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4 HENRY H. TUCKER, Kditor PRA YING IN PUBLIC. Every Christian man ought to be both able and willing to pray, either in private or in public, whatever the circumstances may be, whenever he is properly called on to do so. To those who are not accustomed to it, this is not an easy thing to do. Os course it ought to be easy ; one ought to be so unconscious of self, and so forgetful of his surroundings, and so regardless of man, and his thoughts ought to be so above anything earthly, and his com munion with God ought to be so close and so sweet, that nothing could prevent him from pouring out his heart as freely before a great multitude, as if he were alone in his closet. But we are weak, and we are ignorant, and we are sinful, and we are, too many of us, unpracticed. Most persons, we presume, especially in the beginning of Chris tian life, experience most painful em barrassment when called on to dis charge this duty. To many, it is the heaviest and sorest cross they ever have to bear, and some even of those who have tasted the good word of God, have passed through life without ever having learned to bear it at all; and by consequence their Christian influence has been crippled, and their spiritual enjoyment marred, during their whole journey. They travel wearily and painfully along, like a man who wears an artificial leg, and are inef ficient like a man who has lost his right arm, and must often stand by in mortifying inaction, while others do what ought to be done by them, or while what ought to be done is left wholly undone. We have no hard' words to say of these unfortunate breth ren, for however blameworthy they may be, they have our heartfelt sympathies. We have had the same experience that distresses them, and it was only after long years of effort, we may say of ago nizing effort, that we overcame the ob staclss in our way. We desire to say a few words for their encouragement. First of all, we express the opinion, that any ordinary man, whether learn ed or unlearned, whose heart is fixed— who can truly say, “ O, God my heart it fixed, ’’ can learn to pray if he will only keep on trying. The best way to do anything is to keep on trying, and certainly praying is no exception to this rule. We often hear of the gift of prayer, as if it were a thing bestowed on a passive recipient; butit is more like a gift bestowed on those whose hearts are set on it, and so set that they will strive to attain, and keep on striving. Os course, there can be no prayer when the heart is not right before God ; and no man is likely to have the “ gift of prayer” on public occasions, who has not the habit of frequent prayer in private. On the other hand, one whose mind and heart are saturated with the spirit of prayer, will find it compar atively easy to pray in one place as well as another. But besides the heart-work, which is indispt nsable, and which is really the chief thing, a certain amount of intel lectual effort is involved in player. A man who is in earnest may be aided somewhat, perhaps, by an analysis of prayer, into the elements which pro perly compose it. We use the word _ prayer not in its restricted sense of mere asking, but in its more common and wider sense, as describing the whole address, which creatures such as we should offer to our Maker in the name of our Mediator, Redeemer and Saviour. Let us remember, then, in the first place, that prayer in this sense is an act of worship. If we had no favors to ask, and no blessings to be thankful for, it would still be an instinct of our nature, and it would still be proper to adore. God is a great God, and a great King above all gods, and is worthy of profoundest homage. As he is the impersonation of infinite excellence, all moral beings should naturally incline to admire, and honor, and revere, and praise, and love him, and to bow down and worship him, in devout recognition of his greatness, and goodness and glo ry. There is an immense number of expressions of this kind in the Scrip tures, and especially in the Psalms; any one who is familiar with them, as every Christian ought to be, and who appreciates them, can but adopt them as bis own; and a few of these make a most appropriate beginning for a prayer, and it is easy to bring them into use. Thanksgiving is another element of prayer, which ought to be made con spicuous. Certainly every Christian knows and feels, that he has much to be grateful for, and it is easy to recount our mercies. We have often thought that in the public prayers of our breth ren, thanksgiving is too much neglect ed ; and we are sure that the best way to secure additional blessings is to ex press heart-felt thanks for those we have. To be forever saying give, give, without saying “ Thanks be to God for what he was already given,” seems to argue more regard for the gifts than for the Giver, and certainly this is not the spirit most likely to prevail in prayer. Indeed we can easily conceive, that an address to the Almighty consisting of nothing but thanksgiving, might Bring blessings down in greater abun- THE CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1881. dance than the most eager asking. When our Saviour took the cup, he “ gave thanks," and thus has set us an example, in prayer, which it is easy to follow. Confession is another part of prayer. Certainly we have enough to confess. In secret prayer it is best, in our opin ion, to confess our sins, not in mere general terms, but specifically, and by name. In public prayer this would not be proper, but there are plenty of things to confess in which all are alike interested, and the Scriptures furnish us with a great abundance of expressions which most exactly meet our wants. The common complaint with men is, that they lack words; the truth is more likely to be, that they lack the spirit; but the mere want of words is most copiously supplied in the Bible. The book of Psalms is a perfect treasure-house of such expressions as are needed ; expressions which cannot be improved upon, and which will be in constant use by the saints until the end of time. The prayer proper—that is, the peti tionary part—comes next. What have we to ask of God? All that is worth having is worth asking for. We con stantly need the blessings of provi dence; and the prayer which our Sa viour taught'us contains a petition for these. The “daily bread” represents them all, and, though specific in ex pression, is generic in meaning; and there is no reason why we should not ask for other needful things as well as for this; and there are innumerable instances in the Scriptures, where other things es like character have been sought and granted. Spiritual bless ings, such as forgiveness of sin, sus taining grace, enlightenment from on high, and the aid of the Spirit, it is cer tainly proper to ask for, and it is easy to ask for them. Intercession for others is a feature of prayer which should flever be for gotten. In secret prayer, persons may well be named, and sometimes, also, in public ; but there are always classes of persons for whom it is proper to pray in public. These are the poor, and the sick, and the bereaved, and the tempted, and the unconverted, and the heathen, and the great army of God’s laborers, who all need the prayers of the saints. Pleading is a constituent of prayer somewhat different from petition. It consists of argument going to show why our prayer should be heard. The argument is always substantially this : That our need is great, that God’s mercy is great, that his promises are many, and that Christ died. We do not say that every prayer should be mechanically constructed after the model which has been given ; but we do say that, to regard the ele ments of prayer in their separate char acter, will aid a man who is trying to learn how to do his duty. As occasion may require, one or more of these ele ments may be omitted, and as occasion may require, one or more may be made specially prominent. But any one must see, that half a dozen sentences, or even a smaller number, on each of the topics named, and borrowed, if need be, from the Scriptures, would make a prayer which would be complete in its parts, satisfying to him who offered it, edifying to those who might join in it, and, if offered in Christian faith, ac ceptable to God. If our brethren who are struggling hard to do their duty in this respect will carefully consider the outline of prayer which has been given, we think it will aid them in the accomplishment of their holy desires. Rev. Dr. Dagg.—An article has found its way into the secular press, calling on the friends of Dr. J. L. Dagg to render him pecuniary aid. This appeal was well meant, doubtless; but the impression that our venerable “father in Israel,” who will complete the eighty-eighth year of his life next February, is in needy circumstances, rests on no foundation of fact. While not by any means a. rich man, he has a sufficiency of this world’s goods to supply every want. He resides at present with his daughter, Mrs. Ruge ley, at Hayneville, Ala., and if he could be induced to return to Georgia, would find a home with another daughter, Mrs. Mallary, of Rome. The rheumatism, which has drawn his lower limbs, renders walking diffi cult'and confines him mostly to the bed; but he is conspicuously a con tented, cheerful man, and no murmur ever enters his heart, much less escapes his lips. His health in other respects is good. His sight has improved, and the optic nerve seems less morbidly sensitive than in past years. While his throat troubles him still, he yet converses, not as formerly in whispers, but in loud, distinct tones; and his partial deafness is not so great as to render communication with him diffi cult. His intellect retains the vigor which has always distinguished it: he is in mind a giant as of yore. He speaks much of his “heavenly home,” but earthly friendships have lost none of their interest to him, and he remains keenly alive to all that concerns the welfaie of Zion. No one has felt a more intelligent or more ardent desire that the recent discussions respecting the inspiration of the Scriptures should issue in the rejection of “the novelties which disturb our peace” and our doc trinal purity as a people. The Exposition closes on the 31st instant. A SERMON SPOILED. Is it an objection to the New Ver sion, or is it a recommendation of it, that it spoils some of our best sermons by showing that we have misinterpre ted the text? We think it is a recom mendation ; for however sound our doctrine may be, if we pervert the Scripture in promulgating it, we are doing a great wrong. Nothing can atone for the fault of making the in spired words mean what they do not mean. Most of our preachers are not critical scholars,'and hence while they preach good doctrine, they are liable to fall into error in their understanding of the text. The great advantage of the New Version is, that it supplies to all, whether learned or unlearned, the results of the best scholarship of our times. Sometimes even those who ought to know better, and who do know better, use scriptural phrases in a sense in which they were not used by those who wrote them. ,We are led to make these remarks by the criticism of our Chief of Staff on a blunder of our own, made only last Sunday. In public prayer we asked that our people might be a “peculiar people,” and that their pecu liarity should be this : that they should be zealous of good works; mentally referring, of course, to the passage in 1 Peter 2:9, where the apostle speaks of “a chosen generation, a royal priest hood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.” The word peculiar here is, for our day, an unfortunate translation. The word in the original does not mean (as the word peculiar does) that which is odd, or singular, or different from wbat is common; it means, rather, that which is one’s own— his possession— his property. Hence the New Version has it “a people for God’s own posses sion,” and this is a proper rendering. In Exodus 19 : 5, a parallel passage is found in the words “Ye shall be a pecu liar treasure unto me above all people;” and in Malachi 3:17, where we read, “They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels." But the question arises, how came King James’ translators to make such a mistake as to render the Greek by the word peculiar? It was not a mis take ; the word has, in common use, exchanged its meaning since they used it. In its etymological sense, it means that which is one’s own, and it was so understood two hundred and seventy years ago. King James’ men did just what they ought to have done in this respect, and the late revisers have done just what they ought to have done. Many scriptural expressions like that under consideration become familiar to a man’s mind, and it is but natural that he should sometimes inconsider ately use them in a sense not warranted by the original. This is the only ex cuse we can make for our blunder. If we had been about to preach from the text, we should have been more careful. Has not many a sermon been preached from the words “a peculiar people?” We have a vague idea that, in our earlier ministry, we used, or rather misused, this text as the basis of a sermon. But if we did it at all, it was a long, long time ago, and our youth must be our apology for lack of knowledge. An Illustration.—Two men are drowning in mid-ocean; one of the men is large and heavy, the other is small and light. Before their strength is quite exhausted, a ship of the largest class draws nigh and is about to rescue both, The large man (let us suppose that he is somewhat crazed by his sufferings) fears that, from his extraordinary size, he will be too great a burden for the ship, aud is afraid to trust himself on it. But the small man, being in his right mind, says, “Brother, be of good cheer; if we had to swim from mid-ocean to shore, we might well despair, but this ship can carry a thousand such men as you.” Herb are two perishing sinners; one of them has led what men call a blameless life, the other is one of the vilest of the vile. If they are to be saved by virtue of any merit that is in them, or on account of anything that they can do, if heaven is to be gained by their own strength, the case of both would be hopeless. Strong swimmers and weak swimmers, and those who could not swim at all, would all be lost if left without help in the middle of the ocean ; and so those of great virtue or little virtue, or no virtue at all, if left to themselves to work out their salva tion by personal merit, must all fall short alike of eternal life. Jesus Christ is the Son of God ; and he came into this world to save sin ners. One sinner is the same to him as another. Any one who trusts’in him is as safe as any other who trusts in him; for all who trust in him are saved. A comparatively virtuous sin ner and the vilest of all sinners are equally lost and equally saved. Outof Christ one is as certainly lost as the other; in Christ one is as certainly saved as the other. Men drowning in mid-ccean are never saved by their own efforts, and perishing sinners are never saved by theirs ; no deeds of righteous ness which they can do will be of the least avail. Let them cease to struggle, for struggling is useless. Christ is mighty to save; Christ is the mighty God; and omnipotence is pledged to save all who trust in him ; and there is no salvation for any but in him. Sunday-schol Helps.—The Southern Baptist Convention, through its Sun day-school paper Kind Words, in its different editions of weekly, semi month ly, monthly, Quarterly, and Weekly Les son Papers, is seeking to provide for the wants of our Sunday-schools. That these wants are properly met, these productions themselves testify. They are sent forth by our brother 8. Boykin, at Macon, Ga., under the auspices of the Home Board of the Southern Bap tist Convention, and we invite the at tention of our Sunday-school people to them, and advise their introduction in to our Southern Baptist Sunday schools. In appearance they are neat, well illustrated and as to doctrinal views, reliable. If our people are to rear up a gener ation to carry out the plans and senti ments which we now advocate, they should encourage the literature which promulgates those plans. In its reli gious and spiritual tone, we believe Kind Words worthy of the confidence and support of our denomination, and, therefore, feel safe in recommending it to our Sunday schools and families. We call attention to the advertise ment of the Mercer High School, in Penfield, of which our brother, Rev. J. W. Ellington, is Principal. We have known brother Ellington for many years; in fact, he was a student at Mercer University during part of the time of our Professorship there. We can confidently recommend him as a teacher, and have no doubt that he will give entire satisfaction to those who may patronize his school. It is a long way from Georgia to Maine, nevertheless we send to our brother, Dr. H. S. Burrage, of Zion’s Advocate, our congratulations on his recent marriage, wishing him all the joy that can flow from this only relic that we have of the happiness of Eden. The correspondents of Dr. Landrum will address their letters —Rev. 8. Landrum, D D., Coliseum Ph.ce Bap tist church, New Orleans, La. GLIMPSES AND HINTS. A gentleman belpnging to the Soci ety of Friends, in a private letter, writes: “This much I can say, with all Friends, that infant baptism is a rite for which we find not only no Scriptural or historical foundation, but even no seeming apology, and which in its tendency is mischievous exceed ingly.” A writer in the Presbyterian thinks that Rev. A. B. Simpson, of New York, ought to have been disciplined or cen sured by the Presbytery, 1, for his se cret immersion, and, 2, for bis public utterance (in a Presbyterian pulpit) of his rejection of infant baptism. We lean to the side of this writer as re spects the first point. And if Mr. S. was immersed secretly by a Baptist minister, does not that minister need a little discipline or censure from our people ? Prof. Phelps justly remarks that a preacher’s views on inspiration will show themselves in his preaching. “Homiletic exposition always involves some theory of inspiration. We can not, if we would, discuss the Bible as if the question of its inspiration were obsolete. Homiletic exposition must often disclose a preacher’s theory of in spiration. If you do not define it in form, you must often express it by im plication. When you do not express it, you will often hint at it. When you do not consciously hint at it, it will look out of the windows of your sermon and show itself for what it is. It is important to observe, therefore, that no indefinite theory of inspiration can live in the popular faith. The fact is a most significant one, that the popular mind never, to any considera ble extent, enters into refined distinc tions on this doctrine. It receives the doctrine in some strongly defined form, or in no form. Vagueness of teaching destroys the doctrine as effect ually as flat denial. Exposition must assume it in a bold form.” The English Baptists have now at least ’four hundred missionaries, in charge of nearly six hundred stations and sub-stations, with an aggregate membership of about forty thousand. We see in the newspapers a state ment, that there are seven hundred colored Baptists preparing for the min istry, in institutions established, at the South, for their benefit. To meet the present and prospective needs of color ed Baptists, in this country and Africa, there ought to be seven thousand. The Morning Star, Dover, N. H., mentions the statement that there are in the South “ten different connections of Free-will Baptists,’’chiefly in the Car olinas, Georgia and Alabama, and adds to the number two others in Arkansas, and one in Missouri. These bodies are small and scattered, and may be rank ed among Baptist “open-commun;on ists’, as “the Dispersion.” South Louisiana, with a territory of perhaps about forty thousand square miles, is almost to be compared with heathen countries, so far as Baptist teaching is concerned. But our peo ple have made a beginning at Lake Charles, Vermilion ville, Opelousas, Washington and Alexandria. Rev. Gilbert Beebe, of New York, who, when the division of American Baptists on the question of missions took place, sided with the Anti-mission- aries, and became through bis paper, the Signs of the Times, a leading ad vocate of their views, died last month, of apoplexy. A Methodist missionary writes that the Brazilians give the name “Deabo” devil—to every ox and every mule of theirs. Rev. J. M. Cramp, D.D., died, Dec. 6th, in his 86th year. He was bap tized when sixteen years of age, and did honorable service as pastor in England, his native country, and as president of the Baptist colleges at Montreal, Canada, and Acadia, Nova Scotia. He was author of “Text Book of Popery,” “Reformation in Europe,” “Life of Madame Feller,” “Paul and Christ,” and “History of the Baptists,” and leaves in manuscript a “System of Christian Theology.” The church at Tromsoe, connected, as are twelve others, with the Norway Baptist Union, is the most northerly Baptist church in the world, being above the Arctic Circle; but no diffi culty is found at any time in immers ing believers after the New Testament model. So testifies Dr. S. F. Smith in the Watchman. The Boston letter of the Chicago Standard says that Prof. Toy is not connected with Harvard Divinity School, (as asserted in a statement copied into our paper two weeks ago,) but with the University, and that he is a regular wen-shipper at the Cambridge Baptist church, sitting under the min istry of Dr. Franklin Johnson from Sabbath to Sabbath. The N. Y. Methodist hopes “there will be no more Evajgelical Alliance meetings until those who participate in them get grace enough to commune together at the Lord’s table.” It is “grace,” then, which decides a man’s views as to communion; and open communiouists excel in “grace.” Not the grace of modesty surely, when they speak in this style. They are welcome to the degree and kind of grace which sets aside the law of the New Testament respecting the Christian ordinances. A writer in the Lutheran Standard represents Martin Luther as saying that “ those who can dispense the Sac rament” (give the bread and wine of the Lord’s supper) “ to Reformed and Lutheran communicants at the same time, must have hearts harder than adamant.” This is high authority for ascribing open communion, even be tween two bodies of Pedobaptists, not to “melting charity,” not to “grace,” but to hard heartedness! Rev. W. A. Nelson, D.D., returns from North Carolina to Tennessee, to act as State Evangelist, under appoint ment of the Baptist State Mission Board. Dr. Marsena Stone has been oblige d, by ill-health, to give up his work as Teacher of Theology in the Colored Institute, Selma, Ala. A Congregationalist pastor writes to the London Nonconformist “that there is often as much ‘bigotry’ among Con gregationalists against immersion as among Baptists in its favor.” He would like to see his own denomination place baptisteries in their houses of worship and allow immersion to those who pre fer it. Put by his side the Methodist Presiding Elder, in Texas, who said, not long since, that “to be immersed is departing from the faith I ” During the presidential canvas last year, Dr. H. L. Morehouse, of New York, in a speech before a Baptist Association, made a partisan political appeal in behalf of one of the candi dates. Dr. M. is the Corresponding Secretary of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, and the speech in question was delivered in advocacy of that Society. A writer in the Lutheran Standard —illustrating the position that “it is sinful to observe those rites and cere monies with which a false doctrine has been associated”—says : There are also ceremonies found in Protestant churches in which an en lightened Christian cannot participate. The sects generally make the breaking of the bread a necessity in the distribu tion of the Holy Supper. This breaking is said to be required by Christ’s exam ple,and by its signification. That Christ did break the bread may not be denied; but no one can show us a word of com mand, by which such breaking would be required. On the other hand, they have made it necessary for us to abstain from such breaking of the bread. They have connected a false doctrine with it, which we cannot confess. It is affirmed, that as the bread is broken in the Sacra ment, so was Christ’s body broken upon the cross. That Christ’s body was not broken as bread is broken, because not a bone of Him was broken, is known to all who have read the history of Christ’s suffering. The breaking of bread can then not be an emblem of Christ’s suf fering, for which reason we refuse to break the bread in the celebration of the Holy Supper. We have a question to ask, for in formation. The eating of the bread and drinking of the wine in the Lord’s supper, as was done by the disciples, is of the essence of the ordinance. Now, our question is this: Is it also of the essence of the supper that there should be an officer to do what Christ did at its institution —that is, to break the bread and dispense the wine? This question has been answered in the affirmative, by the practice of all de nominations. Has not this fact helped to vitiate the doctrine of the ordinance, by the intrusion of the idea of priestly consecration and supernatural efficacy ? GEORGIA BAPTIST NEWS. —The colored Baptist of Greenville, Meri wether county, are preparing to erect a new house of worship. —Rev. A. L. Lamar, of Camden, S. 0, preached last Sunday at the First Baptist church, Macon. —Telegraph and Messenger: Rev. Dr. I. R, Branham, after an absence of many years, will, at an early date, resume his residence and open bis school in Macon. We welcome him back. —The members of the Cave Spring Bap tist church have elected Rev. M. H. Lane pastor for the next year. Sparta Isbmaelite: Rev. L. R. L. Jen nings will probably be called to the pastorate of the Baptist church for another year. He has filled the pulpit very acceptably the past year, and our Baptist friends will do well to secure his services. —Warrenton Clipper: Long Creek church near Beall Spring has called Rev, E R. Cars well to the pastorate of that church. Thia is one of the best country churches in Mid dle Georgia. The retiring pastor, Rev. T. J. Veazey, has served them acceptably for a long time and now be is to be succeeded by one of the biggest ministers in the State. We have no doubt but that Mr. Carswell will accept from what we already know. This gives him four churches: Thomson, Pire Grove, Sweet Water, and Long Creek, with a salary of more than SIOOO.OO. It will be distributed as follows : Thomson. S3OO 00; Pine Grove, $250 00; Sweet Water, $250 00, and Long Creek, $225 < 0 t-> $250 00. He will probably preach at long Creek on the Uh Sunday and we shall try to avail ourself of the opportunity of hearing him. —The cornerstone of the De Soto Baptist church was laid at Rome, December 6th. Among the articles placed under the corner stone were two coins one hundred and forty years old. The “Courier” says: Rev. G. A. Nunnally and Mr. W. A. Wright made short and appropriate addresses. The demonstra tion of the evening has enthused the friends of the enterprise ard given great encourage* meut to the work. Only a small amount is now needed toplace the house in a safe con dition, and it is believed that the necessary amount will be forthcoming in time. About forty dollars were added to the building fund yesterday. The house is certainly a neat building and will be an ornament to the city. Eeverybody should help. Hartwell Sun: Rev. I. M. Ginn, of Arkansas, preached in the Baptist church on last Sunday night to a large audience. Mr. Ginn is a native of this county, but removed to arkam as a number of years ago. Louisville News and Farmer : Rev. W. L Kilpatrick, we are sorry to know, did not accept the call of the Baptist church at this place for another year —Talbotton Register : Rev. J. A. Dawson, preached an excellent sermon ak. the Baptist chuich, on Thursday night He has not yet decided to accept the c church at Talbotton. Y; \ LaGrange Reporter: Rev. J. A. \> / de bas been called to the pastorate of the Ho gansville Baptist church. Mr, Wynne is a very elcqmnt preacher. That splendid edifice—the Baptist church —ought to have a steeple of corresponding magnificence of architecture Could not a sufficient amount be raised by small, but regular contributions? Who will take the initiative? —Columbus Enquirer Sun: Sometime ago we noticed in these columns that Rev. S. P. Callaway had sold the State Line Press and biught the LaGrange Repoiter. This change rendered it necessary for him to re move to LuGrange, giving up the charge of the Baptist Church al West Point, of which be had been pastor for a number of years. It has come to our knowledge privately that he is now without any preaching appoint ment. Mr. Callaway is acknowledged to be one of the most interesting and popular pul pit men of bis denomination in the State, and above all reproach in his private Chris-, tian character. His fine pulpit talents should not be allowed to remain unemploy' ed. We feel that we lender a worthy ser vice to the cause of Christianity in recom- . mending him to any churches that may be looking out for a pastor, especially such as j are in convenient distance of LaGrange. Wejfl take the liberty of mentioning the without his knowledge. rfg|| —The Siiady Grove, Slewart county, list church has extended a call to W. l-'.'Ckler to continue with them as ptflH for the coming year. |H|g| —Cuthbert Enterprise: Rev. E, W. ren, D. D., pastor of the Baptist church ioM Macon, and one of the most useful men any-H where, was in our city Tuesday and Wed-■ nesday of this week. Twenty-six years ago4l he was the pastor of the Baptist church here, and his friends of 'Tang syne” are glad to meet him again. Perry Home Journal: Nine persons have united themselves with the Baptist church at this place during the last wees or so. Two were immersed in the creek last Sunday afternoon, and the other seven were immersed in the pool at the church that night, Rev. R. F. Tharpe officiating. —The additions to the Third Baptist church, Atlanta, (Rev. H. 0. Hornady pas tor,) average one member for every Sabbath for about two years. —Newnan Herald : Our Baptist readers should read the appeal for Mercer University which we publish elsewhere, and resolve to do something to help this fund. There are now three promising young men from Coweta county who are studying for the ministry at Mercer and ei joying the bene fits of free tuition. —Columbus Times : The friends of Rev.’ Thomas Murphey will be pained to learn of his death which occurred in this city. Mr. Murphey was fora number of years pastor of various Baptist churches in both Alabama and Georgia, and he has now gone to a bets ter and brighter world to reap his reward. He leave s six daughters to mourn his death. His remains will be carried to Cusseta. —Washington Gazette: Rev, Dr. Hillyer, of Texas, is on a visit to his brother in this place. He lived in Washington sixty-eight years ago, and now comes back to find not one person here whom he knew then. We are glad to know he will preach at the Bap tist church next Sunday. —Walton News: We learn that our young brother, W. S. Walker, was ordair ed to the gospel ministry, in Monroe, Sunday the 4th inst. The presbytery consisted of the pastor J. F. Edens, H. D. Straton, J. M. Brittain, John H. Harris. The services were imposing and the preaching Saturday and Sunday, able. Rev. H. D. Straton preached the ordination sermon. Brother Walker, in company with 0. W. Pruitt, will sail for China soon, as missionaries. Father Ryan has become a contribu tor to the editorial columns of the Catholic Mirror. Was it he who in the the last issue said, “the greatest evil for the young is evil reading,” and warned our girls for that reason not to read “dime novels?” On the last Sabbath in November, Rev. E. D. Stager, Baptist pastor at Woodstown, N. J., fell dead in the pul pit while preaching. “In such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man com eth.”