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4 •A #4 HEWI4Y U. TUCKER. Editor THE UNSEEN BATTLE-FIELD. Perhaps the most spirited poem in any language is that of Tennyson on the charge at Balaklava. By a mis take in the orders, a British brigade of light cavalry, consisting of six hund red men under command of Earl Car digan, without any support whatever, actually charged on the whole Russian army, whose lines were formeil in a crescent, making their attack on the centre, thus exposing themselves to the most tremendous fire of heavy artille ry from three sides at once. The Rus sian batteries were amply supported by infantry in numbers overwhelming. But the order was imperative, and the awful charge was promptly made. Half a league, half a league, Half h league onward, Into the valley <»f death, Kodetheaix hundred! Cannon to the right of them, Cannon to the left of them, Cannon in front of them, Volleyed and thundered! Stormed at wPh shot and shell, Boldly they rode, and wt 11, Into the jaws of death, Into the mouth of hell, Rode the six hundred! The tramp of the horses, the clash ing of sabres, the shouting of the cap tains, the clangor of trumpets, the thunder of artillery, the crashing shot and bursting shell, the fire and smoke anl blazing sulphur, the terrific shock when the brigade dashed on the gun ners, the dismembered and shattered bodies of men and horses, all, all to gether constituted the most awful scene, the most frightful horror, the most ghastly magnificence of war, and the most amazing exhibition of human heroism ever named in the annals of the world. Our hearts leap with excitement, •nd our pulses bound madly, when we view even in imagination, scenes so fearful and so grand, and/we feel that such soul-thrilling events must be but rare in the history of the human race. Yet, struggles requiring far more he roism, and infinitely more important in their results, are transpiring around us every day. We hear no noise,there is no shock of arms, and no sight of blood ; the quiet events of every-day life occur as usual; the faces we see wear the expression of ordinary cares, or of pleasure, or of pain, or of sorrow, but not of war-begotten ferocity, and the world moves smoothly on, according to its wont. But the unseen forces of spirit-nature are in conflict. The heart is the battle-fiejd. The good that is within us, whether the remains of an telapsarian virtue or ingrafted grace, •re at war with inborn depravity, and with the fierce powers of darkness. The most dreadful of all wars is the war of an immortal moral nature with itself; when its better impulses are met by passions rebellious against God, in league with malignant spirits, hateful and hating, and in hell-born hostility to both God and man. The guns of Balaklava are but toys, to the tremen dous powers of a deathless soul; a few short years would wear out these carnal weapons, and they are but dust, while the moral energies of an immortal be ing are subject to no wear, and if they change, must change from strength to strength forever. The issues decided on the field of blood are but transitory things; the issues decided in the hu man breast are the issues of eternity. A far more important event than oc •urred at Marathon or at Hastings, may have transpired this very day in the breasts of millions. What we see of life is but a small thing; what we do not see is the foundation of eternal joy or of eternal misery. The unseen world is the real world; the invisible part of man is the real man. The earth is peopled with those who have never seen each other. We walk about as it were in darkness, not witnessing the stupendous events that make the his tory of souls, which is the only history. Mere dust has no history; it does noth ing, feels nothing, knows nothing; vir tually it »• nothing. The activities of the universe are its only important el ements. Physical phenomena we wit ness, but these are mere expressions; the real powers and persons that work out destiny are hidden from us. We •re blind to transactions of infinite magnitude; deaf to voices that might •hake the heavens. A member of the household meets us pleasantly at the fireside; we see nothing unusual; there is no betrayal of the workings of the spirit within ; yet, beneath that calm exterior, there may boa conflict raging between migh ty antagonisms, the result of which will end in heaven or in hell. The grapple of a man with a ferocious wild beast, when one ox the other must sure ly die, is but a small matter compared with the struggle of that same person, perhaps in the solitude of his chamber, with himself; his evil self being aided in the deadly strife by fierce spirits from another world. Suppose the bat tle to be over, and that the powers of evil have triumphed. No sign of the oombat is seen. The conquered man appears as he always did. He says nothing of what has passed, and no suspicion of anything unusual is THE CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST: THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 1881. aroused. But an awful event has taken place. A soul is doomed to the wrath of God forever. The issue may appear to have been a very trivial one. Perhaps it was merely whether some trifling indulgence in sinful pleasure should be allowed, or whether some step of questionable propriety should be taken. A pure conscience took one side, a burning passion took the other; the law of the members and the law of the mind were in mortal combat. Ro. 8 :23. The very heart was torn asun der in the dreadful encounter. The outer man was placid; the inner man was in torture. It was a great battle on a great issue; and the issue was this: Shall unqualified obedience be rendered to God? The result of the conflict is an emphatic No! and the Waterloo of Napoleon is but a trifle to this Waterloo of the soul. Oh, could we see these now invisible battles, and could their results, far-reaching into eternity, be spread out before us, with what glowing fervor should we supplicate the Divine mercy and help in behalf of the struggling soul, and how should we fly to its succor! But let us not imagine because they are invisible that they are unreal. Tiiey are taking place every day and every hour. A great battle may be going on in a dozen breasts in one family. In some childish bosom there may be rag ing a war infinitely greater in its issues than any that ever engaged the hugest armies of earth. A rosy boy or a fair girl may be deciding the great question of an endless future. A strong man can do no more; and many strong— strong in moral power—very Samsons in virtue, have, either by superior pow er, or by the subtle arts of moral war fare, been destroyed. Unaided from on high no man is equal to the contest; nothing but divine grace in the heart can give the victory to the right. But, in any case, the battle is fought by the man himself. How can we help? A kind word, a little well-timed instruction, a cau tion, an exhortation, an encourage ment, an appropiiate expression from the living oracles, a sympathizing spirit, a warm heart that shows its warmth by deeds of love, an earnest prayer; any or all of these may be all that is needed. A happy feature, too, is this, that aid given to another, reacts on one’s self, and helping him to fight his battles tends largely to success in one’s own. Indeed it is a general prin ciple, that he who is a blessing to oth ers, brings greater blessing to himself; while he who lives for himself, lives and dies a failure. Have we overstated the dignity and consequence of these unseen and noise less battles? Regard the case of the first Adam. He was not deceived as our mother was, but delibeiately and with his eyes open, he committed the transgression. We cannot conceive of the tumult which arose in his breast when contending forces fought for the mastery. But he yielded, and the race was lost. It may be said that there are no such stupendous issues now. We who suffer such consequences should be the last to inquire how great or how small may be the results of dis obedience to God. It should satisfy us to know that, in any case, they are immeasurable. God only, who made the law, can know the spread of the consequences of its violation. But suppose that in such a conflict, the right has achieved a triumph. Such cases are not rare. They are not no ticed on earth. There are no garlands for the victors. No loud applause nor sounding honors await them. They may be, and many of them are, the obscurest of earth. Some are little children; some are weak women. Some may be rich, and learned and great; some may be poor, and ignorant and wretched. But whoever they may be, they are God’s heroes, and whatev er their place in this world, their rank is high in heaven. In the closet of the palace, in the squalid cabin of the poor, in the counting-room of the mer chant, or in the domestic circle, there may be victories won, over which an gels shout for joy. He that ruleth his spirit, w’hat a conqueror is he! If the six hundred had captured the heights at Balaklava and had turned its guns upon their fleeing owners, destroying them all, it would have been by com parison a poor exploit. Prov. 16 :32. Alexander, Ctesar, Napoleon and all the rest of the world’s great captains, may make but a sorry figure at the Judgment day. Bnt they who fought and conquered the great principle of evil, though it were done silently and in secret, will stand before an assemb led universe crowned with glory. Among them will be the little ones the little ones of earth, but the great ones of the skies. Every one of us is engaged in this war. Every heart has its own conflicts. Blessed is lie that overcometh! But what is it that he is to overcome? Our wrestling is “not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the dark ness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Eph. 6:12. Many and great are the promises made to “him that overcometh” in this invis ible strife. “The tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God,” is his. Rev. 2:7. “He shall not be over come of the second death.” Rev. 2:11. “The hidden manna and the white ptone” are his. Rev. 2:17. “Power over the nations” is his. Rev. 2 :26. The white “raiment” is his, and “his name will not be blotted out of the book of life," and he will be "confessed” by the Lord of glory “before the Fath er and before his angels.” Rev. 3 :5. He will be made “a pillar in the tem ple of God;” the name of God will be written upon him ; and the name of the city of God will be written upon him, and the new name of Jesus, not yet revealed, a name of glory and grandeur incommunicable now to men, and perhaps to angels, will be written upon him. Rev. 3 :12. And finally says Christ, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Rev. 3:21. Can we conceive that such transcen dent promises would be made to any but to the heroesof a war the fierceness and awfulness and terror and power of whose strife is beyond paralled in the universe? Blessed is he that over cometh the invisible foe in such sub lime encounter; blessed is he that tri umphs on THE UNSEEN BATTLE-FIELD. A FALSE BALANCE. The religious papers have been very denunciatory of Sara Bernhardt, a dis tinguished French actress now in this country, for a transgression committed in her youth, which she does not at tempt to conceal., Marian Evans, recently deceased, a distinguished English writer, whose nom de plume was George Eliot, com mitted the same transgression, yet in her case the offence is treated tenderly, and is spoken of more as an irregulari ty or eccentricity than as a grave of fence. Now why this difference? Is it because one is French and the other English? Or is it because one is an actress and the other a writer? Or is it from mere respect of persons? Have we various standards of morals which we can apply as our fancy or as our partiality dictate? Is that which is a grievous crime in one, a mere venial offence in another? The influence of Miss Evans is a thousand times that of the French ac tress. Yet the writings of one are welcomed to our families while the very sight of the other who speaks a language jiot understood by many of our people is regarded as a dreadful thing. We fail to see the justice of this. If there is any difference the case ought to be reversed ; for the writ er teaches the reader while the actress merely amuses the spectator. If we remember aright we fell into the current in speaking of Miss Bern hardt, but that was before Miss Evans died, and since wo have, come to com pare the two cases we are half sorry for what we said. We have no apolo gy to make for the sin of either of the persons spoken of ;and will never say a word knowingly to lower the standard Christian morality, and we protest against the demoralizing influence of the stage; but on the other hand, we protest against making distinctions where none exist; and we take occas ion furthermore to say that we have no sympathy with that merciless ostra cism amounting to persecution which follows one for life, in consequence of a transgression committed long years ago. Let us take the matter home; which of us can stand the scrutiny of all his past record? Let him, who can, be the first to cast a stone. Shall we discard the epistles of Paul because he once breathed out slaughter? Shall we scout the epistles of Peter because he once denied his Lord? No; it is not what people have done, but what they do.that we should regard ; and not what they have been, but what they are that should concern us. We have been led to make these last remarks because we have often seen persons, particularly women, cruelly visited with social penalty, long alter the evil has been abandoned and sore ly repented of. At the risk of losing the confidence of self-righteous Phari sees, we speak these kind words in be half of the erring. Fly to the Savior, ye who have sinned; doubt not that his mercy will embrace you, and be sure that among the true people of God you will find a genuine sympathy. Take courage, if you are frowned upon ; and be happy in this, that whatever men may say, the penitent will be sure to enjoy the smile of God. If we have wandered from our first topic, we have wandered from a good field into a bet ter. Let this be our apology. J. Hyatt Smith, years ago, went out through his "open door” into the wid er liberty of loose communion, and not very long after, was found practically playing the role of a Catholic priest, by sprinkling a dying child. C. H. Malcom became shaky on communion, and has taken orders in the Episcopal church. Geo. F. Pentecost became enamored of open communion, and to day is pastor-elect of Tompkins ave nue Congregational church, Brooklyn. Dr. Behrends separated fropi his breth ren upon this point, and for years has been the pastor of a Congregational so ciety in Providence. This is the ten dency. These are stepping stones. Churches must stand kindly, yet very firmly, by these old landmarks, dealing kindly but firmly with erring brethren, thus preserving our churches against the dangers to which we are to-day ex posed.— Western Recorder. THE CENSUS AGAIN. Our brother of Cincinnati, whose Journal and Messenger we read every week with pleasure, notices not at all favorably, some comments of ours on the facts of the late census; and while he speaks of us in most complimentary terms, (whether ionically or not we do not know,) he endeavors to make it appear, that under the influence of “passion and prejudice,” we have made “an egregious blunder;” and he also endeavors, as best he can, to account for the inferior relative increase of New England with the South. We do not believe that the South has a monopoly of all the passion and prejudice in the world,and are of the opinion that these evils are spread pretty evenly over the surface of the earth. As to the facts stated by us, our brother admits them, but declares that they are not remar kable ; and so far as we are able to learn frem what he has said, our “egregious blunder” consists simply in this, that we havesaid that they are remarkable. Well, misery leaves company, and we are happy in the assurance, that al most every man in the United States, who knows what the facts are, agrees with us that they are remarkable. So very remarkable are they considered as to excite many a-'peals to Superinten dent Walker as to their correctness, and to this day although he has over and over verified his reports, their ac curacy is questioned. Now that the fac.s are stubbornly immovable, great ingenuity is exercised in accounting for them ; but no matter how they are accounted for, the facts remain, and will make a strong impression on the public mind, and will damage the the ories of some, and will change the opinions of many. Either with or wit tout argument, we are wi.ling and more than willing to submit to the ver dict of the public. The greatest ratio of loss is in New England, the next great est in the Middle States. The greatest ratio of gaia is not in the Western States, where all the missing New Englanders are said to have gone, and where many thousands of Europeans have gone, and where some thousands of Southern negroes have gone; with all this influx the West is not the great gainer. The greatest gain is at the South from which thousands have gone to help these very Western States. O:ir own population has been depleted to increase theirs and yet we have come out in advance. On these facts anybody may comment as much as he pleases, and exhaust himself in expla nations, and then let the case go to the jury! We are sorry to say that by an over sight of our proof-reader an important error was made by which our Cincin nati brother was grievously misled. Our printer placed a figure 9 upside down, making it appear as a figure 6. On this exhibit tne Journal and Mes senger says, “New York loses 3 out of 33 representatives, under the new ap portionment and Georgia 3 out of 9 ; the former one eleventh, the latter one third.” If our figure 9 had been print ed right side up, it would have appear ed that while New York loses 3, Geor gia loses none. The J. and M. unfor tunately built an argument on our printer’s erroneous exhibit; but as the figure was upside down, so also our brother’s argument is heels-over-head. We must apologize for giving him this tumble. But as we have corrected our mistake we beg that he will correct his and inform his readers that Georgia is “right side up,” losing nothing by the census, while Ohio and Indiana lying side by side, each lose one. Let the facts be stated exactly as they are and then, “Gentlemen of the jury, the case is with you?” MISDIRECTED CHARITY. In our last issue we spoke of the in tensely cold weather of this most ex traordinary winter, and of the suffer ings of the poor in our city in conse quence. We also spoke highly of a movement among our citizens to afford relief. A large amount was raised ;we contributed a small sum to it; and an office of distribution was opened, where provisions and other necessaries were largely dispensed. The effect was calamitous. Throngs of able-bodied negroes beseiged the office from morning till night; labor in a great measure ceased, the laborers having suddenly become mendicants; and a large part of the charity was worse than thrown away. We are sur prised that we did not foresee all this, and doubtless we should have done so if we had stopped to reason about the matter; but our pity was touched, and we yielded to our benevolent feelings without stopping to reason. Our eyes are now open ; and we see that we and others who took part in the affair, have done a vast amount of harm, and very little good. We have placed a premium on indolence and dishonesty. We have deprived those who needed labor ers and were able and willing to pay them, of the service they required ; we have induced the poor to believe that they can be supported without work; we have encouraged the thriftless and worthless vagabonds of the country for miles around to flock to our city, where they can battenon the bounty of others; and what is, perhaps, worst of all, we have discouraged the benevolent from yielding to their generous impulses; in short, we have demoralized and in jured the whole community. It may be asked, why was not the distribution made more judiciously? The plan was to give aid to all who brought a written recommendation from any minister of the gospel, white or black, residing in the city. One minister, we are informed, gave four hundred of these certificates! It is needless to say more. Whether this minister was a white man or a negro, we shall not say, but will leave our readers to guess. Now, if we who live here could make such a mistake, is it not just possible that those who live a thousand miles away might make similar mistakes on a larger scale? We think they have done so, and that they have been doing it for years. We should be sorry to stop the tide of anybody’s benevolence, but we suggest to all that it is not well to dispense charity unless it is sure that it will promote the real welfare of those who are its recipients. A CHURCH IN A LA WSUIT. The Supreme Court of Georgia has just decided a case which concerns the First African Baptist church of Savan nah. The plaintiffs claiming to be the trustees of its property and the dea cons ‘of the church, and claiming to represent the great majority of its members, declare that their worship was interrupted and in fact broken up by disorderly and boisterous conduct on the part of a small minority, and that the guilty parties were legally convicted of tneir misdemeanor; that said parties afterwards illegally and without authority and contrary to the wishes of the majority dismissed the pastor and deposed the deacons, and by boisterous and indecent behavior forced the majority to seek another place of worship; the minority hold possession of the church edifice, and deny to the majority any and all rights in the premises, whereupon the ma jority filed a bill praying that the min ority be enjoined from further posses sion of said property and that a decree be issued requiring them to surrender the same with all the accompanying rights and privileges to the plain tiffs - The Court below dismissed the case on the ground that no sufficient cause of action was set forth in the bill. The Supreme Court, has over-ruled this decision. Those who wish to know the details of the case will find them fully set forth in Georgia Reports. BIBLE REVISION. Rev. Dr. Philip Schaff, President of the American Bible Revision Commit tee, spent last Sunday in Charleston, and on Sunday night delivered an ad dress before a large congregation at the Citadel Square Baptist Church up on the revision of the English version of the Bible. We give a summary of this interesting lecture from last Mon day’s News and Courier: The present movement for revising the English translation of the Bible, the lecturer said, originated ten years ago in the Convocation of Canterbury. It is carried on by two committees, the one British and the other American, co-operating with each other on the same principles, and exchanging, from time to time, the results of their labors. The British committee meets monthly in the Jerusalem Chamber of the Dean ery of Westminster, London, and the American committee meets monthly in the Bible House in New York. Both committees are composed of eminent biblical scholars from all denomina tions using the present authorized ver sion of the Bible. The revision, there fore, will be the joint product of all the Protestant Churches of England and America, and is intended to supersede the King James’version if thechurches adopt it. The object of the revision is not only to retain the idiom and vocab ulary of the authorized version, but to bring it up to the present state of the English language and of biblical schol arship. The chief improvements con templated will be as follows : First. All absolute terms which have gone out of use or have changed their meanings will be replaced by intelligi ble terms. Second. The text will be improved from the oldest and best manuscripts which have been recently discovered and compared with the ancient trans lations and the quotations of the early fathers. Third. Actual errors in translation will be corrected. Fourth. Inaccuate renderings, which arise mostly from an imperfect knowl edge of the Hebrew and Greek Gram mars at the time the present revision was made, will be made accurate. Fifth. Inconsistencies in the render ing of the same word in various ways will be rectified, and uniformity of ren dering will be secured wherever the sense requires it. These inconsisten cies extend also to proper names, such as Timothy and Timotheus, Elijah and Elias, Isaiah and Isaias, Miriam and Mary. Where the same person is in tended the rendering will be made uni form. Hebrew names will be given in Hebrew spelling, and Greek names in Greek spelling. Sixth. Real differences, which exist ed in the original Bible and which have I been obliterated in the present version, i will be restored. Seventh. The italics which repre sent words and phrases not found in the original will be reduced to the smallest possible number, so that noth ing shall appear in the revised Scrip ture which docs not belong to it. The business of a translator, the committees have agreed, is simply to give the best equivalent in idiomatic English for the original Greek and Hebrew without addition, without deduction and with out change of any kind, so that the reader may be brought face to face with the original Word of God. Eighth. The division of the Bible into chapters and verses, which was made many centuries after the apos tles and is found to be very injudicious, will be supplemented by arranging the prose in sections, and printing the poetry as poetry according to the laws of Hebrew poetry. One-third of the Old Testament is poetry. The Book of Job, psalms, proverbsand prophesies are all poetical writings, and if proper ly arranged and printed will show to much greater advantage, and its beau ty, symmetry and rhythm will be bet ter appreciated by the reader. After ten years’ labor, Dr. Sclfaff says, the committee have completed the New Testament. The Old Testa ment will be completed in two or three years. The New Testament will be printed by the University Presses of Oxford and Cambridge in the month of February next. The several heads into which the lecture was divided, as indicated above, were all fully elaborated and aptly illustrated, and the lecture as a whois was thoroughly interesting and highly instructive. During the delivery of the address the pulpit was occupied by the Rev. Drs. Vedder, Brackett and Junkin, of the Presbyterian Church; Dr. Cham bliss, of the Baptist Church ; the Rev. M. A. Missildine, pastor of the Con gregational Church; the Rev. Mr. Chrietzberg, of the Methodist Church, and the Rev. David Levy, pastor of the Hasel street Synagogue. A num ber of other clergymen were seated in the body of the church. The American Bible Revision Com mittee have authorized the publica tion of the following circular, and re quest that all papers interested in the work will give it publication: Bible Revision Committee Booms ) Bible House, N. Y., Jan. 3, 1881. j The American Bible Revision Com mittee have completed the revision of the English version of the New Testa ment, and transmitted the result of their labors to England. The Univer sity Presses of Oxford and Cambridge are expected to issue the revised New Testament in February 1881. The Ola Testament will be publshed two or three years later. The American revisers have given their time and labor eight years with out compensation. The necessary ex penses have been provided for by vol untary subscriptions. Any friend of the great undertaking who will contribute towards the ex penses $ 10 or more before the Ist of February next, will receive a memorial copy of the first University edition of the revised New Testament, hand somely bound and inscribed. The money must be sent to Mr. Andrew L. Taylor, treasurer in the Bible House, New York, or to Philip Schaff, President of the Revision Committee. —Programme of the next General Meeting of Friendship Association, to convene with the church at Tazewell on Friday before the sth Sabbath in January, 1881: Introductory Sermon : Elder W. W. Mabry; alternate, Elder W. B. Stevens. Subjects for discus lion : Ist. Giving. Opened by Elder B. W. Bussey. Discussion to follow. 2d. Ought the churches to have service every Sabbath? Opened by B. W. Davis. Discussion to follow. 3d. Essay on the Division of Bap tists on Missions. Elder W. B. Stevens. Discussion. Minutes.— Atlanta, sth; Atlanta, 2d ; Atlanta, Ist; Central church. The Stone Mountain minutes for the above churches still remain in this office. Clerks will please call for them. THE PARENTS’ AND TEACHERS’ ASSISTANT IN REARING CHILDREN FOR ETERNAL LIFE, BY REV. HENRY H. TUCKER, D. D. FIFTY-FIRST WEEK. All things work together for good to them that love God.—Rom. viii:2B. This is perhaps the most comprehen sive promise in the Bible. It is enough to make a Christian always contented and happy. Everything is doing him some good. Everything that he sees, hears, feels and knows, and everything that he does not see, hear, feel, or know, all together are working for his good. There is no such thing as real misfor tune to one who really loves God. His apparent misfortunes are only blessings in disguise. Alas, for those who do not love God; nothing works good for them. QUESTIONS. What is said of this text? How ought it to make a Christian always feel? What is said of everything in the uni verse? What is said of misfortune? What of apparent misfortunes? What of them who do not love God? 756. How oft when dark mlafortune'i band Around their victim Mood ; The teeming ill at thy command, Hath changed to real good. Then rage, ye rtortna ; ye billowi rear, My heart deflea your ahock; Ye make me cling to God the more— To God, my ihcltering rock.