Newspaper Page Text
CHRISTIAN IN SUP AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
VOL. 47-NO. 38.
A RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY PAPER,
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN ATLANTA, OA.
j. J. TOON, Proprietor.
FOR TERMS SEE FODBTH FACE.
A Kiss, for his Mother.
During the prevalence of yellow fever in New Orleans,
some years ago, one of the victims of the pestilence was
a young man from one of the New England States. As
the pall-bearers were ready to take him to his burial,
a woman advancing to the corpse said: “ Let me kiss
him for his mother.” The following lines are composed
on this event. >
Shrouded and cold in death he lay,
His home and friends all faraway. .
Strangers had nursed his dying bed ;
Strangers had bathed his aching head ;
Strangers his lifeless limbs composed,
And strangers’ hands bis eyes had closed.
He was a youth, whose steps had led
Him far from home, his way to tread.
With generous ardor his your.g heart,
Aspired to act some worthy part;
With trusty arm and honest pride.
To breast life’s rough, opposing tide;
Its buttle manfully to wage,
To earn himself a heritage;
And when he died, to leave a name,
To crimson not a cheek with shame.
As germ, when warmed by vernal breath,
Waking, as from the sleep of death,
Swells and protrudes with vital power,
’Till bursting into leaf or flower;
Obedient to a like behest,
So swell these thoughts in that young breast.
Soon they expand in the decree,
“Mine, is an exile’s life to be.
T yield! I feel that Heaven commands;
I seek a home in other lands.”
And now with many a fond embrace,
From home he turns away his face.
His childhood’s scenes he bids farewell;
His native bill, his native dell;
The grounds where he has often played ;
The meadow where his feet have strayed ;
Kis place at table, room, and bed ;
The bed a sister’s hands have spread;
The hearthstone’s sweetest memories ;
The graveyard where his kindred lies.
With tearful eye and drooping heart,
From these loved scenes now does he part.
But ere he goes, a mother’s love,
Unseals, as perfume from above,
The precious unguent of her heart,
And pouts, like oil of Heaven’s own art,
Living, to cheer, embalm, when dead,
Her blessings on his bowing head.
She presses to her throbbing heart,
The son, with whom she now must part:
With her warm lips on his, she seals,
The deep love which a mother feels:
And with those words of wondrous power,
Heard only in that solemn hour,
When all a mother’s heart does rise,
To lift her fledgeling to the skies ;
Those strains, which, else, unknown, unsung,
Heard only from a mother’s tongue;
With such charmed words of tenderness,
Thus, she her son, does now address.
My son ! thy mother’s words now hear,
The last which e’er may claim thy ear.
Whate’er my son ! shall thee betide,
Be PRINCIPLE thy wealth and pride.
Stand in the noble panoply
Os: a sublime integrity.
In Heaven, and thy own virtue
Tin- d.m'e— ietf! not:
—evil mm-
Shun 01 my son, this deadly snare.
If -,inful pleasure shall entice,
Spurn from thy lips her charmed device.
Hid in her sparkling chalice lies,
A poison which, who drinks, he dies.
Beneath the sorcery of her eye,
Virtue, and Hope, and Peace, all die.
Her path, charmed with Circean spell,
Leads her blind captive down to hell.
—My son 1 remember you must die I
Bwn \n bis my child may lie 1
0! think of life’s uncertainty l
Os Judgment! and Eternity!
The Bible read, and ponder well,
All that its sacred pages tell,
Os heaven and an awful hell;
And often on thy bended knee,
01 lift to God thy earnest plea,
That he thy Friend and God willLe,
For time, and for eternity.
My son ! whom I no more may see,
So often dandled on my knee;
Learning with apt and loving heart,
The lessons I did then impart,
Receive once more, my son ! from me,
Thy mother’s parting nvuistry.
When thou, my son ! art far away,
Remember what I now do say.
Thy mother’s counsels don’t forget;
But bind them as an amulet
Around thy neck, and let them be,
A light, a shield, a crown to thee.
And 0! if Heaven shall grant me grace,
Again to see thy precious face,
Come back to thy fond mother’s heart,
As pure and bright as now thou art.
0, God! —she cries, with deep-toned prayer—
I now commit him to thy care.
Hasty and sad the future verse,
Which does his history rehearse.
He leaves his mountain springs and rills,
His rocky peaks, and snow-capped hills,
His verdant vales, aud woodland bowers,
His fragraut meads, and sweet wild-flowers.
Blooming as they, in youth’s sweet prime,
He hastens to a distant clime.
He goes where flowers perennial bloom,
And bathe the air with their perfume;
Where all the year the vocal grove
Warbles the hymns of wedded love.
But o’er this land where birds e’er siDg,
This land bright with perennial spring,
Foul Pestilence does fling her breath,
And e’er broods the dark wing of death:
Suns brighest shine, flowers sweetest bloom,
Over the ever-gaping tomb :
And ’mid the glory of creation,
Is seen her darkest desolation.
This youth as fresh as morning’s breath,
Hastes to this land of flowers and death.
He goes with hope’s pulse beating high,
But goes alas! only—to die.
Soon, ah! how soon, does that young head
Fallen—lie low among the dead.
But was there there, no eye to shed
Affection’s tear o’er the young dead ?
No heart to mourn his napless doom,
Thus si aid in all his primal bloom?
0 ! say not so while woman lives—
So long her tear sweet Pity gives.
As now the ready funeral band,
Around the death-robed youth all stjr.J,
From out the crowd a woman came.
One worthy of that sacred name,
And on his lips printing a kiss,
Says, “ For thy mother I do this.”
0 ! there are times when streaks from heaven,
Seem to our dark world to be given:
When op’ning skies flash a bright light,
Across this orb of heavy night:
When man emitting such a ray,
We feel is something more than clay :
And, like the pleasure that we feel,
At sudden sparks from smitten steel,
So do we look with glad surprise,
As flung before our wond’ring eyes,
Some streak of light, some bow we see,
Radiant with heaven’s sweet majesty.
O, woman ! what a secret power,
As in an unknown, hidden tower,
But ever seen in the right hour;
Reposing as in holy sane,
Dwells in thy ever-sacred name.
Light of this dreary world, thou art ;
Thy tears the balm of bleeding heart:
And on the soul with sorrow riven,
Thy mercy drops the dews of heaven.
When in a weak and suffering hour,
FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, SEPTE MBER 24, 1868.
Forsaken by all other power,
Then does the strength of woman timer.
0, shame! eternal, blasting shame,
On him, who woman can defame.
The lips which would her name defile,
Such lips would heaven itself revile.
That hiss ! what wRI his mother feel,
W r hen she shall hear of this sweet seal,
This sacred seal of unbought love,
Perfumed with odors from above,
Which a kind stranger did impress.
In all a woman’s tenderness,
Upon the cold lips of her boy ?
If then a single ray of joy,
From such a dark and dismal night,
Can rise to cheer her blighted eight,
That ray will shine, that only bliss,
Kind woman! from thy sun*lit kiss.
That kiss will, as with mystic tie,
The charm of love, the ministry ,
Bind, as an ever-verdant wreath,
Fragrant with heaven’s own sweetest breath,
Around thy own, with lasting art,
The of that mother’s heart.
Oft as the mother’s tears shall lave
That early death, and distant grave,
Fond memory shall intertwine
Those tears with that dear kiss of thine.
Lady I I ne’er thy face did see;
Thy name is all unknown to me;
But I, iu this kind ministry,
This deed of sweetest charity,
This breath of heaven’s perfumery,
The majesty of goodness see.
Though distant, at thy feet I bow ;
And there, as at a shrine, my vow
I offer up in Mercy’s eae,
Mingling that vow with thy kind tear.
Like vernal flowers whose fragrant bloom,
Embalms the air with their perfume,
May this, thy deed of love, "long roll,
A ware of perfume, o’er our soul.
Be every heart where virtue breathes,
A shrine in which thy memory Uves:
An urn, to gather and embalm,
The odors of thy fragrant name.
In every path thy feet shall tread,
May blessings gather on thy head:
E’er fresh thy wreath of virtuous fame,
And unborn mothers bless thy name:
And when upon thy dying bed,
Thou, too, shaft lay thy honored head,
May Jesus stand by thee and say,
I come to “ kiss ” thy soul away.
W. H. J.
Oxford, N. C.
Impressions of an Alabama Association in
1835.
When quite a lad I was permitted, in the
fall of 1835, to accompany my father and
other messengers to the Mulberry Associa
tion, held with lvoy Creek church, near old
Statesville, Autauga county, Ala. We
wended our way down the Coosa, through an
almost unbroken pine forest for two days,
when we reached the site of the chnrch, near
which was prepared a spacious brush arbor.
The grove around was enlivened by the tramp
of horses and the buzz of human voices. Our
travel had been made very agreeable, listen
ing to discourses on important subjects of
theology, by the-ru>w very aged H‘-*v. J;>moa
of wore «
important wcasTWraT"presenting Ttr The
finest persomnelles I ever saw, an<f genial and
gifted in conversation, we lost all sense of
weariness in listening to this good man.
I soon found, on reaching the stand, that
the Introductory Discourse was to be an oc
casion of intense excitement. The venerable
Isaac Sultle, appointed to that duty, was sus
pected by many of a strong tendency to Ar
minianism, and our early Alabama Baptists
were stern Calvinists. The excitement grew
directly out of the fact that several younger
men, Elders Harris, Martin, Moore and oth
ers, sprung up under the ministry of Elder
Suttle, especially the first named, were verg
ing towards an extreme hyper Calvinism, and
becoming dissatisfied with their father in the
ministry. It was tacitly understood that fa
ther Suttle’s Introductory was to be an ex
pose of his theological views Such was the
case. The sermon was exceedingly compre
hensive, delivered apparently under an almost
overwhelming sense of responsibility, and
with an unction and native ability most ex
traordinary. It was a complete triumph,
chaining the vast audience for more than an
hour, aud satisfying the most sceptical, who
did not themselves hold views leading to an
tinomianism. Elder Harris soon went off
into fatalism and irregularity of conduct"
Rev. Juab Lawler, father of our well known
brother, Gen. Levi W. Lawler, preached, in
the course of the meetings, a very discrimi
nating discourse on Divine Sovereignty and
Human Agency, intended, 1 suppose, farther
to clear away the mists gathering upon the
subject. Mr. Lawler, a self-made man of
great intelligence, often in the Legislature
and in Congress, illustrated Christianity
wherever he went. He was a fine, chaste,
dignified and winning speaker, whose Roman
face commanded deference and confidence in
all circles.
The business transacted was unimportant. A
small amount of money was sent up “for
minutes” and “for associational purposes,”
this latter commonly voted in former days to
two or three brethren, in consideration of sup
posed extra labors, sometimes by direction
of the previous Association. ' TKe main ob
ject of an Association in those days seemedlite
be a re-union of the brethren, ministers and
other “delegates,” the collection of statistics,
and the preaching of the gospel ts» .boat, who
would rarely hear it except
occasions. The Baptist denoinination, fairly
represented, always command the attention
and confidence of the “common people.” This
has been the arena of their greatest triumphs.
The simplicity and unostentatious character
of their worship, and the rigid scripturalness
of their views, only win their way among the
wealthy and fashionable by abundance of
grace.
Rev. Charles Crow, of Perry county, once
the distinguished pastor of the celebrated old
Bush River church, Newberry District, S. C.,
appeared in the stand at the close of the
meetings, but to the great disappointment of
many declined to preach; expressing the
.opinion that it was inexpedient, and the peo
ple would be restless and desirous of going
homq. His venerable person, hymn and
prayer, however, added to the impression
made on the community. This Mercer of
Middle Alabama, was long a pillar in the
house of God in two States.
E. B. Teague.
“Be Ye also Ready.”
One of the most important and interesting
truths taught in the Scriptures rs, that here
we have no continuing no abiding place ;
nothing which we can \yith any. degree of cer
tainty callour own. The blessed Saviour warns
us against laying up for ourselves treasures
upon earth; but encourages us to “lay them up
in heaven.” Our -stay on earth is so short, that
it is folly to lay up treasures here; especially,
when we are neglecting to lay up treasures
in heaven. Life is too uncertain fur us to be
so deeply immersed in its cares. Our days
on earth are as the “ morning cloud or early
dew.” We are compared to the grass which
withereth, and the flower of the grass which
fadeth away.
“ Our life contains a thousand strings,
Aud dies, if one be goue. ’
Such being the case, how striking the ad
monition of the Saviour, “ Be ye also ready,
for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of
Marfcometh;” How often has it been the
case that-when least expected, men have
been called from time to eternity.
We learn from this expression of the Sav
iour, that we are not only travellers from time
to eternity, but that some preparation is
necessary. Mankind in their fallen state are
wholly unprepared for heaven. Were it pos
sible for one to be carried to heaven in an
unregenerate condition, he would unquestion
ably be miserable. Such an one would prefer
the rocks and the mountains to fall upon him,
rather than to be in the presence of God, un
clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Sin
is that which makes a preparation in man
necessary, to fit him for the glory-world. The
existence of sin within a man, makes him a
rebel against God, arrays all his powers
against God, as the moral governor of the
universe; besides producing the most awful
corruption in the heart. In consequence of
sin, the whole head becomes sick, and the whole
heart faint. Wounds, bruises, and putrifying
sores, from the foot even to the head, are the
legitimate consequence of sin. There is no
disease to which the human family are sub
ject, comparable to sin.
“ The worst of all diseases, is light compared with sin,
On ev’rv pari it seizes, but rages most within;
’Trs palsy, plague, and fever, and madness—all com
bined.”
The corruption of the heart being so great,
renders a preparation absolutely necessary.
The preparation so essentially necessary to
our meeting God in peace, consists in nothing
less than an entire change of heart; not merely
the polishing of the old heart, but a removal
of that, and the gift of anew one. The old
one is too bad for any portion of it to remain.
‘.Except a mao be bom again, he can in no
ints>the tsfngdorn of God.’ t
TjfunpW,' *yf *»y mail bcmX’hrist b# is a
passed awayY,
behind, all thin gw new.” : ' ‘>A new!
heafft also will 1 give you, and anew spirit will
I put within you, and I will take away the
stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give
you a heart of flesh, and I will put my Spirit
within you, and cause you to walk in my
statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments,
and do them.” Thus we see that not only a
new heart is given, but in addition thereunto,
the man ever after lives and walks in newness
of life. When such a change has taken place,
the man enjoys the blessings of divine grace,
and is through the sanctifying influences of
the Holy Spirit, prepared for the richer ex
hibition of glory to be revealed to the heaven
ly hosts.
This preparation which takes place in the
soul of man, is the work of the Holy Spirit.
He alone is able to produce so great a change.
“It is not by might, nor by power, but by
my Spirit, saith the Lord.” “It is the Spirit
that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing.”
“ Quickened by the Spirit.” This is the work
assigned to Him in the covenant of T._lemp
tion, and this work He will not $. I to
another. The means used in the produc.ion
of this mighty change, is an application of
the atoning blood and the justifying right
eousness of our Lod Jesus Christ. The blood
of Jesus Christ alone cleanses from sin
Thanks be to God, the blood of Christ clean
seth from all sin. Not only does the Holy
Spirit commence this work, but carries it for
ward. Nor will He cease from that work,
until the light within the Christian shall shine
even to the perfect day. Saith Paul, “ Being
confident of this very thing, that he who hath
begun a good work in you will perform it
until the day of Jesus Christ.” Christians
are “ kept by the power of God, through faith
unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the
last times.” Happy indeed is the condition
of every one, who is ready to meet his Lord.
“ For now is his salvation nearer than when
he first believed.”
E. W. Henderson.
Can We Do It J
That is the question ! Can we redeem our
pledges to those men whom we have employ
ed through the Domestic Board, at Marion,
Alabama 1 We have, through our represen
tatiigj m«n in our Southern Convention, ap
pointed our efficient and laborious brother, M.
T. Sumner, Corresponding Secretary of that
Board, w\iose duty it has been, by and with
the advice of the Board, to appoint mission
aries to sustain the cause of Christ at sundry
important points in the desolated but loved
South, loved as the land of our fathers, as
the cradle of our youth and home of our
manhood, and now moire dearly loved for
the sake of our loved watered its
soil with their brave blood.' Though now
overhung with clouds, there is a coming fu
ture to our land if we are faithful to Christ
and ourselves. In God is our hope, if we
are faithful to him. It is and must be through
the leavening and vitalizing influences of the
gospel that we must be reconstructed, and
not through politicians. Then let us be up
and doing. Let us pay to the Lord our
vows. We have virtually vowed to make
good all reasonable pledges of our agency
for missions, and yet that agency is $17,000
in debt to good and true men, who, trusting
our plighted faith, have gone to these out
posts with their families, that they might un-
furl the flag of our Zion at the front—at
places where the name of.Christ is not held
sacred, trusting that we would feed them
and theirs. But we have-not done it. They
are hungry, and we have not fed them. Their
children cry to them for bfead, and they look
to us in turn for help in vain. Our brother
Sumner hears their cr“y, and his haggard
countenance, noticeable to a casual observer,
shows the intensity of his feelings, because
he has not the means, through our neglect, to
feed them. You complain of the drought and
mildew, the worm and the catterpillar. Are
they not God’s scourges for a gainsaying
people? Has he not declared in his Word
that he will send them upon a people that
withhold their tribute from his treasury?
And has he not plainly said that if you will
pay your vows, IJe will fill your storehouses
and your barns? Try Him now' this once.
Make a sacrifice.' Give of your poverty, and
He will return of his abundant mercy and
fullness. N
Are out shepherds doing rightly in this
matter? Do they put the case clearly to
their congregations in thoughts that breathe
and words that burn? Do they point out a
system and method by which many littles
may make much ? Or are they looking be
yond for beds of downy ease? Do they not
know that teachiug this, their people will learn
more and supply their wants, when system
and method have been established, and the
fallow ground of fruitless hearts has been
broken up by the power of the truth from
hearts glowing with love. I write thus earn
estly, because I feel deeply. I know that if
every Association, which is yet to meet this
Fall, would but do its duty ; if some Apollos
at every convocation would devise liberal
things, and say earnest words; the ten
States could clear the Board of debt, and our
churches would make a bold step in a heav
enward direction, and our pastors would,
themselves, receive joy ways.
Let it be tried in Association and in
church; let intelligent deacons and pious
men and women everywhere, feel and act as
if, in this matter, thej|Jp|lfe a charge to keep
and a God to glorify ;|HHe work will be
done. Let us see, and "reef and act; and all
will be well. J. T. F.
“Should the ObserriHM&fiiF the Lord’s Sup
per be a Part of .fcssqeijatlonal Proceed
ings ?” .. vl
In the Index A.:b Ravi-ist, of August 6th,
we find an artWe- iAderHlhis heading, over
the signature ofvF,” ,-whjg*, we suppose, was
intended for Union Association.
W-a have that article un
memlx'i’
' I"’"':
the brethV " R.t<> tvl-brut-
JLurjTs
-failuHfe on thi^rpftrtTll^^^PPF"vfls Toilow
ing lines from a visitor.*
It has been the cusfem of 'the above named
Association, from itsl|irth, jto have a mission
ary sermon preache# on t Sabbath of each
session, and a collection made for missionary
purposes. This was |hougit by many to be
an injudicious course ; and kt the last meeting
the matter was freely debated, and a resolu
tion passed to desist from the practice. The
question then arose, “ Wfiat exercises should
be appointed in its stead The brethren,
feeling satisfied that th«usiureh with which
the next Association wfeW convene, would
appreciate the exereiseSgHiplved to have a
sermon on the subject and
engage in the celebration of the Lord’s sup
per with the church. Os course, it was un
derstood that the church *was expected to
make the necessary preparation for the ordi
nance, and that it would be celebrated as a
church rite, and not as ail associational mat
ter. If the Association hsrff been disposed to
take the ordinance out of the hands of the
church,-and place it in thelf own, thfjr would
not have decided to celebrate it on Sunday,
but on Saturday or Monday, while attending
to other associational business. They would,
also, have appointed a committee of deacons
to make the necessary preparation. Nothing
of this sort being done, proves plainly that
the Association was only intending to cele
brate the Lord’s supper with the church on
the Sabbath of its session.
We think the object of the Association a
good one, and we do not believe, the act, will
conflict with any established custom, or ax
iom, of the denomination; but we feel sat
isfied it will result in good. In place of the
missionary sermon and collection at the As
sociation, the body resolved that each pastor
should preach a sermon to his congregation,
and make a collection for associational pur
poses prior to the meet’ n S Associa
tion. If it is wrong fit the Association to
appoint its own services, it must be doubly
wrong to appoint such services as those men
tioned for the churches, But F. does not
object to these; and we, therefore, trust that
he will not object to the brethren, who com
pose the next Union Association, engaging in
the celebration of the Lord’s supper with the
Providence church during the Sabbath servi
vices, provided they observe it as a church
ordinance, which, we arejjure, they will do.
Visitor.
Want of Missionary Zeal.
I do not pity ministers as I once did. They
have themselves to blaaie for much of their
discomfort. They arejnot leaders. They
neglect to set forth a part of the counsel of
God. The people know-.atjjppaftfHvely little
of the claims ot the Master where the duty
of extending his Church is seldom spoken of,
and where there are no devised for this
first and chief business of every Christian
organization. A church is no church of
Christ unless it is a missionary church. If a
people are not taught correctly on this point,
they will be interested chiefly in their own
church prosperity —next to that they will
learn to regard their own individual pecunia
ry interests. By and by they persuade them
selves that even what tliey withhold from
their own sanctuary if so much advan
tage to their temporal circumstances, and
soon, as a matter of cou&e, the minister can
not get his salary,jttnd the orgahizition grad
ually declines. This is an inevitable conse
quence. The minister ought to have known
it, and made h.s <?wi3 accordingly.
He makes his.ovp need not object
to lie upon it. It is his own fault.— Rev.
Goyn Talmage. £
Northern and Sonthern Baptists.
According to a recent statement by Rev.
Dr. Samson, “ politicians at our national
centre,” are wont to say, “ Baptists did
most to divide our people; to do
most to unite them.” The Union which it is
the province of “ politicians ” to make—or
mar—lies beyond the legitimate sphere of this
paper as a religious journal; and we have
nothing to say about it. But we confess our
anxiety that Baptists, North and South,
should earn a place in the front rank of those
who seek to restore Christian fellowship and
courtesy between churches and individual be
lievers in the two sections; and what we can
do to further that end, shall be done to the
best of our ability. We are happy, there
fore, to have the concurrence of the Watch
man and Reflector , Boston, in the main drift
of our article, a month or since, on
“ Conciliation.” We give its response to that
article in full, and without comment—except
the expression of a wish that-our contempo
rary had contented itself with ascribing what
it deems objectionable in the quotation from
the correspondent of the Index dz Baptist to
the same source with any irritating language
of its own—the “ infirmity ” from which even
“ the holiest” of men are not free. —Ed.
irritating language.
The Christian Index, in an article on “ Con
ciliation,” the aim of which is to strengthen
the present tendency towards Christian har
mony between Northern and Southern Bap
tists, and the spirit and reasoning of which
are mainly in the same direction, says it
seems clear that the restoration and mainte
nance of harmony between the parties de
mands as an indispensable condition, the
disuse of irritating language. Admitting that
cases may arise which shall justify Northern
men in the employment of expressions con
sonant to their deep convictions of the wrong
of secession, it urges that the moral charac
ter of secession turns on the purely political
inquiry back of it, whether the Union is a
league of independent sovereignties, as is
affirmed even by our own Charming, or a
nationality with the sovereignty and indepen
dence of the States irrevocably merged in it;
and he asks, therefore, that it may be removed
from the range of direct religious discussion
and indirect allusion.
He also asks that illustrations of Christian
doctrine or of Christian duty may not be
drawn from the men, and measures, and inci
dents of the war; for those address minds
which view the events of the last few years
in so different lights, and so far recall the
feelings of more embittered times, that they
not only furnish no help to the appreciation of
the subject of discourse, but even work it
damage. Dr. Hague’s sermon in Baltimore
is referred to as a case in point. ‘There was
no asperity in the style of these illustrations—
but they gave umbrage to a very great pro
portion of the audience. And “The finest
orator of New England ” (as a writer in one
of our Southern exchanges terms Dr. Hague)
was large-hearted enough to say that he would
have abstained from them, for the sake ofm
harmony, if he had dreamed that they woulA
prove offensive to his Southern
sjlt'ukl uc»t. the desire of harmony ’pcßJ
seas sufficient strength flit secure general cofl*
eurrence in the policy which he avowed his
willingness to adopt in that instance?’ It
continues: ‘Recognizing the largest liberty
of speech as the right, and even as the duty
of Northern Baptists, whenever necessity de
mands that the question of secession shall be
treated under its ethical aspects, we submit
these three inquiries with respect to the
course which is expedient and proper at other
times. It remains for those whom it may
concern, to decide whether restored fellow
ship between the brethren in the alienated
sections is, or is not, of sufficient importance
to warrant the disuse of irritating language
in order to secure it.’ To the charge that the
South would dictate ‘ a sugar-coated concili
ation vocabulary ’ it replies, ‘What “dicta
tion” is there in echoing the voice of common
sense, that no breach of long standing can be
healed without much concession to human
infirmity on all sides—without granting, for
the sake of peace, matiji things which cannot
be extorted under a claim of right?’
For ourselves, we accept the above in full as
wise in policy and Christian in spirit; and if
at any time “irritating language” has es
caped us, it has been only from that infirmity
which is always sure to mar the holiest pur
poses of imperfect men, and which, in the
present case, will on both sides long continue
to retard the attainment of the desired end.
We quote from the same number of the Index
which contains the above as the editorial
leader an extract from a correspondent, that
may serve to show how great a demand some
utterances in Southern religious journals make
on Northern charity and the spirit of Chris
tian conciliation :
“ Our religious denominations will have to
occupy the fields given them by the great
Head of the Church, without entanglement
with the people who have repudiated the
authority of the Divine Word. Nay, it is to
the Baptists of this Southern country that the
world will have to look for the propagation
of the truth as it is in Jesus.”
We are not troubled by such things. They
are natural enough to men that never really
knew us and have been still further estranged
by the conflict through which we have passed,
and who are lacking in breadth of view and
in ability to look at a subject from the stand
point of an antagonist. We refer to them
now only to suggest that the exposure to
irritating expressions is not all on one side.
But patience, intelligence and a Christian
spirit will yet heal all.
“It’s only a Little While, Sir.” —“Well,
Molly,” said the judge, going up to the old
apple woman’s stand, “ don’t you get tired
sitting here these cold, dismal days'?”
“ It’s only a little while,” said she.
“And the hot, dusty days?” said he.
“It’s only a little whde, sir,” answered
Molly.
“And the rainy, drizzly days?” the
judge. sjf'
“It’s only a little while,” answered Molly.
“And your sick, rheumatic days, Molly ?”
said the judge.
“ It’s only a little while, siff’ said she.
“And what then, Molly ?’* asked the judge.
“I shall e.nter into that rest which letnains
for the people of Gbd,” answered the old
woman, devoutly ; ** and the troublesomeness
of the way there don’t pester or fret me. It’s
only a little while, sir.”
“All is well that ends well, I dare say,”
said the judge; “but what makes you so
surf, Molly ?”
“ How can I help being sure, sir,” said she,
“since Christ is the way, and I am in him?
He is mine, and 1 am his. Now, I only feel
along the way. I shall see him as he is, in a
little while, sir.”
“Ah, Molly, you’ve got more than the law
ever taught me,” said the judge.
“Yes, sir, because 1 went to the gospel.”
“ Well, Molly, I must look into these things,”
said the judge, taking an apple and walking
off.
“ There’s only a little while, sir,” said she.
Howard College.
(From a circular issued some two months
since, by the Trustees of this Institution, we
select the following statement and appeal—
with the hope that our readers may be incited
to an active interest in the promotion of its
prosperity.)
During, and since the war this Institution
has been in a languishing condition. The
large endowment of the College has been al
most, if not entirely lost. Various efforts
have been made by the Trustees to place it
its former footing, but owing to well
known causes they have not succeeded accord
ing to their expectations. And they now
look only Jo the individual exertions of the
friends of the, College to sustain its interests.
The Trustees feel* now more ever, the
importance of sustaining this Institution, and
are determined to make a united, vigorous,
and, as they think, successful effort to in
crease its usefulness and prosperity to a de
gree beyond that of any former period in its
history. The Alumni, too, of the College,
who are dispersed throughout the South, are
thoroughly aroused to the importance of up
holding and sustaining their Alma Mater.
Those present at the late annual meeting re
solved that, as a Society, they would send
forty young men to the College, the expense
of whose tuition should be defrayed from
funds to be raised by themselves, and, in eve
ry possible way, to exert their influence to
increase the patronage, and promote ths pros
perity of the Institution. In order to place
the advantages of a good practical and liberal
education within the reach of every young
man in the country, the rates of tuition have
been greatly reduced, being now, in the Col
lege proper, sixty dollars, and in the Prepar
atory Department, connected with the Col
lege, forty dollars per Session of Nine Months.
These rates are believed to be lower than
those of any other public or private school
in the State. Still further to reduce the ac
tual expenses of the student, the Board re
commend the adoption of the mess system,
now practiced to a large extent in the College
under Gen. Lee’s superintendence, and iu the
University of Mississippi, at Oxford. In
the latter, the most successful school, and of
the largest patronage of any institution in
the Cotton States, we have information that
there are eighty young men who are educa
ting themselves, upon this cheap plan of liv
ing, at a cost of about five dollars per month,
and that these same young men are the pride
and boast of the Faculty. Such go to Col
lege as Students —to make men of them
selves ; and the Trustees not only recom
mend this cheap plan of living, but appeal to
every lover of education to encourage and
sustain those young men who adopt it. In
this way Board may not exceed fifty dollars
per Session, and when the fathers of our sons
read this, let the family at once decide to
spare the boy fifty dollars for at least one
year’s trial at the Howard College. Board
can be had in the best private families at fif
teen dollars per month. Incidental expenses
and room rent have been pat at the lowest
possible rates. Thus a young man of limited
mo-.na may, obtain-at this
Q. Thornton,
' who for several years previous, as well as
subsequent to the war, has filled the chairs of
Natural Science and Modern Languages in
Howard College. A native of Alabama,
and a graduate of the State University, he
was at once selected by the late Prof. Tuomey
as Assistant in the Geological Survey of the
State. He afterwards spent some years at
the University in Paris, in the pursuit of his
favorite studies. On his return he was elect
ed Professor of Chemistry and Modern Lan
guages in the Alabama Central Female Cal
lege, which position he held until called to
Marion. His native talents, his high attain
ments in Science and Literature—his emi
nent success as a Teacher, and his amiable and
sterling qualities as a man, led to his appoint
ment as Professor in his Alma Mater at the
late re-organization of the State University.
Add to these his administrative capacity, and
the Board of of Howard College
congratulate the* frienCs of the Institution
that they have in their President,
the continued services of one whose past re
cord gives such assurance of success. * *
The Preparatory Department will be un
der the supervision of Prof. I. B. Vaiden, a
native of Virginia, and educated in one of
the most ancient and celebrated colleges in
that State. For many years he has been en
gaged in teaching in Alabama, and has ac
quired a wide and enviable reputation as a
thorough teacher and efficient disciplinarian.
For the last year Prof. Vaiden has been en
gaged as instructor in the Howard—and we
will here add that those pupils who are too
young, or too indolent and disorderly to trust
to themselves for the proper and necessary
application to their studies, will be required
to spend their hours of study under the im
mediate supervision of the Professor of this
Department, in the Chapel of the College,
whose duties require his constant aid and at
tention to the younger classes and pupils.
Those parents who do not wish their children
brought under the strictest discipline, the
Trustees would advise to send elsewhere.
The chair of Mathematics remains to be
filled. The services of a competent instruct
or for this department will be secured before
the opening of the Session.
The Trustees appeal to the Alumni. As
is proposed by them, let them constitute eve
ry Alumnus in the State an aotive agent in
his locality for Mater and let him
send up one, t-vo, or five young men from his
neighborhood. They appeal to the denomi
nation to foster and nurture Howard College,
which should be its pride and boast. They
appeal to the Alabama Baptist Convention to
make the present Condition, and the future,
of the College, a specialty at its meeting in
Norerfiber. "They appear to tint former pat
rons of the College, and its former Fnfetwh,
and the friends of education everywhere, to
rally to its support. They ask no large do
nations—they ask no endowment now—but
yearly contributions, in Ones, Fives and
Twenties, to preserve the institution and fur
nish the means of educating our young men
while the heel of oppression is upon us, and
while the storm of poverty beats so heavily ;
trusting that ’tViser counsels will eventually
prevail and an era of prosperity will yet
dawn upon our country.
Marion is well known abroad for its health
fulness of location—for its accessibility—for
its High Schools and Colleges. To these
Schools and Colleges it is indebted for its
reputation—for the high tone of the morals
of its people—for the high degree of refine
ment of its society—for its prosperity in a
material point of view. The Trustees appeal
to Marion for its patronage, its aid and its
support.
Mistakes. —There are three things, which,
if Christians do, they will prove mistaken :
1. If they look for that in themselves, which
is to be had in another, viz.: righteousness.
2. If they look for that in the law, which is
to be had only in the gospel, viz.: mercy..
3. If they look for that on earth, which is to
be had only in heaven, viz.: perfection.
WHOLE HO. 2408.
The Hand In the Dark.
Nervous people, who journey for the first
time through that tunnel cut through the sol
id rock at Bergen Heights, for nearly a mile,
become conscious of their susceptibility to
impressions, as the locomotive goes shrieking
into the darkness, and again, after about three
minutes, rends the smoky air with three
short, sharp, unearthly sounds, as required by
the rule. But notwithstanding more than one
hundred trains a day, connected with three
different roads, plunge through this gloom,
such safety is secured by an excellent tele
graph and patrol system, that on no portion
of the road need there be less apprehension qf
danger. At our prayer meeting the other even
ing, a little incident was mentioned which gave
a very profitable turn to the exercises, and, to
gether with a few thoughts suggested by it,
may benefit some of the many who read this
page.
Two little girls, of six and four, accompa
nied their father to the city. Seated just
ahead of him, they seemed wholly absorbed
in outside objects, giving no sign of interest
in their father’s presence until the train en
tered the rocky passage. Then, as it went
thundering through the hill, each child reached
over a little hand, placing it in the hand of
the father, remaining perfectly still, and feel
ing secure, until the light came, when they re
sumed their playful interest in the world
without.
This will be recognized as an illustration of
simple faith, manifesting itself in the assur
ance of safety expressed by the little ones as
they interlocked their father’s hands with
their own.
But another train of reflection is suggested,
which may 4>e profitable to our travellers
through dark places. That parent thought,
“This illustrates my exercises toward my
heavenly Father. I love him, and feel that
he is near me in my travels ; yet I often be
come so engaged in the outer world that, for
the time, I am not vividly conscious of his
immediate presence. When lam called to
enter some dark ‘tunnel’ ot experience, my
mind turns back to Him whom 1 know to be
ever near, and a quiet happiness possesses my
soul as I ‘feel the clasping of his hand.’ ”
Christian, make the application. The ao
tivities of the world have their proper de
mands upon you, and it is not expected that
you will always be absorbed in the contem
plation of God ; but keep near him —so near
that on any occasion you can take his hand
and realize his precious presence. Life’s
train will soon convey you through the last
“tunnel.” In the dark you will feel the strong
hand whcse pulse connects with the ever-lov
ing heartland when you emerge into the light
at the other end, you will see his face, and
rejoice as you enter the city which needs no
sunlight, for the glory of God and the Lamb
is the light thereof. Until then use these
words as the language of your heart:
“Lord, I would clasp thy hand in mine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine ;
Content, whatever lot I see.
Since ’tis my God that leadeth me.”
Cor. Ex. & Chron.
Fruits of Infant Baptism.
Rev. Galusha Anderson, D. D., in a letter
to the Watchman & Reflector, gives a startling
picture of the Reformed church—the church
formed, yttars ago, by the coalition of the Lu
therans. Zuingdian9 and Calvinists of South
e •
ern Germany: \
The Reformed church is made up, to a very
great extent, of the unregenerated. Baptis
mal regeneration is one of its dogmas. Its
members are made Christians, in unconscious
Infancy, when a few drops of water, in the
name of the Trinity, fall on their heads from
the fingers of the officiating clergyman. In
childhood they are compelled to learn the
catechism and a given amount of Scripture in
the day school. Lads are often forced to
commit to memory portions of the New Tes
tament as a punishment for their roguishness.
At the best, it is simply an intellectual exer
cise. Their teachers know experimentally
nothing of the Gospel, and in many cases are
rationalists or skeptics. They teach the cat
echism and the Scriptures because it is one of
their school duties, for which they receive a
certain number of guilders. When their pu
pils are twelve years old they are confirmed in
the church and receive the communion. In
this confirmation and communion the regene
ration wrought in their infant baptism is sup
posed to bud and blossom. But after they
have thus bloomed into piety it is noticeable
that they seem to care nothing for the ohurch
nor its ordinances. Jhey join the heedless,
Sabbath-breaking throng, either cherishing
the delusion that they are now safely ticketed
for heaven, or else casting aside all faith in
the Scriptures as an authoritative revelation.
A family of the church with which 1 am ac
quainted say that there is neither a heaven
nor a hell. There is evidently, a mistake
somewhere. Yet here and there among these
irreligious members persons are found whose
hearts God has touched. They are truly
converted, but, as a pious German told me a
few days since, “in the German way.” Their
piety is sickly. It grows under the tangled
brushwood of a State church. It is not ag
gressive. It shrinks from opposition, which
aggression always provokes. Yet it is genu
ine, and if conflict comes, and it must come,
sooner or later, it &ill range itself on the side
of God and truth. But when we have said
all that we can say for this church, we still
see how justly applicable to it is that sharp,
incisive utterance of Gasparin, in one of his
lectures at Geneva—l quote from memory—
“ The creeds of the Protestant State churches
of Europe are so framed as to keep all error
in and all truth, out."
Chained Lions. “
Bunyan’s Christian pilgrim, in his approach
to the Palace Beautiful, was distracted and
dismayed by two lions on either side of the
gate. But gathering courage and going a lit
tle nearer, he found to his great relief that
the lions were chained.
I am often reminded of the chained lions
'ttsAjravel onward, I trust, to the Celestial
city. Sometimes I propose to do something
for Jesus. Difficulties spring up in the way.
At first they seem unsurmeuntable, and I
fear to go forward. There is I turn in the
way. Gaining fresh courage through praydr
and effort, I approach nearer. The seeming
difficulties vanish—the terrible lions are
chained.
Run and speak to that young man, the Spir
it says; tell him the Saviour calls to-day;
tell him now is the accepted time. . Ah, but
there is a lion in the way. He "will not heed
my invitation. He will be offended. It is
not my place.
Urge that dear friend to come out from the
world and its vanities, and take up the cross
of Jesus. Thus conscience whispers.
Oh, but she is so thoughtless, so vain, she
will not heed any entreaties. She is so young,
too, I will wait awhile, there are so many li
ons in the way.
Thus my will and my conscience often talk
to each other. Is it not thus with you, my
friends ? Ah, how much better it would be if,
disregarding all these chained earthly lions,
we would press bravely on to the celestial
city, trusting only and ever to him who will
strike down every foe—Jesus, the Lion of the
tribe of Judah.— S. S. Timts.
