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CHRISTIAN IMM ..? ®SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST. VOL. 50—NO. 18. is3 00 A YEAR. J A RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY PAPER, ptf BLI3HE3D WEEKLY IN ATLANTA, OA AT $3.00 PER ANNUM, Invariably in Advance. r. .r. XOON", Proprietor. “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.