The Madison family visitor. (Madison, Ga.) 1847-1864, October 25, 1856, Image 1

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VOLUME X. (Original Portrg. Written for the Visitor; THE ANGEL’S ECHO. On the death of Miss * , whose favorite song m “ Oh ! why do Summer Roses fade f 1 The eye, that thou and rapture owned— The brow, that love and beauty crowned— The voice, that bore sweet music’s name—■ The heart, that beat to others’ pain— (Echo) “ Is still’d to others' pain. And art thou dead? Ah, ne’er again Shall we listen to that melting strain; So sweet each note, in music fell, E’en untuned hearts obeyed the spell, “ Obeyed the spell." That pleasing strain—how oft have we Listened its thrilling melody, Aud heard thee “ mourn the rose’s hue,” Whilst thy sweet bloom was fading too, “ Alas! was fading too. And eyes, unused to sorrowing tears, And hearts, unseared by earthly fears, Soon, soon, their humane tribute paid, To see thee thus in beauty lade, u In quiet beauty fade Transplanted from a brighter sphere, Thou could’st not bloom or flourish here; Thou bloom’st, in brighter place than this, Where all is love, where all is bliss, Where all is love and bliss. SCHWARZBNSKI. Augusta , Ga. A SONG FOR OCTOBER. October strews the woodland o’er With many a brilliant color; The world is brighter than before, Why should our hearts be duller? Sorrow and the scarlet leaf, Sad thoughts and sunny weather— Ah me! this glory and this grief Agree not well together. This is the parting season, this The time when friends are flying; And lovers now, with many a kiss, Their long farewell are saying. Why is earth so gayly dressed? This pomp that Autumn beareth A funeral seems, where every guest A bridal garment weareth. Each one of us may often here, On some blue mom hereafter, Return to view the gaudy year But not in boyish laughter. We shall then be wrinkled men, Our'brows with silver laden, And thou this glen inay’st seek again, But never more a maiden. Nature, perhaps, foresees that Spring Will touch her teeming bosom, And think a few brief months will bring The bird—the bee—the blossom. Ah! these forests do not know, Or would less brightly wither, The virgin that adores them so Will never more come hither. THE PEARLY GATES AJ AR. I gazed down life’s dark labyrinth A wildering maze to see, Crossed o’er by many a tangled clue, And wild as wild could be: And as we gazed in doubt and dread, An angel came to me. I knew him for a heavenly guide, I knew him even then, Though meekly as a child he stood Among the sons of men— By his deep spirit loveliness, I knew him even then. And as I leaned my weary head Upon his proffered breast, And scanned the peril haunted wild From out my place of rest; I wondered if the shining ones Os Eden were more blest. For there was light within my soul, Light on my peaceful way, And all around the blue above, The clustering starlight lay; And easterly I saw upreared The pearly gates of day. So hand in hand we trod the wild, My angel love and I His lifted wing all quivering With tokens from the sky— Strange my dull thoughts could not divine ’Twas lifted but to fly! Again, down life’s dark labyriuth, I grope my way alone, While wildly through the midnight sky Black hurrying clouds are blown, And thickly in my tangled path The sharp, thick thorns are sown. Yet firm my foot, for well I know The goal caDnot he far, And ever through the rifted clouds Shines out one steady star— For, when my guide went up, he left The pearly gates ajar. Fanny Forrester. When love begins to sicken and decay, It useth an enforced ceremony. There are no tricks in plain and simple faith: But hollow men, like horses hot at hand, Make gallant show and promise of their mettle .* But when they should endure the bloody spur, They fall their crests, and like deceitful jades, Sink in the trial. & Scmtljmt Wcchltj Citmmj ant) RliscfUinuous 3ouvnal, for ilic Ijontc Circle. 21 Capital Start). “ JUDGE NOT;” OR THE DREAM OF CALEB EDMONDS. “Christianity, indeed !” said Mr. Ed monds, as he looked over his books, in the little back parlor behind the shop, “ I ana disgusted with such hypocrisy !” There was a dark frown upon the brow of the man of business as he spoke these words, and an irritability in his manner of turning over the leaves be fore him, which spoke of some bad debt troubling his mind, and robbing him of his good temper. “ What is the matter ?” asked a cheer ful little woman by the fire, at whose side a basket of stockings told of a large family, and a consequent demand for stitchery. “ Matter!” echoed the husband, “do you not know that Welsford owes me four pounds, ten and sixpence?” “ Well, he will pay, I suppose ?” “ Not he. The goods were purchased more than a year ago, and I have not had a penny yet!” “ What does ho say when you see him?” asked Mrs. Edmonds, who evi dently loved to look at the bright side “ Say ? he does not say much to me, I can tell you. I told him net to worry me with his excuses, but to bring h : s money : and that be need not cross my door step again until lie could do that.’’ “lam sorry for his wife,” said the little stocking mender, presently, “she appears to l>« a truly pious woman.” “ I’ious !” retorted her husband, “ yes, and so is he ; ’tis that disgusts me. Re ligion, indeed 1 and lie owes me four pounds, ten and sixpence. I thought the Bible said, “owe no man anything.” Christianity forsooth!” Mr. Caleb Edmonds was a highly re spectable grocer in the town of Marhly— in fact, a man of substance, for business had prospered with him. He was in dustrious and obliging, rising earlv, working hard ; and thus from small be ginnings, he had risen to the possession of considerable wealth. But although an excellent man of business. Mr. Ed monds was a very ordinary Christian.— Tiue, he had begun the race,but he did not press towards the mark; alas for “the cares of this world aud the deceit fulness of riches !” And as it is charac teristic of a low standard of piety to be harsh and censorious in our judge ment of our fellow Christians, so Mr. Edmonds, when he heard of any de fect in the’character of professors around him, was always the first to exclaim, “ Christianity, indeed!” Is not this too common with us all ? Do we not, even if we give no expression to our thoughts, doubt and hesitate much more than we should doubt andjhesitate, regarding the reality of the religion of our “• Ready-to-halts” and “Feeble minds Do we not set up a standard of perfection for our fellows, which were too lofty, in our view, as a standard for ourselves? And are we not too ready to exclaim against the wanderings of others, even while we turn aside into for bidden paths ? Perhaps such thoughts as these bad passed through the mind of Mrs. Ed monds, as she sat over her work, for when she rose to leave her basket for some more active household duty, she bent over her husband for a moment, and said gently, “ Caleb, I do not like to hear you say “Christianity indeed!” as you did just now. Suppose your fellow Christians were to judge of you as harsh ly as you do of them ! You often say it,” she continued hastily, “you doubted John Watson's religion yesterday be cause he lent money to your rival; and Thornton’s because ho opposes you in business, and you shook your head about Miss Milwood’s piety, because she argued with you against total abstinence ? Judge not that ye he not judged' ” Long after his wife left him, these words rang in Caleb’s ears—“ Judge not!" MADISON, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1856. At last, as he sat in the twilight, be tween sleeping and waking—for busi ness was very dull, and he could spare half an hour for rest —a vision stole upon him, and he passed, in imagination, rap idly through the scenes which follow. At first he found himself in a very quiet neighborhood, and in the preseueo of three maiden ladies, whose names he knew very well. They had their feet upon the fender, and, their knitting laid aside—were evidently discussing the affairs of their neighbors. “Such pride 1” said the elder lady, whoso name was Rayby, “ what will come next, I wonder 3” “ The most fashionable boarding school in R , I assure you,” said another—Miss Phillip. “Ah 1” said Miss Rayby, “ and I can remember the time—of courso I was very young then, but still I can remem her—when Caleb Edmonds swept out his own shop ?” “ Dear me 1 and now he has the up start impudence to send his girl to such a school as that !” exclaimed Miss Sophia Milwood, spinister who had not yet spoken. “O, the pride of human nature.” “ And he a professor, too !” “ Professor !” said Miss Rayby ; “ re ligion does not teach a man such absurd pride as that!” Miss Phillip shook her head, and be gan to lament the increase of false pro fessors. “Well,”thought Caleb, “I believed that in spending some of my cash upon the education of my children, I could not go very far wrong; but I find I am misunderstood even here.” The next scene was the drawing-room of John Watson, of whom Mrs. Edmonds had spoken. A lady was making tea behind a silver urn, and a gentleman— her husband—sat beside her. “Poor Thornton,” said Mrs. Watson, for it was she, “ I trust he will succeed.” “He shall, if by God’s blessing I can compass it.” “ lie is a very deserving young man,” continued the lady; “the manner in which he bore the loss of all bis prop erty would win esteem, even if lie had no other claim.” Mr. Watson did not reply, his mind had wandered to another branch of the subject. “That Caleb Edmonds,” he said at length, “ I am surprised at the ill-feeling he displays.” “ Towards Thornton ?” “ Yes, he is evidently annoyed at the opening of another shop so near his own: whereas, in the principal street of a town like this, he should have expec ted competition. Besides, be has made a little fortune, and has nothing to fear, yet he will not treat George Thornton with ordinary civility.” “ I thought be was a religious man,’’ said Mrs. Watson. “ He pretends to be,” replied her hus band, “ but I have not much faith in a religion which brings forth so little fruit.” Poor Caleb ? his wife’s words—the Master’s words, still sound in his ears as they had never done before, meeting with a responsive echo in his heart. Again a change, and Mr. Edmonds found himself beside a sickly looking woman, who, leaning upon her husband’s arm, walked slowly towards the house of prayer. It was impossible to look without interest upon her pale and anx ious face, a face which once had been beautiful and equally impossible to dis regard the careful tenderness with which her steps were guided by the strong man at her Bide. Their conversation, too, was worthy of remark—they were speaking of the consolation of the gos pel. “ Who knows ” exclaimed the inva lid, “ perhaps there may be words just suited to our case this morning. Words for the poor 1” “Poor as regards this world only, Mary !” Her eyes brightened as she looked up cheerfully, “ Yes, yes, rich in treasure far more cqstly than earth’s gold. God help U3 to look up", and to trust him for the “ meat that perisheth.’ ” They walked on for a while ; and then the wife said mournfully, “ I sometimes fear that it is pride which makes me shrink from meeting Mr. Edmonds. I do shrink from it. O, if wo could pay but him 1” “ We shall be able to do so soon, I hope,” said Welsford; “it has been a hard struggle, Mary ; starvation almost, but I think it is nearly over.” “ Ah, it was all for me ! I am sure Mr. Edmonds would bo patient, if he knew how much you spent in medicines for me, and how little work you have.” “ He is patient, after a fashion ; and we have reason to be thankful for that ; still he said some crushing things to mo —harsh things which ho may live to repent; things which have made me doubt liis Christianity.” “ Nay,” said Mrs. Welsford, gently, “I would not judge him; how many inconsistent things we do.” “ You are right. Imay not lift up my voice : alas but little likeness to my Lord is found in me !” Again the echoing voice thrilled through the sou! of the listener—again ho heard the words, “ Judge not!”— and as he dwelt upon them tho vision slowly faded, and he, Bunyan like awoke, “and it was a dream !” But the lesson of tho dream was not quite lost upon him, for ho awoke to a deeper spirit of Christian charity, a nobler self denial, a holier humility, a nearer likeness to Jesus. Ho had been taught in that brief twilight musing, one of tho grand old lessons of the Book of God. The fireside morning worship was just ended, and Charles Welsford was about to go forth to bis daily toil, when a gen tle knock at tho door spoke of a visitor how great was the surprise of all when Caleb Edmonds entered ! “ You are come, sir—” “I am come,”said the grocer, inter rupting him, “ to express my hope that you are not under any concern about the little amount you owe me. Take your time, my good sir, take vour time.” The poor man’s eyes wero filled up with tears, as, grasping the outstretch ed hand, he tried to speak his thanks. “My wife,” said Mr. Edmonds, turn" ing towards Mrs. Welsford, “ put some thing into my hand, just as I left, for you ma’am.” And forth from his pockets came tea, sugar, biscuits, from the good wife’s am ple store, till Mary’s eyes, too, filled with grateful tears. “ And now,” said the visitor kindly, “ don’t forsake the shop ; get your little parcels there, and pay just when it suits you. By the way, if a sovereign would be of any service to you, I have one which will burn a bole in my pocket— as the saying goes—unless I give it to somebody.” And before they could re ply, he had laid the coin upon the table and was gone. “ Mary,” said Mr. Welsford, “let us thank God for this.” They knelt, and as lie breathed forth his heart’s gratitude, his wife wept tears of joy, and even tho little ones murmur ed the “ Amen.” But Mr. Edmonds did not slop at this; it was to him Charles Welsford owed a situation which soon after placed him far above the reach of want; it was to him he owed a host of kindly deeds, which came like sunshine to his inmost soul. We hasten on. Not alone in this re gard was Caleb Edmonds changed, for two days after his strange dream, he walked into his rival’s shop, shook hands, invited him to drink tea at his house, spoke pleasantly about their “ opposi tion,” and even hinted at his own re tirement at some future day, when his new friend would have “a better chance !’’ And from that time, the charity which i‘sufferethlong and is kind, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, brareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things,” held an al most undisputed sway over the heart of Caleb Edmonds ; and ever was the max im of the Bible borne in mind, —“ Judge not, that ye be not judged /” Keep your Sabbath Holy. Bo jealous on this point. Whether you live in town or country, resolve not to profane your Sabbath. Ouce give over caring fortheSabbath, audin theend you will give over caring for your soul. The steps which lead to this are easy and regular. Begin with not honoring God’s day, and you will soon not honor God’s house; cease to honor God’s house and you soon ceaso to honor God’s book; ceaso to honor God’s book, and by-and by you will give God no honor at all. Let any one lay the foundation with no Sabbath, and I am never surprised if he finishes with the topstono of no God. It was a remarkable saying of Judge Hale, that of the persons convicted of capital crimes while lie was upon the bench he found few who did not confess that they began their career of wickedness by a neglect of the Sabbath. A Poor Man’s Wish. I asked a student what three things ho most wished. Ho said, “ give me books, health and quiet, and I care for nothing more.” I asked a miser, and lie cried “ Money, money, money!” I asked a pauper, and he faintly said “Bread, bread, brend?” I asked a drunkard, and ho loudly called for strong drink. I asked tho multitude around me, and they lifted up a confused cry in which I heard tho words “ wealth, fame and pleasure.” I asked a poor man, who had long borne the character of an exemplary Christian, he replied that all his wishes could bo met in Christ, lie spoke seri ously', and I asked him to explain. Ho said, “ I greatly desire these three things ; —first, that I may be found in Christ— secondly, that I may bo like Christ— thirdly, that I may be with Christ. I have thought much of ibis answen and tho more I think the wiser it seems. Coughing in Chukch. —Wo copy die following from an autobiography which Hugh Miller is now publishing in the Witness : A simple incident which occurred during my first morning attendance at Dr. M’Ciie’s chapel strongly impressed me with a sense of his sagacity. There was a great deal of coughing in the place, the effect of a recent change of weather; and the doctor, whose voice was not a strong one, and who seemed somewhat annoyed by the ruthless inter ruptions, stopping suddenly short in tho middle of bis argument, made a dead pause. When people are taken greatly by surprise, they cease to cough—a circumstance on which he had evidently calculated. Every eye was now turned towards him, and for a full minute so dead was the silence that one might have heard a pin drop. “ I see, my friends,” said the doctor, resuming speech, with a suppressed smile—“ I see you can bo all quiet enough when I am quiet.” There was not a little genuine strate gy in the rebuke; and as coughing lies a good deal more under the influence of the will than most coughers suppose, such was its effect during tho rest of the day there was not a tithe of the previous coughing. A Puzzled Irishman. —Mr. O’Flagh erty undertook to tell bow many were at the party. Tho two Crogans was one, myself was two, Miko Finn was three, and—and—who the devil was four ? Let me see (counting bis fingers)—tho two Crogans was one, Miko Finn was two, meself was three—and—be-dad ! there was four of us ; but St Patrick couldn’t tell the of the other. Now it’s meself that has it : Mike Finn was one, the two Crogans was two, meself was three—and—and bo mo soul, I think there was but three of us after all. Phoenix—His Last. This clever wit, in tho following squib, amusingly takes off the prevalent custom of giving testimonials to every body, upon all sorts of occasions, and for all sorts of things : On Board steamship California. ) Panama. ( To Capt. R. M. Whiting : Dear Sir : —I, the undersigned, cabin passenger, on board the steamship Cali fornia, during her late trip from San Francisco, beg to tender you, on behalf of myself, my hearty and sincere ac knowledgements of your skill as a sea man, and varied courtesy as a gentle man. To your skill and foresight I at. tribute entirely the favorable weather that we have enjoyed, and your polite at tention in invariably giving me the second joint at dinner, your liberality in help ing me to pie a second time, and tlie noble hearted generosity with which you have at times presented me with one, and even two cigars, can never bo for gotten whilst memory bolds her seat. I beg you will accept, as a slight token of my esteem and gratitude, a large silver-mounted guttapercha ear-trumpet which I shall procure for you, with a suitable inscription, (as soon as I can borrow money enough for the purpose) and that you may long live to enjoy it in the noble ship which you command is my earnest, constant, and daily prayer. I cannot conclude better than by a quotation from those beautiful lines in “ Pope’s Paradise Lost “The stur-spungled banner. Oil long may it wave— O’er the land of the free Aud the home of the brave.” With the highest sentiments of grati tude and esteem, I remain your sincere friend and most obsequious aud very humble servant, Geo. 11. Derby, alias John Phcenix, or, Squibob. Stray Shot. —There is no adhesive label like a nickname. Waiting for dead men’s shoes is in most measures a bootless affair. Ladies generally shop in couples- When a lady lias any money to spend slio dearly loves taking a friend with her to see her spend it. The number of poor poets is, if anv thing, greater than the number of poets who are poor 1 Bad works, like bad shilling, are often brought home to the person who has ut tered them ! Life, we are told, is a journey—and to see the way in which some people eat you would imagine they were taking in provisions to last them tho whole length of the journey.— Punch. A Touching Ditty in Prose. —When Seth got home from mackereling, he sought his Sarah Ann, aud found that she, the heartless one, has found anoth er man. And then most awful tight he got, and sohe wentaway and bound him self to go and cut live oak in Florida. He pined upon the live oak lands; he murmured in the glades; his axe grew heavy in his hands, ail in the wild wood shades. Mosquitoes bit him everywhere, uo comfort did he get ; and oh ! how terribly lie did get bit. At last despairing of relief and wishing himself dead, he went into the woods a piece, and chopped off his own head. fidP “How do you get along with your arithmetic ?” asked a father of his little boy. “ I’ve cyphered through addition, partition, substruction, distraction, abom ination, justification, hallucination, deri vation, amputation, creation and adop tion.” lle’d do for an engineer on a short line railroad. JtST A gentleman of African extrac tion, who used to display his grinning combination of ivory and ebony about the streets of Indianapolis, was asked by a white gentleman : “ How old are you, Sam ?” “Twenty-five, massa,” was the reply ; “ but it you counts up de fun I’se seen, jest call me seventy-five.” NUMBER 43. A Hard Hit.— Some years ago, Roger M. Sherman, and Perry Smith, of Connecticut, were opposed to each other as advocates in an important case before a Cdurt of justice. Smith opened tho case' with a foolish tirade against Mr. Sherman’s political character. Sherman rose in a composed manner, and re marked : “I shall not discuss politics before this court, but I am perfectly willing to argue questions of law, to chop logic, or even to split hairs with him.” “ Split that then,” said Smith, at the same time pulling out a short, rough looking hair from his head, and handing it over to Sherman. “May it please the honorable court,” retorted Sherman, “ I didn’t say bristles !” Not Qualified. —A young law stu dent who wrote a good, clear and round hand, and who was just about finishing up his studies, one day handed an instru ment which lie had just written out, to his uncle, a dry wag, who had called in to see him, and to inquire of his pro gress in his profession. The uncle took the ms., and after reading a few lines of it, gave it back to his nephew, stating with an arch smile, peculiar to himself: “ You are not quite a lawyer yet, James.” “ What do you find out of tho way in it, sir J” queried the student, in astonish ment. “ Why,” returned the waggish old critic, “ anybody can read that writing!” Energy. —“ The longer I live,” says a great writer, “ the more certain I am that tho great difference between men, the great and the insignificant, is energy—invincible determination—an honest purpose—once fixed, and then death or victory. That quality will do anything that can he done in the world ; and no talent, no circumstances, no op portunity, will make a two-legged crea ture a man without it.” JBP A fellow entered a place on Sun day, pretty well fuddled, and asked for some cider, lie was told they did not sell the aiticle on Sunday. “ Wei I,’’says the stranger, “ you should not be hard-hearted, for you know the good hook speaks of ‘entertaining angels Unawares.’ ” “ Yes,” says the storekeeper, “ but I never knew that angels drank sour cider on Sundays.” One hot day bust summer, as one of the teachers in New Jersey was speeding down Broadway, in order to be in time for the cars, he was accosted by a man, who, after mumbling in an unintelligible manner drew forth a card on which was written, “lam a mute whereupon the worthy Dominie, pointing to his brow streaming with perspiration, "wrote; “I am almost liquid.” Softening the Expression. —“ That’s a thundering big lie!” said Tom. “No,” replied Dick ; “ it’s only a fulminating enlargement of elongated veracity!” Harry took off his hat, elevated his eyes, and held his tongue. £iT~ “It’s hard tellin,” Aunt Deborah used to say, “how much a man knows by the clothes he wears. I’ve seen a great deal of the world in my day, and I’ve allers found them that ’pears the smartest and dress the finest ain’t much after all.” jJST To drive away vermin, depends a good deal on what the vermin consists of. If of bed bugs, hit them on the head with a hammer ; if of bores, tell them you aro getting the small pox. The Two Pictures.—“l have subdued the nations of the earth; Is there no other world for me to conquer ?”— Alexander the Great. “I have fought the good fight— I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.”— St. Paul.