Newspaper Page Text
The Christian Index!
BY JAS. P. HARRISON 4 CO.
INDEX AND BAPTIST.
Publication Rooms—27 and 29 South-Broad Stree
Editorials.
The American University of
Music. —All lovers of the divine art
of music were gratified last year by
the announcement that Samuel Wood,
Esq., an old millionaire of New York
city, had given five millions of dollars
for the purpose of endowing a free
university of music, where, under the
tuition of celebrated masters, pupils
could receive, free of cost, the most
thorough musical culture atttainable,
and be enabled to enjoy all the facilities
which the most famous conservatories
of the great cities of Europe are now
alone capable of furnishing.
A special act of the New York Leg
islature was passed to assist Mr. Wood
in carrying out his grand idea.
We are sorry to learn that, since
then, this rare philanthropist has be
come involved in an extensive law suit,
which may possibly divert a large sum
of money from him, and that other
obstacles have arisen which may, for a
time at least, cau>e a suspension of his
plan.
We trust, however, that the splendid
idea will, before long, reach its frui
tion, that this noble-minded man
may live to see it embodied a living,
light-giving, flourishing benefaction—
the focal point of scientific musical
culture in America.
It is impossible to estimate the in
fluence such an ample and munificently
appointed university would exert upon
the esthetical taste of our people. From
it would radiate many of those beams
of a higher civilization, in whose genial
warmth the sweet fruits of peace and
gentleness, and human sympathy, grow
and ripen. It would be the unques
tionable standard of true music for our
country. Its teachings, its graduates,
its example would elevate the taste
of our and teach them to
appreciate moiA fully than they do
the height, the depth, the beauty, the
glory of those manifestations in Art
of the divinity that is within us, that
lift us above the mercenary degradation
that characterizes the age, and that lead
us to the serene knowledge that there
are nobler things worth striving for
in this life, besides the fruits of Mam -
mon,’and the gratification of the lusts
of the flesh.
“Who ever commanded that a man
should be less refined and sweet
natured than a woman?” asks a writer
in the Standard.
Nobody that we know of; but is every
woman “ sweet-natured ?” and, (for the
sake of peace,) granting that they are,
let us, in true Yankee style, reply to
our querist by asking another question :
“ Why is it that a man never is refined
and sweet-natured, as women are ?”
A Wise and Honest Judge. —ln a,
recent divorce suit in New York, wherewith
the shooting of a man was also connected,
Judge Curtis, of the Supreme Court, said:
“It is suggested that the plaintiff would not
have resorted to this act of violence against
law and order, unless there was good reason
for it. All persons conversant with the ad
ministration of justice, know how frequently
when a cowardly ruffian seeks to gratify his
hatred, revenge or jealously, he has hut to
assassinate and proclaim that he is the aveng
er of some domestic wrong, and, instead of
the punishment due to his crime, he expects
to receive, and sometimes succeeds in only
receiving the plaudits of me ignorant, the
unreflecting and the weak-minded, while the
lips are forever silent of the person robbed of
life and basely slandered after death. When
the laws are thus disregarded, and the courts
become subservient to this course of proced
ure, society and civil rights are at an end.”
How true this is! How strongly it sug
gests the necessity for a thorough reform 1
Unfortunately, for the sake of truth and
justice, “ the ignorant, the unreflecting and
the weak minded ” constitute so large a per
cent, of that aggregate humanity which sits
as the high-court of public opinion, that the
edicts of this tribunal are sometimes very
reckless and devoid of wisdom.
It is not to be wondered at, then, that de
signing and malevolent men should take
advantage of this weakness, and, with brazen
affrontery, screen themselves from the pen
alty of their crimes by an appeal to the pas
sions of the mob.
It is, therefore, the highest duty of our
judiciary to stand firmly to the honor of
their position, and to maintain, inflexibly,
the divine rights of truth and justice.
—The greatest misfortune of all i
not to be able to bear misfortune.
A FALSE IDEA CONDEMNED.
“The happiest life of a woman is
perhaps attained when she adopts the
opinions of a reasonably intelligent
husband and conscientiously thinks
they are her own. But all women
cannot be happy in this way.” Such
is the utterance of the London Saturday
Review, a journal whose prominence in
the literary world, should have pre
vented its conductors from giving
circulation to such a miserably false
sentiment as the one we quote above.
And so this great English philoso
pher thinks that a woman’s happiness
consists, practically, in intellectual and
moral slavery ? She is to give up her
God-given rights as a thinking, re
sponsible being, forego the pleasures
and ignore the duties of individual
existence, and become a mere cypher,
a mindless, willless satrap of “a
reasonbly intelligent husband ?” Were
slavery in any form happiness, this
kind of sophistry would pass for wis
dom, though even under such circum
stances, it would be somewhat difficult
to find the requisite “reasonably intel
ligent husband,” a specimen not as
frequently to be met with as it should
be in the rarified matrimon al atmos
phere in which the genus man loves to
breathe, and move, and have his being.
Is woman to be a sponge, fitted only
to absorb the possibly very small ex
udations of her husband’s mind, and to
retain them in her spongy mental cells
until it shall please her owner to
squeeze them out again for his own
delectation ? Is she “conscientiously”
to believe herself to be a living fraud,
an acknowledged caricature of the
noblest attributes that distinguish us
from brutes and inanimate nature ?
How can a woman that has any sense
at all consider that to be her own
which is not her own ? and, should she
do so, would she not feel all the de
grading consciousness of being a
skulker and a thief in the treasury of
human thought and action ? Again,
could our distinguished English con
temporary’s “reasonably intelligent
husband” have the slightest esteem for
the woman claiming to be his wife, and
yet, in all her better nature, in all that
peerageof mind and soul with which the
sovereignty of Heaven has invested her,
nothing but a chattel, the plaything
of a whim, nodding her vacant head in
assent just as she may happen to be
touched by the owner’s will, like those
painted figures of Chinese mandarins
with nimble-jack necks, which one sees
in the show windows of tea merchants ?
Out upon such a farce! It is
humiliating to think however, that
such a false idea of womanhood, of
wifehood, should still find a hold upon
the mind of this enlightened and liber
al age, to such an extent as to find ex
pression and sanction in a metropoli
tan journal of influence, and supposed
to reflect the opinidh of refined and tone
giving society. The subject has been
the material for gibes, inuendoes and
uncharitable reflections long enough.
Journals of high standing at least
should be ashamed to give such senti
ments grave editorial prominence.
“ Some men are called to preach,
some to saw wood, and some to scrub
floors.”
Very true:
“ Honor or shame from no condition rise ;
Act well your part—there all the honor lies.”
A competent wood sawyer or floor
scrubber, is certainly preferable to an
incompetent person “ called to preach.”
It’s the quality of the work, not the
name, that determines its value.
Personal. —Our esteemed brother,
Rev. Jesse Campbell, Jr., of Americus,
called to see us. He is on his way to
the Centennial. He preached two ad
mirable discourses at the Second Bap
tist church on last Sabbath. We wish
him a most enjoyable trip and a safe
return to his pastorate.
Georgia Female College. —We
take pleasure in calling the attention of
our readers to the advertisement of this
reliable and highly popular college for
the education of young ladies. The
sound religious influence, healthful
location and excellent curriculum com
mend it to parents and guardians. The
term begins September 11th.
Literature Secular Editorials Current Notes and News.
ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 1876.
literary gossip.
—One half of the world does not know
what the other half thinks. It is this
fact that gives employment to the press
and the author, the mediums for the in
ternational exchange of thought. But
we are sometimes tempted to believe
that one-half of the world does not
only not know what the other half
thinks, but is incapable of thinking
at all.
—The sixth volume of Bancroft’s
History of the United States has ap
peared, bringing the work to its end,
with the end of the Revolution. The
tables of contents in the six volumes
amount, in all, to about a hundred
pages, and in the sixth there is an
alphabetical index that occupies a hun
dred and fifty more.
—An autobiography of Secretary
Seward will soon be published.
—A writer in Appleton's Journal gives
us a very readable article on “ Poetical
Zoology,’’proving by numerous extracts
from their works that poets are some
times great blunderers in their illustra
tions of the habits of birds, fish, insects,
etc. This writer demolishes, in a scienti
fic way, the illusion of many a beautiful
simile and metaphor. Cu> bono ? Poetry
is a law unto itself—poets have pecu
liar habits; why cannot they be al
lowed to imagine peculiar habits for
the fair creations of their muse?
—Mortimer Collins, the famous En
glish novelist and poet, is dead.
—A writer in the Presbyterian Quar
terly puts forth the astonishing doctrine
that “ the compilation of a dictionary
is a work which belongs to the deca
dence of a language.” This is as ab
surd as it would be to say “ the paint
ing of a man’s portrait is a work which
belongs to the decadence of his life.”
A dictionary of a living language is a
minute portrayal of its features, taken
from the life; a dictionary of a dead
language exhibits its features as im
movably fixed in death. We see no
necessary connection between the com
pilation of a dictionary and the deca
dence of a language. Is Webster's
dictionary, as compared with that com
piled by Dr. Samuel Johnson, an illus
tration of the decadence of the English
language ?
—At the alumni dinner at Williams
College this year, Mr. Bryant told when
the famous poem “ Thanatopsis ” was
written. There had been a tradition
that he wrote it when a student at
Williams. Mr. Bryant said that, en
tering that college in the sophomore
class, in 1811, he left it in May, 1812,
intending to go to Yale, but, as his
father’s means did not permit of that,
he returned to his home in Cumming
ton, his native place, and there, one
afternoon, after wandering through the
woods of that region, he rested beneath
a group of majestic forest trees, and
wrote the poem of “Thanatopsis,”
being then in his eighteenth year.
—Sheldon & Cos. will soon issue a
volume of lectures on “ Preachers and
Preaching,” by Dr. John A. Broadus.
The lectures were delivered at Newton
Theological Seminary.
—At a sale of ancient manuscript in
London, it is said, a series of scroll
work, a marvel of sumptuous artistic
decoration, relating to the evangelists,
and written in the ninth century, was
sold for $3,800.
—“The Walk,and Other Poems,” is
the title of a volume of meditative
poetry, written by anew Southern
author, who signs the nome de plume of
J. H. Mercator. The volume is pub
lished by J. A. Chapman, Newberry,
S. C. The poems are receiving favor
able commendation by Northern liter
ary journals.
Monroe Female College. —No
college for the thorough and elegant
instruction of young ladies in this
country excels in any particular, the
Monroe Female College, at Forsyth,
Georgia. The next term opens August
21st. Allusion to a few of the leading
features df this fine college are made
in the advertisement in this issue of
The Index, which we commend to the
attention of our readers.
—The wise neither grieve for the
dead nor for the living.
The Platform of the Georgia Demoeratle State
Convention.
The following platform of the Dem
ocratic party of Georgia was submitted
to the State Democratic Convention at
Atlanta last week, and unanimously
adopted:
We, the chosen representatives of the Dem
ocratic party of Georgia, in State Convention
assembled, do make the following declaration
of political principles aud party purposes, and
we invite each lover of constitutional liberty
and good government, to co-operate with us
in maintaining and carrying the same into
practical effect:
1. Resolved, We re-avow our thorough
identification with the great National Demo
cratic party of the United States, aud accept
the platform of principles and policy recently
promulgated by the party at St. Louis, Mis
souri.
2. The recent nomination hv the National
Democratic \)arty of Samuel J. Tilden, of New
York, for the office of President, and of Thom
as A. Hendricks, of Indiana, for the office of
\ ice-Pr&sident, meets our hearty approval,
and we do hereby pledge our Democratic
brethren, North, South, East and West, that
we will put forth the most active, earnest and
energetic effort to secure the triumphant elec
tionof these distinguished citizens to the high
offices to which they have been named as can
didates.
3. We declare, without equivocation, that
we are decidedly in favor of retrenchment and
reform in the administration of every depart
ment of the government, State as well as Fed
eral, and we sincerely rejoice that the Nation
al party with which we are identified, has
placed itself definitely and squarely upon a
platform that begins, continues and ends with
the doctrine of purification and reform in every
place, and everything connected with the gov
ernment and its administration.
4. We do hereby specially enjoin upon the
nominee of this Convention, if the nomination
shall he confirmed by the people, to carry
into full practical cflect, the principles of re
trenchment and reform hereinbefore set forth,
and his acceptance of the candidature to winch
we invite him, will be deemed a distinct pledge
on his part, that if elected, he will so exert the
influence and power of his office aB to reduce
taxation, lessen the public expenditures, and
lift, as far as in him lies, the incubus of "bard
times” from the people.
_5. We hereby pledge to the people of Geor
gia our earnest efforts and zealous co-operation
to perpetuate a just, impartial and economi
cal administration of the affairs of the State,
to the end that law and order may be
maintained, the public peace conserved, la
bor disburdened and energized, confidence
between man and man restored, and the pros
perity and happiness of the whole people
placed upon a sound and enduring basis.
LOVE DIVINE.
BY COL. E. Y. CLARKE.
Twice only did the Saviour weep,
Wept once for human guilt—
Fot kicked, mad Jerusalem,
previous tear was spilt.
Again, when by anew made grave,
He stood with spirit meek,
A tear of sympathy for woe,
Rolled down his godly cheek.
Give ub the Master’s mood—
The tear like liis to flow,
Whether we gaze on human guilt,
Or yet on human woe.
Our brother's faults let us not paint,
In colors deep and bright,
But rather with a blotting tear
Obscure them from the light.
—Atlanta Constitution.
Personal. —We bad the pleasure of
a visit from Col. J. H. Estill, of Sa
vannah, President of the Georgia Press
Association, and proprietor of that
kmg of Southern dailies, the Savannah
Morning News.
Col. Estill has in him the elements
essential to the make up of a leader of
men in public affairs, and his career
and the prosperity of his many enter,
prises are brilliant examples of what
pluck, perseverance, integrity and tal
ent can accomplish in our countrv.
We wish him continued and growing
success.
The Human Will.— This is the ti
tle of a treatise, psychological and theological,
from the pen of Rev. A. J. Battle, D. D., pres
ident of Mercer University, It is a work of
104 pages, handsomely printed and bound by
James P. Harrison & Cos., of this city. Dr.
Battle is a close reasoner, a profound thinker
and presents his subjict in a logical and con
vincing manner. He has contributed a valua
ble work to literature and philosophy, and it
is destined to rank as a standard authority on
the subject. We congratulate Dr. Battle on his
effort, and the publishers for their complete
demonstration that the South can get up work
in as handsome a style as any house in the
North. —Atlanta Constitution, August Bth.
Notice to Centennial Travel
ers. — On account of obstruction to travel on
the Virginia & Tennessee Road some few days
ago, last week, the railroad management re
duced the rates of their round trip tickets via
Louisville to New York and return to $42.25.
On completion of the repairs on the Virginia
& Tenessee railroad the rates were restored and
at present, round trip tickets via Louisville
and Cincinnnati are SSO. The Centennial
rates via Air Line and all other lines,via New
York and return, $42.25. Pniladelphia and
return $38.25.
Bound Copies of Minutes of all the
Associations in Georgia and of such other
States as we have to print, will be gotten up
for clerks next winter. We are now prepared
to do better work than ever.
Make Correctiohs.— Brethren will
please examine our tables showing time and
place of meeting of Aaaociations in Georgia.
If mistakes occur, they will confer a substan
tial favor on evsrybody by making correetions.
GEORGIA NEWS.
—The farmers of Terrell county hav
ing harvested a fine crop'.of small grain,
are now buoyed up and encouraged with
the most flatteriug prospect they have
had for years, of an abundant crop of
corn, peas, potatoes, cane aud cotton.
More attention has been given to rice
culture also, than heretofore.
—The South Union Musical Conven
tion will be held at Hogansville
instead of Lnthersville. It will con
vene on Friday before the third Sabbath
in August, and continue Saturday and
Sunday.
—Crops were never more promising
in Franklin county.
—The grasshoppers have made their
appearance around West Point.
—The grasshopprs are becoming
numerous in Newton and neighboring
counties, and are destroying crops.
—The Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows
of the State met in Dalton on the 9th
inst. The Grand Encampment met the
day previous.
—The members of the Georgia Press
Association present in Atlanta with the
Democratic State Convention, passed
stirring resolutions at a meeting held
at the Kimball House, warmly endors
ing Gen. Colquitt as the nominee for
Governor, and promising him their
hearty and united support.
—Crops in Monroe county excellent.
A. M. Lambdin, of Barnes
vflle, brother of President Lambdin, ot
Gordon lustiiute, was recently e.ected
by the Trustees principal of Hilliard
Institute, Forsyth.
—Col. A. D. Hammond, of Forsyth,
is a candidate for Congress from the
Fifth District.
—A very pleasant and happy meeting
of the Fulton County Sunday-school
Association, took place on last Thurs
day, at Ponce de Leon Springs, near
Atlanta. A large multitude of chil
dren aud grown folks were present.
The exercises were very interesting.
The Annual Address was delivered by
J. W. Wallace, of Augusta.
—The Democratic State Convention
at Atlanta, last Wednesday, unani
mously nominated Gen. A. H. Colquitt
for Governor. The Convention was
very enthusiastic, and the choice of the
Convention was received by the people
with general acclamation. Gen. Col
quitt made a brief and patriotic
address, and accepted the nomination.
A resolution was adopted returning
thanks to Hon. Thomas Hardeman,
Hon. Herschel V. Johnson and Mr.
John H. James for their patriotism in
retiring front the canvass, in order that
the harmony of the party might be
fully maintained.
The Convention then proceeded to
the election of Presidential Electors
for the State at large, and the choice
fell upon Gen. A. R. Lawton, of Sa
vannah, and Hon. John W. Wofford, of
Bartow county, with Gen. L. J. Gartrell
and Hon. H. D. D. Twiggs alternates.
—The Soldiers’ Monumental Asso
ciation of Rome, will hold a Fair this
Fall, at the Fair Grounds, kindly ten
dered by Mr. J. J. Cohen.
—Savannah has the honor of having
received the first bale of cotton of the
crop of 1876.
—The grasshopper pe3t is spreading
throughout the State.
—Hon. W. H. Felton, has written to
a friend in Dalton, that he expects to
be an independent candidate again for
the Seventh District, at the election for
the next Congress.
—Sorghum will be plentiful this
year.
—A bale of new cotton was sold in
Albany, on the Ist instant, for fifteen
cents per pound. It was from Lee
county.
—A Pomona Grange was organized
at Dawson on the 9th inst.
—Crop prospects in Greene county.,
are all that can be desired.
—Washington county has the best
crop grown upon her soil since 1860.
—The Jonesboro News gives the fol
lowing cheerful intelligence: Our mer
chants anticipate a heavy trade this
fall, owing to the flattering prospects
of the crop and cheerful faces of the
farmers. From reports, Clayton will
be able to sell corn at fifty neats, and
have a good deal to spare.
$3 A YEAR IN ADVANCE.
—The Newnan Herald reports a
splendid sweet potato crop in that
vicinity.
—The prospect for a low price of
cotton does not seem to affect the spir
its of our farmers. The majority of
them have made plenty to eat this year.
—The Bibb County Agricultural So
ciety, in consideration of the fact that
no State fair is to be held this year, has
determined upon an enlargement of the
ordinary plan of its annual expositions,
and will give, this fall, a district fair,
open to all the counties contiguous to
Bibb. The time for holding the fair
was postponed from June to October
for this purpose.
—The crops around Barnesville are
splendid.
—Seventy-five convicts have been,
put to work on the Sandersville and
Tunnille Railroad.
—The accommodation train between
Thomasville and Albany has ceased
running.
—The people of Putnam county will
have an abundance of home-made sup
plies this year.
NEWS OF THE WEEK.
DOMESTIC.
—A circular has been sent out from
the Treasury Department at Washing
ton, to the effect that the law prohibit
ing the redemption of documentary
stamps has been repealed, and parties
holding such stamps in good condition
can now make application and receive
the value thereof, less five per cent, on
the full vajue, in check or proprietary
stamps. .All persons in possession of
such stamps, would do well to avail
themselves of this opportunity and file
their claims for refunding.
—The Hawaiian Treaty which affects
the rice interests of the South, will
soon be taken up and determined by
the Senate.
—ln New York city, on the 3d inst.,
Benjamin W. Briscoe, held by the
sheriff under court process, by
New York creditors, was ordered by the
Governor to be extradited on a requi
sition from the Governor of Georgia,
on a charge of misappropriation of
money in Fulton county. The New
York sheriff refused to let him go, and
the Georgia sheriff had the prisoner
before Judge Westbrook on a habeas
corpus to-day for a discharge from civil
arrest. Novel questions of jurisdio
tion arising, the case was adjourned.
—Large numbers of Menonites are
coming to this country and settling in
the West.
—Congress adopted a joint resolu
tion to adjourn on Monday, August 7tb.
—Green B. Raum, of Illinois, has
been confirmed as Commissioner ot
Internal Revenue vice Pratt resigned.
FOREIGN.
—There are apprehensions at Bel
grade, that Austria will occupy Scrvia
with a military force in the interest of
European peace.
—The Turks have a corps of obser
vation 6,000 strong on the Danube,
opposite Roumania.
—Large sums from Russian com
mittees have been received at Belgrade.
Three Russian Countesses are in the
Servian hospitals.
—Austria is strengthening the gar
rison at Semlin. Russia is sending
troops to the frontier. The Eastern
prospect again looks gloomy.
—lt is stated that the present Sul
tan of Turkey, has abdicated. A
revolution is anticipated. The fanat
ical old Turkish party seem to be in
the ascendant, and the Reform party
is demoralized.
—A revolution has been suppressed
in Morocco. The Emperor and his
army devastated the country of the
Ghilans, and the wounded captives and
children were sold into slavery.
—A large number of crews of merch
ant vessels sent to the South Sea Isl
ands for laborers, have been massacred
by the natives.
—Three Sheiks of Mecca, hare placed
200,000 Arabian troops at the disposal
of the Turkish government, and some
of these troops are already upon the
march for the seat of war.
—Faithfulness and sincerity are the
greatest things.