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A Dream.
A bleak November’s stormy blast
Was from the northward pouring fast,
When, just as midnight’s hour was past,
A student, chilled and pale,
Turned trom a book where he had read
Islam’s revolt, triumphant led
Through Shelley’s weirdlike tale.
Clothed in the poet’s gorgeous style,
The mystic fancies, for awhile,
All slumber from his eyes beguile;
And when at last be slept,
In broken visions through his mind
Huge phantoms, dim and undefined,
Tumultuously swept.
But soon these shadows passed away,
And then, in fancy’s magic play,
There rose a scene distinct as day.
But drearier than the night—
A scene which, through long, weary years,
Still to that dreamer’s soul appears
A thing ot actual sight.
He dreamt ’twas when the sun’s last beam'
Had faded, with its golden gleam,
From hill and valley, field and stream,
That he, in saddened mood,
Sat in an old and gloomy tower,
And whiled away the darkening hour
In musing solitude.
He dreamt that, suddenly, a light,
Dispersing every shade es night,
Through chink and casement flashing bright,
Upon his vision came.
He rose—looked forth, and through the sky
He saw, uprising broad and high,
A giant sheet of flame.
Seen by the lustre of the blaze,
I arge groups of men, in dread amaze, .
Upon the awful portent gaze,
Till, in their their wild dismay,
From every group there burst the cry,
Rising, like thunders, to the sky,
“ The last, the last great day!’’
The fear-drops on the dreamer’s brow
Are starting fast and faster now :
in dream his knees in suppliance bow,
His hands in prayer are crossed;
While in the tones of deep despair,
“ Save ! save !” he cries, “ in mercy hear!
0 God, I’m lest! I’m lost!”
As loud these words the dreamer spoke,
Their sound his troubled slumbers broke,
And, wildly starting, he awoke
As morning’s first gray gleam
Began to tinge the Eastern sky—
Awoke in .glad surprise to cry,
“ Behold, it was a dream.” •
R. W. F.
Our Pew at Church.
Whatever diversity of opinion may exist
on the abstract question of the pew system,
no one who has occupied the same seat in the
house of God for a series of years, can fail
to perceive some advantages accruing from
such “ local habitation” on Sundays. There
is a sense of ease and comfort; aye, of Sab*
bath rest, no where else to be enjoyed. This
as due, partly, to the fact that, one becomes
accustomed to his neighbors and surround
ings, so that his attention is not diverted from
the service by the proximity of strangers, and
partly to the feeling of domesticity which the
uninterrupted possession of any property for
a considerable period always engenders.
Our pew at chureh! What fragrant re
miniscenees cluster about the sacred spot!
The golden portals of memory unclose, and,
hai i inha*'d adown t.lv dim .vista of depart
ed years, we walk, —Tom and I, —till, in im
agination, we sit again on the cushioned seat
between our grandmother and my father, or
slide down on the footstool to indulge, unseen
by the congregation, the luxury of an apple
or a cake with which we are regaled from
Grandma’s capacious black silk reticule, in
the interim between Sunday school and the
introduction of the sanctuary services. Pre
sently the minister enters the pulpit, and
what a volume of genuine music ascends from
the choir behind the silken curtains! On
■extra occasions it may be that grand old
iPsalm,
“ Before Jehovah’s awful throne,”
<or the holy aspiration of
“Jerusalem, my happy home I”
which swells through the auditorium; but
generally, it is nothing more difficult than
“Antioch,” or “ Coronation,” in which one
and another of the congregation unite until
the full chorus is attained in the faltering,
tremulous accents of Deacon A, and the ex
ultant tones of stalwart Deacon B, always
about half a bar in advance of the chojr,
But music was worship in those days, and
choirs did not object to assistance from un
cultivated voices; and congregations were
not fastidious about trifling discords between
the gallery above and the pews below.
Our pew, albeit not the most ‘eligibly’
located ; that is, not on the middle aisle, was
certainly one of the most pleasant in the
whole edifice. A broad window admitted
the sunshine at .the further end, but its glare
was softened by a delicate pearl-oolored shade,
which gave an indescribable air of purity and
coolness to the scene within. And without—
ah ! what an enchanting prospect was that
'which met the view in spring and summer!
As the sash was raised the eye was greeted
iby a magnifioent elm, on the opposite lot,
ibeneath whose wide-spreading branches a few
-straggling cattle lazily reposed, and idle boys
«of ‘Africant descent,’ their vacant brains in
nocent of chimeras of freedom cr suffrage,
sported to the heart’s content. The gentlest
of zephyrs wafted from the neighboring Alan
thus trees intoxicating odors which, to the
entranced senses of childhood, were as fra
grant as the fabled perfumes from “the shores
of Araby the blest,” while, ever and anon, a
stiff breeze from the river swayed the boughs
and played an unwritten music amid the
rustling foliage.
But the chief attraction of our pew con
sisted in the agreeable persons by whom we
were surrounded—not the wealthy or the
fashionable, but about equi distant from the
extremes of poverty aud riches, and equally
removed from the Puritanism which consider
ed it a desecration of the Sabbath to salute
a friend at church, and the flippancy which
would convert the house of God into a place
of social recreation. Our charming neigh
bors were never averse to a brief interchange
of opinion as to the merits of the sermon, at
the close of the service; nor did brother C.
and brother D. hesitate to avail themselves
m the neighborly privilege of ‘ borrowing ’ of
each other, if an unexpected collection found
them minus their pocket books; while good
Deac<»n A. would have esteemed it a great
breach of etiquette to have ‘taken a pinch’
from his gay snuff-box, without previous
ly passing it to sister E. or F.—whose
penchant tor the weed was notorious—were
the old ladies within the reach of his arm.
And sometimes—oh, climax of delight to us
children ! we were permitted to tarry awhile
after the benediction was pronounced, as the
.brethren from the colored gallery discoursed
-one of their peculiar melodies—now a tri
umphant chorus, as if they had already
reached the heavenly Canaan, and anon, a
dirge like strain, which melted the sensitive
soul to tears. But
“ This—all this was in the olden
Time, Jong ago.”
A few years elapse, brief in the retrospect,
but laggard enough in marking the transition
fcfrom childhood to womanhood, and what a
cbffojjgftipisible in oa?W|proingaat church!
Wilfpmee through window —my
stands proudly on the site of the old elm.
An unwonted music falls upon the ear, and
as we listen, the joyous notes of “Dixie,” or
the inspiring strains of “La Marseillaise ,”
disturb the riabbath stillness. Anon a regi
ment of gray jackets, with banners flying
and caps decorated with boquets, advances
with elastic step, followed by a battalion of
men and boys in every variety of civilians’
dress, from the handsome broad-cloth to the
tattered garb of the street mendicant. A
motet or an anthem, more scientific than in
the bye-gone, recalls our truant thoughts as
the pastor enters the pulpit, but there, too,
as well as in the pews, is mutation written.
The congregation is largely interspersed with
citizen soldiery, and perhaps one corner of
the church is filled by a company of gray
jackets or blue-shirts, the manufacture of
sewing machines and deft, womanly fingers,
in the lecture-room below, during the previ
ous week. Though death and removals have
made sad inroads into the adjacent pews, some
of our former neighbors still remain, and the
new-comers are worthy successors of those
who oupe occupied those now uncushioned
seats. We discuss the sermon less, perhaps,
in leaving the church now; but is not a kind
enquiry after the safety of son or brother in
the army, or the health of some soldier dom
iciled within our homes, also a part of our
holy religion? We look up into the colored
gallery, but the once well filled seats are al
most deserted, and hushed is the voice of song.
The family of Deacon A. still occupy their
wonted place in the sanctury, but he has re
sponded to the Master’s summons, “Come
up higher!” From our own pew, we miss
Tom, who has gone forth to the battle of life,
and attracted by a more ‘sensational’ minis
try, meets with another congregation; and,
saddest of all, we see no longer at our side
the bowed form and tottering steps of her
who taught our infant lips the words of prayer,
for she, too, has passed through the gates of
death into the “city which hath foundations
whose builder and maker is God !”
Once more, and alone, I enter the hallowed
precincts of “our church,” and timidly seek
the familiar spot known as “our pew.” ‘Our
pew?’ Nay, am I not an intruder there?
No; I will enter boldly this once, for surely
no member of “our church” could make a
stranger feel unwelcome in his pew. Present
ly a middle aged gentleman enters, followed
by a shrinking girl, who occupy the seat with
me. Gradually a few strangers move down
the aisle and distribute themselves, singly or
in pairs, in the surrounding pews. A glance
over the congregation assures me of the sad
fact, that few of the old landmarks remain,
and of all who were our neighbors in ante
bellum days, or who were cast into our midst
by the fortunes of war, the representatives of
only two families tenant their wonted places
in the sanctuary.
As I gaze with ever-increasing surprise on
the changes that surround me, another won
der meets my vision. Here come brother
and sister G. down “our aisle;” and seat
themselves in one of the adjacent pews. How
can the service of song be properly conducted
when they are absent from the choir? Hark !
a sad, subdued prelude, as of instrumental
music, floats dreamily down from the gallery,
and anon a single female voice, “ musical as
Apollo’s lute, V blends vniii*the plaintive air
and warbles—do my uncultivated ears de
ceive me? Can it be—
“ When the swallows homeward fly?”
No, thank heaven! but that evangelical,
“Jesus, refuge of my soul,”
is the burden of those dear, silvery notes—
only I would it were supg to the ortho
dox “St. Martins,” in which the whole con
gregation used to unite in days of yore.
As I was guilty of the rudeness of staring
at brother and sister G., in sheer astonish
ment, the minister had entered the pulpit un
perceived, and as the last bar of music died
away, he moved briskly forward to the desk
with the buoyant step of manhood, and an
nounced the opening hymn. It was an odd
spectacle to see in our pulp3£one still in “ the
dew of his youth;” but the heartiness thrown
into his reading of the Scripture, and his
childlike earnestness in prayer, convinced me,
even before the sermon, that he was a wor
thy successor of our fathers in the gospel
who had preceded him. discourse,
and while i was yet ruminating upon these mu
tations, “theoffioers of the church” passed
through the congregation with their baskets,
into which almost every man and woman
dropped a yellow paper envelope. This
novel and unexpected phase of the weekly
collection so startled me out of my self pos
session, that I well-nigh neglected my oppor
tunity of contributing my ‘mite’ to the gen
eral fund. This, however, is one of the few
innovations I have learned to regard with fa
Tor,
The sermon was a practical discourse—
scriptural in sentiment, and clothed in lan
guage chaste, yet so simple that the veriest
child might embrace the truths inculcated.
The services concluded, I was somewhat un
favorably impressed with the ‘stylishness’ of
the congregation, and wondered if the body
ecclesiastic had been suddenly inundated with
wealth, that so large a proportion of its mem
bers were so extravagantly attired. Not an
African was visible in the gallery, nor a gray
jacket in the pews below. Here and th6re a
familiar face met my sight, and then I turned
again to “ our pew,” almost expecting to en
counter the dear eyes which always smiled a
welcome back to our “ Sabbath home,” after
a period of absence. Idle quest! vain yearn
ing! My mourning habiliments recalled but
too vividly an hour of anguish when I sat in
another pew —on the broad aisle, and the
slow procession from the consecrated portals
marked the passage of another—last and best
beloved friend—from the Church militant to
the Church triumphant.
The work of “ progress ” continues, the
congregation becoming more fashionable, with
each succeeding year,—some of the more
aristocratic never arriving until some time
after the services have commenced, when they
come flaunting down the main aisle in glitter
and tinsel, to the great annoyance of devout
worshippers. The choir grows more operatic
from Sunday to Sunday, with its ‘artists’
paid to utter sentiments which they reject in
theory and in practice. We have solos and
duets chanted from sheets of music, or worse
still, a Babel of tongues iu the “ sopranos,’
‘contraltos/ etc,, which are anything rather
than a “concord of sweet sounds,” to old
fogy taste. Sometimes the ‘voluntary’—if
such is not a misnomer as applied to the per
formance of salaried musicians,—seems to
trie very like the a Avc Sanctissima ,” of my
childhood as I can rarely distinguish a word
in the spendid ‘executionbut then 1 try to
persuade myself that the good brethren who
still remain in the choir, would not permit
such a desecration of a Baptist church. The
pulpit is the only quarter of the meeting
house in which the progress is in the right
direction, —he who ministers ut the altar be
coming, with each successive service, more
earnest, more faithful, more unworldly,—
more and more a son of consolation to the
sad and suffering of the household of faith.
Our pew at church! Most of the places
FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, JANUARY 4,1871.
that know me 11 how, were unknown to my
Lares, but we walked in company,
and, sSnbtified by the memories of earlier,
happier days, it is the most home like spot on
earth. As I sit here in the earthly*tflberna
cle, “through the else silent darkness of the
past, the spirit hears their slow and solemn
footsteps” adown the aisles of Time, and
then the upper sanctuary 'in they wor
ship appears not far off. “Only just across
the river,” and the intervening distance is
lessened by angelic visitants, which, lijce
those in the patriarch’s vision, render this
house of God the very gate of heaven!
Adrienne.
Good News.
The Lord is already gathering fruit from
the labors of the American Bible Union, to
the praise of the glory of His grace. The
circulation of the Union’s faithful translation
of the New Testament in Mexico and old
Spain is producing effects that are marvel
lous in our eyes; for which our praise i3 due,
and by which we should be encouraged to
renew, as often as ability is afforded, our con
tributions to aid in extending its circulation.
We should also be led to exert our efforts to
induce others to join us in a work that re
dounds so manifestly to the glory of God and
the eternal weal of our dying fellow-mortals.
The following extract from a letter recently
received from Rev. W. H. Wyckoff, D.D.,
Corresponding Secretary of the A. B. U.,
(under date of the 13th instant,) will doubt
less be read with interest by, and afford great
gratification to, the friends of Jesus generally,
and especially to those who have aided, by
their pecuniary contributions, in circulating
the Union’s pure version of the word of God
in the Spanish language. He says : “ Last
week Rev. J. W. J (the name is some
what blurred—cannot make it out) —who is
on the eve of sailing to Spain to aid Rev.
Wm. J. Knapp, our Bible colporteur in
Madrid, (both now under appointment from
the Missionary Union,) spent several hours
with me. He read to me a letter just re
ceived from brother Knapp, stating that he
had already immersed 48 believers upon a
profession of their faith, and a number more
were converted, and expected soon to be bap
tized.”
Think of that, dear reader, 48 baptized in
Madrid, one of the strongholds of Romanism !
One of its most impregnable fortresses en
tered by soldiers of the Cross, armed with
the sword of the Spirit, and captives of anti-
Christ freed from their fetters by means of
the Union’s Nuevo Pacto, or pure version of
the New Testament! What a contrast be
tween the scenes witnessed at their baptism
and those witnessed, of old, around the
bloody guillotine—between the assemblies of
these liberated captives and the meetings of
pontifical inquisitors—between the songs of
praise of these new converts and the mingled
sounds of anathemas, and prayers, and cries
that were wont to be heard around the rack,
the block and the stake of dying martyrs!
This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful
in our eyes. But the Lord works through
human instrumentality. Who are the favored
individuals whom the Lord hath employed to
effect this wonderful change ? All who have
contributed to aid the Bible Union in its be
nevolent enterprise have enjoyed the privi
lege, and must share the honor, of being co
workers with the great Gcd in this
"work. The privilege is a "blessed one;
honor is greater than any that mortal man
can bestow. He that lightly esteems either
has yet much to learn of Christ, and of the
value of the blessings He confers, and should
pray for more of the illuminating influence of
the Holy Spirit, and a more entire consecra
tion of himself to the service of his Redeemer
and His saints. The angels of heaven are
wiser than we. They highly prize the privi
lege and the honor of ministering to them that
are elected to be saved —heirs of grace and
glory.
What a wonderful being is our God ! how
impartial in the distribution of His gifts and
the bestowal of His honors ! how unlike to
sovereigns of earth in the selection of agents
to execute His will! He condescends to men
of low estate—confines not His appointments
to offices of honor to the magnates in church
or state—to persons renowned for their valor,
wit, wisdom or wealth. He delights to exalt
the lowly, while He turns away from the
proud and lofty. There are none so humble,
so illiterate, so poor, so feeble, that He will
not permit ihem to participate in the privi
lege and honor to which I have referred
above. Many a feeble, timid female has been
allowed to share in them more highly than
the so-called “ lords of creation.” Neither
childhood, nor hoary age, nor a servile con
dition debars one from a participation in the
privilege and honor of diffusing abroad the
glorious tidings of salvation through the Lord
Jesus Christ. Although I have but recently
embarked in the work of soliciting funds to
aid in circulating pure versions of the word of
God, I have already enrolled, in my books,
the names of several dear children who have
sought and obtained permission to aid in this
good work, and expect to add to them many
more.
Many are the cares and sorrows of life.
Reader, would you multiply its joys ? This
you may certainly do, by transmitting to me
funds to aid in circulating pure versions of the
New Testament in the Spanish and Chinese
languages. Do you doubt whether your joys
would be increased thereby ? Ask of those
who have contributed funds for this purpose,
whether the intelligence communicated in thi9
article, of the blessing attending the circula
tion of the Scriptures in Spain, has not proved
to them a source of new joy, and joy of the
most pure and abiding character. If, after
receiving their testimony, you still remain
sceptical, I would say to you, as Philip said
to Nathaniel, “ Come and see.” Test the
matter by sending to me a contribution for
the Bible Union. If you fear to risk, (though
I can assure you there is no risk in it,) your
ten, twenty or hundred dollar bill, send me,
without delay, a one or two dollar bill, and
see if you will not feel an interest you
never felt before in reports of the progress of
truth, and derive new pleasure from every
conversion that occurs through the influence
of the Scriptures you have aided in circu
lating.
There is a real luxury in doing good. The
interest I feel in your individual welfare, leads
me to desire that you may enjoy this luxury,
and enjoy it abundantly. The only prerequi
sites are, that you give cheerfully, not grudg
ingly; that you give according to your ability
—God demands no more—and that you give
as opportunity is afforded. I may not be able
to afford you an opportunity to contribute
through me personally, but the mails afford
daily or weekly opportunity to remit either
large or small amounts. Large amounts
should be sent me in post office orders, drafts
on banking houses, or factors, or by express
—small amounts in registered letters.
I truly pity the brother or sister who is so
destitute of means that he or she cannot con
tribute a dollar to aid in making known the
way of life to those who are ignorant of it.
I would recommend to such to “ labor with
their hands that they may have to give to him
that needeth,” and devoutly pray God to di
rect and bless your efforts. He that will
do this, will thank me for the suggestion I
have here made, in (pis life, and will thank
God for it through an eternity to come.
The A. B. Union istin great and immediate
want of funds to enable it to pay for the print
ing of their versions-*/ the New Testament,
and supply the almost daily demands that are
made upon them foWbe Scriptures in the
Spanish language. I would, therefore, re
spectfully, but earnestly, request of each
reader —1. To ask QkSl, not what He would
have Peter, James or John to do to aid the
Union in supplying he demands for the
sacred Scriptures, s> ..i—Lord, .. hat wouldst'
thou have mb to do?” ( 2. To inquire of your
conscience whether" jdsti have done all that
you could and ought done in this mat
ter? 3. To send me., as early as possible,
a thank-offering unto the Lord for what He
has done for you personally, and for what
He is now doing, through the agency of the
A. B. U., for the p-iest-ridden people of
Madrid, and among neighbors in Mexico
and in China. 4. To endeavor to get others
to unite their than!'offerings with yours.
5. To endeavor to Induce your church to make
your pastor a life dire -"nt, (by the contribution
of $150,) or a life 7 U "Nir (by the cootcß-j.
tion of S3O) of Bible Union, and
thus afford evide “1.,- 1 ?,.. the same time, of
their affection for their of their de
sire to promote the of Christ. 6. To
pray daily for the of the Holy Spirit
to direct and prospsv &eir w*>rk those who
are engaged in bringfWfout pure versions of
the word of God, and Ulso for its sanctifying
influence on their agry.
** Jos. S. Eaxer.
Quitman, Ga., Deo. 23,1 *7O.
To Pastors.
In the last number of the Index, this fiot
is stated: “ During a sickness of several
months, an unconver- .and young man was vis
ited by Rev. J. C. Smith more than sixty
times. The result labors was, that he
was privileged to see him die in the triumphs
of faith.”
Here we have an sermon on pas
toral faithfulness. \v V> doe* not admire the
zeal of this worthy .mister? Yet how few
there are who are w.. tr og to imitate his ex
ample? How readi' we find excuses for the
neglect of pastoral visitation? If I may re
fer to my own exper <nce in the ministry, I
may say there is r duty which I entered
upon with greater i duetanee than pastoral
visiting. I disliked*’'to take the time from
study. I was annoyed by the frivolous na
ture of the conversai >n indulged in. I could
not control the circumstances of the visit, and
make them tend to spiritual improvement.
It often seemed to ak that the time spent in
visiting was entirely lost. Yet, I could not
neglect so important a branch of pastoral
duty. It is not uilAelJ’’ lhat, many times
during the visitatio nos Dr. Smith, it may
have seemed useless ■ ■ spend so much time
with a sick man, an.’ yet he was doing the
very thing for whi>* he was called of God
aud put in the minis; ry. He was striving to
bring a soul to Christ He was rewarded for
his labor of love. And so shall we be if we
fnint not. W.
WasUd Time.
Alone in the dark and -lent night.
With the heavy thoupnt of a vanished year,
When evil deeds eopi fbaclc to sight,
And.good deeds i *r.isM a welcome cheery
-JU-Jau wuh ...-f* t MAfStf&c- W- past, *
That come with Mff y*ar’s dying chime,
There glooms one sharfew dark and vest,
The shadow of Wasted Time.
ir
The chances of happiness cast away,
The opportunities never sought,
The good resolves that every day
Have died in the impotence of thought;
The slow advance and ihe backward step;
In the rugged path we have striven to elimb;
How they furrow the brow and pale the lip
When we walk with Wasted Time !
What are we now? What had we been
Had we hoarded time with the miser’s gold,
Striving our honest meed to win,
Through the summer'y heat and the winter’s cold;
Shrinking from nought that the world could do;
Fearing nought but the touch of crime;
Laboring, struggling, all seasons through,
And knowing no Wasted Time ?
Who shall recall the vanished years?
Who shall hold back this ebbing tide
That leaves us remorse, and shame, and
And washes away all :lungs beside?
Who shall give us the strength e’en now
To leave forever this holiday rhyme ;
To shake off this sloth >oin heart and brow,
And battle with Wasted Time ?
The years that pass come not again,
The things that die no life renew;
But e’en from the rust of his cankering ohain
A golden truth is glimmering through;
That to him who learn*pom errors past,
And turns away with strength sublime,
And makes each year qiis/lo the last,
There is no Watt*#- '/hue.
Om* Seminary.
Our Seminary at Gieenville, S. C., is called
“ the Southern BapMat.theological Seminary,”
from which namewewould infer that all South
ern Baptists feel an interest in it. People
usually feel interested in that which is their
own, and bears their own name. Believing
that the brethren in Alabama feel enough in
terest in this Seminary to wish to hear from
it occasionally, I have commenced to write.
At present, there are 51 students in actual
attendance. Perhaps no body of students,
of the same size, is characterized by greater
zeal and earnestness ip the prosecution of
their studies. Each Hns to appreciate the
superior advantages he enjoys, and endeavors
to improve them accordingly. The advan
tages which our Seminary affords, are inferior
to none, ana may be said to be supe
rior to any in the w<>ri By comparing the
views of doctrine* w hl&l students hold who
go out from here, with those of the students
of other Theological Seminaries, in will be
found that, in the main, they are as sound as
any, and on some subjects, more orthodox.
No Seminary inculcates purer doctrines of
grace than does ours. It is pleasant to feel
that the Seminary is taking firmer hold upon
the affections of our people. Alabama Bap
tists have been contributing of their means
comparatively well, support. On this
there is no special ground for complaint,
though they might and ought to do much
more in this respect than they have been do
ing. But, the mu9t have men to
work upon, and it is in this respect that we
are shamefully deficient. Perhaps this asser
tion will not be received without some proof.
This is at hand. The “Reformed Church”
has a membership of 59,500 in the United
States, and at one Th*rfogical Seminary in
New Brunswick, it has 24 students. The
Karens, converted by the preaching of mis
sionaries sent them a few years back, have a
membership of 6,000, and have 52 students
in a Theological Seminary. Alabama Bap
tists have a membership of more than 60,-
000, and have 4 students in the Theological
Seminary. Brethren, we may talk, and with
words pray, and with money pay for a The
ological Seminary, but facts are stubborn
things, ands the above figures declare our sen
timents in tones that must forever silence
our declarations of love for the Seminary.
James says, “ Shew me thy faith without thy
works, and I will shew thee my faith by my
works.” “As the body without the spirit i9
dead, so faith, without works, is dead also.”
It is work for the Seminary that must show
our faith in it. The thing that we need most,
is more students, and their expenses paid by
themselves and brethren, instead of by the
Treasurer of the Faculty, Some one may
say, just he?e, “I would like to see our State
well represented, but if the young men do
not choose to go I cannot help it.” This is
true. The young men must have a desire to
come; but the question is, will they ever, of
themselves, desire it? The writer can an
swer for one, that he never would have thought
of such a thing, at least, thought of it seri
ously, if it had not been for the earnest so
licitations of a brother who knew something
of the Seminary. If the older and more
prominent ministers of the State would make
it a point to urge every young minister whom
they meet, to come to the Seminary, instead
of 4, we might have 40 next session. This
is what we need, and it certainly is the im
perative duty of every minister in the State
to do such work. In this age of growing
Infidelity, Scepticism, and Rationalism, we
need a corps of .men “ mighty in the Scrip
tures,” “thoroughly furnished unto every
good word and work,” to stem the torrent
which is swelling, and may soon madly rage.
The Seminary is the place to prepare and
drill such a corps. Then, brethren, between
this and September 1, 1871, let each of us
make it a point to induce some young min
ister to come to the Seminary, and at the
same time, if he is not able to support him
self, provide some way for his support —$100
will do it—and there is not an Association in
the State that could not raise this amount.
Some churches could raise five times this
amount. May God’s Spirit guide us into
this desirable work. J. M. Robertson.
Seminary ? Greenville, S. C.
Gilded Preachers. v
There are many things gilded now a days.
China is sometimes figured with what looks
like gold. Books and fancy writing paper
have yellow edging, and even some really
fine-looking ornaments of various kinds are
gilded. In truth, the present seems to be a
sort of gilt-edged period of the world’s his
tory. Faint and gold-leaf are all around us.
And if things in stores and in shops are made
to wear a cuticle of the renowned metal, why
may not people put some of it on themselves,
even though they may be able to afford but
a*slender coating ? Some one may smile at
such a question, indicating that he knows of
a few people, fair or otherwise, who already
have plated themselves, partially, with pret
ty fair imitations of the yellow metal. Well,
it may be admitted —for there need be no
argument on the point—that, some men and
women are well ornamented with the cun
ning workmanship of the jeweller. But, is
it certain that such persons are going by the
Book? On the contrary, is it not certain
that they are little concerned to either do or
know what the Book tells? They are not
teachers of religion; they are not even doers
of it. So, if these people were literally to
coat themselves with gold, as Solomon coated
the inner sanctuary of the temple, no one
need be astonished ; i. e , if fashion so de
manded.
But are the clergy—the teachers of the
Bible —in danger of being overgrown with
gold foil ? This is not likely to cotne to pass
in the most literal view; and for the reasons
following: 1. they are not usually rich
enough to afford it; 2. they do not all and»
sire it; and, 3. much of what they take for
gold is really no more than imitation. Some
teachers, iiowfc.e* fc on* what i am pieased ’
to call the gilded list. There is, for instance,
Rev. Mr. A., who wears a yellow band
on one of his fingers. Does he claim that
the health of his finger requires that band?
If so, much as I might differ from him in re
gard to the remedy selected, still he must not
be disturbed in his pet theory. The fact is,
we must allow our patients to select their
own remedies, nor must we laugh at them.
Only the other day a grave and religious
man told me he had had an afflicting disease,
and that he cured it by carrying the seed of
a certain shrub on his person, and he actually
exhibited the seeds which had cured him, and
kept him well! This case being true, who
can tell but that Rev. Mr. A. wears his ring
to cure, or to ward oft’ some mental or some
bodily ailment? But, then, as it seems to
me, the more of the remedy in reason, the
better might be the effect. What good rea
son is there why the Rev. gentleman should
not have a ring on each of his fingers ? Be
sides this, as some may suppose that holes in
the ears are good for weak eyes, why should
he not have rings also in his earsf That
would be making but ten rings in all, and
might prevent a vast amount of injury to
health and longevity. Then there is another
consideration ; ’he gentleman would be more
uniform in his gilding. Let us look at him.
On his bosom he has three or four heavy
“studs” of some substance, in color resem
bling laurel. At each wrist, another fine
button peeps out. Attached to his watch is
a chain of costly fineness—if the chain be 18
carets —and the watch is a noble piece, war
ranted to be as good as the best. And then,
to close the catalogue, he carries a cane with
a yellow head, that one would take, by its
weight, to be worth no less than half a hun
dred dollars. Now, whether Rev. Mr. A.
does or does not wear that ring as a medi
cine, would he appear the less harmoniously
gilded, were he to take the rings before men
tioned, in addition to his studs, cuffs, fob,
Waltham and cane?
A preacher so resplendent with the pre
cious metal, would be well calculated to
produce a sensation among the good people
of almost any place in the land!
When William 111, of England, sent an
embassador to France, he surrounded him
with all the splendor that could well be de
sired. The design was to make an impres
sion on the French court. Now, is not this
the plan in sending men to preach ? Is it not
best to put all the ornament on-them that
can be desired? The more pertinent this
question, when we remember that the Jewish
high priests were richly clad, and that the
Papal prelates follow the example ? But it
is now time to pause and ask how was Jesus
off for gold to deck His person with when
He preached ? Do we suppose He Wore
rings, buttons and chains of the precious
metal ? Christians know how to answer
these inquiries. They know how unlikely it
is that the Redeemer ever wore so much as
a penny’s worth of gold during His sojourn
in the flesh.
Then, let no imagine the mendicant (all
honor to His name forever) Jesus by the side
of our Rev. Mr. A., of whose golden gild
this much has been said. What a contrast!
Does the jewelled preacher look as if he
could have-any relationship with the sad and
beggarly looking man at his side? Let the
two walk the street together, and let the
richly clad gentleman be ignorant of the true
character of his companion, and would he not
be ashamed of Him? If, on a sudden, the
Rev. fop could realize the fact that the Al
mighty Jesus were present, in that humble
garb, would he not quake with fear? Jesus
is near —is looking at —is registering the ac
tions of the gilded preacher. And the time
comes when Master and servant shall meet
in judgment. Scrap.
m, in li Ip'll" ll>
A Way to Hell. —Rev. Dr. Hawes, of
Hartford, used to say, “ There are a great
many ways of going to hell, and flashy, sen
sational preaching is one of them.”
High and Low Churchism.
We have understood, from one of our
ministers who lately fell in with a High
Church Episcopalian minister, that said High
Churchman stated the difference between
High and Low Churchmen to be this : High
Churchmen think high of the Chureh and low
of themselves; Low Churchmen think low of
the Church, and high of themselves.
A Correspondent of the Index.
|aP“Are not both parties right, where their
thoughts are low?
A Few Facts and Queries on the Subject of
the Bible Among the People.
Facts.
1. The aim of gospel ministers aud Sab«
bath school.teachers is, to diffuse Bible truth,
believing that, without it, the preaching of
man i3 vain, and the faith of the people also
vain.
2. By a noble industry, the families of our
land have been kept so thoroughly supplied
with the Bible, that, in an important sense,
the whole population may be said to have it.
3. In another sense, however, not less im
portant, the greater part have it not ; for, al
though holding the volume in their hands,
they have never received its contents into
their minds.
4. A vast majority cannot, of themselves,
read it ; they need to hear it
read. Most that they know of it is learned
from the pulpit and the Sabbath school.
5. Yet, scarcely one-fourth of them, —aud
in some places not one-tenth, —are habitual
church goers; and those who are, go, usually,
expecting to hear a sermon, not the Bible.
6. As to general Bible knowledge, our
Sabbath schools are the hope of the country;
yet, of the scholars so faithfully instructed
therein, it is lamentably true that, within a
few years after leaving school, the greater
part cannot repeat, correctly, the ten com
mandments, nor name the books of the New
Testament.
QtTERIE3.
1. Ought this state of things to continue?
2. Is there not reason to believe that the
great Head of Chureh would be pleased, if
measures were devised for correcting it?
3. What measures can bo devised ?
A Brief Statement of Some of the Plans
Already Thought of.
1. Persons confined by sickness have, some
times, done much good, by invitiug others to
their sick room to hear the Bible read.
2. Others have gone statedly to read it to
a sick neighbor, or to a family group, or to
several families united in one group, or to a
neighborhood assembled in a house or under
a tree.
3. Ladies of industrial benevolent socie
ties, while teaching poor work women the
arts of cutting out and making up garments,
have, sometimes, endeavored to benefit them
spiritually, by reading the Bible to them as
they silently work.
4. Officers of a Bible Society have been
known to constitute themselves into a board
of managers for Bible reading, as well as for
distribution; providing, however, that the
expenses, if any, be paid from funds raised
for the purpose.
5. It has been thought that cities, or dis
tricts too large for ordinary private effort,
might be sueeessfol'y •m-plb-d with Bible
reading, if divided into wards, which should
severally be committed to the care of volun
teering individuals, societies or churches.
6. The question has been raised, whether
it may not be possible to cover the land with
a uet-work of Union Bible-reading Associa
tions, in the spirit of the American Bible So
ciety, and coextensive with its affiliations,
which shall appoint readers, and provide
means for bringing the Bible into contact
with the minds of the people?
Reader ! please ponder what has been
said, with a view to query 3d; then be so
good as to embody your thoughts in a letter
addressed to “ Rev. F. R. Goulding, Roswell,
Georgia;” or, what is better, publish them
first in some paper, and send him a copy.
N. B. —Will not editors friendly to the ob
ject please copy, and send to the above ad
dress all notices in consequence?
“The Greatest of these is Charity.”
In contemplation of Christian virtues, char
ity must rank foremost in all that is holy and
sublime. Her rarity is proof of her great
excellence, which few attain. Her fair and
blessed face is too seldom seen, oven among
us who “ name the name of Jesus.” O, why
do we not heed the injunction to “ follow af
ter Charity ?” Why not cover, with this
heavenly love, the imperfections of poor, er
ring brothers like ourselves?
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these
three; but the greatest of these is charity .”
Greater than faith, that bulwark of the soul
that carries us to our Saviour; that waits,
with unwavering trust, the opening of the
New Jerusalem ; for within our being is some
thing that acknowledges its Creator, and our
souls can rest with composure in that Omnip
otent hand.
Greater than hope, that cheers our own
hearts with whisperings of the great hereaf
ter; greater than this welcome, heavenly
guest, for charity goes far out of self to ben
efit others. It is a breath from God’s own
immaoulate being, divinely dwelling in human
ity. No envy, no pride, thinking no evil, it
suffereth, yet is kind.
Good brother Chaudoin was In the “shade”
when he met a “ liquored ” church member.
So a shadow falls on my heart when I find a
sentence like this in a Christian’s letter: “My
opinion of you is too poor for one Baptist to
entertain of another.” An imperfect know
ledge of circumstances, discontent with self,
and our opinion is formed of others ; for this
s«me brother, with an uualterable trust, walks
daily before God, and at night has praises
and thanks to send upward from an humble,
loving heart.
Charity is emphatically love —love to God,
which begets love to mau, and love doeth all
things. It is this that influences the Christian
to minister to the needy, “ clothe the naked,
feed the hungry,” visiting in prison, and
among the fatherless and the suffering. This
same love is kind and forgiving, “ suffereth
long,endureth all things.”
“ By their fruits ye shall know them,” and
we do sometimes see Christians in whose
hearts the Spirit is producing rich and mani
fold fruit, whose lives are such as they should
be, carrying heaven’s sunlight wherever they
go. The Christian’s privilege is a life of
faith, hope and charity, and blessings atleiul
him who thus follows the diviue dictates, and
after this life a more glorious one awaits him
which is all love. And we can live thu9, for
this divine prayer ascends to God from Him
who gave us life : “Holy Father, keep through
Thine own name those whom Thou hast given
me, that they may be one as we are. 1 pray
not that Thou shouldest take them out of the
world, but that Thou shouldest keep them
from evil, * * * that the love wherewith
Thou hast loved me, may he in them, and 1
in them.”
Like* unto Thine own stainless life, O
blessed Jesus, let each of Thy children’s be !
Lila.
The Heart. —ls the golden sceptre cannot
Win it, the iron soeptre must break it.
Is3oo 1 YEAR, f WHOLE NO. 2521.
The. Doomed Man.
There is a time, we know not when'
A point, we know not where,
That marks the destiny of men,
To glory or despair.
There is a line by us unseen
That crosses every path ;
The hidden boundary between
God’s patience and His wrath.
To pass that limit is to die,
To die as if by stealth—
It does not quench the beaming eye,
Or pale the glow of health.
.w-cTlweenesience may be atill at ease,
The spirits light and gay;
Thai which ia pleasing still may please,
And care be thrust away.
But on that forehead God has set
Indellibly a mark—
Unseen by man, for man as yet,
Is blind and in the dark.
And yet the doomed man'a path below
Like Eden may have bloomed—
He did not, does not, will not know
Or feel that he is doomed.
He knows, he feels that all is well,
And every fear is calmed ;
He lives, he dies, he wakes in hell,
Not only doomed, but damned.
0! where is this mysterious bourne,
By which our path is crossed,
Beyond which, God Himseii hath sworn
That he who goes is lost ?
How far may we go on in sin 1
How long will God forbear ?
Where does hope end, and where begin
The confines of despair?
An answer from the skies is sent
Ye that from God depart,
While it is called to-day, repent,
Aud harden not your heart.
— Rev. J. A. Alexander , D.D.
Baptists in Spain. —Prof. Knapp reports
that there were in Madrid, Sept. Ist, two
strict communion Baptist churches, of which
the first, the Lauapies, of which he is pastor,
had 48 members, and the second, the Liber
tad street church, had 42. The latter was
connected with the Plymouth brethren ; “but,
by dint of incessant labors,” he says, “ 1 got
the leaders to see that a consistent course was
to admit to the Lord’s table only those whom
the New Testament recognizes as full Chris
tians.” He says it would be easy to increase
the number in his own ohuroh to 100, if he
had a baptistery, with proper facilities for im
mersions. But the river margin is infested
with laundresses, who, with their families aud
friends, set up a derisive howling, mingled
with abusive and obscene language, whenever
a candidate is baptized; and besides, as the
season advances, the water, which comes dowu
from the mountains, is very cold, and the ex
posure reacts upon “ the weak frames of this
degenerate people, not accustomed to.‘divers
ablutions.’”
Lav Preaching. —The Bishop of Glouces
ter and Bristol has decided that lay preaching
cannot be allowed in the Established Church
of England. He forbade a Mr. T. Croome
to fill an appointment of that kind. The
Bishop is Dr. C. J. Ellicott, the well-known
commentator. Does he not see that, in this
matter, the Scriptures are against the. Church ?
More “ Union” Sectarianism. — Our Y.
M. C. A. Monthly is an organ of the Young
Men’s Christian Association of Brooklyn. It
permits itself to sp«ak of a late book ogtuust
the rule of church communion maintained by
the Baptist churches in the following terms :
“ We rejoice that our friend has put it forth.
It falls precisely in the path of the Young
Men’s Christian Association. Their mission
is universal brotherhood in Christ, the Sa
viour of all. We comruesd the book to ail
our Associations. The writer adds strength
to their light.” If the publishing of a gross
libel on the Baptists, and an open assault on
their distinctive principles, “ falls precisely
in the path of the Young Men’s Christian As
sociation,” there are some thousands of Bap
tist young men who will know whither their
path tends. — Ex. and Chron.
Efficacy cr Forms. —Rev. Henry Ward
Beecher has recently declared that he is will
ing to baptize a person fifty times if the repe
tition of the ceremony will do tho subject any
good. The offer is practically a very inno
cent one, because the repetition being of no
advantage, will not be attempted; but the
offer, in its association, has an air of flippancy
which does not commend it to our sense of
propriety. Commenting on this remark, tho
German Reformed Messenger tells of an old
lady who followed up an Episcopal bishop as
he travelled on errands of confirmation
through his diocese, and who was confirmed
several times before she was detected. She
wished the ordinance repeated, because she
had understood it was “good for the rheuma
tism.” With all her folly, was she not wiser
than those who look to outward forms for the
healing of diseased souls ?
The Bread after many Days. —The Bap
tist mission to the Teloogoos in Southern In
dia was for many years so unfruitful that it
was often seriously proposed to abandon it.
It has now beoome one of the most prosper
ous mission fields. During the last year,
more than 600 natives were baptized, and
more than 800 villages were visited by one
of the missionaries and his assistants, who
preached the gospel to the heathen.
Affectation. —“For the pronunciation i (her
and ni-ther, with the i long, which is some
times heard, there 19 no authority, either of
analogy, or of the best speakers. It is an af
fectation, and in this country a copy of a
second-rate British affectation. Persons of
the best education, and the highest social po
tion, in England, generally say eether and
neether.” We commend this statement of
Richard Grant White, in “ Words and their
Uses,” to that large class of Episcopal digni
taries and divines, who are guilty of this nffec
tation in the morning and evening service of
the liturgy.
Not Wholly Useless. —The Protestant
churches in Bombay are infested with musqui
toes, while the “Catholic” churches are quite
devoid of them. In the former, the ugly and
irreverent punkahs used to keep the air in
motion, are quite insufficient to drive away
the musquitoes; while in the latter the burn
ing of frankinoense subserves comfort as well
ns devotion.
“Going.” —With the close of the present
volume the Millennial Harbinger will be sus
pended indefinitely. It has been for 41 years
the leading advooate of the theological excog
itations of Alexander Campbell. Two more
numbers and the Harbinger will be numbered
with the things that “ were.”— West. Sec.
Mary more than Christ. —A fair is now
being held in Washington, mainly under
“Catholio” influences. Pictures of the Saviour
are raffled for a dollar a ticket; but no raf
fling about the Virgin Mary is permitted,
she being too holy for such traffic.
True Learning. —lt i9 not a bad remark
of Helvetius, though a bad man, that in our
day the secret of being learned is heroically
to determine to be ignorant of many things
in which men take pride.-r-2?r. J, W. Alex
ander.