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4 HENRY H.TVCKKR, Kditor. SIDE-LIGHTS ON INSPIRATION. All the editors and many others, are just at this time writing on the subject of inspiration. Yielding rather to the wishes of friends than to any prompt ing of our own, we contribute a column or two as our share of the discussion. An exhaustive treatment of the subject in the small space at our command, is impossible; and hence, waving me thodical procedure, we content our selves by displaying a few side-lights, which we hope will, so far as they go, answer a good purpose. 1. The Greek word theopneustos, which is translated given by inspiration of God, means literally God-breathed. Now the question is much discussed, whether it was merely the thought that was God-breathed, leaving the writers wholly to themselves in the selection of the words in which this thought should be expressed, or whether the words as well as the thought were under such controlling influences of the Divine Spirit as to make them of supreme authority. In one case we have the word of God— that is, the revelation of his will and purposes —communicated to us in the language of fallible men ; in the other ease we have not only the word of God, in its broadest sense, but also the words of God in a literal sense. Those who hold to the former theory believe that while the truth is from God, the words in which the truth is uttered are of merely human authority. They say that the word of God is in the Scriptures, while yet the Scriptures themselves are not the word of God, and are fond of quoting the text, “The letter killeth but the spirit giveth life.’’ Now, it appears to us, that so far as relates to the authoritativeness of the words of Scripture, it is immaterial which way the above much-debated question is decided. If indeed the very words are inspired, they are, of course, binding on our consciences. But suppose they are not inspired, are they not equally binding? They are the only words in which the will ’of God is made known to men ; if He did not select them, nor control the selec tion of them, he has adopted them, and has thus given them the sanction of his authority. Whoever selected the words, God uses them in communica ting his revelations to us, and if they are good enough for God to use, they are good enough for us to accept. And again, whether they come from his Spirit or not, they certainly come from his providence; whether God-breathed or not they are God-given, and if God given we may be sure that they are the very words that ought to have been given, and that there is no deceit in them, and nothing tending to mis lead, and that they convey to our minds all that God intended should be conveyed, neither more nor less. If God made a revelation of truth to cer tain men, and allowed them to express that truth in such away as to obscure the meaning or to pervert it, of what use is that revelation to us? Is it pos sible that the Spirit ,of God would in dite a revelation which his providence annuls? Does God thus work against himself? Would God mock us and tantalize us by saying “I give you my truth, but I give it in such form and shape that you can never know whether you have it or not; the truth which lies behind the words is from me, but the words are not from me ; they are from fallible men,some of them very ignorant men, not skilled ia the use of words, and peculiarly liable to err; these words may mislead you; some of them may be not only badly chosen but wio igly chosen and may express what I did not mean, but I am not responsible for these; the truth as it comes from me is pure, but as it gets to you it is impure; after you have purged it of the errors which men have combined with it, what is left is to be depended on.” Such a revela tion is no revelation. It is as if one would say to another, “I give you a valuable possession ; it is in the shape of a hundred pieces of money ; some of these pieces are genuine and are of priceless value, but other pieces are counterfeit and worthless; you cannot possibly distinguish between them, though I know them on sight; if you use one of the counterfeit pieces you shall surely die.” How much would a man be enriched by such a donation? Yet it would be quite as valuable, as a revelation of the words of eternal life so mixed with what might be words of eternal death, that we cannot know one kind from the other. We cannot believe that God would give us his word encumbered with impossible con ditions. He who knows what to com municate knows how to communicate it; and the words which we have are those which he intended us to have. Whether they are God-breathed words »r not makes no difference. Admit ting that they are not so, they are just as authoritative as if they were so; we have them from the providence of God, and the Providence of God is God. If we are told again that the letter killeth but the spirit giveth life, we have to ask, Suppose we kill the letter what becomes of the spirit? It is gone, THE CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1881. and there is nothing left of the Scrip tures but a dead-letter, and we have no reliable rule of duty, and no guide to eternal life 2. Whatever may have been the case with the writers of the sacred Scriptures, there certainly have been occ isions when God communicated his will to men through the mouths of other men in words which were selected for this purpose, not by the spokesman, but by God himself. When Moses complained that he was slow of speech, the Lord said unto him “Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf? or the seeing or the blind? have not I the Lord. Now therefore go and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say. And he said Omy Lord send I pray thee by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well .... And thou shalt speak unto him and put words into his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokes man unto the people; and he shall be ... to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be be to him instead of God.” Ex. 4, 11-16. So far as relates to Moses and Aaron, the passage quoted is something more than a taper; it is more like a Drummond-light. No interpretation that can be put on this extract can make it mean anything disc than that the very words were God-breathed. Nor did the verbal inspiration cease with Moses and Aaron. The Lord afterward said to Moses, “I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth, and be shall speak unto them all that I command him.” Deut. 18, 18. The prophet Jeremiah claims the same thing, for he says, “Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth ; and the Lord said unto me, Behold I have put my words in thy mouth.” Jer. 1. 9. In the New Testament we find the same expressions. Our Lord, speaking to his disciples, said, “I will give you a mouth and wisdom.” Lu. 21. 15. Two things are here promised; one is wisdom; what is the other? On another occasion he said, “Take no thought how or what ye shall speak, for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak, for it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” Mat. 10. 19. Quo t bions of like character might be multiplied. Now if it was important that the very words should be God-breathed w hich Moses spoke but which were not written, and which were addressed to Israel only and not to all mankind, and which related to temporal matters and not to spiritual, is it not much more important that those words should be God-breathed which are written, and which are meant not for temporary purposes but for permanent tfse, and which are intended for the whole human race? And if the very words were God-breathed which the apostles used in their oral addresses, words which died away with their own echoes, and which were heard only by a few scores or a few hundreds of men, is it not far more important that those words should be God-breathed, and more likely that they would be, which were intended not for the few who could hear an apostle’s voice, but which were written for the countless millions of succeeding generations, and which should be the only expression of God’s truth until the end of time? The less demands the greater. If it was neces sary that the words in which truth was conveyed on a small occasion, should be under the inspiration or control of infinite wisdom, it is incon ceivable that it should be less than necessary, on so stupendous an occa sion as that, when Almighty God makes his final revelation to the whole world. Someof our readers will recognise what is known as the argu ment a fortiori. 3. In apostolic times some spoke with tongues; that is, they spoke in f ireign languages which they had rtev er learned, as if they were their own. In this case the words, the very words were certainly God-breathed. Now, if the tongue may be under divine con trol and supplied with a vocabulary, when the speaker uses a foreign lan guage, why may not the pen of a writ er be under the same control when he uses his own language? Doubtless each one of those speakers exhibited his mental characteristics in his speech. They were- not mere automatons, they were human beings, and everything that came from them was like them, though God was in it. So the writers show their idiosyncracies as plainly when they were inspired as when they were not. A man does not cease to be himself when God uses him. His powers are not changed, they are mere ly controlled so as to effect the very purpose, and no other, which God would accomplish. It is as if a musi cian were to play first upon a flute and then upon a cornet; each instrument wonld give its own sound wholly dif ferent from the other, but the breath that makes the sound and the genius that inspires the music is the same. Moses, David, Isaiah, James Paul, Peter, were so many different instru ments, though not mechanical instru ments, each with personal peculiarities of his own, but all were used by the same God as the media of communicat ing with men. * 4. Admitting that the words are not inspired, we are not willing to trust any one in these latter days to improve upon them. It is much more likely that the proper words have been select ed by those whom God appointed to convey his truth to us, than that they could be bettered by the “leaders of advanced thought" who have prung up eighteen hundred years after the last apostle died. The fishermen and the tent-maker are safer gnides after all, than those who claim to represent what is called the “scholarship of the age.” A few noisy men may make themselves heard, but they are not likely to be listened to. What is writ ten is written, and what we have we shall keep, and we thank God for it, for every word of it. We remember what our brother Paul said; “We speak not in the words, which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth.” 1 Cor. 2.13. Or as the American revisers have the whole passage “Which things also we speak not in words which man’s wisdom teacheth,but which the Spirit teacheth ; combining spiritual things with spirit ual words.” Those who are wise above what is written and who choose to take the risk may dispute the apostles’ claim. INCOMPETENTS. If all the criticisms that have been made on the medical treatment of the. President since he received his wound were put in print, there would perhaps be enough of it to fill a dozen large vol umes. Most of these criticisms are absurd, and many of them are merci less. Some of them amount to noth ing more than this : “If the President dies, it will be because he has been butchered by the doctors.” This in deed appears to be a wide spread,if not a general sentiment. Yet notone of these critics has seen the President, and not one in a hundred of them, ever saw a gun-shot wound, or knows anything of medicine or surgery. How does it happen, that they find themselves com petent to decide that the physicians in charge are incompetent? Would it not be more modest, and more becom ing, and more proper everyway, for those who know nothing to say noth ing? As for ourselves, we know noth ing of the medical gentlemen referred to, but we surely are at liberty to pre sume, that they are men of at least or dinary capacity, and that their profes sional knowledge and skill are at least respectable; and if this be the case, we may be sure, that the President has been reasonably well treated. The probability is that these physicians are far more than “ordinary” and “respec table,” and that they would be regard ed as peers by the ablest of their pro fession in the world. Now, when men who know nothing of the facts of the case, and who are wholly ignorant of medical science, indulge in wholesale and ferocious criticism of what has been done, how ridiculous they make themselves! Human nature is always perpetrat ing some such folly. Judging by what we often hear, we should suppose tln»t the members of the faculty of a college, are the only men in the country who do not know how to manage its affairs. Those who have made this business a specialty, and who have given their whole lives to it, are overruled forsooth, by men who have never had the expe rience of one day, and who have never studied the subject one hour. It was just so during the war. Our ablest generals were not at the head of the army, but at home, on the street corners, at the post-office, in the sa loons, in fact, everywhere except in the army! We have heard the most truc ulent criticisms on our ablest soldiers by men who had never seen a battle, and who had never even read under standingly, the details of one. And coming from great things down to small, everybody knows how to edit a newspaper except the editor! Rising now to the highest of all offices, where is the man who is not competent to tell a pastor exactly what he ought to do? What a pity that all the promi nent places should be filled by incom petents! And what a vast amount of neglected talent there is in private life! What physicians, what professors, what soldiers, what editors, what pas tors! How many inglorious Milton’s far (alas!) from mute! Is it not time for each one to contribute his share toward the improvement of public manners and morals, by ceasing to pass harsh judgment on men, concern ing whose business he knows nothing? Besides the weekly Baptist Gem, the weekly lesson papers, and the monthly, semi-monthly and weekly Kind Words, we are to have the Kind Words Quarterly, a help for teachers and scholars—all edited by Rev. S. Boykin, issued in the interest of the Southern Baptist Convention, and pub lished at Macon, Ga. We commend them to the brotherhood as worthy of liberal patronage, for their devotion to home religion, Baptist doctrine, tem perance and missions, and hope to see them coming into general use in our Georgia Sunday schools. Send for circulars and specimen numbers, to brother Boykin, Macon. —LaGrange Reporter: Rev. J. G. Goss has recently baptized four persons at Wehadkee and eleven at Western church, over the river. BONDSERVANTS. We have no disposition to revive dead issues, and so far as slavery is concerned,we are glad that it has ceased to be. But we remember, that in old times we used to say, that the Greek word doulos, which in the New Testa ment is translated servant, ought to have been translated slave. This pro position was hotly disputed, and the world was supplied with avast amount of literature going to show that slave was not the proper word by which the word doulos should be translated, and that the word servant correctly repre sented the Greek. In the Revised Version, wherever the word doulos oc curs, it is translated (in the margin) bondservant. Now the words bond servant and slave are absolute syno nyms, that is, they both mean precise ly the same thing. The revisers avoided the word slave, we must sup pose, simply because of the bad odor in which the very word is held, but they adoped another word which is its exact equivalent. It was often sneer ingly asked in former days, “How would it sound to say, Paul the slave of Jesus Christ?” It must be confessed that the sound would not be agreeable to the ear, but this is simply because so many horrors have been hung around the word slave. It sounds better to say, “Paul, the bondservant of Jesus Christ;” but the difference is only in the sound, and not in the sense. The word servant is a misrep resentation of the meaning, and yet this word was adhered to and insisted on ; and it is probable that a few years ago, there were some, who if they could have been convinced that the word doulos really means slave, would have renounced the Bible. Now, those same persons would perhaps be willing to accept the Bible as the word of God notwithstanding its use of this offen sive word. But why now, more than then? Now, there is no purpose to be accomplished ; now, there is no occa sion, on this point at least, to pervert the Scriptures. Time has made it all right; and the revisers, so far as their authority goes, have settled this question in favor of those who were ridiculed and malign ed for declaring that slave is the prop er translation of doulos. The matter which gave rise to the old discussion is happily a thing of the past, but the unfairness of some of the things that were said is now fully exposed. We chronicle this fact, not as already said, to revive a debate from which no good can possibly come, but to prepare the way for a general proposition : A happy day for the world will it be, when everybody, regardless of his par tialities, and prejudices, and of all consequences, will be willing to take the word of God exactly as it is written. What a grand day for Baptists that will be! And what a disturbance of the waters! The time will come—is coming. GLIMPSES AND HINTS. —The Presbyterian Church in Canada holds, in December, examinations on doc trine and government, for Sunday-school teachers. The Central Baptist thinks the idea not a bad one. —George Macdonald expresses the belief, “that all insanity has moral as well as phys ical roots.” —“A journey is a victory,” says an Ara bian proverb. We fear thatsome Christians find spiritual defeat in a vacation tour. —According to T. M. Coan, the people of the United States are increasing in wealth at tbe rate of $2,300,000 a day. Some of us, however, do not get our percentage of that increase. —Freemason street Baptist church, Nor folk, Va , failed to secure Rev. A. C. Dixon, of Asheville, N. C., as pastor, and has called Rev. J. L. Burrows, D. D., of Louisville, Ky. —Rev. H. W. Battle, in a letter from Virginia to the Baptist Record, mentions the appointment of Rev. N. W- Halcomb by our Richmond Board as a missionary to China. —Rev. J. B. Hartwell. D D., the mission ary of our Southern Home Board to the Chinese in California, was married in Bal timore, Md., August 30th, to Miss Charlotte E. Norris. —There seems to be some uncertainty as to the resignation of Consul Wharton. His wife's father, Rev. Dr. Irwin, has had no in ti mation of it in the family correspondence. —“l'd a great deal rather fight Satan than a church deacon," said Mr. Moody at his late Northfield conference of Bible-workers. Congregationalist deacons must be a power in the land, and often a power for evil. —“Satan's gun has kicked himself over,” was the title of a sensational sermon in New York not long since. The Enemy, we fear, had another gun which at least "winged” the preacher of that sermon. —Prohibition does prohibit. In 1833 there was in Maine one dram'shop to every 225 inhabitants ; and now there is less than one to every 1,000. Three in every four have been abolished, and those that remain are crippled by the necessity of keeping their existence secret. —ln 1785, Benjamin Trumbull mourned that there had been 430 divorces in Connec-. ticut within a century ; but in 1864 there were 426, and then for fifteen years they averaged 446 —Editor Wayland, in his account of Moody’s Bible Conference at Northfield, Mass.’ says: “There were, up to Friday n00n,240 persons registered as in attendance. Perhaps half of these were men. I did not see a single smoker or chewer. I smelt no tobacco smoke; I saw none of the floods that are dispersed abroad by the masticator. I did not feel as lonely as I often do ” —The 2353 Episcopalians of the diocese of Fond du Lac raised, last year, $36 664- an average of sls 57 each. There is something like “apostolic succession” in that —some thing,at least, of the liberality characterizing the apostolic churches. —Dr. Dutcher, in tbe Evangelical Messen ger, reports that the sermon he heard Spur geon preach recently was not one of special excellency, and ascribes the success of the preacher to his voices “As it rolled forth in deep denunciation, it startled his audience with fear, and in his descriptions of beauty, its fine vibrations appeared to sparxle and flash, like the prismatic hues of falling spray. The magic of nis voice breathes fire into the tamest sentiment, and clothes an eloquent or pathetic passage with brilliancy ana beauty which in vain you endeavor to forget; you feel the charm and resign yourself to the influence.” —Some Sunday-school writer has ioned a “wordless book" to illustrate the doctrine df atonement. It has a black page to represent a heart full es sin, a red page to represent the saving blood, and a white page to represent the sinful heart when the blood has cleansed it. A pretty conceit, perhaps: but have we not in our literature too many blank pages in lieu of definite doctrine ? —The Western Recorder says that there were more students matriculated on the first day of the present session, in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, than ever before at the opening of a session. “We have at this writing not less than sev enty young men on hand." The professors are all at their post, with improved health and in buoyant spirits. —“The Master has said in regard to a woman—-and never yet of a man, 'She bath done what she could.’" This remark of William M. Baker's carries as little weight in it, if one should say, the Scriptures style some men “perfect," but not a single woman 1 —A writer in the Christian Register says that Unitarianism is not the rel’gion ot tos day, largely for lack of what is generally termed "heart.” Well: give us a Saviour and a salvation worthy to stir the heart, if you want the heart to be stirred. If you do not, let no surprise fall on you, when your system bears such fruit as the sermon men tioned by the same writer, “denouncing and spurning Christ as the author of more evil than good, because his was a religion of the heart rather than the head.” —The main street of Bristol is the State line between Virginia and Tenne&e ; and of our church in that town Rev- W. 8. Rog ers writes to the Alabama Baptist, that, as a general rule, the members who live in Ten nessee lean toward the views of Dr. J. R. Graves, while the members who live in Vir> ginia lean towotd the views of the Religious Herald! It is very common in that region even among Baptists for women to speak and pray in public. —A writer in the Lutheran Standard says: “The Anabaptists and all others who reject infant baptism and therefore baptize again, seek salvation in their peculiar mode of baptism.” This is slander; and the writer himself refutes it when he says : “They find no more comfort in being baptized and in attending the Lord’s supper than in obeying the ten commandments." That is—they trust as little to baptism for salvation as to tbe observance of the law: and this is—they do not trust to it at all I —As to hospital-nursing in Germany, it is performed by Romanist sisters only in pre vailingly Romisu sections, as Bavaria or the Rhine cities; while these are superseded by Protestant deaconesses in Prussia and its dependencies, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, in the Bavarian Palatinate and in Thuringia. All denominations will more and more do ti is work in proportion as they come to recognize the mission of secular benefaction belonging to the church—a mission which cannot be discharged to the full without reviving the scriptural “order" of deacon - esses. —Moved with fear by Mother Shipton's prophecy of the end of the world, an Ottawa man dug an underground cave, and stowed away two tons of ice, with several weeks’ provision ; arguing that as only the inflam mable material on the earth would burn, the fire must be over in a few days, when he could emerge from his cool retreat and begin liie anew. As vain as his dream of safety if t ie prophecy had really come to pass, are all the expedients by which men hope to shelter themselves out of Christ from the consuming fire of the wrath of God against sin. The sceptic and the formalist may see in this man their own image. In Mark 3:29, the Revised New Testament substitutes “eternal sin” for the “eternal damnation” of the com mon version. The Christian Repository for September says: “ ‘Eternal sin’ does not seem warranted by the Greek. Tbe words are, aioniou kriseos—eter nal judgment or condemnation.” But the Repository forgets that the Greek text has been amended in this passage, and the words are aioniou amartematos. This amendment was made on the authority of ancient manuscripts, including the Vatican ; as confirmed by the Coptic, Armenian, Gothic, Italic and Vulgate versions. It is ap proved by Grotius, Bengel, Mill, Rosen mueller, Lachman, Kuinoel, Griesbach and Tischendorf. Os course, with this change of text, “eternal sin” is the necessary translation. And with what awfulness and terror it clothes the pas sage! Better that God should write the word ‘eternal’ before any other word than before the word ‘sin.’ A deacon in an Eastern State, whose name is with held lest he might be an noyed with too many calls, has author ized Rev. Dr. Landrum to draw on him for a thousand dollars for the use of Mercer University. Who, at home, will catch the inspi ration of this example of liberal bene faction? Thomson Journal: Ata meeting of the members of the Baptist church in this place on Monday night a very im portant move was considered. There are five churches in the county, in and near Thomson, no single one of the five is able to support a pastor, and it is proposed to consolidate the five and form one central church in Thomson, under the charge of a resident pastor, have preaching every Sabbath, and keep up the other churches as preach ing stations. This can be done and not disappoint any who could not come to the central church as there would be preaching at the other four churches as often as now. After con sideration it was decided to appoint a committee of three from Thomson church to address a letter to the churches of Sweetwater, Union, Mar shall and Pine Grove, asking them to appoint committees to meet the Thom son church in conference on the first Sabbath in September, to consider the matter. The pastor will be present on that day and explain the plan and show its feasibility. —The Darien Timber Gazette says that a colored Baptist church, in the northeastern portion of the city, was completely demolished by the recent storm. GEORGIA BAPTIST NEWS. A fine revival is in progress at Eu harlee. The Baptist church-building in East man is programing favorably towards completion. Conyers Examiner: The baptizing of Mr. Brittain’s two children, by their father, Rev. J. M. Brittain, at Coving ton, last week, was said to be a very impressive scene. The protracted meeting which has been in progress at the First Baptist church in Conyers for the past week, is being attended with considerable inter est. Rev. J. M. Brittain, pastor, from Covington, has been conducting the meeting. Judge Stewart preached a very interesting serman to a large au dience, on last Tuesday night. He is one of the most interesting Baptist ministers we ever heard preach. —The next General Meeting of the Fourth District of the Western Associa tion will be held with the church at New Hope. Appointed the next gen eral meeting of this district with the church at New Hope. E. B. Barrett is to preach the introductory sermon, brother H. S. Reese, alternate. Mount Lebanon requested that the Western Association convene with the Mount Lebanon church at Sharpsburg, 1882, which petition was granted. —Newnan Herald: Rev. J. H. Hall assisted pastor Van Hoose in a series of meetings at Greenville last week. He returned home Monday, the meet ing having closed Sunday. There were nineteen additions to the church, eighteen of whom were baptized by the pastor last Sunday. —Montezuma Weekly: A protracted meeting has been going on for the past week under the able management of Rev. Mr. Parrot, pastor, assisted by Messrs Briggs of Spalding and Rice of Perry. There were five accessions, all of whom were baptized on Sunday last. The concluding sermon, preach ed by Rev. Mr. Briggs, was a masterly effort, and showed much learned rea soning in this eminent theologian. —The Mt. Vernon Baptist Associa tion will convene at Tennille, C. R. R., on Friday before the first Sunday in October. —Our traveling correspondent writing from Hawkinsville sixth inst., says: The Middle Georgia (colored) Baptist Association convened at this place on Saturday morning last. The introductory sermon was preached Friday night by Rev. J. H. Davis, of Macon. Rev. T. B. Stewart, of Gris woldville, was re-elected Moderator, and Rev. J. A. James, of Forsyth, clerk, unanimously. Charles Love, of Hawk insville, was also elected treasurer by a unanimous vote. The Association numbers 63 churches, with a member ship of between eight and nine thous and. Nearly all the churches were represented, the attendance of delegates and visitors was quite large. On Sun day the crowd numbered thousands, and yet I never heard of a single case of disorder. Had it been a political assembly, of either white or colored, how different would have been the re sult. The Association seems to be thoroughly alive to mission work, the contributions being quite liberal. They employ an evangelist to travel in their own bounds. The Association contrib uted S4O to the colored female school in Atlanta. The next session of the Association will be held with Fifth Avenue church, Macon, the introduc tory sermon to be preached by Rev. T. B. Steward on Friday night before the first Sunday in September, 1882. —A Hawkinsville correspondent writes: The Middle Georgia B-aptist Association (colored) is now holding its session here. Rev. Stewart of Gris wold ville, is the Moderator. Yester day they held services in the colored Baptist and Methodist churches, the court-house and grove. They had quite a large crowd, in fact, the largest we have ever seen here. It was esti mated at from four to six thousand. The Association embraces sixty churches with a membership of eight thousand. The immense crowd here yesterday was the most orderly and best behaved we ever saw. There was nothing bois terous, and we would not be aware of the vast crowd except by seeing it. The excellent behavior of this vast throng is the subject of favorable comment by all. —Columbus Enquirer-Sun: We are told that a very interesting revival is now in progress at Bethesda, a Baptist church near Ellerslie, in Harris county. The meetings are conducted by Rev. C. C. Willis, assisted by Rev. C. W. Buck, of this city. The meeting is con tinually increasing in interest, and our informant states that about sixty went forward Sunday night when an invita tion for prayer was extended. We learn that there is also a very gracious revival now under way at La- Fayette, Ala. It is a union meeting of Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist, and a large number have attached themselves to each of the churches. Twenty-five or thirty were baptized last Sunday. —Swainsboro Herald: The protract ed meeting at the Baptist church has closed. A great deal of interest was manifested in the meeting, and doubt less much good accomplished. There were fourteen accessions; eleven by baptism and three by letter. The pas tor was ably assisted by Rev. G. W. Smith.