Newspaper Page Text
188
.Jot the fihiltai.
A True Story.
Dear Children, —l suppose you have seen
a great many kind of houses —city houses, sev
eral stories high, farm houses, villas, cotta'
ges, &o. —houses built of brick, stone, wood,
or iron; but I don’t think you ever saw just
such a house as 1 am going to tell you about.
The walls were built of loose stones, piled
up together, and plastered over with mud.
There was one window. How many panes of
of glass were in it ? Notone. All broken? No
there never had been a paDe of glass in that
window. It was a square opening, with bars
of wood fixed in it, and paper pasted over them.
The floor of the house was simply the bare
ground. The roof, so low you could easily
reach it by raising your hand, was made of
straw, and, when new, had served to keep out
the rain; but it was old and leaking now.
Drip, drip, drip, came the water, forming
puddles on the mud floor. No cupboard,
chair or table was to be seen. A bedstead,
made of mud-cakes, once dried in the sun,
but now often wet from the soaking rain, a
ragged piece of matting, laid on this bedstead,
and three or four unglazed earthern bowls com
prised the furniture. But why tell you of this
house in particular, when there are thousands
just such miserable hovels in this country ?
I tell you of the house because there was
something in it so precious. Was it gold or
diamonds buried away under that mud floor ?
No; there was something far more precious
than gold or diamonds. There lived a little
lame boy, whom Jesus loved ; a boy whose
soul was so precious that the Son of God
had died to save it; and yet this boy, although
qver fourteen years of age, had never heard
He did not know there was a God
of love.
Oh! children of Christian parents, how
different is your lot from that of the children
of the heathen. From your babyhood, your
parents have taught you of God, our loving
Father, of Jesus, who died to save ns, and it
is the love of God which makes them tender,
loving parents. How they deny themselves to
give you pleasure. How they nurse you in
sickness, and pray for your recovery. How
it makes their hearts ache to see you suffer,
and how willingly they would bear your
sickness and pain, if, by doing so, they could
relieve you.
But heathen mothers cannot teach their lit
tle one of the true God. They bow before
hiddeous looking images, and call them gods,
and this worship, far from causing them to
love their children as Christian parents do,
only hardens their hearts and often makes
them very cruel. I have heard them say to
their poor, sick, suffering children: “ You
only make trouble for me; if you can’t make
haste and get well, why don’t you die ?”
This little boy, whom Jesus loved, and
who afterwards learned to love Jesus, was
named Wong Joe Ki g. His father was
dead, and his mother had married again,
leaving him with his grandmother. After a
while, his grandmother died, and then, I sup
pose you think, he went to live with his
mother. No; he was lame, and that which
would have made Christian parents love him
more tenderly, was considered by his heathen
parents a good reason why they should shut
him out from their hearts and home. So
poor little Joe King was left to suffer cold
and hunger, while his mother and stepfather
had a plenty. He wandered about from
street to street begging bread, and lay on his
l\ar<i bed, without cover, at night.
But now he was sick, moaning with pain
and fever. There was no kind hand even to offer
him the much longed-for cup of water, and
still his mother did not come. His burning
brow was not to feel the gentle pressure cf a
mother’s hand, nor was he cheered through
the long weary days and nights by the music
of a mother’s voice. Poor child of heathen
parents !
Joe King lived in the miserable hovel I
have described, with two or three other beg
gars, who left him alone when they went out
in the streets to beg; but, one day, they came
in and found him so much worse they thought
he would surely die. These beggars v/ere
heathen, and, in their daik superstition, they
feared not to do a cruel deed; they only
feftred some undefined evil, if the boy should
die there. So they drove him out of the
hovel, which, wretched a3 it was, had given
him some shelter from the sun and rain, and
was his only home. What was he to do
now ? Ah ! God was leading him by a way
he knew not, was watching over him with lov
ing care, though he felt so uncared for. Once,
when begging on the street, he had seen two
ladies of fairer complexion than his own coun
trywomen, and of different dress. They stop
ped and spoke kindly to him, and told him
where they lived, and he remembered he had
never begged in vain at their doors. Perhaps
they would help him now; yet they lived a
long way off, and how was he to get there,
weak and ill as he was ? Still it was his only
hope; he must try. So, limping and resting
by turns, he at last reached the house of the
lady who lived the nearer, and, lying at her
gate, he told his pitiful story. Thank God,
it was not to heathen hearts his appeal was
made. The ladies knew how Jesus had heal
ed the sick and lame. They could not per
form miracles as he did, but they wished to
follow his example, and do what they could;
go they took the poor boy in, gave him food
and medicine, and cared for all his wants.
After the fever had left him, while still
too weak to go out, he would listen to what
was told him of the true God, and he soon
learned that the images, which he had sup
posed were powerful gods, were false, and
could neither protect or injure him ; that he
should neither pray to them nor fear - them,
for it was wrong to pray to any but the true
God.
When Joe King was quite well of the
fever, and strong enough to go about again,
he was still lame. He had always limped
around with a rough stick, which hurt his
band; and, after all. was but a poor help to
him in walking. Now he found himself in
possession of » pair of crutches, with the
arms softty padded, and his sweet face brigh
tened as he used them the first time, and
found walking so much easier work. The
next winter, little Joe King did not sleep
without cover, and he always had some one
to take care of him when he was sick. There
was, also, a room rented for him, from which
no one could turn him out. He did not live
at the missionary’s house, at first, for this
was during the war, and the missionaries had
small houses and no money to keep boarding
schools ; but, after a while, more money
came from America, and they were able to
get larger houses, with enough room for
schools.
Little Joe King had been so good and atten
tive, coming every Sunday to say his cate
chish, and read in “ Peep of Day,” which had
been translated into his language, that one of
the ladies took him into her school, and the
other gave money for his clothes; and so he
was no longer the “ lame beggar,” but “ our
little lame boy.” Soon he learned to read
the Bible and sing hymns ; but, better than
all, he gave his heart to the Saviour, and then
he knew whatever he might be called on to
suffer, there was one Friend who would be
always with him. Could you have seen his
sweet, trustful face, as he walked along-on
his crutches, singing, “Jesus, refuge of -my
soul,” you would have been glad that you
ever gave money to send the gospel to China,
and you would have felt that God had an
swered your prayers for heathen children;
tor Wong Joe King, once a little heathen,
was now one of those “little ones” which
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN RAPTIST: ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, NOYEMRER 30,1871.
believe in Jesus. Now that he knew those
senseless images were false, he wanted his
mother to know it, too; so be went to see ]
her, to tell her of the true God, but she 1
would not listen, and when he attempted to c
tell her how happy he was since he felt his
sins forgiven, she thought the missionaries ]
had enchanted him in some way, and for
some evil purpose, she knew not what. i
Joe King had better health for about two
years after he entered school, but he was
never so strong as the other boys, and, from
the time he was eighteen, we knew that God
would call him early. For nearly two years,
he was rarely free from pain, and, at last, he
became so ill that the doctor told us that it
was impossible to do anything more than
soothe his way to the grave. But that was
only for his poor, suffering body. His spirit
was goiDg to join the white-robed throng,
who “came out of great tribulation.” He
knew now that Jesus loved him, and he did
not fear to die. His mother came to see him
a few times, always seeming to be afraid
something might happen to make her a Chris
tian, before she could get safely away.
Word was now sent to her that her son
was near unto death. She came, and seeing
his intense suffering, at last some natural
feeling found expression. She said : “ I’m
troubled for you, my child.” He looked at her
very sadly, and said : “ Mother I’m troubled
for you.” In surprise she asked him why.
“ ’Tis your soul I’rn troubled for, mother.
My sufferings will soon be over, and I shall
go to my saviour; but what will you do,
who have no Saviour?” She did not answer,
but soon left him. She came once more, but
he could not speak. Poor woman! she is
indeed the one to be pitied. She little knows
what she loses in refusing to listen to the
offer of salvation.
Little Joe King had passed a life of suffer
ing, but the “ sting of death” was taken away.
For some hours he was free from pain, and
then, calmly as a child on its mother’s bosom,
he fell asleep in Jesus. His body was borne
to the grave by Chinese Christians, and we
buried him, the first in our little graveyard,
in the sure hope that he will have part in the
first resurrection. He died at twenty, but
we always called him little , and I think it was
because we loved him.— Mrs. Holmes, South
ern Baptist Missionary, Tungchau , China, in
Religious Herald.
What?
Oh 1 what can little hands do
To please the King of heaven ?
The little bauds some work may try
To help the poor in misery.
Such grace to mine be given I
Oh 1 what can little lips do
To please the King of heaven ?
The little lips can praise and pray.
And gentle words of kindness say.
Such graoe to mine be given!
Oh ! what can little eyes do
To please the King of heaven ?
The little eyes can upward look,
Can learn to read God’s holy book.
Such grace to miue be given I
Oh! what can little hearts do
To please the King of heaven ?
The hearts, if God His Spirit send,
Can love and trust their Saviour, Friend.
Such grace to mine be given!
Though small in all that we can do
To please the King of heaven,
When hearts, and hands, and lips unite
To serve the Saviour with delight,
They are most precious in His sight.
Such grace to miue be given 1
~ Australian Evangelist.
An Escape.
Francis lived in a town in England, on the
edge of a great wood. One particular Satur
day in summer he went to the wood with »
basket, which he promised his little sister
Mary to bring back full of wild strawberries.
When the basket was full, and he had
eaten a few strawberries himself, he took out
a story book and began to read. The story
amused him so much, that he never noticed
that the clouds had gathered over the blue
sky till two or three great drops of rain fell
on his hand. Then he jumped up, and thrust
ing the book into his pocket, ran as hard as
he could toward home.
The rain fell heavily, and soon there came
peals of thunder, which seemed to be just
over the boy’s head. A good deal frightened,
he crept to an old hollow oak, and squeezed
himself inside. Once there, he thought he
would wait till the storm ceased ; and so he
made himself as 'comfortable as he could
in the narrow hollow.
He had been there hardly five minutes,
when he heard his name called :
“ Francis, Francis ! come—come here—
quick!”
In a moment he sprang out from his shel
ter, and set off in the direction from which the
voice came. He had only gone a few steps,
when there came a louder clap of thunder, a
more dazllng flash of lightning, followed by
a crack just behind him. Much terrified, he
looked back, and saw the oak all blackened,
and split, and no trace of the basket, which
he now remembered he bad left hanging on a
twig.
“ What would have become of me if I
had staid there ?” thought he hurrying on.
At the turning of the wood he saw a wo
man at the door of a cottage beckoning to
him.”
“Come in out of the rain,” said she ; “and
now tell me who you are.”
“Why you know,” said the boy as he
dried himself by the fire; “you called me
just now.”
“ No,” she answered, “it wasn’t you I
called, but my own boy ; and here he comes.”
Francis told her his story, and the danger
from which her call had saved him.
“You should thank God with all your heart,”
said the good woman, as he ended the story,
for it wasn’t a chance that made me call your
name just then, but God’s mercy to you.
Don’t forget that.”
“No, indeed,” said Francis. “I hadn’t
thought of that.”
He walked quietly home when the rain
stopped, thinking more gravely than ever he
had thought belore over all that had happened
that afternoon.
When he get home, his mother and sister
were watching for him.
“ What did you do in the stora*, Francis ?”
said his mother.
“ Where’s the basket?” said little Mary.
When he told them all that had happened
to him, Mary forgot the basket, and his
mother could hardly speak for crying. At
last she said :
“ Francis, the woman was right. We must
thank God with our whole hearts. And, my
boy, there is another thing I should like you
to think of. When, you grow up and go into
the world there will be many storms ; your
duty often lie in the midst of them, and you
will often be teropted to stand by the shelter,
leave your duty undone; do you remember
this storm then. If you had not obeyed the
woman’s call, and run out of shelter in obe
dience to it, what would have become of
you? So you will find, when your duty
calls you, though it seems to be straight out into
the storm, that only in obeying the call will
you be safe.
The words were said at the right moment,
and Francis never forgot them ; but often
and often, as he grew older, they would
come back to him in moments of difficulty,
and he would say to himself:
“ Where God calls me it must be safe to
go.”
Francis is a man now. He has worked
hard and is a rich as well as a good man, and
would tell you that the great help of his life has
been those Words of his mother. In his room
hangs a cross, charred in parts. His mother
had it made for him from the splintered oak
tree.— Merry's Museum.
“Not as liHrStniated.”
“Do you find yourse!f%biding in Jesus m
your daily life?” asked Mrs. Weston of M®
Eaton. Both were members of the same
church.
“ No,” was the reply, “can’t say I have His
presence as I desire,”
“ I wish we might both live nearer to Him;
as Payson says, ‘ in the ciCfcle nearest the sun,
where we may be ever in the light and
warmth.’ ”
“ 1 don’t think it possible for me to live
aright where I am now,” persisted Miss
Eaton. “My position is very unfavorable to
growth in grace, and I feel that 1 can’t have
that nearness you speak of; not as lam situ
ated.
“ Do you mean to let your circumstances
prevent you from ever being nearer to God?”
“Oh no, I hope not! I have prayed a great
deal that God would put me where 1 can
servo Him better. I can't do much as I am
situated.”
Mrs. Weston was the youthful mother of
two babies; and with one of these in her
arms, and the other clinging to her skirts,
she did her household work unaided, in addi
tion to many other duties. Miss Eaton was
quite free from the overburdening cares which
crowded the path of our young housekeeper,
who had sometimes thought, “If I had only
sister Eaton’s leisure for meditatioft and
prayer, and'her opportunity to attend public
means of grace, how much nearer I might
live to my Saviour.” The above answers to
her questions started her thoughts in the right
direction, and she answered :
“ I have sometimes felt I could not live so
near to Christ amid my cares, but, after all,
I think it must he that our growth in grace
should, and may, go on favorably in any cir
cumstances in which our Lord sees fit to
place us. Some of the loveliest Christians
1 know are in positions which seem most un
favorable to piety; and all history tells us
that the most devoted and successful soldiers
of the cross have been so in opposition to
circumstances.
After this, when Mrs. Weston found no
time to read, she would put her Testament in
her pocket that she might catch a verse or
two while she tended her baby, and think the
passage over to edification while she washed
the dishes or cooked the dinner. Then feel
ing the need of more seasons of secret pray
er she could command away from her
little ones, the Citlled to mind that she could
kneel in their presence, thus teaching them
most effectually the nature of prayer. She
never again turned her knocking Saviour from
her door with the excuse, “ Not as I am situ
ated.”
Miss Eaton’s circumstances did not change,
and she continued languidly to lament that
her religious life was rendered so fruitless by
her unspiritual surroundings. Her prayer
for anew situation was never granted, for
one day she suddenly sickened, and the next
day died, upon the very bed the position of
which had been one of her greatest hindrances
to divine life; the other bed in the same
room being occupied by an irreligious room
mate. It was a mercy that in her dying hour
she found voice to cry to Jesus to meet her
even there.
How many say, “Not as I am situated,”
waiting and sighing for favorable gales to
waft the soul heavenward, forgetful that
earth’s winds are all contrary to the heaven
bound bark, which, if it ever comes into port,
must do so in spite of them.
Bunyan sends his pilgrim rushing with
stopped ears, in defiance of hindrances, to the
wicket gate, and thence onward, fighting his
upward way. Os the white-robed throng,
seen in “ vision bright,” the angel said :
“ These are they which cams out of great
tribulation. —Herbert Newbury , in Cong.
To-Morrow.
At a public meeting, a few days since, a
minister related a circumstance connected
with a young lady of his congregation, which,
it seems to us should be a warning to others.
Having heard that this person was danger
ously ill, and knowing her not to be prepared
for death, he resolved to visit her. He ac
cordingly called at the house, but she posi
tively refused to see him, or any one who
would speak on the subject of religion. Her
mother was from home at the time, and he
saw none of the family. However, feeling
the weight of her soul upon his mind, he de
termined to return the following day. The
mother received him kindly, and said she
would speak with her daughter, and if pos
sible, gain for him an entrauce into the cham
ber of sickness. But no argument prevailed
with the invalid, and the disheartened minis
ter was obliged again to leave the house, feel
ing that one within its walls was fast hasten
ing to the verge of life, and towards an awful
precipice, and yet he was not permitted to
point her to the Savior. In the stiilnes of
the night, however, she called her mother to
her bedside, and said, “It was kind in Mr.
to take such an interest in me, and 1 have
scarcely treated him well. Perhaps I will
see him to-morrow.”
“ Perhaps I will see him tomorrow repeated
the minister, and added, “ Days and nights
have passed since then, but not for a moment
these words left me, nor do I think they will
till the day of my death; for on the morrow
those eyes were closed, never more to look
on an earthly object!”
Would that these dying words might never
cease sounding in the ears of those who read
this, who are delaying to seek their soul’s
salvation! Jesus does not say to-morrov),
but “to day if ye will hear his voice,” etc.
“ Now is the accepted time, noiv is the day
of salvation.” To-day, Christ will be your
Intercessor, to-morrow he may be your Judge.
— Mac. and Rec.
Kindness Rewarded.
When Agrippa was in a private station he
was accused, by one of his servants, of hav
ing spoken injuriously of Tiberius, and was
condemned by that emperor to be exposed in
chains before the palace gate. The weather
was very hot, and Agrippa became exces
sively thirsty. Seeing Thaurnastus, a ser
vant of Caligula, pass by him with a pitcher
of water, he called to him, and entreated
leave to drink. The servant presented the
pitcher with much courtesy ; and Agrippa,
having allayed his thirst, said to him :
“Assure thyself, Thaurnastus, that if I tge
out of this captivity, I will one day pay thee
well for this draught of water.”
Tiberius dying, his successor. Caligula,
soon after not only set Agrippa at liberty,
but made him king of Judea. In this high
situation Agrippa was not unmindful of the
glass of water given him when a captive.
He immediately sent for Thaurnastus, and
made him comptroller of his household.
“ If I Had Thought it Was Jesus.” — A
Christain gentleman of well-know liberality,
after listening one day to a sermon on the
words, “ Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the
least of these, ye did it unto me,” uttered the
following sentiment: “A few days since, I
carried to a poor Christain woman a comforter,
warm, but well-worn, and two loaves of
bread—good, but a little stale. Had I thought
it was Jesus I was ministering to, f would
have taken a new comforter and fresh loaves
of bread.”
Work Quietly. —Endeavor to take your
work quietly. Anxiety and over action are
always the cause of sickness and restlessness.
We use our judgment to control our excite
ment, or our bodily strength will break down.
We must remember that our battle is to be
won by strength not our own. It is a battle
that does not depend upon the 9wift and the
strong.
The teacher Rebuked.
I thought them only worthless weeds,
So poor and frail they seemed to be,
And doubted if such trivial work
The Master had designed for me.
Then came H : 3 word : “Though but a weed,
The Gardener giveth thee to tend,
Be faithful to the sacred trust—
Thy blind caunot see the end.
What seemeth but a graceless weed
The germ of fairest bloom may hold,
As what the miser deemtth dross
May prove,-aA-last, the purest gold.”
Rebuked, I sought my garden bed,
Refused no toil or pains to spare ;
Hr A lowly weed, beloved of Him,
Was worthy of.niy highest care;
H And weeping, turned with tender hand
The feeble petals to the light,
When 10, beneath my sorrowing tears,
The weeds were changed to lilies white.
JMfcpst-BiUen Sunday Schools.
lißHiitten Sunday schools! Yes, and
before’Christmas, if they are not frozen to
death, tfriey will be so nearly dead as to show
no signs of returning life and animation be
fore April or May; and not until July sunshine
beams in upon them will they be thoroughly
thawed out.
Now, why should this be? Why should
our children lose their Sunday school privil
eges—and, in fact, the only Yeligious privi
leges which some-wi them enjoy—during the
most enjoyable portion of the year?
“Well,” says Deacon A., “ it can’t be done;
think how bad the roads are, and how deep
the snows are, many stormy Sun
days there are, an^— why, we never did such
a thing before ; such a thing was never heard
of in this neighbentwood ; why ”
Hold, my good deacon ; don’t get so ex
cited over the sAbiect. I’ve seen it done
with mine own, eiwfand helped to do it, 100.
Away up among the hills of New Jersey we
started a mission school, in a little old school
house. We gatheied them in—those moun
tain boys and girl?—rgathered them in till the
house was full, full to overflowing, and during
the summer we had a flourishing school.—
When the autumn came, the croakers cried,
“ You must close the school; it can’t possibly
be kept opened during the winter.” “ Let
them croak,” said our brave superintendent;
“by the help of God I mean to keep this
school alive till spring, if I have to come
here alone every Lord’s day and spend two
hours in prayer for its prosperity.” And
keep it open he did- What was the result!
A religious interest was awakened, and several
precious lambs were gathered in the fold of
the Good Shepherd—that too when many of
our pupils walked two and three miles over
as bad roads and through as deep snow as
Salem county evesusaw.
if you never have done such a thing, why
not try it this winter as an experiment ? Sa
tan does not abate his efforts to ensnare the
young as the cold weather approaches; on
the contrary, he works with redoubled en
ergy. Then, why should we complacently
fold our hands, idly by, and cry, “ It
can’t be done!”
Then, too, in winter, if ever, there is a
“special work of grace” in the church: then,
if ever, the membership get “warmed up;”
why not carry some of this warmheartedness
into the Sunday school, and let at least the
“ droppings” fall on the little ones ? Look
well to it, brother, that your love of ease
does not lie at the bottom of all these ex
cuses. You have no right to load your neg
ligence on the backs of the little folks; you
had better shoulder it yourself, and go to
work manufully. All you need is a live
superintendent, and corps of earnest, faithful,
and sacrificing teachers, and I will insure you
at least two thirds your usual number of
children.
blessing will rest upon your undertaking.—
Salem Snnbeary
Drink but Remember.
If you think it is your duty to drink in
toxicating liquors, by all means do so. On
no account violate your conscientious con
victions, but while you raise the cup to your
lips, remember that this draught represents
the bread of some starving brother; for the
food of at least six million persons is yearly
grasped by the malster and distiller, and its
nourishment destroyed.
Remember that so long as you are in health
these liquors are unnecessary ; 2,000 medical
men have asserted if, and hundred of thou
sands of teetotallers proved it.
Remember that most persons who act as
you do, injure their health and shorten their
lives by so doing.
Remember that not drunkenness alone, but
drinking, that fills ou- jails and penitentiaries,
our poor-houses, and our lunatic asylums;
employs our coroners and our hangmen; and
works mischief incalculable on all ranks and
both sexes, of which' no human institution
takes cognizance.
Remember that drinking retards education,
industry, and every branch of political and
social improvement.
Remember that multitudes yearly die a
drunkard’s death, and so meet a drunkard’s
doom.
Remember that every year multitudes fall
from your “moderate” ranks to recruit the
wasted army of drunkards.
Remember every drunkard once tried to
follow the example you set, and, on trial, fell
from his slippery ground into the whirlpool
of intemperance.
Remember that if join sanction the custom
you are answerable for its fruits.
Remember that the weak and tempted
ones look to you; and that under God it de
pends on you whether they may be drunk
ards or sober men.
Remember that ‘ r to him that knoweth to
do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin ;”
and that there is “woe for that man through
whom ofiences coniAfo the little ones. ’
Remember thafyou cannot be neutral,
and there will be a day when you will be
unable to plead ignorance.
Remember that all this weight of respon
sibility rests with you, as you raise that cup,
if you think it right j but we envy not your
conscience.
How’to Have a Small Class*
1. Take no particular interest yourself*
Look upon the Sunday school as a respectable
place to go, rather more favorable, upon the
whole, to the exhibition of articles and dress
and adornment than the public congregation.
2. Bea few minutes late. It is more
dignified, and makes your entree more con
spicuous.
3. Never go to school in bad weather, lest
the children should take a notion to go every
rainy day, to see if you are there.
4. Be careful not to spend too much time in
preparation. You need the time for a noon
day siesta, an evening smoke, or a visit to the
Negro minstrels,or the charming pantomime
of ilumpty Dumpty. Some teachers are in
judicious in this respect. They spend much
money for books, and much time in study,
and fills their heads and hearts so that their
enthusiasm becomes contagious. The conse
quence is that they are always bothered with
large and laborious classes.
5. Keep no class-book. Never know where
your scholars live. Never visit them at their
homes, or speak kindly to them in the streets.
Make no inquiries for them when absent, nor
about their parents and little sisters when
they are present, otherwise they will talk,
and think about, and respect and love you,
and come to the school every Sunday, if for
no other reason, just to see you.— Briggs.
The Devil’s Device.
There is no season of the year during which
so many attractive, fascinating, and dangerous
amusements are prepared to interest and en
snare the young as in the winter and early
autumn. Everything is favorable to social
intercourse, and the long evenings furnish the
occasion and the opportunity for all sorts of
social festivities. In our cities and towns,
theatres, concerts, shows, and ether festivals
of a public character, with parties and balls,
fill up every evening with their clangor and
glare. In the country, corn-huskings, apple
parings, quiltings, wood-chopping, bees, sing
ing-schools (so-called) with dancing parties
and other entertainments, create unusual stir
and excitement. Many of these amusements
are hurtful to body, soul and mind, and all of
them, set free from the control of Christian
principle, are dangerous.
The late hours and unseasonable eating, not
to say drinking, oftentimes the overheated
rooms, and undue excitement which almost
invariably belongs to the least objectionable
of these gatherings, call for the protest and
reforming hand of a loving, earnest, joyous
Christian life. Now, in the summer there is
danger of sluggishness and stupor destroying
Christian life; but in the winter the danger
lies in the very opposite direction. Unless
the church occupies the ground, calliug out
the sympathies and guiding the activities of
all within her reach in a proper channel, they
will assuredly be carried off by the enemy in
those which he has devised. Now we protest
against this abandonment of the field at harv
vest-time for souls. The church, in city or
country, should wisely plan such a campaign
as shall enlist the energies of her members,
and occupy their time to advantage. We
began this article with one special end in view,
viz : closing Sunday-schools for the winter.
We would plead with superintendents and
teachers not to do this evil thing. If t here is
any part of the year in which the Sabbath
school is needed to instruct, awaken, guard,
and guide the youth of the country, it is win
ter. Why close it, then ? Why not arrange
to hold special services through the year in
connection with the school; and by concerts,
lectures, and devotional meetings make the
winter a harvest time for souls ?
Be assured, if you close your school at this
time, you are sowing thorns and planting
thistles to distress you by their summer
growth. You are leaving precious souls ex
posed to danger and to death ; and you are
working directly into the hand of the great
adversary “who goes about seeking whom he
may destroy” in winter just as busily as In
summer.
This closing of schools for the winter is
not of God. It is the devil’s device. Shall
God’s children work with satan in pulling
down their Lord’s kingdom ?
One word more. If you have closed your
school, and feel that you did wrong, or if you
are only doubtful about it, gather the scat
tered members, and reopen at once.— S. S.
Workman.
What to do with Grievances.
You have a grievance, teacher. You are
sore perplexed. You are perhaps inexperi
enced, and dislike to ask older workers how
you shall dispose of your embarrassments.
It may not be what you would call a spiritual
perplexity ; but whatever it is, be sure to ask
the Lord about it.
Go to him first. It is his work you are
engaged in. It is his glory you are seeking.
It is his Spirit that is promised to those who
ask for it to guide them into all wisdom. If,
after laying the matter before him, inward
light does not come, enabling you to see your
proper course without advice, then the indica
tion is, probably, that you are to get the help
from some co-worker. For having asked the
Lord, however, you will no doubt be better
directed how to state the matter to your fel J
low, and he will be £he more abundantly able
to give you ihe required assistance.
We have seen this tried. We have proved
it. “Why, Freddy,” said an indulgent
father, to his almost idolized schoolboy son,
“why didn’t you write meoftener ? I thought
you would tell me, anyway, when you wanted
money, instead of writing to your brothers or
the girls for it!” and the tone was justly that
of aggrieved love. The boy, whose wants
had always been so cheerfully and lovingly
supplied, had refrained from asking his father
for that which he had needed, and had gone
to other members of the family for the sup
ply of his wants. The earthly father showed
unmistakably that he was grieved. Better
than an earthly father loves to give good gifts
to his children, the heavenly Father loves to
give good gifts to them that ask him. Shall
we Sunday school workers not prefer.to go
directly to him with our simplest need, rather
than complain of want, or go to others for
supplies ?
The Voice of the Bell.
A boy, whose only religious education was
obtained in a Sabbath school, discoverad the
worth of his soul at a very early age, and be
came convicted of sin. Christian friends
looked forward to the time when he would be
useful in the service of Christ; for he appeared
to be truly converted. But he formed the
acquaintance of careless and wicked boys,
and, by degrees, absented himself from Sab
bath school and from church. At last he
forsook both entirely, and said he was
“ashamed to be. a Sabbath scholar, now he
was a big boy.” He went on from bad to
worse till he became a young man.
One Sabbath morning he, with some of his
wicked companions, had set forth to spend
the day in sport. They happened to pass the
church where, when a boy, he had attended
the Sabbath school. Just as they reached the
steps, the bell pealed out its solemn tone.
He started ; to his ears it spoke as plain as
human voice: “Come, come, come!” Then
and there the Spirit arrested him. He went
on ; but every peal rang in his ear: “Come,
come now!” As the last stroke died away,
he turned to his companions, saying : “I’ll not
go with you to-day ; lam going back to
church.” They laughed, and tried to stop
him ; but he turned from them, and went back
to the church, the days of his boyhood in that
Sabbath school walking wi*h him in the vis
ions of memory every step of the way. The
sermon was from the words, “Come unto
me,” etc. Then anithere the Saviour said
to his soul, “Come, Said he went. To this
day he is one of the most zealous workers in
the vineyard of Christ. List to “the sound
of the church-going bell,” and see if it says
not to you, “Come, come, come now.” — Sun*
day School Messenger.
Hints to Teachers.
The same htborwhich is required to visit
old scholars may serve to hunt up new ones.
The teacher has his own duty to perform,
independently of heing prompted to it by the
superintendent.
It is a great ptivilege to work. Ho who is
prevented by sickness, or any other cause,
from a life of activity, is greatly to be pitied.
Jf you sincerely desire to come into the
true light, go to your Bible and turn its
leaves, reading with a sincere' vish to be led
aright. . - -
The Carpenter’s Dream.
A poor man was a carpenter ; and he often
said to himself and to others : “If I was only
rich, I would show people how to give.” In
his dream he saw a pyramid of silver dollars
—all new, bright and tasteful. Just then, a
voice reached him,s saying: “Now is your
time ! You are rich at last; let us see your
generosity!” So he rose from his seat and
went to the pile to take some money for char
itable purposes. But the pyramid was so
perfect that he could not bear to brerk it.
He walked all around it, but found no place
where he could take a dollar without spoiling
the heap. So he decided that the pyramid
should not be broken! . . . and then he
awoke. He awoke to know himself, and to
see thet he would be generous only while
comparatively poor.
What Mr. Moody Says.
I would rather turn out the good boys
and keep the bad boys.
If we have a hundred scholars, but only
one good teacher, put them all into one class.
If the teacher is absent it is not the super
intendent’s place to get a substitute, but the
teacher should do that himself
Instead of giving festivals and parties and
entertainments, I have five or ten classes
come together with their teachers and spend
an evening together.
I find it the best way, if I oan not conquer
a scholar in the Sunday-school, to go iu the
week day and see him, make him a present,
and tell him I think a good deal of him. 1
perhaps make him my messenger boy. 1
put him in the place of honor, give him the
best place 1 have, and he straightens up and
makes a very good policeman.
Once I had a “lamb meeting” on a week
day and night. I had the lamb on the plat
form and showed it to the children. Then I
went through the Bible and found out what it
had to say about it. It was one of the most
profitable meetings I ever attended. I showed
them the lamb iu sucli a manner that they
Will never see one again without thinking of
“the Lamb of God which taketh away the
sin of the world.”
Only two days in a Sunday School. —A
missionary of the American Sunday School
Union gives the following from an address he
Jiearcl from an aged minister in Missouri: “I
was about fourteen when l heard of a Sunday
school at Bowling Green, Kentucky. A lady
invited me to attend, and, her manner was so
kind, I went. She furnished me with anew
Testament, the first 1 have ever seen, and
bade me commit to memory the first chapter
of John’s Gospel. On reading the first verse
I was struck w ith awe. The name of God,
and the sublime sentiment, so impressed me
that my sinful lips dared not pronounce them.
With fear and trembling 1 committed the
chapter, because of my promise, and the next
Sunday went and recited it. But I left the
Testament and never returned. But, dear
fellow parents, (he said this with much emo
tion) although these were the only two days
I ever spent in the Sunday school, I owe my
salvation to that Sunday school, and to the
kind lady 3s the means.”
Unlearned at Home. —lt was a source of
much trouble once to some fish to see a num
ber of lobsters swimming backward instead
of forward. They therefore called a meeting
and it was determined to open a class for
their instruction, which was done, and a num
ber of lobsters came; for the fish very gravely
argued that if they commenced with the
young ones, as they grew up they would learn
to swim aright. At first they did very well,
but afterward, when they returned home, and
saw their fathers and mothers swimming in
the old way, they soon forgot their lessons
So, many a child, well taught at Sabbath schoo
is drifted backward by a bad home influence
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Address all communications for the paper to
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Publisher and Proprietor, Atlanta, Ga.
Laws Relating to Newspapers.
The Scientific American of August sth furnishes
the following in response to certain requests. It
says: “We have been asked to give the law, as
it stands, relating to newspapers and subscribers
1. Subscribers who do not give express notice
to the contrary, are considered as wishing to con
tinue their subscriptions.
2. If subscribers order the discontinuance of
their periodicals, the publishers may continue to
send them until all arrearages are paid.
3. If subscribers neglect or refuse to take their
periodicals from the office to which they are di
rected, they are held responsible until they have
settled their hills, and ordered them discontinued.
4. If subscribers move to other places without
informing the publishers, and the papers are sent
to the former direction, they are held responsible.
5. The Courts have decided that relusing to
take periodicals from the office, or removing and
leaving them uncalled for, is prim a facie evidence
of intentional fraud.
6. Any person who receives a newspaper and
makes use of it, whether he has ordered it or not,
is held, in law, to boa subscriber. 2551—ts
The rural accountant, a simple
and Practical, yet Complete System of Plantation
and Farm Accounts.—Contents: A Plan of the Farm,
Inventory of Farm Investment, Time Rolls for each
month, Gestation Account, Cash Account, General Ac
counts, Crop Accounts, Memoranda; prefaced by a full
and complete explanation of the book. Also, compris
ing a Selection of Practical Information needed every
day on the Farm. Price : Small size, $1.25 ; per mail,
$1.40. Large size, $2; per mail, $2.30. The great
value of these books must be apparent to every farmer.
Orders for the size wanted, with the money addressed
to J. J. Toon, Atlanta, Ga., will meet with prompt at
tention. 2550
BUCKEYE BELL FOUNDRY,
aVTW Established in 1837.
S lUf'ftnU- Superior Bells for Churches,
» Schools,etc.-ofPare Cop-
L, per and Tin, fully war
gj m V \ ranted, and mounted with
our Latest Improved
Botary Hangings, the
t .Illustrated Catalogue sent free.
VANDUZEN & TIFT, v
102 k 104 R. Second St„ Cincinnati,
2540—00—50 t
THE STEWART COOK STOVE.
WITH DUMPING GRATE.
LATEST IMPROVEMENT! BEST IN THE WORLD.
MaNDFACTURKD bt
FULLER, WARREN - & CO.,
TROY, N. Y.
The Stewart Stove, which has been in use for more
than a quarter of a century, and by its economy and
complete adaptation to the wants of the kitchen,Jhas
maintained an acknowledged superiority over all other
stoves, is now introduced to the pub.ic I '®
modern conveniences ot 4 roilt Draft, Ash Draw
and Dumping Grate. The Flues have also been
enlarged and improved, so as to ensure an wee!tent
Draft at all times, and still to retain in tne Stovo its
unrivalled economical features. No siovo lias ever yc
been made to do as much work with as Utile fuel as t
Stewart. The following brief summary is the rest.lt
of One Day’s Work, recently accomplished at (Jlo
versville N* Y., with one Stewart Stove:
Baked 415 pounds of bread, half a bushel of po
tatoes 5 a pp i e Vues. Boasted 73 pounds of beef
Boiled 1 barrel of water; also, 17 gallons heated to
150 degrees. All this with one coal fire, not a partich
of coal being put into the stove after the Are was start
ed in the morning. Those in want of Cook Stoves will
secure the most economy by procuring the best. The
Stewart Stoves are for sale in nearly every town and
city throughout the United States.
FULLER, WARREN & CO.,
Exclusive Manufacturers,
Troy, N. Y.
>53 State St., Chicagq, 111.
Branch Houses . 80 R; ver gt., Cleveland, O.
The Warren Double Oven Cooking Ran#®
thJmoßt perfect operating Range in the mark ® t ’ a f ■
Ik! i 1m Hot Air Furnaces, the very best for
heating Churches, Public Buildings and Private Res*
dencesf are also manufactured and for sale by
FULLER, WARREN A CO.
Pamphlets furnished on animation.
F °ox™ ® iD AtUnU by ’ Street,
2 WO-'
BUSINESS CARDS.
A. GOWSTARfTINE’B
IPersian Healing Soap.
Patented March 18, 1867.
iFOK THE 101LBT, BATH AND NURSERY
Soap has no equal. It preserves the complex
ion (air, the akin soft, flexible and healthy. It removes
all dandruff, preserves the hair soft and silky, and pre
vents it from falling off. It cures Pimples, all Diseases
of the Scalp and Skin, and is a GOOD SHAVING
SOAP. Agents wanted. Office, 43 Ann St., New York.
Ask any dealer for A. A. v-onstantink’s Soap,
2532—t
SHARP & FLOYD,
(SUCCESSORS TO GEO. SHARP, Jr.,)
WHITEHALL STREET, ATLANTA, GA.,
Manufacturing and Merchant Jewelers, Watch-
Makers, Silversmiths, and Engravers.
We Do First Class Work.
We sell only First Class Goods.
We sell the Diamond Spectacle.
We believe it to be the best in use.
We Keep the very Best of Workmen.
We have a large stock of Fine Jewelry.
We have the Latest Styles.
We have a large stock of Diamonds.
We are legitimate Diamond Dealers,
We have a large stock of Watches.
We sell at small Profits.
We buy our goods for Cash.
We buy them very low.
We sell them low as the lowest.
We have more Solid Silver Ware manufac
tured than any Jeweller in Georgia.
We Engrave all our Ware free of charge.
We have a motto-Quick Sales, Small Profits.
We guarantee every article sold.
We guarantee all our work.
We make Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals.
We want to lurnish every Fair in the State.
We can make Premiums for Fairs.
We know that we cun m ike them at a less price than
any house in Georgia.
We can make Premiums, then, as low as any House
in the United States.
We cannot, shall not be excelled in Finish, Price or
Quality.
We shall not be undersold.
Give us a fair trial. SHARP k FLOYD.
2543—66—-251
TMPORTANT NOTICE
JL TO
CONSUMERS OF DRY GOODS.
All Retail Orders amounting to S2O and Over Delivered
in any Part of the Country,
Free of Express Charges.
HAMILTON, EASTER &. SONS,
OF BALTIMORE, MD.,
n order the better to meet the wants of their Retail
ustomers at a distance, have established a
S-A-IMUPLE BUIR/ELA.TJ,
and will, upon application, ‘promptly send by mail full
lines of Samples of the Newest and most Fashionable
Goods, of FRENCH, ENGLISH and DOMESTIC MAN
UFACTURE, guaranteeing at all times to sell as low,
il not at less prior*, than any house in the country.
Buying our Goods from the largest and most celebra
ted manufacturers in different parts of Europe, and
importing tho same by Steamers direct to Baltimore,
our stock is at all times promptly supplied with tho
novelties of the London and Paris markets.
As we buy and sell only/or cash, and make no bad
debts, wo are able and willing to sell our goods at from
Ten to Fifteen Pku Cent. Less Profit than if we gave
credit. .
In sending for Samples, epeoifij the kind of good* de
sired. We keep the best grades of every class of goods,
from the lowest to the most costly.
Orders unaccompanied bu the cash, will be sen t 0. 0. D.
PROMPT-PA YINO WHOLES ALE B UYERS are
invited to inspect the Stock in our Jobbing and Pack
age Department. Addiess
HAMILTON, EASTER k SONS,
197, 189, 201 and 208 West Baltimore Street,
2525 —2576 Baltimore, Md.
THE MENEELY BELL FOUNDRY.
(Established in 1826.)
\3GO B,j/j. BELLS for Churches, Academies,
Factories, etc., of which more have
been made at this establishment than
feJH ut all the other foundries in # the
country combined. All bells war
ranted. An illustrated Cotalegue
sent free upon application to
E. A. k G. It. MENEELY,
1 2546— y* West Troy, N. Y.
QMITH, CHEATHAM & 00.,
(Successors to ELON G. SMITH k C 0.,)
PORK
PROVISION AND COMMISSION
MERCHANTS, *'■
Corner Third and Spruce Streets,
ST. LOUIS, MO.
Solicit orders from the Trade for goods in our line.
TRAVELERS’ GUIDE.
WESTERN AND ATLANTIC RAILROAD CO
E. W. Cole, Superintendent, Atlanta.
Night Passenger Train — Outward.
Leave Atlanta .....10.30 P.M
Arrive at Chattanooga 6.16 A.M
Day Passenger Train — Outward.
Leave Atlanta .0.00 A.M
Arrive at Chattanooga L2l P.M
Fast Lene to New York — Outward.
Leave Atlanta .2.45 P.M
Arrive at Dalton. 7.53 P.M
Night Passenger Train — lnward.
Leave Chattanooga 0.20 P.M
Arrive at Atlanta 1-42 A.M
Day Passenger Train — lnward.
Leave Chattanooga 30 A.M
Arrive at Atlanta.. 2.20 P.M
Accommodation Train — lnward.
Leave Dalton 2.25 A.M
Arrive at Atlanta A.M
GEORGIA RAILROAD.
S. K. Johnson, Superintendent, Augusta.
Day Passnger Train.
Leave Augusta.. 8.00 A.M
Leave Atlanta 7.10 A.M
Arrive at Augusta 5.40 P.M
Arrive at Atlanta • 6.20 P.M
Night Passenger and Mail Tram.
Leave Augusta 8.15 P.M
Leave Atlanta a .30 P.M
Arrive at Augusta 3.45 A.M
Arrive at Atlanta 6.40 A.M
Athens Branch Train leaves Union Point daily,
Sunday excepted, at 1.15 P.M., arriving at Athens at
4.35 P.M. Leave Athens at 9.15 A.M., arriving at
Union Point 12.50 P.M. On Monday and Tuesday
nights, a train leaves Union Point at 2 20 A.M , arrives
at Athens 5.15 A.M.; leaves Athens, 8 P.M., arriving
at Union Point, 11 P.M.
Washington Branch.—Train leaves Washington
at 10 A.M., arrives at Barnett, 11.30 A.M.; leaves
Barnett 2.15 P.M., arriving at Washington at 4.10
P.M. On Monday and Tuesday nights, leaves Wa»h
lngton at 10.20 P.M., arriving at Barnett, 12 at night.
Leaves Barnett, 1.50 A.M., arrives at Washington,
3.30 A.M.
Macon and Augusta Railroad.— Train leaves
Camak, 12.40 P.M., arriving at Milledgeville Junction
4.20 P.M.; leaves Junction at 6.15 A.M, arriving at
Camak, 9.25 A.M. Connects Augusta with South
Carolina, Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta, and
Augusta with Savannah Railroad.
ATLANTA AND WEST-POINT RAILROAD.
L. P. Grant, Superintendent, Atlanta.
Day Passenger Train— Outward.
Leave Atlanta. * 7.10
Arrive at West Point* •• 11.40 A.M
Day Passenger Train—lrward.
Leave West Point P.M
Arrive at Atlanta 5.00JP.M
Night Freight and Passenger—Outward.
Leave Atlanta £•"*
Arrive at West Point 10.45 P.M
Night Freight and Passengei — lnward.
Leave West Point 3.00 A.M
Arrive at Atlanta A.M
NASHVILLE AND CHATTANOOGA RAILROAD
J. W. Thomas, Superintendent, Nashville.
Day Passenger Train.
Leave Nashville .....9.30 A.M
Arrive at Chattanooga ...4.20 P.M
Leave Chattanooga 3.45 A.M
Arrive at Nashville 1.30 P.M
Night Passenger Train.
Leave Nashville 6.15 P.M
Arrive at Chattanooga 4.30 A.M
Leave Chattanooga 8.00 P.M
Arrive at Nashville. 5 00 A M
Night trains run daily; day trains run daily, Sun
days excepted.
Both trains connect at Chattanooga for Rome, At
lanta, and all principal Southern cities.
Selma, Borne, and Dalton Railroad.
DAT PASSENGER TRAIN—MOUTH.
Leave Selma. 10:05 a.m
Arrive at Rome 8:85 p.m
Arrive at Dalten 11:96 p.m
NIGHT PASSENGER TRAIN—SOUTH.
Leave Dalton 8:10 p.m
Arrive at Rome 11:2# p.m
Arrive at Selina .10:80 am
ACCOMMODATION TRAIN.
Leave Rome 1:45 p.m.
Arrive at Rome 1:46 p.m.
The accommodation train runs from Rome to JaokaonvUle
daily, Sundays excepted. The through passenger train only
will be run on Sunday.