Newspaper Page Text
2
#nr (Corrapttats.
For The Index and Baptist.
LETTER FROM COIIMBUS, GEORGIA.
Coujmbcs, Ok., March, 1876.
Editors Index —Dear Brethren: I
am sorry for you Atlanta Baptists —
yes, and the Pedobaptists, and all oth
er people in the loss that is laid upon
you by brother Warren’s removal.
Our State Convention will miss his
wise conservative counsel, and —but
why say anything? these things will
happen. Our State has lost now and
then many of her best ministers. We
grieved awhile for brother Landrum,
when he went to Memphis; for Dr.
Brantly, called from Atlanta, by the
Old Seventh, of Baltimore; for our
rising brother Lofton, who, like the
course of Empire, made his way “West
ward,” and others whose names do not
just now occur to mo. And now our
“Ebenczer," whom the Baptists of Geor
gia have rawed. —(you know how the
song goes)—he, “the stone or help,”
on which we built so much is now car
ried away to aid in supporting the
spiritual (Baptist) temple in Rich
mond. Well, after all, it is one body
one glorious body—with One Blessed
Head. Our brother will work for the
same Mastor in Richmond that he
served so faithfully here. If broth
er Warren thinks I have praised him
too much in the foregoing, you need
not send him the copy of the paper
containing this letter. Yet, I opine
from the sentiments already expressed
in the papers, and the parting ovation
given him by the sorrowful brethren of
the Old First, that my few words of
compliment, heartfelt as they are, can
scarcely now accelerate the pulse of his
complacency. But, indeed, he is wel
come to it all, and more too had I the
time and space to free my mind. May
the Great Shepherd send to his late
charge a worthy successor.
Really, speaking of ministerial ab
ductions, I think it will be found that
the law of compensation keeps such
matters in a comparatively happy state
of adjustment. It’s pretty much “tit
for tat,” as the boys used to say ; “you
kill my dog,” etc. Didn’t wo entice —
that is, didn’t the Second Baptist
church of Atlanta entice—brother
Spalding away from-Louisvillo ? Didn’t
the Savannah brethren call a pastor
from across the wator? Didn’t the
Green Street Augusta brethren call a
man from away up yonder in the North
west? It’s true he’s gone back there
somewhere. ’Twas a bad bargain, but
then they didn’t know it at the time,
and now haven’t they made a poor, lorn
widow of the Baptist church in Shreve
port, La., by calling brother Landrum,
son of the elder Bishop, back to his
native Stale? No; really we can't
make much fuss about it, when other
States shall occasionally lay our own
tr.nielr cmitTi bilti'ou in this ' mutter.
Truly, as our Lord has said, “The
field is the world,” and it is a fact, well
enough established, that it is sometimes
best for the reapers to change places,
only let them strive wherever they
are toglean faithfully. Before passing
from this topic, let it be said that we
give young brother Landrum a hearty
welcome. Already it seems he foels
“at home.” May the home folks take
good care of him. He will doubtless
repay them abundantly.
Brother Haygood, your indefatiga
ble Index agent, was with us a short
time since, and succeeded well, I be
lieve, in working up a good list of both
old and new subscribers. He is an old
war-horse —no, I don’t mean that
either —rather, ho is an old religious
mendicant, and well understands the
art of begging for Jesus and— The In
dex. He always had the happy facul
ty of working up the Sunday-school to
a state of greater efficiency. I feel like
stopping right hero to offer a prayer
that The Index may find, during this
Centennial year especiallv, an entrance
into every Baptist house in the land. Our
people everywhere need to read more,
to bo better posted in everything that
pertains to a religious education. Spur
up your agents, put in more of them,
pay them big wages, promise them each
a now suit of clothes and a ticket to
the Centennial if they will accomplish
this end, and though Mr. “Tertius,”
whoever he is, might not consider the
plan strictly orthodox, yet it will pay
in my opinion. And if the publishing
company should make money in the en
terprise, they can help towards the en
dowment of Mercer University.
Moreover, to escape the odium of mis
construed motives on the part of broth
er Tertius or anybody else, I hereby
emphatically protest that I do not
charge J. P. H. & Cos., one cent for this
suggestion.
Yours truly, Adolphus.
GKMS RESET.
—At length I learnt to look above,
Ami found life's pilgri m road
Was but a path of Heavenly love
That led right up to God.
—When we pray for any virtue, wo
should cultivate the virtue’ as well as
pray for it. The form of your prayers
should be the rule of your life. Every
petition to God is a precept to man.
—How could wo bear that over
whelming thought, “ Thou knowest,”
—the thought that there is certainty
somewhere, unless also we had the
conviction warm at our hearts, “ Thou
lovest,” —the certainty that the deep
est certainty of all is the love of Him
who orders all.
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
For the Index and Baptist.]
FIRMNESS OF CHARACTER.
If the apostle Paul had an existence
in the midst of the present generation,
he certainly would have many more
enemies than he had at the time he
lived. He was a man of firmness, a
man who did not swerve from the path
of duty that he might please some.
When faithfulness demanded that he
take a decided stand in opposition to
the opinions of even bis best friends,
he never hesitated. He was not the
man in the midst of disputes, to appear
to be with both parties, and yet be
with neither. His opinions were de
liberately formed and then fearlessly
expressed, without regard lo conse
quences. In I. Corinthians iv : 1-4, we
have a declaration of his estimate of
men’s judgments : “ Let a man so ac
count of us, as of the ministers of
Christ and stewards of the mysteries
of God. Moreover, it is required in
stewards, that a man be found faithful.
But with me it is a very small thing
that I should be judged of you or of
man’s judgment."
In apostolic days, Christians were
never troubled to know what Paul’s
opinions were on important questions.
Peter would be doubie-faced, that he
might appear well with the circumcis
ion and the uncircumcision. Paul re
buked him sharply for it.
It is a good thing to have friends.
But there is no passage of Scripture
more expressive of common sense than
that one that declares, woe unto the
man of whom all speak well. In the
State we have many politicians whose
politics are unknown. The people are
generally afraid of them as dangerous
men. They are men to be dreaded,
for the man who stands idly by till a
majority is plainly seen, will desert
that majority whenever a majority ap
pears somewhere else. Hence the peo
ple are slow to trust them. Yet in
church, the most popular pastor of the
times seems to be the man whose opin-
ions are never expressed until tho
breakers are removed. If questions
arise, on which there are differences of
opinion, the man whom God hath set
to direct tho thoughts and actions of
His people, stands as brass, giving out
sound to either party that strikes him.
If trouble comes as the result of dif
ference of'opinion, the man whom God
hath appointed to deliberately form
opinions after patient study of His
Word, stands aloof and allows the
church to wreck itself, while his ma
tured opinion remains unexpressed,
his head had as well been filled with
rocks as with brains. What use has a
church for a pastor except it be to
think, and then say what hejthinks?
Pastors who are so much afraid of los
ing influence by crossing the opinions
of those who do not like to be crossed,
are as faithful to the interests of the
church, as neutral politicians are to the
State. Let a pastor be a man under
God, and not a -more wind mill, turning
before the strongest breeze. Thinking
and speaking; as a man, he may, like
Paul, be indifferent to tho judgments
of men. J. M. Robertson.
For the Index and Baptist.]
“JESUS LOVER OF MY SOUL.”
In a distant city one night in Octo
ber—a dismal, oppressive night—a
young man restlessly paced the iloor of
his room. His surroundings indicated
that his home was found iu a boarding
house. Do you ask, why p Look dil
ligently around the room and you will
find your answer. In not a single ar
ticle, nor iu .Is distribution about the
apartment, could you find a trace of
thoughtful mother love, or of the
taste and affection of a sister. Every
thing bore a look of this hard, plain
phrase, “economise, make money.”
Here, in the beginning, then you will
see one cause of unhappiness in this
gloomy, restless walker. He had bro
ken the ties of home, where mother
and sister, with gentle love and good
influence, would have walked with him
into a nobler and a higher life. Alone
he sought the changes and excitements
of the city, and the fortune which he
felt sure awaited him somewhere. He
had disappointments, of course; who
has not ? He had losses and trouble,
and surely some heavy cloud hangs
over him now, for his brow is contract
ed with painful thought, and in his
eyes not a gleam of hope or enthusiasm
sparkles. As he walked ceaselessly,
lost in this deep meditation, a song
floated in through the window, with all
the blessed influences of a shower on
the parched and suffering earth. The
voice was full and rich—a voice with
tears iu it—and, O, such tenderness,
such pathos hung upon the gentle
words:
“Jesus lover of my soul
Let mo to tliy bosom tly !”
How he listened. His soul drank in
every sweet hope it expressed with a
thisty eagerness.
“Other ltefugo havo I none,
Hangs my helpless soul on Thoe.
Leave, ah ! leave mo not alone,
Still support and comfort me !
All my trust ou Thoe is stayed,
All my help from Thoe X bring.
Cover my defenceless hoad
With the shadow of Thy wing.”
The voice trembled in its plaintive
ness, yet every word was so distinct,
betraying the true sentiment of her
who sang them. He followed the voice
to the window and parted the curtains.
J.he houses stood only a few feet apart,
and through the opposite window what
a scene lay before him. An immortal
soul was on the threshold of its new,
eternal home. Around the dying couch
all the loved and loving were gathered.
And this dear girl, with her heart
breaking, with the dying hand in hers,
was singing this song of love and trust,
that its sweet words might bear him
company through “the valley of the
shadow.” The feeble hand was lifted,
and the little circle knelt upon the floor.
The young man knelt beside his win
dow, unconsciously, so absorbed was
he. The moment so holy overpowered
him. As the words came tremulous
and tearful
“Thou. O Christ, *rt all I want !”
the fluttering soul soared away to Jesus,
its lover, its refuge of eternal peace.
Softly the young man shook out the
folds of the curtain again to shut out
that sacred, private sorrow, but he
bowed his head, and the tears he wept
were tears of relief to his burdened
heart. Who has looked upon the calm,
glad departure of the Christian at the
close of his pilgrimage, and had no
wish for the same hopeful, trusting
love when his hour may come ? So
came thoughts like these to this young
prodigal son. Mercy brought them to
win him back to home and heaven.
“What are my perplexities to a bereave
ment like this? Is Jesus a lover of
my soul—my poor, unloving self ? 0
why have I never grasped this precious
truth before ! ‘Hangs my helpless soul
on Thee,”’ he said over and over, con
templating its full meaning. “Help
mo God to pray this prayer 1” No Geth
semane in the hour of agony is without
its angel. No soul thus seeking light
was ever left in darkness. So when
the morning came it was morning in
his heart; a bright spiritual dawn, over
which the sun of rightousness poured
its warmest rays ; and with him‘this
song became one of the sweetest mem
ories of life; a memory that will lin
ger pleasantly among the holy thoughts
and scenes of the New Jerusalem,
which the “lover of his soul” purchas
ed for him with the gift of life.
Lida.
Griffin, March 17, 1876.
For the Index and Baptist.]
TERTIUS—IIIS REJOINDER.
NO. 11.
In my last communication there was
not space enough to notice an implica
tion which Tertius attribute! to mo in
his first rejoinder. He there says that
I had implied that this “discussion
was calculated to place new obstacles
in the already difficult way of the
agent;” and then goes on, at some
length, with remarks which could only
be designed to create the impression
that in my article I had deprecated an
examination of the agents’ plans,
whether they were right oi wrong. So
far from implying anything of this
kind, I thought I had used language
which had expressed exactly the re
verse. These were my words: “If their
(the agents) plans should be regarded
as unscriptural by any brotherHt is
right that he should speak,” etc^Bj.
In the progress of this J tax
now led to examine the arguments which
Tertius advances to sustain the posi
tion taken in his first communication,
that “it is morally wrong tc insist upon
a man’s binding himself to pay in the
future, when he does not know that he
will be so prospered of the Lord.”
That, which is here # meationed as the
wrong, is not to be found in the cause
to which the promise is made, but is
distinctly stated to consist in the bind
ing one’s self for an uncertain future.
Now, in his second rejoinder, Tertius
admits that it is right to give “a simple
promise of aid without specifying any
amount.” But this is binding one’s
self, without knowing that we will be
so prospered of the Lord. It may
please the Lord to sweep away every
thing that I possess, and, in destitu
tion, I may be so prostrated by sick
ness that I would be unable to earn
the least amount. If the promise of a
contribution is wrong because it binds
one for an uncertain future, it is diffi
cult to see why the promise for an in
definite sum changes the morality of
the act, and makes it right. If Ter
tius is correct, it may be less wrong to
promise an unspecified than a specified
amount, but it is wrong still, for it
binds one for an uncertain future.
But this specification of the amount
is that which, in the view of Tertius,
constitutes the moral evil of the prom
ise. For this, he thinks, we have no
precedent in the promise which Paul
received from the Corinthians. “It
seems plain that they had made no
promise to pay certain amounts, as our
agents ask us to do.” But it seems
plain to me that this is what they did.
Referring to the new version of the
Testament, which is more accurate than
the authorized version, we find that
Paul sends Titus and others to the
Corinthians “to make up the bounty
before promised.” If there had been
no specified sum promised, how did
Paul know that the bounty had not
been already made up ? The Corin
thians had taken collections before,
Sabbath after Sabbath, and they may
have contributed on these occasions as
much as they intended to give. What
right had Paul to demand any more ?
If there had been no agreement for a
certain sum, it would, under these cir
cumstances, have been singular for him
to send Titus “to make up the bounty
before promised." Paul, it appears,
acting on a plan similar to that of our
agents, received from the Corinthians
the promise of a specified sum. It is
true that Paul expects them to pay this
amount out of “that which they have.”
It would have been difficult for them
to pay it otherwise. Agents, with
their note subscriptions, expect no
more than this. It is always under
stood that when the giver of a note to
a benevolent cause cannot pay, he can
not. This kind of note is often given
expressly, but if not always impliedly,
on the condition, “if the Lord will.”
But Tertius regards these note sub
scriptions as wrong, for another rea
son, not mentioned in his former article.
They may prevent our contributions
to new and urgent demands upon our
benificence. My brother, in urging
this objection, has, singularly, over
looked the fact that it applies to cash
contributions as well as to note sub
scriptions. It is an argument against
imprudently large donations of any
kind. If Tertius divides seventy-five
dollars, which is all that he can spare
from his income, between the Domestic
and Foreign Missions, he would be as
unable, afterwards, to meet the claims
of sndden calamity, as though he had
given notes for the same amount to
Mercer University and the Orphans’
Home. In giving notes or contribu
tions of any kind, of course, Christians
should be judicious. They should not
give, by note or cash, to any one or
two causes, such amounts as would ex
haust all that they may reasonably ex
pect to be able to devote to religious
purposes. This objection of Tertius
has no special application to note giv
ing. Whatever force it may have is
against injudiciousness on the part of
the giver, whether by note or cash.
With regard to the publication of
contributions, it is done by all our
prominentreligious papers. Some of our
leading journals devote special columns
to this kind of information, printing,
with the names of the donors, even the
smallest sums contributed. Why
should THE Index assume a singular
position on this subject? It is the
opinion of Tertius that no information
is given by an itemization of receipts,
which could not, as well, be furnished
by an acknowledgment of the aggre
gate amount. A specific statement
would certainly be the most satisfacto
ry method. In this case the agent
gives the names of churches and indi
viduals as vouchers for the correctness
of his report, and our people can also
learn what churches and individuals
are doing most for the cause of Christ.
I readily admit, too, the fact to which
Tertius has called my attention, that
these publications are means of obtain
ing new contributions. My brother
in condemning this mode of raising
money subjects the motives of the pub
lished donors to a “final analysis,” and
concludes that they generally contrib
ute through a spirit of emulation.
There is an old book tha* says: “Judge
not, that ye bo not judged.” But ad
mitting that this is a motive which in
fluences these contributors, is the mo
tive wrong? When we sit down to
write on religious subjects, how prone
we are to become transcendantally
pen in hand, and the glow
of composition on our spirits, we rise to
a state of angelic excellence, in which
nothing but angelic motives seem fit
to be employed in dealing with our
brother man. Unlike us in these
flights of religious extravagance, the
word of God comes down to man as he
is. It addresses itself to all the emo
tions which the Great Creator has im
planted in the human heart to enlist
them on the side of godliness and be
nevolence. To the spirit of emulation,
so much condemned by Tertius, Paul
strongly appeals. He boasted to the
Macedonian churches of the Corinthian
liberality. And this boasting seemed,
in his case, to be an excellent method
of raising funds. “And your zeal,” he
writes to the Corinthian church, “hath
provoked many.” If our agents, with
out boasting, but simply by publishing
the fruits of zeal, in churches or indi
vidually, can “provoke” otheis to good
works, why not do it ?
For the Index and Baptlat.l
A Reply to “ Girls and Latin—Time and Labor
Wasted.”
The first objection to girls being
taught Latin is, “that they can acquire
but a smattering of the language and
benefit no one but the teacher, who is
paid at the highest rates to hear her
recite her lesson.”
We would ask whose fault is it, if
the girl acquires but a smattering ? Is
there not some radical defect some
where ? Is the teaoher competent to
impart a knowledge of the language ?
Has he or she been properly trained,
or has this smattering been in progress
for generations ? And will the closing
of all Latin authors check this super
ficial instruction, and render all par
ties, pareuts, teachers and scholars,
more competent to comprehend the
Rule of Three.
If the teacher is competent, the
smattering is simply the result of im
becility in the pupil. And it is need
less to quote the anecdote of old Dr.
Samuel Johnson and his defeated, but
unsilenced antagonist, “ I can give you
arguments; but I cannot give you
brains to comprehend them.”
And as to its being simply a selfish
scheme of the teacher to get the high
est rates, it is a noteworthy and com
mendable fact that the most compe
tent are, generally, the most liberal
teachers, cheerfully giving their most
labored attention to diligent but in
digent scholars.
A second objection is “that the time
devoted to Latin had better be bestow
ed on some modern language, as Ger
man, French and Italian.” Did the
good brother forget that Latin is the
key to French, Spanish and Italian ?
So that any of these languages can be
acquired in half the time if one is
master of the Latin.
A third objection is that too much
time, in both male and female colleges,
is devoted to Latin to the neglect of the
higher English branches. If the
languages were ignored, would they, or
could they, acquire acknowledge of the
higher English branches ? If you ex
amine the standing of the different
members of the same class, in any col
lege, maleorfemale, you wllnotfindthe
Latin students inferior to the others
in their recitations. In fact, they are
generally superior; if they have not a
better comprehension of the subject,
they have acquired a greater facility in
expressing themselves. Yea! I will
claim that they must have a clearer
conception and a more comprehensive
grasp of any subject, for all the terms
of modern science, from astronomy to
geology, are derived from the Latin
or Greek, and have an intensified and
enlarged meaning to the student ac
quainted with those languages.
The last objection (though not num
bered) was based on the old qeustion,
“cui bono,” what good ? what use ?
The use of this study, of course, com
bined with other culture, is to meet
just such a question as this. We
might retort what use will a woman
have for the Rule of Three ? Is she
to be a merchant or a mechanic ?
What is the use of studying Rhetoric
or Logic ? What is the use of the
alphabet ?
Dear sir, can’t you see where a hasty
question, like yours, leads ? It is just
in the spirit of our utilitarian, mate
rialistic age, which would pull down
what is established, and venerable
with age, and substitute what might
be high-sounding, nominally useful,
but in reality only superficial. We
need men, but more especially women,
at this time, cultivated to the last de
gree, not mere smatterers ; but versed
in every kind of learned lore, from the
preservation of the health of the body
to the cultivation of the soul and pre
paring it for a habitation in the skies.
When the people have torn away the
tinsel and the gilding that hangs
around some of our seminaries, and
demanded a full quid pro qno in the
full development of our daughters
physically, intellectually and morally,
we will hear no more complaints of
what use is this, that or the other
branch of learning. But each will be
regarded a compliment to the other in
the advancement and perfection of
God’s last best gift.
• W. G. M.
Forsyth, Ga., March 16, 1876.
For the Index and Baptist.]
A MOODY AND SANKF.Y IN TEXAS.
Dear Index — l will try to gi.ve you
an account of one of the most remark-
Ab„l jitvivajjr fvwgvsnsw As
town, a depot village on the Central
Railroad, I ever witnessed or heard of.
About a month ago a man came to
this town without any ecclesiastical
authority, and began as “one crying in
the wilderness,” and saying, “Repent
ye, for the kingdom of Heaven is at
hand.” This voice has continued to
cry day after day, and night after
night until over one hundred persons
have been converted. There are three
distinguishing features in this meeting,
and they may be classified as follows :
1. The character of the leader. He is
no elder, preacher or licentiate, but a
layman (so called) of the First Baptist
church of Jefferson, Texas, known as
Maj. Wm. E. Penn, a native of Ten
nessee, a lawyer by profession, and a
very successful one, and in the midst
of a lucrative practice surrounded by
comforts and plenty, he, feeling im
pressed- with the salvation of souls,
closed his office, quit his business, took
his family and went forth exhorting men
to repentance, bearing no testimonials
except an established good moral char
acter as a Christian gentleman in good
standing in his church, and “of good
report without.”
2. The order of service. The order of
his meetings is that there is no order
at all, nor is there any disorder. All
is quiet, calm, and there is more reli
gion and less excitement than is usual
in revivals, but the order of the ser
vices to-day is no criterion of to-mor
row, except it is prayer and talk, pray
er and sing, and prayer and prayer,
from day to day. He might be well
called the “praying preacher.” He
will not allow, however, his services to
be dignified as “preaching.” He has
a fine, strong voice, sings sweetly, talks
fluently, and with great rapidity. His
illustrations are striking and happy.
His reasoning is clear, plain and forci
ble. He prays like a Moody and sings
like a Sankey, and has the faith of
both.
3. The character of persons influenced
by the services. As stated above, there
has been over one hundred persons
converted and many restored, among
them some of the very best citizens of
Navasota, and some confirmed scep
tics, notorious scoffers and scorners of
religion. The gambling houses have
been closed, the dram shops shut up,
and the proprietors now ‘‘clothed and
in their right mind” and members of
the church. All classes wait on the
services, but the converts are mainly
among the classes above mentioned,
which have heretofore been considered
the most hopeless cases.
All denominations have participated
in this Heavenly part, a large majori
ty have, however, united with the Bap
tist church.
The writer did not have an oppor
tunity of attending but few of the
meetings, and therefore enquired of
Dr. Joel W. Terrell, a member of the
church here, who is well known to you,
formerly of Newnan, Georgia. “Doctor,
how do you account for this wonder
ful revival ?” His reply was, “It is
the Lord’s work, and brother Penn is
the chosen instrument. We have
made efforts here before, and had our
best preachers with us, but with little
good. Asa church we had continued
to decline until our spiritual light had
well nigh gone out, our church grown
cold, and, without a pastor, we con
cluded, in our extremity, to send for
brother Penn, and wheu he came, the
Lord sent His spirit with him, and I
have never witnessed such a revival in
fifty years’ experience.” This meet
ing has some of the features of the
great revival at Atlanta, Georgia, in
1875, known as the “James’ Hall Re
vival,” where a John McGuire and a
Munday, laymen, were so signally
Messed in their exercises. Atlanta,
however, had a population of 35,000,
while brother Penn is in a town of
only thitty-five hundred. Comparing
numbers, the Navasota meeting ex
cels the James’ Hall meeting, and this
meeting is still in progress ; delegates
arc here from other churches inviting
Mr. Penn “to go and pray with their
churches.” His reply is, “Where the
Lord directs then I go.”
I shall return in a few days to Atlanta.
Jas. W. Barnes.
Nav&sot&j Texas, March 11, 1876.
Delegates to the Southern Baptist
Convention at Jefferson, Texas, in 1874,
will remember brother Penn as an ac
tive and liberal member of that body,
and his zeal indicated then* that he
would not long remain in worldly
pursuits. The Navasota meeting de
scribed by brother Barnes is, we think,
the third meeting held by brother
Penn. He seems to be singularly
blessed in reaching the intelligent part
of his congregations. He is a lawyer
of fine address, a young man with no
family but a wife, and possessed of
ample means. We hope the Lord will
use him for His honor and glory in
further and more extended labors.—
Eds. Index.
EARLY PRINTING IN AMERICA.
The Puritans evidently belived that
a free press was necessary to the exis
tence of a free people. Eighteen years
after the landing ou the bleak coasts of
New England, the Pilgrim Fathers es
tablished the first printing press on
this side of the Atlantic, iu 1638, and
at Cambridge in 1639 the first publica.
tion was made by Daye, and was enti
t.be?, “jTIAw V ” Zhspe
had been brought over by Joseph Glover,
a rich non-conformist preacher, who
also brought with him a stock of print
ing material. An old sea captain, one
William Pierce, edited an almanac in
the same year, and in the following,
the Revs. Weld and Eliot produced
“The Psalms Newly Tuned into Meter,”
which passed through seventy editions
in one hundred and fourteen years and
was also reprinted in England and
Scotland. Some other books of a re
ligious nature were issued, and in 1641,
a book called “The Body of Liberty,”
containing one hundred colonial laws
appeared. Daye’s work was full of
typographical errors, but he was super
seded by Samuel Green, mistakenly
called the first printer in America, for
we find that Daye obtained a grant of
300 acres of land in Massachusetts for
“being the first who set up printing.”
Then come the poems of Ann Brad
street, wife cf the governor, and several
other smaller pious works.
In 1653 Eliot printed the catechism
in the Indian language, and in 1654
the printing of all the laws of the
court bogan. The first American
edition of the Bible was issued in 1661
and 1663.
The first copyright was passed in
1672, stipulating that no printer should
print or sell any more copies than were
agreed upon, and paid for by the owner,
and the next enactment secured the
copyright for seven years.
The first newspaper printed in Ameri
ca was the Boston Hews-Letter, which
was first issued by John Campbell, on
Monday, April 24, 1704. It was print
ed on paper that resembles a very aged
piece of manilla wrapping paper, a
single leaf Bxl2 inches. The only
copies of the first number of this paper
known to be in existence are in the
possession of the Massachusetts His
torical Society, Boston ; American An
tiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.;
and the New York Historical Society.
The New York Observer contains the fol
lowing well-merited notice of that excellent
publishing house, Sheldon & Cos., of New
York:
“ The publishing house of Sheldon & Cos.
has recently undergone a change by the retire
ment, with a handsome fortune, of one of the
partners, Mr. Slialer, and the ascension of two
sons of Mr. Sheldon, so that the firm now con
sists of the father and three sons, all of whom
are educated and trained men of business.
This house is one of the oldest, most respected
and respectable in the book business in our
city ; issuing excellent books, enjoying a large
trade and the confidence of the Christian pub
lic in an eminent degree. It is pleasant also
to see sons and brothers united in business and
perpetuating it from sire to son. So it has
been with Appleton, Harpers, Carters, Scrib
ners and others, and it is a sign and seal of
strength.”