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ESTABLISHED 1821.
The Christian Index.
i i
Published Every Thursday, Cor. Ivy St. j
and Edgewood Ave.
J. C. McMICHAEI, PaorKHToa.
Organ of the Baptist Denomination in
Georgia.
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The love that never alters never pal
ters.
Wrong tempers at home are like weeds
in a garden —the worse for the place in
which they are found and w hose beauty
and sweetness they mar.
You ought to ask your own pardon for
having belittled and befouled yourself
bv wrong-doing. Whether you ought
ever to grant it, is another question.
We hope at least that you will not do So
tOv readily.
Does it not argue well for the home
life of our Anglo-Saxon ancestors that
the bead of the family should have been
called, not the man, but the “goodman
of the house ? Or, was this a sort of
neighborly and household flattery ?
Habit based on principle is the best, if
not the only safeguard of the principle.
Our principles are never truly and abid
ingly ours, until they are wrought into
the habits of thought in our inner, and
the habits of action in our outer life.
Your habits are your character, are you.
You may wash a thing clean when
you cannot wash it white: where we
have come short of faultlessness and bear
some slain therefrom, we may yet foi m
and maintain an honest purpose, with
divine help not to do again the wrong to
which, through failure to use that help,
we yielded before.
There is a popular saying that “we
learn to do by doing.” Hut is not this
part of a more general truth? Do we
not learn to thing by thinking ? Do we
not learn to love by loving ? Do we not
learn to repent and believe by repenting
and believing ? Do we i.ot leai nto “re
sist the devil” by resisting him Do we
ngt learn serving Him ? ,
A gentleman assured us, not long since,
Uiat all the Jews whom be had ever
known, and he has known a great many,
were gamblers, not with (,entiles per
haps, but with each other. And he quot
ed a prominent Jew in one of our Geor
gia cities as having once said to him:
“The last one of us is a gambler.” We
never heard this before. Is it true ?
One of the Asiatic speakers at the late
“Parliament of Religions” in Chicago
said: “It is a sin to call a man a sinner.”
On the contrary, there is no man living
of whom we may not say, that if he does
not call himself a sinner, he is therein
guilty of sin, and of “mortal sin” at that.
We say this with no fear before our eyes
of the “liberals” whose chief saintliness
consists in calling each other saints.
Perhaps, not the least striking indica
tion of the tendency of the times to blot
out the line of separation between the
church and the world, is the recent ac
tion of a minister in the State of Michi
gan, who opened a fashionable ball with
prayer. W ill the next step be to open
the peiformances of the theatre in that
way ? And will not Rev. Dr. Rainsford
prepare a liturgy for the saloons when he
gets them under the control of the
•hurches ?
Some “liberal” Christian and some
sceptical scientists talk as if this were
the Nineteenth Century, not of the Era
of Grace, but of their own individual
studies, researches, discoveries, etc.
One would think indeed that they were
wise to begin with, and have been gath
ering fresh stores of wisdom through the
dim and distant “pre-historic” times and
all the ages since. But, alas, “they are
but of yesterday and know nothing” as
they ought to know it, and might and
would if they were willing to learn.
The resolution to serve God which is
formed in the hours of recovery from
long and dangerous sickness, is the one
resolution of that kind which, above all
others, is likely to be kept. If that fails,
after we have lain prostrate for weeks
face to face with eternity, there is little
hope that any other, in time to come,
will hold fast. The wrong-doing, the
gainful or pleasurable vice, to which one
returns, trampling underfooot the brok
en cords of such a resolution, as that form
of vice and wrong which is most sure to
rivet the bonds of a perpetual despotism
on us, to debase the character, and rule
and ruin the life, and crimson the name
with dishonor, and “destroy soul and
body in hell forever.” Alas, we thus
transform the physical blessing of restor
ed health into a spiritual curse : the tem
poral life of the body is saved to the
loss of the eternal life of the soul.
A friend writes from Southern Califor
nia: “In some counties, as large as six
counties in Georgia, there is not a single
Baptist church. Any one of these coun
ties can produce oil, wine, honey, milk,
grain of all kinds (even corn without
rain, and beans, so that the county can
ship a thousand car-loads every week),
fruits of every .variety, meat and wool,
(single ranches sometime having 60,000
sheep), enough to feed and clothe an
army.” Our history as a Christian peo
ple is sown thick, through all the gener
ations, with such instances; instances
where the negligence of our brotherhood
has been followed by the stern enforce
ment of the great law of providential
retribution—that those who will not till
the ground must see the harvest reaped
by others. The reapers in the present
case, alas, are largely Spiritualists, Uni
tarians, Universalists. When will Bap
tists, North and South, awake to the
claims of Southern California?
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX.
"THE HIGHER 0Bm& *
BY KEV. S. G. HILLYER, D. D.
“The higher criticism” is a phrase
which has become quite current in
our religious literature, and its ap
plication, in recent years, to the
sacred Scripture has given to it a
high degree of importance. These
facts, 1 think will be a sufficient
apology for offering to the readers
of the Index a few thoughts upon
the subject.
One function of the higher criti
cism, is to sit in judgment upon
books, or written documents. Its
aim should be to determine whether
they are, or are not, worthy of the
approval and appreciation of man
kind. To accomplish this end, the
higher criticism undertakes to ans
wer as to a particular book, such
questions as the following : Who
was its author? When and where
was it written ? What is the charac
ter of its style? What are its con
tents? Are they credible? What ef
fect is the book calculated to have j
upon mankind? And what effect has
it already exerted? There may be
other questions, but the above are
sufficient to indicate to the reader ■
the scope of the higher criticism, j
In regard, however, to many >
books, the answer to such questions
is comparatively easy to give. In
many modern books, the name of
the writers and the date of the
works are given on the title page ;
while the aim or design of each is
explained in the preface, or in an
introduction. Very little is left to
the critic except to judge its style,
its truthfulness, and its probable
effect for good or evil upon its
readers.
But in regard to ancient books,
written in a foreign, perhaps a
dead language, whose authors must
be determined by circumstantial
evidence, and whose writers have
left no other specimens of their
own works to answer the questions
above stated, becomes sometimes, |
extremely difficult. It is in regard
to such books, that the higher criti- i
cism is needed.
Take, for example, our Bible. It
is a compilation made up of many
documents, evidently written by
different writers. The larger part
of these documents are in the He
brew, and the remainder in the
Greek language. They are both
dead languages. Moreover, they
are very ancient. The earlier ones i
may be more than three thousand !
vears ol<l. while the latest could;
not have been written less than
eighteen centuries ago.
Now, it needs no argument to
prove that he who sits in judgment
upon such a book as this, should
be a man of very great and accu
rate learning. That is, he must be
a man of much higher learning
than ordinary readers. And in this
fact we find the reason why the
kind of criticism that such a man is
able to exercise, is called the
“Higher criticism.” It is not so
called because it is intrinsically
more valuable than ony other ; but
only because it requires a higher
degree of learning to apply it.
It is a melancholly fact, that the
higher criticism has been often im
ployed upon the Bible in such a
way as would destroy, if it were
possible, the foundations of re
vealed religion. This fact has oc
casioned, among conservative and
earnest Christians, much prejudice
against it. It has sometimes been
called the “destructive criticism.”
But it is not the criticism which
should be blamed, but the critics
who have so recklessly applied it.
The higher criticism, in the hands
of the right kind of men, will do
us no harm. Who then are the
right kind of men? The answer
will appear as we proceed. f
The Bible is a very peculiar
book. There is no other like it.
Other books we may read or not
read just as we please. We may
reject another book simply because
it does not suit our taste, or be
cause we feel no interest in its con
tents. For either of these reasons
we may throw it aside. But the
Bible is a very different book. It
comes to us as a message from the
living God. Its contents, if true,
cencern every human being. It
reveals God as our Creator, Law
giver and Ruler, whom we are
bound to obey on the pain of in
curring his everlasting displeasure.
This is only a part of the message.
But it is the part which the natural
man does not like. It puts a re
straint upon his freedom, it limits
the indulgence of his appetites, and
his desires, and thus subjects him
to painful self-denial. To this he
is not willing to submit.
Could such a man be an impar
tial critic of such a book ? He
may be learned. He might be a
safq critic to sit in judgement upon
the Iliad, or the Aeneid, because
they make no claim upon his affec
tions, and impose no restraint upon
his conduct. Not so with the Bi
ble. It speaks to him in tones of
authority, which, if admitted, he
must obey. It charges him with
guilt, it warns him of a coming
judgment whose verdict will fix his
eternal doom. Hence he cannot,
for his life, hold in abeyance his
personal interest in the question.
ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 1. 1894.
If he admits it to be indeed a revel
ation from the living God, he feels
that he must obey it, or play the
role of a fool or a madman. His
only escape from his dilemma is
either to obey it, or to deny its
claims—to prove, if he can, that it
is unworthy of credit. «He chooses
the latter. Can such a man as that
be trusted to decide, for me and
for you, whether the Bible is a
cunningly devised fable, or a veri
table message from the Most High
to his erring creatures whom he
would gladly save? No, he is not
qualified to sit in judgment on the
Bible.
In the hands of such a man as just
described, the higher criticism may
well be called destructive. He
might disavow any such intention.
Nay, he might profess great respect
for the Bible. And such is the de
ceitfulness of the human heart, that
he might really be unconscious of
the inveterate prejudice which has
biased his judgment against it.
To illustrate what has just been
said, let us suppose the critic afore
said has before him the question,
Who wrote the Pentateuch ? He
discovers, in the first place, what
seems to him to be such diversities
of style, in the composition of the
book, as to suggest a plurality of
writers. If this be so, then Moses
wrote only a part, and that perhaps
a small part of the Pentateuch.
Who4hose other writers were, is
not known, and of course we do
not know whether they were
worthy of credit. Hence a part,
at least, of the book is brought into
doubt.
Again, the critic claims to find
in the Pentateuch some foreign
words which were not found in
Hebrew till after the captivity in
Babylon. Hence he concludes that
it is very uncertain when, or by
whom the Pentateuch was written.
If this be so, then our hold upon
it as a book of divine authority is,
perhaps, completely broken. Such
is the higher critscism in the hands
of many writers who boastfully
apply it. It is fearfully “destruct
ive.”
But there are other scholars
equally learned, who approach the
Bible with every different feelings.
They feel, in their hearts, that if
the Bible is what it claims to be—
a message from the living God—
it is their highest interest to know
it. The issues involved are of in
finite moment. They cannot afford
to be deceived. With them. < the
qtU.Slid'ii !»■" not whither t’..e D(L’c
suits their taste, or crosses their in
clinations. or restrains the inldul
gence of their desires. They are
too much in earnest to know the
truth, to allow any such carnal sug
gestions to bias their judgment.
They too may use the higher criti
cism in prosecuting their search
after truth.
As in the preceding case, let us
suppose one of these earnest, can
did scholars is examining the Pen
tateuch. Now, I think, such a man
would consider, first, the direct and
positive evidence in the case, if
any, before perplexing his mind
with alleged facts, which if true,
might be shown to be inconclusive.
The question before him is, Who
wrote the Pentateuch? He finds,
in the book itself, several allusions
to a “book” which Jehovah com
manded Moees to w/ite, which
should be placed in the hands of
the priests, containing all the words
of the Law which God gave to
Israel through Moses. That book
must have been the Pentateuch.
This conclusion he finds to be veri
fied by the frequent allusions to
that book found in the subsequent
writers of the Bible. David and
the Prophets often refer to Moses.
And our Savior said to the Jews,
“if ye had believed Moses, ye would
have also believed me, for he wrote
of me.” Against such evedence
as these facts present, alleged di
versities of style or a few foreign
words, which later copyists could
have inserted, or some apparent
discrepancies—or all these com
bined sink into insignificance. In
some such way as has been pointed
out, our supposed critic is con
vinced that Moses wrote the Pen
tateuch.
I have thus endeavored to ex
plain, in a simple way, the nature
and the functions of the higher
criticism. And I have illustrated
its use by two critics who are sup
posed to be considering the same
question. I have given only a
brief outline of each of the argu
ments. My aim has been, not to
disparage or undervalue the higher
criticism ; but to show, that when
applied to the Bible, the critic
must be a man above suspicion of
any bias or prejudice against it.
Our young people, especially, need
to be on their guard against being
drawn away from the truth by the
charm of novelties, and by the
high-sounding titles of those who
propose them.
The Index man had the very
good fortune last Thursday, while
in Macon, to dine with Dr. J. C" Sol
omon and his happy family. The
Doctor has done an admirable work
at the South Macon church and we
doubt if his flock will permit him to
leave just now.
A BRIEF SKETCH OF BAPTIST MIS
SION WORK AMONG THE
BLANKET INDIANS.
Atoka, Ind Ter., Jan. 5. 1594.
Editor Christian Index :
Dear Brother :—ln the fall of
1857 I came from Georgia as a mis
sionary under appointment of the
Domestic Mission Board, Southern
Baptist Convention. For over
thirty-six years 1 have been in con
tinuous labor among the five civi
lized tribes. In 1870 my heart was
drawn out in sympathy for what
was then known as the wild tribes
on our Western border, viz: the
Wichitas, Caddos and other affiliat
ed bands of the Wichita Agency,
the Comanchees, Kiowas and
Apachees. Major I. G. Vore, and
I succeeded, after some time, in
arousing an Jinteiest among the
churches in these five civilized
tribes in the fearful spiritual condi
tion of their wild Irethren west of '
them.
Rev. John Mclntosh, a devoted i
Christian of the Creek Nation. ;
agreed to go as- a missionary and '
we succeeded in securing his ap
pointment by the Texas Baptist
State Convention. The Kiowas, i
Apachees and Con. tnches were at ■
that time, causing the general i
government great trouble by their
frequent raids in Texas, stealing ’
horses, killing men. burning houses
and capturing women and children.
Brother Mclntosh was blessed in
his mission. One of the first con
verts was Black Beaver, a Dela
ware. He was a remarkable In
dian. An old man. For many
years he was employed by the
Government as guide and intepret
er. Away back in the forties and j
fifties he had guided military par
ties across the Rocky Mountains
and on to the Pacific coast. He
spoke English fluently, and also the
language of several of the tribes
then roaming over the western
plains. He was thoroughly trust
ed both by the General Govern
ment and the Indians. His in
fluence was very great. He finally
settled near the Wichita Agency.
Brother John Mclntosh secured
board in his family and era long he
was converted and -baptized. A
number of the Delawares, Wichi
tas and Kechis followed his exam
ple. A church was organized. In
about one year brother Mclntosh
gave up the work and was succeed
ed by Rev. A. J. Hb‘r, a white
man from Texas. 1 f
Brother Holt bi ;'• 1- ch house,
and did much exceitfnt Work. But
neither did he retnaqi long on the
field. He was folio a fullinlood
Seminole, Julsa Micco, whose la
bors were greatly blessed. But the
Lord took him to heaven and the
A. B.H. M. Society, of New York,
appointed Rev. G. W. Hicks, a
young Cherokee brother and a
graduate of our Indian University.
He is still on the field. The labors
of Mr. and Mrs. Hicks have been
very fruitful in good works. For
years they endured great hardships
and made fearful sacrifices. In
1888 the church numbered t one
hundred and sixteen members. Mr.
Hicks built a comfortable, two
story dwelling house, a good new
chapel and a very fair school build
ing including dormitory. The mis
sion school was founded by Mrs.
Hicks and her sister Miss Lauretta
Ballew. These ladies had nothing
to commence with, no house, no
books, no clothing for the pupils,
no money. But their hearts were
full of compassion for the poor,
ignorant, heathen children around
them and they determined to res
cue some of these perishing ones.
They prayed, worked, sacrificed,
begged help, overcame many and
great difficulties until they saw
their faithful labors crownsd with
success. The present Anadarko
mission school is the result of the
toils and sacrifices of these heroic,
Christian women.
But the Kiowas and Com
manchees had not been reached.
In 1889 a small mission was com
menced among the Kiowas called
the Lone Wolf Mission in honor of
the principal chief who a few years
previous was the leader in the raid
ing parties into Texas but who had
become convinced of the error of
his ways and had become a warm
friend to Christian mission work.
The mission, after a fitful life of
two years, was abandoned. In
1892 Mr. Hicks resigned his posi
tion among the Wichitas and com
menced work south of the Washita
river among the Kiowas. Rev. C.
A. Perkins and wife were’appoint
ed to take charge of the Wichita
school and church. Mr. and Mrs.
Perkins are well qualified for school
work. They have succeeded ad
mirably in the face of many and
great discouragements in making
the school popular, especially with
the Caddos. The Catholics buy
pupils, actually pay the parents for
permission to take their children to
their Convent. Also they feed the
parents and visitors every Lord’s
day and thus encourage them to
attend mass and religious (?) ser
vices at the convent.
Encouraged by the Home Mis
sion Society, promises were made
to Lone Wolf and other Kiowas
chiefs over a year ago that one or
two Baptist chapels and mission
stations should be built in his na
tion and missionaries placed in
charge. These promises were long
delayed.
In 1892 the Women’s Baptist
Home Mission Society, Chicago,
appointed Misses Reeside and Bal
lew to work among the Kiowas
women and children. They began
work in November, and in connec
tion,with Messrs Hicks and Boston,
missionaries of the A. B. H. M.
Society : a meeting of great inter
est and success was held in the fol
lowing January. Nine full-blood
Kiowas was baptized and a church
organized. These ladies obtained
j a strong hold upon the confidence
: and affection of the Kiowa women
and children. The men too openly
expressed their pleasure and
gratitude that white women
jso refined and kind heart
j ed, so industrious and generous
J should leave their homes far away
among their people and come to
j live such hard and sacrificing lives
1 for the comfort and instruction of
i their wives and children. In March
1893 1 received instructions from
j Dr. T. J. Morgan, corresponding
I secretary, to make a tour of the
1 Comanchee and Kiawa reservation
j and select a site for three chapels,
I one among the Comanches and two
} among the Kiowas. This service
was performed in April and the In
dians were requested to donate one
I ndred and sixty acres of land for
each of these mission stations for
the use of the missionaries. In
the fall of 1894 the chapel among
1 the Comanchees was built under
| the supervision of Rev. L. J. Dyke,
! general missionary for Oklahoma,
I a practical, energetic, godly man.
It is a very neat commodious, well
built chapel, an honor to our God
and Home Mission Society. The
money was donated by a good wo
man in the East whose name is un
known to the writer but whose
deeds of love to God and His poor
ignorant, Red children is recorded
in heaven and in the hearts of His
people.
Rev. E. C. Deyo and wife were I
appointed to this new field. They j
reached their Indian home in Au-
I gust, but for lack of a house or a
tent to go into they were compell
ed to live, work, preach, etc., all
in the chapel. They seem well
qualified for such pioneer work.
After the Anniversaries at Denver,
*Colorado, last year, the Women's
Baptist Home Mission Society,
ies to labor among the Blanket In
dians, viz : Misses Schofield and
Corielle among the Comanchees
and Misses Crawford and Everts at
Lone Wolf Mission among the
Kiowas. Misses Schofield and
Corielle are therefore domiciled in
the chapel at the Comanchee mis
sion with Rev. and Mrs. Deyo.
When we were there with Dr.
Morehouse this chapel was an in
teresting sight. Mr. Dyke had
been with them a short while,hence
there were three bed-rooms in as
many corners, the work bench was
the table, boxes, trunks, bales, corn,
groceries, lumber, tools, were all in
this one chapel. A carpenter slept
in the loft above. But a four room
parsonage was being built and per
haps by this time there is more com
fort for those consecrated mission
aries.
In November of last year I ar
ranged for a visit by Rev. H. L.
Moorehouse to portions of this re
servation. We held councils with
chiefs Lone Wolf, Comalty, Big
Tree and head men Ah-pe-ye-tone,
Poor Buffalo, Stumbling Bear, and
many other Kiowas. The result
was a unanimous consent that the
two chapels should be built one on
Rainy Mountain Creek and anoth
er on Elk Creek and that a quarter
section of land should be given to
each for mission purposes. Very
soon there will be four mission sta
tions in" the Wichita, Kiowa and
Comanchee reservations with
chapels and parsonages at each
and a school building at one.
There are fout male and six female
missionares and five other female
workers. These are sufficient to
cover that field. There are
three churches two among
the Wichitas and other
affiliated bands and one among the
the Kiowas. The Comanche is the
leading language, all of the other
tribes understand Comanche to
some extent at least. It has not
been reduced to writing. Not a
single verse of scripture nor a
hymn has been translated. The
Wichitas sing a few of the
Mushogee chorus songs in their
language, but nothing has been
written. An attempt has|been made
to utilize the sign language com
mon to all those Plain tribes of In
dians in teaching Christian truths
and some cards have been printed,
copies of which I enclose, but this
effort has not been successful.
Sincerely,
J. S. Morrow.
I
President Gambrell, of Mercer
University, will be in Atlanta the
. second Sunday in February in the
. interest of Mercer University, He
i was much encouraged on his visit
• a few days since.
SOWING AND REAPING.
BY REV. H. R. BERNARD.
Some time since in going to one
j of my appointments, I passed a
[ field in which afr id wa« busily
engaged in sowing oats. Several
boys were plowing in the oats.
One of the horses drawing a plow
was driven to the boundary of the
field, just as I was passing. He
arrested my atteniion by a sort of
soliloquy which run about as fol
lows :
“I declare 1 see no wisdom what
ever in all this business. Surely it
is the height of folly. Why see,
these oats are scattered in waste
over the ground, and then we labor
in dragging plows about to ‘turn
them under.’ Completely lost is
this grain. Now it would be much
better to save it. Oats are good to
eat, and how nice it would be if we
could stand in our stalls and feed
upon them. In this way our lives
would be sustained, and then too
we would escape all this toil.
I passed on meditating, and
thought of that brother, who would
or might sometimes make a contri
bution at church, when opportuni
ty is given, hut being as short
sighted as this horse he reasons
that a dime or a dollar dropped in
the contribution box is lost. Once
out of sight the money is foreier
lost. Brother, monev is like oats.
Sow oats and you reap oats in abun
dance. Sow your money and you
reap money.
Honor the Lord with thy sub
stance and the first fruits of thine
increase, so shall thy barns be filled
with plenty and thy wine presses
shall burst over with new wine,
was not written simply to fill in
space. It is truth, and ought to be
believed, and so believed as to be
acted upon. When will we all
learn to take the Bible as the man
of our counsel on all subjects?
Athens, Ga.
Dublin, Ga., Jan. 24, iß9.|.
Dear Index: —Your issue of
Nov. 23d. is before me. It is an
excellent number in many respects.
Your editorial on “Unemployed
Ministers” demands serious consid
eration.
Pastorless churches and unem
ployed ministers certainly present
a sad and anomalous condition of
things. But what is the cause?
You suggested two—tst. A
disnssjtion on the part of churches
.0 \ii'sc;il.. ; *ni u
./superfluity ;*< shallowress and’cin-
I sei.” 2nd. ' A ■wt-rcak of vanity on
I the part of ministers, pron.pt
i ing them to decline calls from
j churches unequal to those last held.
You go no further than this, and
candidly admit that you may be
mistaken in your views.
You may, or may not be correct
in your views. But there is an ob
vious cause, which is, to a large ex
tent chargable with this unhappy
state of affairs.
What is it? The lack of the
“sinews of war.” An unsupported
ministry means an idle ministry,
and an idle ministry means vacant
churches.
To this fact history bears indis
putable testimony. What? Have
the preachers fallen in love with
filthy lucre? No. As a class they
are the most self-denying and self
sacrificing men the world has
ever known. But they and their
families cannot live on the wind,
whether it blows from the West
or from the East. Preachers as a
class are men of limited means.
They earn their bread by the
sweat of their brow. This being
true, how can they devote their
time to the work of the ministry,
I unless they are supported?
True, many prompted by their
burning zeal and love of souls,
have and are to-day subjecting
themselves and families to a de
gree of privation and want that
borders on martyrdom, in order
that the unsearchable riches of the
| gospel may be preached. But
there is a point beyond which zeal
, and love dare not go, and just be
-1 yond that point stand many vacant
! churches.
I Some one may say that it is bold
i assertion unsupported by facts. I
I know whereof I speak. lam per-
I sonally acquainted with quite a
I number of ministers whose serv-
I ice is in demand, but who have
j been forced to decline “calls” be
! cause of inadequate support. They
i are standing in the market place,
1 and when asked “Why stand ye
here all the day idle?” they say,
and truly, “Because no man hath
hired us.” Gh! that the vacant,
dying, churches would say to these
servants of the Lord “Go ye, also
into the vinyard and whatsoever is
right we will give you.”
I do not say that this is the only
cause; there are several, indeed,
which contribute to this condition
lof things. But the one I have set
j forth, stands like a great rock in
j the path of many devoted minis
ters.
Who is to blame? In a future
article I will try to answer this
question, provided you will give
me space.
J. Ware Brown.
VOL. 71-NO. 5.
FROM FLORIDA.
CHORDS AND DISCORDS.
A Serious Malady.—La
Grippe has made an impression in
Florida, if not favorable, yet quite
serious. When he comes to see a
man, that man has to neglect all
other friends, break his engage
ments, sufl' r his promises to go
unredeemed, and address his whole
time and attention to the enter
tainment of his guest. You can’t
break away from his grasp long
enough to enjoy Christmas nor
New Year’s. You grow heartily
tired of your guest, yea, sick of
him, give him sundry hints to leave:,
but he sticks to you so close tha
he brings himself in touch witl
every fibre of your corpus. *3-
scorns physicians, the sympathy'
the family, the visits of the pa-t r i
prayers—he just stays on and /,.
We’ve had “lots” of him daw
here. All classes suffer from |
visit . He is king and reigns fc 1
preme, but after so long a time'}.;
relaxes and goes his way, we trust,
neve to return.
CONVENTION GONE.
Since the smoke has lifted and
we ok over our convention do
ings and experiences, we abate not
one jot nor tittle of the enthusiastic
praise given the meeting, but are
inclined to say more unqualifiedly
than before, “The half has not and
cannot be told.”
The Witness devotes all last
week’s issue to the meeting, giving
a very tine report, but the meeting
was far better than the written
account. The Religious Herald
has a fine gossippy letter from
“J. H. N.” on the meeting, but
not half justice is done. Our Index
was not one whit behind the Wit
ness in spreading the appetising
report before its readers, yet I
heard your reporter say, he regret
ted that the readers had not been
there to see and hear for them
selves. It was a record-breaking
epoch making meeting, as time
will prove.
TAB DI JUSTICE
after he was gone, was given to
Elder J. 11. Wentworth, recently
deceased. His career was not
brilliant, but noble, self-sacrificing,
full of Christly zeal. Report on
dece"sed ministers. It developed
in that in the years gone, he
was a Baptist Circuit Walker over
Madison, Taylor, Jefferson and La
Fayette counties, often receiving
less than five dollars a year for his
services, and actually carrying his
latfons iis fie walked -ircAiff <sne ap
pointmen to another. Mei* *han
600 were baptized by him. Fif
teen preachers have risen from
among these converts. Fourteen
churches were organized by this
devoted worker. At his death he
was pastor of the Second Baptist
church, Pensacola. It was beau
tiful to listen to the touching trib
utes paid to his memory by pas
tors Pugh, Leitner, Miller and
others. The memory of the just is
blessed. Elder Wentworth’s rec
ord is on high, he is an illustration
of the thousands who toiled
and have gone up higher, of whom
the world was not worthy. Un
historic in life, but priceless in
God’s sight, and invaluable in the
planting of Baptist principles over
our Southland.
It is known to all the school
children that St. Augustine, Fla.,
on the Atlantic Coast is
THE OLDEST CITY
in the United States, but not every
one knows that there has never
been a Baptist meeting house
there; but such is the fact. We
hope however that this lack will
soon be supplied. Mr. Flagler, the
great millionaire and developer of
the East coast, he who has built
those wonderfully splendid and
princely hotels at St. Augustine
and Lake Worth, who is building
great railroads and steamboat lines,
has given a lot for our people
worth $2 5,000, provided a SIO,OOO
meeting house can be erected on it.
Dr. G. J. Johnson, of Chicago has
been appointed missionary of this
station and especially to build this
house. It is confidently believed
that the house will be built. If
any one can accomplish this feat,
Johnson can, and all eyes are upon
him.
Since the departure of the
former pastor, Rev. J. H. Light
foot last August, Lake City church
has been pastorless, but the breth
ren had the good fortune to have
the strong, sweet sermons of Prof.
C. V. Waugh on Sundays and so
the church suffered less than is
usual in an interregnum, but Dr.
Rogers, of Elberton,Ga. has accept
ed their call and now“ The winter of
their discontent is made glorious
summer.” On many accounts Lake
City is an important point for us.
Viz., we have a large membership,
it is a railroad center, the State
Agricultural College, open to both
sexes is located there, and it is a
sort of head quarters for Baptist
preachers, as elders Davis, Rogers
Harris and others are residents
there.
Gainesville lost her pastor,
brother King, a strong man, but
now in the coining of Rev. J. C.
Newman the saints are made
(Continued on Bth page.)