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CHRISTIAN IMM ..? ®SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
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“As Ye Did it Unto Me.”
Simier, careless, proud and cold,
Straying from the sheltering fold,
Hast t'aou thought how patiently
The Good Shepherd follows thee;
Still with tireless, toiling feet,
Through the tempest and the heat—
Thought upon that yearning breast,
Where He fain would have thee rest,
And of all its tender pain, J ; ; t
While He seeks for thee in vain?
Dost thou know what He must feel,
Making vainly His appeal,
When He knocketh at tby door
Present entrance to implore,
Saying, “Operi unto me,
I ioM comi dud sup initi thee ”
For (led to turn away at last
From the portal shut and fast!
Wilt thou, careless, slumber on,
Even till tby Lord has gone.
Heedless cf His high behest,
Ilia desire to be thy guest?
Sinner, sinner, 'dost thou know
What it is to slight Him so?
Sitting careless by the sea
While He oalleth, “Follow Me ”
Sleeping, thoughtless, unaware
Os His agonising prayer,
While tby sins His soul o’erpower
And thou canst not watoh one hour?
Our infirmities He bore.
And our mortal form He wore;
Yea, onr Lord was made to be
Hero in all things like as we;
And, that pardon we might win,
Ho, the sinless, bore our sin I
Sinner, though Ho comes no more
Faint ami fasting to thy door,
His disciples here instead
Thou canst give the cup aud tread.
If His lambs trf.oi dost uui feed,
Ho it is that feels their seed;
Uu that suffers their distress,
Hunger, ~t hir'd »nd weariness;
Ho that, loving them, again
lieareth nil their bitter pain I
(Janst thou then so reckless prove,
Canst thou, darost thou slight His love.
Do not, sinner, for thy sake
Make llim still the cross to take,
And ascend again for thee
Dark and dreadful Calvary I
Do not set Hie crown of pain
On that sacred head again;
Open all afresh and wide
Closed wounds in hands and side.
Do not, do not scorn His name,
Putting Him to open shame!
— Pha.l* Cary.
The Tour of Pindom,—and What I Saw by
the Way.—No. I.
When one says he made the tour of Eu
rope, every body understands him ; but when
1 speak of the Tour of Pindom, I must ex
plain. Pindom is the region inhabited by
the Pins, and the Pins are those Indians who
went North in the late war, and derived that
appellation from a peculiar method of wear
ing a pin iu their coats, which was a secret
sign to the initiated that they belonged to
a secret, oath bound Abolition society, or
ganized before the war by a Northern mis
sionary. These Pins answered to the South
ern Ku Klux Klan, so called, and gave name
to all who went North, whether members or
not; and it is but just to say, that those I
visited were Creeks who went North, but
who never joined that secret organization.
With this explanation I will proceed. I was
slow in making them a visit, though they had
twice invited me; for all my impulses con
spired tOjdrive me South in “ the late un
pleasantness,” and the burning ardor of my
nature made mo a zealous ‘‘ l eoel ; Besides, I
had to pass the houses of some whom I had,
with others, taken prisoners ; and the old tra
ditions of our fathers about Indian revenge
well nigh overcame my judgment that had
been corrected by a long residence among
them. The distance from home was ninety
miles; and, as I intended visiting from house
to house all my ante helium friends by the
way, I left homo with the determination to be
absent a week or more. You who live in the
midst of a refined and Christianized civiliza
tion, where you have a ready access to syin
pathizing friends, and physicians when neees
sary, can hardly enter into the feelings of a
husband and parent on leaving his family
under the circumstances that attend mission
aries to the Indians. llow we need the pre
vailing prayers ol those who sustain us!
llow we need a faith in God that never stag
gers ! llow necessary that we commit our
ways to Him who directs our paths!
1 know the importance of a tourist to him
self is so very great, and what he sees is so
important in his own eyes, that he looks upon
it as absolutely necessary that thß public
should be informed of every particular cir
cumstance relating to himself, and whatever
gave him pleasure or pain by the wayside. I
am too old to conform in every particular to
that modern custom of newspaper writers
that is regulated by steam and lightning ; but
1 will be as brief as the nature of my compo
sition will allow, and as unselfish as will be
consistent w ith my natural self esteem, while
1, first of all, describe—
What I Saw by the Way.
The trail 1 travelled had been as familiar
to mo for fifteen years before the war, as your
path to the spring is to you ; but after it be
came a “ war path,'’ and during the years of
my sojourn as a refugee in Texas, I never
travelled it. What sad changes since last I
rode along that lonely trail that took me by
the battle field of Honey Spring! But, kind
reader, 1 will not make you sad by there'
hearsal, for I was not sad nor lonely. When
thinking of family and friends that were gone,
I thought that they had only gone home, and
that 1 would soon follow them, and “find
them all again in that eternal day." How
could I feel sad ? Besides, all nature was
smiling. The prairie was as beautiful as
lovely spring could make it. The grass and
flowers, laughing for joy at the departure of
winter, seemed to greet me gladly, and ap
peared to me as familiar as the faces of loved
ones : 1 knew them all as old acquaintances,
and was proud’to see them. The first thing
1 saw that would compel you to stop and ad
mire for halfan hour or more, was—
The Chimney Mountain.
I could no more pass it without ascending
to its lc.lty summit than you could pass the
house of some dear acquaintance without call
ing. It is a lofty, and almost perpendicular
peak, rising abruptly in the midst of a prairie
that cannot be measured on any side by mor
tal sight. The top of the mountain has an
old crater, as of an extinct volcano, which is
the reason the Indians named it Chimney
mountain; and at its base, and for some dis
tance around, lie ponderous stones, scattered
adhuc illuc, showing that that particular spot
was once in great agony. At once 1 missed
a ouce familiar object. In former trines a
lune hackberry grew upon the crater above,
which served as a guide to travellers, because
it was visible at so great a distance. I ascend
ed the top to see what had become of my old
friend, aud found to my grief that it had been
cut down by some irreverent vandal. Had
I been there, I would have cried in trumpet
tones,
" Woodman , spars that tree /
Brushing the recently formed moss from one
of the largest stones at the very top, I found
the names of loved ones of blessed memory,
that were engraven there with their own
fingers when we lived happily together: Lucy
Ann Buckner—Walter O. Buckner; and
above them was the name of another, who
still “ suffers on his three score years and ten
but I will not write that name here. Blessed
ones, “ sleep on now, and take your rest!”
The last words, of Lucy Ann were, “ My mis
sion has ended , and lam going home." Poor
Walter !—then my only child—the last words
I heard from him were, “/ will die before I
will dig a ditch r&ynd myself." And he died
after every toe from feet froze off. In
bitter December, ’O3, Weau.se he would not
work on Federal fortifications, he was made
to stand in line, with other prisoners of like
mind, until he fell triumphant in death at
Camp Morton. Alas ffr. *iße ! I was the cause
of it; for he inherited my nature, —I impart
ed to him my blood.
Reader, you must excuse this digression,
caused by an outburst of nature on seeing the
names of my first family engraved on the
stones of the Chimney mountain. I have
proceeded only 25 miles on my Tour of Pin
dam, and I must leave you here at this moun
tain until my next article. I know you will
admire the landscape. I will not travel fast
in my articles, supposing that you (as well as
I) are a lover of nature, and that you want to
see the Indian country as it is. I have iqany
things to tell you that you had rather see
than hear of, all about the curiosities of this
country, and -the surpassing beauties of the
Red man’s last burying ground. For this
reason, I will try to give you as life-like
sketches as my blunt pencil can make. 1 love
nature so well as often to lose a familiar trail
while admiring her ; then no wonder if, in
describing her, I sometimes lose the thread
of my discourse. But, if you are in sympa
thy with me, you will always be at home,
and never lost, while in a prairie, admiring
the beauties of all you see. Can you not
exclaim with Horace—
“ O rue, quando ego te adspiclam ,” etc. t
If so, you will be enamored with retirement;
you will love the prairie grass and flowers;
and as the hills and the remote parts of a
prairie present a more vivid green than when
our advances to them have brought the scene
closer to our inspection, so in my descriptions
of these things to you, may
“ Distune* lend enchantment to the view.”
t H. F. Buckner.
Mioco, Greek Nation, April 9 th, 1871.
The End Thereof.
It is an ascertained fact that, in the United
States, fifty thousand, or more, lives are de
stroyed annually through the use of iiquor.
Realize, if we can, how. great the number.
The most populous city in Georgia contains
less than thirty thousand inhabitants—but
little more than half the number annually
destroyed by intemperance. Were this de
struction, then, confined to that city, its en
tire population would be swept away twice
in a year’s time! The present population of
the State of Georgia would, at the same rate,
perish in twenty years! Is not this appalling 1 *
And yet it is true.
Surely there is death in the wine cup and
the punch-bowl. There was truth, as well as
wit, in the statement of the freight agent,
when delivering a pipe of liquor, that “ a
grave stone had come with it.” The rule of
; ‘ the fitness of things ” would seem to re
quire that the furnisher of liquor should also
provide the mark of his finished work. The
principal difficulty, however, in combining
these two trades, would be, that so many
who die from intemperance, are too impov
erished to afford a stone to mark their rest
ing place. i 1 >»r, says the Word of God,
“The drunkard and the glutton shall corne to
poveity.”
“ Wine is a mocker” indeed. It promises
strength and life, but gives weakness and
death. “Strong drink is raging.” It takes
hold of the vitals and ceases not its raging
until life is extinguished. lie who goes after
strong drink seeks death.
llow solemn to stand over the grave of
the victim of intemperance, and to remember
that inspiration hath declared that no drunk
ard shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.
B. W. I.
Forbidding to Marry.”—l Tim. iv: 3.
Not long since, the Roman Catholics fin
ished a church in Selma. Bishop Quinlan
came from Mobile to “consecrate it.” In
the afternoon he was to preach. Many of
our people attended the services; a number,
however, only in the afternoon, when there
were no services elsewhere.
The Bishop complained of indisposition,
and a priest discoursed in his place. With
some levity of manner he said, (so my in
formant states,) “ What shall 1 talk about?
I believe l will preach upon the celibacy of
the clergy.” Being somewhat of a wag, he
entertained his intelligent audience by ridi
ouling the idea of Peter dragging about “ Mrs.
Peter and the children,” or of Mrs. Paul
breaking in upon him when in a fit of inspira
tion.
Some girls belonging to my Sunday school
were reporting to me. 1 saw at once that
they did not seem to know any better than
that the apostles were unmarried men. I
asked them, “ Didn’t you know better than
that?” They hesitated. Said 1, “ Have you
been so long to Sunday school, and never
read ‘ Peter’s wife’s mother lay sick of a
fever,’ and that Jesus healed her, and she
arose and ministered to them 1” (Perhaps 1
had better say, this account is found Mark i:
30; Mat. viii: 14. Everybody has not,
though he ought to have, a concordance.)
'• Oh ! yes,” cried the little girls. Said 1,
“ Have you never read, ‘ Have we (Paul and
Barnabas) not power to lead about a sister, a
wife, as well as other apostles, (original the
other apostles,) and as the brethren of the
Lord, and Cephas?”’ They knew nothing of
this passage. Repeating the story 1 have
here written to some mature brethren, they
did not know of this latter passage.
A vehement priest I once heard declaiming
on a favorite topic, the ignorance of Protest
ants, exclaimed, as he finished up his tirade
of presumptuous misrepresentations, “ Er
rath in Scripturam nescienles Scripturas, says
St. Augustine Yo'u err in the Scriptures not
knowing the Scriptures. If Protestants know
not the Scriptures, how much less Catholics?
How is it that Protestants, sometimes Bap-,
tists, will persist in sending their sons and
daughters to Catholic schools, when they
ought to know that the above instance of dis
ingenuousness is only a common specimen ?
That the priests of that church rarely hesitate
to distort history when the exigencies of the
argument demand it ? I once heard a gray -
headed priest maintain that the Catholic
church had never persecuted. I was strongly
tempted to cry out, Slruges Huguenotorum,
the inscription on a medal specially struck at
Rome to commemorate the massacre of St.
Bartholomew.
Why is it that these same Protestants are
vehement that Catholic schools are more
thorough than Protestant ? They are among
the best classical schools, but inferior, for the
most part, in other respects, —partial, one
sided to the last degree. The text books are
uniformly edited by priests. The bonks for
historical reference are almost invariably the
works of Catholic historians, —so I have un
derstood. I once paid a visit to the College
at Spring Hill, near Mobile. The President
treated me with great politeness. I and rny
friend were put into the hands of a bland
American priest, and shown round. I de
FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, MAY 4, 1871.
sired, as we were coming out of the main
building, to see the library ; but our Cicerone
said, “ It is an insignificant collection as yet.”
1 wished to see the character of the books,
and suspected he did not care that I should.
The restraints imprisonment —to which
young ladies in convents are subjected, would
not be tolerated if attempted by their own
denominations, on the part of these deluded
Protestant patrons of Romanism. The in
fluences brought to bear on girls are never
removed. E. B. Teague.
En Hudati.
The Greek preposition en, always used with
the dative, occurs nine times in the 3rd ch.
Matthew, in which the disputed passage upon
baptism is one of the nine examples. Upon
this passage, however, all the controversy
falls, as to whether en means in, or with, in
its connection with hudati in the dative case.
But all of these examples are precisely
similar in their construction and in their use
of the local dative with tba local preposition
en, which, when used even in its secondary,
instrumental sense, implies local relation with
the dative of a thing. The dative is primarily
and* eminently the “ where case," and en is
likewise the where preposition. Let us cite
each passage:
1. In ver. 1 we have en de tais hlmerais
ekeinais, “ in those days came John the Bap
tist,” etc. Here era with the dative expresses
the time in which John’s coming took place
—the local relation being transferred to time,
2. In the same ver., “ preaching (e/i te er&mo)
in the wilderness,” shows the use of the local
en with the local dative to denote the place in
which John’s preaching took place.
3. Likewise in ver. 3, “ The voice of one
crying ( en te erdmo) in the wilderness,” ex
presses precisely the same thing.
4. In ver. 6, kai ebaptizonlo en to JordanS,
“and were baptized (immersed) in the Jor
dan,” etc., exhibits the same construction and
usage by which en with the dative denotes the
river in which John was baptizing.
5. In ver. 9, “Think not to say {en eautois)
within yourselves,” denotes by the use of en
with the dative, the persons in which certain
mental action took place, opposed to John’s
baptism, etc.
0. But hero is ver. 11. “I indeed immerse
you in water— ego men baptizo hutnas en hu
duli. En with the dative here denotes the
element in which John was baptizing.
7. In the same ver., en pneumati hagio kai
puri, “in Holy Spirit and lire,” the dative
with en is used similarly todenote figuratively
or spiritually the elements in which Christ was
to baptize.
En te cheiri in ver. 12, translated “in his
hand/’ and en ho, “in whom,” in ver. 17,
show the use of en with the dative to express
local relation, etc , in connection with a neuter
or passive verb.
In the seven cases enumerated, en is used
with the dative connected with active verbs.
Now, we have the same right to use the in
strumental en with the instrumental dative
in the one case as the other—especially if
baptizo means immersion. In that event it
would be impossible to translate en, “ with,"
or en hudati, “ with water,”
But let us see what would be the effect of
such a usage. We could not say John caine
with those days, preached with the wilderness,
they were baptized mfA.the Jordan, etc.
Neither of these things is wieldy enough to
employ instrumentally, But it may be said
that witter coulu be thus used. According to
the best lexicographers and grammarians,
(see Robinson, Liddell & Scott, Kiihner, etc.)
en is used with the dative of a thing instru
mentally, “ striotly,” only when the object is
conceived of as actually in, or surrounded by
the thing in question ; or at least “ in or in
contact, or in connection with the means.”
Baptizo en hudati, (1 baptize with water) by
dipping in water; en cheiril abein, (to take
with the hand) by taking in the hand ; horas
thai en ophthalmois, (to see with the eyes) by
taking the objects within the eyes, arc several
examples of the usage of en with the dative
denoting means or instrument. En with the
dative of a thing, denoting instrument, etc.,
except in such cases as specified above, can
rarely be found. Perhaps there are several
exceptions to the rule in the whole word of
God. According to this usage, however, the
preposition en means in after all—implies
the same old local relation. If it could be
used thus with regard to baptism, it would
only go to distinguish water baptism from
some other baptism, any way.
But if immersion is baptism here, then the
instrumental dative would not with any pro
priety be employed. On the contrary, it
would be translated, “ 1 immerse you in
water;” “Ho will immerse in Holy Spirit
aud tire.” This is precisely Dr. Lange’s
(Lutheran) translation at this place. So also
Olshausen (Lutheran) gives this meaning.
Neither one of these Pedobaptist scholars
hesitates to give this rendering in accordance
with the usage of the local dative with the
local en, and the invariable meaning of bap
tizo. It is really refreshing to a Baptist to see
the honesty of these two eminent divines, who
are not willing to hazard their honesty and
their scholarship to bolster up their creed.
See their commentaries. G. A. L.
Dalton, .Apr 22, 1871.
Speech, Writing.
The power of speech, like the rain from
heaven, the light of the sun, the air we boatho
and the water we drink, is a gift so common,
so universally bestowed, that we do not ap
preciate its worth. That we are so constituted
that the thoughts which exist in our minds
may be made known to others, is a matter
but little regarded. What if man could think,
but could not give to others the results of his
reflections ?
Man is a social being, and much of his hap
piness consists in the enjoyment of the so
ciety of his friends, and much of that enjoy
ment is based on the power of expressing his
thoughts. It is true that men have lived, for
purposes of trade, in exile, from country and
from friends, and have spoken of enjoyment;
but these have not been denied the power of
intercourse with the human race. An ancient
philosopher is said to have observed, that
“ were a man to be carried up into heaven
and the beauties of universal nature be dis
played to his view, be would receive but lit
tle pleasure from the wonderful sconce, if
there were none to whom he might relate the
glories he had beheld.” Without words,
“ Good sense witl stagnate, thoughts shut up want air,
And spoil like bales unopened to the sun.
Had thought been all, sweet speech had been denied.”
‘‘.Speech ventilates our intellectual fire,
Speech burnishes our mental magazine,
Brightens fur ornanent and whets for use ”
Closely connected with this subject is the
art of writing. While there has been a
difference of opinion on the question, whether
language is an invention or a direct gift from
heaven, there is no division of opiuion on
this question with regard to writing. None
believe that this was directly handed down to
man, but all believe it to be a human inven
tion.
We extol the gift of reason; ’tis this by
which we compare the present with the past,
—by which we survey the whole course of
our existence and make the necessary provi
sion for our well being; ’tis this which, most
of all gifts, distinguishes man from the brute
creation and allies him to his God. By means
of this faculty, man taofen a benefactor to his
race; but what wouKhfp the results of his
reason avail, if they we|e confined to his own
bosom? Franklin, for%xaunple, might have
made his lightning tfet&but none could have
conjectured its use, unless it was in some man
ner communicated to omers. The knowledge
of the peculiar propertiw of the loadstone and
the invention of the manner s compass, with
out the gift of speeCh-oi the art of writing,
would have answered valuable end, except
to the one that discovered the properties of
the former and practically applied it to the
latter. Knowledge and an invention
like this would never have been useful to the
mariner, whose
“ home is on the mountain wave,”
whose
“inarch is on ’ >e deep.”
What an amount is an able writer
capable of using! Coi.fii e.l not to the period
in which he lives, the Sftfkienee of his writings
in which he has cast
“thoughts that breatb&a 'd words that burn,”
may be Iclt centuries %or he is laid in the
grave. He is ftbfe to.Jp>-As a classic writer,
“ 1 have erected a mu 'Hment more lasting
than brass, more lofty titan the princely site
of the. pyramids, which neither the destroying
shower, nor the furious *ind, nor an innumer
able series of years, * flight of time is
able to destroy.”
The most pernicious works of Bolingbroke
were not published after his death.
Thus can writers, by maarfsof their published
works, accomplish mart/cven when they have
ceased to live, than they are able to accom
plish during the longest dife. The man that
has influence in the übq of his pen should
tremble at the thought his responsibility.
“ Side by side, till the judgment, day, will run
the ‘Age of Reason’ ahtf the ‘Dairyman’s
Daughter/ the one peopUng hell with its vie
tims, the other, heavepMilh the saved.”
The apostle Paul saiMff Abel, “ he being
dead yet speaketh.” ISSIs is true of those
who have exercised for evil as well
as of those who have ejrircised influence for
good. The apostle said of those who
die in the Lord, “ their yfcgrks do follow them.”
The influence of of our writings
and of our acts will foßdw us, whether those
words, those writiugs acts are good
or bad. “No man liveth to himself,” is, in
one sense, as true of the ftsie who least reflects
on its meaning, as it is of the one who endeav
ors to live for God. '4|igßr. VV. Whilden.
Marshailoille, Oa.
Rock of Ages.
Oh, Rock of Ages l since on Thee
liy grace my feet are planted,
’f is mine in tranquil faith to see
The rising storm undaunted;
When angry billows rosfid me rare.
And tempests fierce as-nil me,
To Thee I cling, the tenors brave,
For Thou canst nerer-7.il me.
Though rends the globe with earthquake shock,
Uumored Thou stand’st Eternal Rock I
Within Thy clefts I lore to hide,
When darkness o’er iw« closes ;
There peace and light soOme abide,
And my stilled heart ieposes:
My soul exults to dwell Fcure,
Thy strong munitions round her;
She daTes to count her i*-;uinph sure,
Nor fears lest hell con. and her;
Though tumult startle c rth and sea,
Thou changeless Rock, - ay shake not Thee.
From Thee, oh Rock, ours smitten, flow
Lifo-giriug streams forevor;
And whoso doth their sweetness know,
He henceforth thirsted*, never.
My lips hare touched this crystal tide,
And feel no more retnjfning
The fever that so long s
To Cool, yet felt"“
Ah, wondrous Well-Spring! brimming o’er
With living waters evermore.
On that dread day when they that sleep
Shall hear the trumpet sounding.
And wake to praise, or wake to weep,
The judgment throne surrounding ;
When wrapped in all-derouriug flame,
The solid globe is wasting,
And what at first from nothing came
Is back to nothing basting:
E’en then my soul shall calmly rest,
Oh, Rock of Ages, on Tby breast.
— Dec. Day Palmer, D.D.
Good Templars.
It would, perhaps, be acceptable to your
readers to learn, through the medium of your
excellent journal, something of the nature
and progress of the Order of Good Templars.
This is a recent organization. Comparative- i
ly, but little has been published in your pa
per on the subject.
The occasional allusion, or bare mention of
the institution, gives the reader a very inad
equate idea of its principles and aims, espe
cially if he has had access to no other sources
of information on the subject.
This is a total abstinence society. A pledge
is taken by its members to abstain from in
toxicating liquors as a beverage. It is some
what similar to the Order of the Sons of
Temperance, but quite an improvement upon
that organization. Th’i3 is a secret organiza
tion —that is, its business is transacted in
private meetings. There are also secret pass
words, aud signs of recognition. The secre
sy imparts to it a charm it could not other
wise possess, and this adds to its efficiency.
Ladies are admitted as well as gentlemen.
Boys are received from twelve years and
upwards. There is a general organization
for North America, a Grand Lodge for the
State of Georgia, and for all the States and
Territories, or, at least, provision for it. Sub
ordinate Lodges receive their charters from
the Grand Lodges of the States. The Grand
Lodge of Georgia has its headquarters in
Atlanta. M. J. Cofer, Esq., Atlanta, Ga., is
the Secretary of the Giamd Lodge, to whom
application should be made for charters, books,
etc. The outfit for a subordinate Lodge costs
$lO. The Grand Secretary, or any of the
Deputies, will take pleasure in organizing
Lodges, or giving information on the subject.
The Good Templar's Advocate , an interesting
journal, published in Atlanta, as the organ of
the Grand Lodge, wityjgive ample light upon
the objects of the organization, and the plan
of operations: C. W. Hancock and M; J.
Cofer, editors.
This institution is not political or sectari
an in its character, but affords an ample field
ill which all good men and women may work
for the moral elevation of the human race.
Here the conscientious men of all parties and
Christian men and women of all sects may
dispense their benevolent labors. While the
Christian church ought to be strictly a total
abstinence organization, and entirely above
suspicion as touching the habit of tippling,
many of the churches of Christ, so called, are
refuges for the rum-seller and the bloated in
ebriate. There are many men in Baptist
churches, that spend more money in one year
for this accursed beverage, than they spend
in ten years for the cause of Christ, and the
Baptists do not drink any more than other de
nominations, unless it is because there are
more of them to drink. We trust that the
Baptist denomination, will be aroused upon
the subject of the temperance reform, from
the mountains to the seaboard, until the dire
ful curse shall be removed from every Bap
tist church in our land. The demoralization
of the churches, as well as the people of the
world generally, on the subject of dram
drinking, is really annoying. We hail this
reformation as a G«|-send —as the means of
relief to our suffering countrymen. Do not
all good men and women in our land say,
God speed its progress ?
Many in this vicinity have been praying
for deliverance. W«ll, the Order of Good
Templars has made its advent. Its coming
has been welcomed by the anxious father,
whose sons were taking their first departure
from the line of rectitude. It was welcomed
by the wife, whose tears had often moistened
her pillow, and whose prayers had often gone
up to heaven for her faithless husband and
her wayward boy. The inebriate himself
welcomed the Order, hoping some friendly
hand might bo extended to relieve him—to
raise him up. Well, they have come. On
the first week of March, Vincent Sanford
Lodge No. 72, of Good Templars, was organ
ized in this place, with thirty-nine members.
We have had two meetings since, for the
reception of members, and we now number
seventy-four, embracing a number of the best
men and women of the vicinity. Already
the retail dealers are trembling in their boots,
for the hope of their gains is departing.
Many of them speak of abandoning the call
ing; I .hope they will carry out their resolu
tions before they themselves are beyond re
covery. Many of them are clever men, and
it is a source of astonishment that they are
engaged in the calling. A fact illustrating
the individual benefits of the Order: A mem
ber of the Order, a day or two ago, treated
himself to anew suit costing twenty-four
dollars, stating that he had saved that amount
since ho became a Good Templar. 1 saw a
mother, last Sabbath, full of smiles, and a
wife, a few evenings ago, almost iu ecstaeies
over the fact that her husband had not drunk
any in a week. May the good work go on !
Godspeed it in His might! We hail this
reformation as the precursor of a glorious re
vival of religion.
Our Lodge was named in honor of the late
Vincent Sanford, one of the patriarchs of
Greensboro, than whom a purer Christian
and a more devoted friend of temperance
never lived, “ who, though dead, yet speak
eth.” May his prayers in behalf of this
people meet with abundant answers ! So
mote it be. W. D. Atkinson.
Greensboro, Oa., April, 1871.
The Removal of Mercer University.
The Baptist Convention of the State Geor
gia at its late session at Cartersville, unani
mously approved the action of the Commis
sioners in locating Mercer University iu the
city of Macon.
Thus, the important question of the removal
of the University has been set at rest, as far
as it can be done by the voice of the denom
i nation, as expressed by its representatives in
Convention assembled.
The people of Peufield, who were resisting
removal before the Courts, have agreed to
abandon their suit, upon condition that a
school be established in the town, to be known
as Mercer High School, under the control
and direction of the Board of Trustees of
Mercer University. By this arrangement,
all the difficulties touching removal are to be
amicably adjusted, and the Baptists of Geor
gia to be one in the support of our educa
tional interests.
For so peaceful aud satisfactory a solution
of our difficulties, every Baptist heart should
swell with gratitude to God for this signal
interposition of His hand; and this feeling
of gratitude should be manifested in the most
impressive nianneF.
Every Baptist in Georgia should present
to God a thank-offering, in the shape of a
large contribution to Mercer University. In
removing and settling in Macon, large sums
of money will have to be expended, and every
Baptist shnilld feel speoi.dfy called upon to
aid at this time.
Besides, the Tr ustees of Mercer University
will need money to establish and aid the
High School at Penfield. This money must
be raised the present year, by contribution,
and I propose a plan by which it rnay be
done. The Baptist planters of Georgia can
easily raise one thousand bales of cotton,
without injuring themselves to the smallest
extent, if every one will contribute accord
ing to his ability. One thousand bales of
cotton, weighing, each, five hundred pounds,
would, at present prices, bring $60,000. But
there are some not Baptists, interested in
our educational affairs, who would give cotton
upon the plan proposed.
Let tlie cotton be delivered the first of
November of the present year, from the
growing crop, at the nearest railroad depot,
subject to the order of the Agent or Treasu
rer of Mercer University. To carry out this
plan, I appoint every Baptist pastor in Geor
gia as a sub agent to receive cotton obliga
tions and send them to me at LaGrange, Ga.
Besides, there are brethren who are not
planters who can aid in the work by sending
me cash contributions, or notes payable the
first day of January next.
Brethren, now is the time for a pull all
together. - H. C. Hornady, Agent.
The Index and Baptist.
Index and Baptist ! a name dear to my
heart. It is fast gaining an abiding hold, 1
feel, upon my affections. Like some true
men and women I have occasionally met,
lengthened acquaintance is bringing into view
many of its excellencies which did not at
first'appear, and I now support it from inter
est and real attachment, as well as from du*«
ty. ‘‘Familiarity” does not “beget con
tempt,” but continued converse with it, un
folds its merits, draws me to it with a feeling
akin to that which inclines one to a well tried
and true friend, and presses its claims upon
me.
Several of our Southern (Baptist) institu
tions and enterprises, dear to every true
Southern Baptist heart, appeared, to me, hope
lessly overturned or permanently crippled
by the terrible crash that seemed to bury
everything noble and good beneath the con
fused rubbish of our fallen political edifice.
It has been really gratifying to my sad and
fond feelings, to behold most, if not all of
them, rising with new beauty, worth and en
ergy from the wide waste, and planting them
selves upon the wreck and ashes, as firmly as
upon the everlasting rocks. Sack were the
first impulses of my heart when I read the
announcement that our two denominational
journals of Georgia and Alabama, then ex
tinct, were to be raised from the ruins, “to
live again," —not two, but two'in one; to be
married, I trust, for all time, and settle in
Atlanta. It was the first bright star of hope,
to me, for our dear South and our Baptist
cause. It was a throb of new life, beating in
wheat seems destined to be the great heart of
our lovely South.
But brethren Toon and Shaver will say :
“ If you love the Index and Baptist so much,
and wish so well for it, why do you not 'do
something for it? Why not work for it?”
Well, brethren, I try, but my tongue is cow
ardly, and, perhaps, my heart too; for the
plea of “ hard times,” and “no money,”
silences me at once, and I quite conclude that
I was not designed for an agent. But, reader,
I am a subscriber and a reader , too, of this
deserving paper. If 1 cannot talk with a
slippery and sharp tongue, I will timidly try
the point of my pen, and thus visit your
fireside, unknown and uninvited, it is true,
but none the less welcomed, I trust, than the
dear Index and Baptist itself.
I hope, at another time, to be able to show
why I think the Christian Index and South-
Western Baptist is the best family and re
ligious paper in ail our country, and otight to
be read by every Baptist family . Phi.
Jesus Loves You.
A few years ago I went to the house of
God, one Sabbath morning, partly from habit,
and partly with a vague hope that there I
might find something, I knew not what, to
give me comfort.
A desolated home, scattered friends, fail
ing health, there seemed nothing in life worth
living for, and I would gladly have taken
refuge in the grave. The preacher’s earnest
words fixed my attention :
“ Jesus loves you—every man, woman and
child of you, just as you are and just where
you are ; whether you are a Christian or not,
be assured of this, Jesus loves you /” O, how
the words brought healing to my soul! Je
sus loves me. Then, though other friends
forsake me, He wii 1 still be near. When I
go to my lonely room, He will make it bright
with His presence. At my work on the mar
row, Ho will be by my side. I still have
something to live for—to pleaso Him whoso
loves me in all my unworthiness. My weary
heart began to rest, and, as I sat there during
the remainder of the service, deeper and
deeper grew the rest, and sweeter and more
sweet the peace, and when I left the place, I
was indeed changed.
The crowd jostled me rudely. “Jesus
loves them ” forbade the impatient feelings
too ready to rise; made ine, too, love them,
and seek for them a blessing. In every one
1 met, as I passed through the busy streets to
my abode, I saw one whom Jesus loved.
How could /, then, despise, neglect, or refuse
to love even the most unlovely of them. The
little child of the neighboring lodger, who
often came to rny room for a kiss and story,
found an unwonted tenderness in my caresses
that night, and anew music in my voice, as
I told him of the love of Jesus. With Jesus
in my heart, my fellow-workers and those
under my direction found me more forbear
ing and more faithful; for how could I be
unkind or unfaithful to those whom my Jesus
loved? And ever since, the thought, Jesus
loves them, has checked many unkind words
and hard feelings toward others. Yet some
times my tongue slips its bridle, and I find
myself speaking even against the children of
God. Then comes the sad after thought, I
have wounded my Jesus by thinking and
speaking evil of His loved ones.
I cannot tell another word of that sermon,
yet those few sentences will go with me
through life: “Jesus loves you, every man,
woman and child of you. Whether you are
a or not, just where you are and
just as you are, Jesus loves you."
A Logical Difficulty.
The logical difficulties into which our Pres
byterian and Congregational friends fall when
they undertake to defend “ infant baptism,”
or to explain its meaning and value as a
Christian ordinance, ought to provoke their
pure minds to very serious thought. We
Baptists are always ready with a reason,
drawn from the best of sources, fur the faith
that is in us. Our baptism is a thoroughly
logical ordinance. We find no difficulty what
ever, backed by the plain teaching of the in
spired Word, in explaining and defending our
peculiar view of its nature, aud the proper
subjects of it. The Catholic and the Episco
palian, in like manner, are able, from their
point of view, so to expound the ordinance as
to show some value in its observance, how
ever erroneous that exposition may be. Bap
tism/* with thanj, so.to speak, the out.p"door
to the church, the inner door being confirma
tion. The one follows the other in regular
order, and so far, their “ baptism of regenera
tion” has also a logical meaning. But for
Presbyterian infant baptism it is hard to find
a reason sufficiently cogent to satisfy unpre
judiced minds. Asa matter of fact, there is
in the churches we have named no settled
doctrine in regard to the ordinance, either as
to its nature or its effect.
A distinguished evangelical bishop of the
Episcopal communion once remarked to a
Baptist friend of the writer, that if it were not
for confirmation he should be a Baptist; for,
said he, there is no consistent half- way house
between us and you. “ Infant baptism among
the Presbyterians,” he continued, “always
seems to me very much as if a man should
catch a herd of wild deer out of the woods,
brand them with his name, turn thorn loose
again, and then call them his own !” If the
man used nothing but water to brand them
with, the illustration would be perfect.
Presbyterian and other evangelical Pedo
baptist scholars have had many theories in
regard to this perplexing question, some of
them sufficiently ingenious, not to say start
ling; but scarce any two of them can agree
as to what the ordinance really means. And
they all end in an inconsistency. The great
majority of puzzled owners of “ wild deer,”
however, when hard pressed for a clear state
ment of their views, fall back upon the “seal
of the covenant.” The promise is unto you,
and to your children,” they quote with em
phasis, carefully ignoring the remainder of
the sentence. But even on this mighty rock
they are not safe from the assaults of that
terrible Baptist logic. For, having got the
“ seal of the covenant” upon their children,
they are then obliged to show in what way it
peculiarly benefits them. Somehow or other,
it, unfortunately happens that the children of
Baptist, or in fact any other parents, are pre
cisely as well situated, judging by results, in
regard to the reception of the truth, as the
most carefully “sealed” Presbyterian “ child
of the covenant.” It cannot be shown either
that a larger proportion of “ baptized children
of the church” are converted than of unbap
tized, or that those who have been “ sealed ”
are more easily drawn within the fold. In
what, then, —since conversion, the exercise of
true faith in God, is essential to salvation, —
consists the peculiar value claimed for the
“ seal of the covenant ?”
In fact, if we carefully examine the case,
we shall be compelled to decide that whatever
effect it has—which is, to be sure, not very
much—is altogether the other way. If it in
fluence the mind of the subject of it at all,
after he has come to years of discretion, it
is apt to awaken in him a vague reliance upon
it, as in some sort a pledge of salvation, a
source of security, independent of his own ex
ercise of faith, and the operation of grace in
his heart. It is not asserted that this is now-'
a-days a very wide-spread influence, for the
practice of infant baptism in Presbyterian,
Congregational and Methodist churches'has
fallen into great disuse of late years, so that
a large proportion of the children within their
pale grotv up unbaptized; but such is its nat
ural tendency, whenever practiced, and as
such it constitutes a dangerous perversion of
the teaching of Scripture, against which the
Baptist voice is and must be raised with un
ceasing emphasis. It is one of our strong
points against Pedobaptist perversions.
Consistency absolutely demands either the
admission of baptized children to the church
by confirmation at the proper age, or the
adoption of believers’ baptism only. The
former, with their evangelical views of con
version, our Presbyterian friends, and those
who think with them, cannot accede to ; why
should they hesitate to aocept the logical re
suit of their doctrinal views, and so break
down the “ wall of partition” which now sep
arates them from the consistent Baptists ?
Ex. dk Chron.
{s3 00 A YEAR. I WHOLE NO. 2588.
Come Unto Me.
Art thou weary, art thou languid,
Art tbou sore distrest?
“Come to me,” saith One, “and coming,
Be at rest.”
Hath He marks to lead me to Him,
If He be my guide ?
“In nis feet and bunds are wour.d-prints,
Aud His side.”
Hath He a diudetn as mouarch.
That His brow adorns?
“ Yes, a crown, in very surety,
But of thorns.”
If I ask Him to receive me,
Will He say me nay?
“Not till earth, aud not till heaven
Pass away.”
Finding, following, keeping, struggling,
Is lie sure to bless?
Angela, martyrs, prophets, virgins,
Answer, “Yes!”
— Hymns, Ancient and Modern.
A Prayer.
Jesus, when I fainting lie,
And the world is flitting by,
Hold Thou up mine bead :
When the cry is, “ Tou must die,”
And the dread hour draweth nigh,
Stand by my bed!
Jesus, when the worst is o’er,
And they boar me from the door,
Meet the sorrowing throng:
“ Weep will" let the mourner hear,
Widow’s woo slid orphan's tear
Turn into song.
Jesus, in tho last great day,
Come Thou down und touch my olav,
Speak the word, “Arise!”
Friend to gladsome friend restore
Living, praising evermore,
Above the skies!
—Dean Alford.
Danger of Publio Amusements.
Alypius, a friend of St. Augustine, was
accustomed to hold in the utmost horror and
detestation tho gladiatorial combats, which
were exhibited in the ago in which he lived.
Being invited one day, by his companions, to
be a spectator of these inhuman sports, he
refused to go. They, however, insisted on
his accompanying them, and drew him along
against his will. When they had all taken
their seats, the games commenced. Alypius
shut his eyes, that objects so abominable
might not pollute his mind. “ Would to
God,” said Augustine, “he had also stopped
his ears!” For, having heard a great ory,
he suffered himself to be conquered by his
curiosity, and opened his eyes to see what it
was, imagining that he still retained the power
of shutting them. One of the combatants
was wounded. No sooner did he behold the
purple stream issuing from the body of the
unhappy wretch, than, instead of turning
away his eyes, they were arrested on tho ob
ject, and became intoxicated with those bru
tal combats. lie was no longer the same
man ; he, by degrees, imbibed the sentiments
of the multitude around him, joined in their
shouts and exclamations, and carried away
from the amphitheatre a violent passion for
returning; and not only did he go the second
time with those who had ensnared him, but
he himself enticed others. Yet this man be
gan at first with an abhorrence of such crim
inal amusements, and resolved to take no
part in them ; but sad experience taught him
that the best resolutions are insufficient to
withstand so great temptation, and that tho
only way to escape danger is to keep at a
distance from it.
May our young people learn, by this ex
ample, to. distrust their own courage and
resolution,-and to the entertainments of
tbenstagi} all *
prove as injurious to ihem as these did to
Alypius!
Church-Going.
There was a lady in my congregation yea
terday in the morning, afternoon, and at the
prayer meeting in the evening, aged ninety
seven years. She walked a quarter of a mile
ar.d returned, three times. She is in good
health and retains her faculties, hearing the
preaching distinctly. On being asked if she
had enjoyed the services, she replied “sho
had very much, and sho expected to.” There
is something in expecting to enjoy the servi
ces—to meet God in the sanctuary. We
have in all our congregations, some tender
footed ones who seem hardly able to attend
more thau one service on the Sabbath. Now
perhaps if such would make a little more
sacrifice of convenience and time, and meet
with God’s people even three times on the
Sabbath, they might enjoy mure of His pres
ence in the sanctuary, and show more diss
tinctly during the week the power of the
Sabbath and the grace of the gospel.
Pagans Rebuking Christians. —The peo
ple of Yokahamah, Japan, had a little excite
ment over a proposition to pay for a church
organ by making the organ the capital of a
lottery scheme. But public sentiment re
volted against the idea of serving the inter
est of religion by gambling, and the govern
ment prohibited the enterprise. The Japan
Mail says; “ The easy virtue of the Chris
tian, thus publicly rebuked by the paternal
care of the Pagan Government, is - a slur we
shall not easily forget, and a reprimand by
which we may well be stung.” And there
are thousands of professing Christians, says
the N. Y. Observer, in our country who
merit the same rebuke. They will persist
in the lottery when its gambling character is
perfectly well understood. Women, espe
cially, are unwilling to give up gambling at
church fairs. Yet the Pagans put their re
ligion to shame.
Well Put. —lt seems strange to me now,
that I ever could have been so blind as to
think and talk as many good Christian people
do now about our communion. One of these
blind ones said the other day, “ Don’t you
consider the community table to be the Lord’s
table?” “Certainly,” said I, “we are will
ing to consider it so.” “ Then, what business
have you,” said she, almost indignantly,
“to exclude any of the Lord’s children from
it ?” 1 replied, “Do you not consider your
church the Lord’s church ?” “ Why, yes, cer
tainly we do,” she answered. “ Then, what
business have you to exclude any of the
Lord’s children from it, though they may dif
fer in faith, elo. ?” Suffice it to say this ques
tion remained unanswered, and I left, praying
that God would open her eyes to see the gos
pel truth respecting church fellowship and
communion.— Zion's Advocate.
“The Bleating or the] Sheep.” —Before I
came to London, being at a prayer meeting,
when a very quaint preacher prayed for me,
I did not understand his prayer for a long
time; it was that when 1 got to London I
might be delivered from the “ bleating of the
sheep.” He meant that l must not caro what
people said about me—if some praised me
and others blamed me.— Spurgeon.
Convert-Training. The thrice-repeated
request of the Saviour—“ Feed my sheep;
feed my lambs”- —made to Peter, who was
an eminent revivalist, a son of thunder, shows
plainly that, while Christ regarded it a great
thing to get men to enlist under his banner,
he looked upon it as a far greater thing to
know how to train young converts and make
soldiers of them after they had enlisted. It
requires more wisdom, patience, and tact to
follow the wake of a revival than it does to
precede one.