Courier Daily for three months S2O 00 ‘one month 7 00 Tri-Weekly three months 15 00 “ one month 9 00 Mercury, Charleston, S. C. Daily, three months 20 00 , Tri-Weekly, three months 12 00 in advance. Atlanta Register, at Auguste. Daily one'raonth 5 00 “ two months 10 00 1 “ three months 15 00 Weekly for three months “ 5 00 Weekly for one month 2 00 Daily Dispatch, Richmond, Ya. Daily per annum S6O 00 “ six months 20 00 “ three months 10 00 “ one month 400 Southern Confederacy, Macon, Ga. Daily, three months $24 00 “ two months ......... 16 00 “ 8 00 Tri-weekly, three months 12 00 “ two months..! $ 66 “ one month 4 GO Weekly, three months n GO “ one mon h 2 GO always in advance. The Daily Columbus Enquirer. Daily, 3 months sls 1, 6 “ 1 month 600 Columbus Times. Daily, 3 months sls ,60 “ one month 6 00 Weekly six months 3 00 No subscription taken for more than 3 mo’s. The Montgomery Mail. AVeekly paper per annum $5 00 “ “ single copy 20 Daily paper, one month 2 00 “ “ three months 500 “ “ single cop^ 7 , whole sheet 15 “ “ “ half sheet 10 jjftgf-A liberal discount to News Dealers. The Sentinel. No subscription for more than six months. Daily, 6 months • S3O 00 “ 3 months 00 “ 1 month.* 500 Semi-Weekly 6 months 20 00 ,< 3 lB 00 Weekly, 6 months 10 00 “ 3 months 5 00 News dealers supplied with the daily at 20 cents. Daily Conservative, Raleigh. One month, ~..,$ 5.00 Three months 15.00 Six months * 25.00 Weekly paper, six months 10.00 Memphis Appeal, Montgomery. Daily, per mon $ 7 00 Daily, two months 14 .00 No sbuscription taken for a longer term than two months*