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Joy Cometh in the Morning.
BY WM. cnLI.EN 15BYAXT.
Oh, deem not they are blest, alone,
tVhose lives a peaceful tenor keep ;
Far God, who pities man, hath shown
A blessing for the eyes that weep.
The light of smiles shall fill again
The lids that overflow with tears;
And weary hours of woe and pain
Are promises of happier years.
There is a day of sunny rest
For every dark and troubled night,
And grief may hide an evening guest,
But joy shall come with early light.
Nor let the good man’s trust depart,
Though life its comuioß gifts deny ;
Though with a pierced and broken heart,
The spurned of men, he goes to die.
For God has marked each sorrowing day,
And numbered every sacred tear,
And heaven’s loug age of bliss shall pay
For all Ilis children suffer her#.
Tlio Sleeping Hero.
Cold shines the moon upon the slumbering plain,
Where, wrapt in peace, the hosts of freemen
lie;
No sound of war, of conflict, or of pain,
Breaks the repose that reigns in earth and sky.
Low on his couch the patient hero lies,
Dreaming of homo—its scenes of past de
light ;
Clear to his vision forms of beauty rise,
Beaming like stars upon the brow of night.
Ah, sleeping hero ! little dost thou deem
How short thy rest; tor 10, the foe is nigh !
Ere morn awakes, thy ready sword shall gleam,
And not in vain, though, soldier, thou must
die!
Cold is the bed t iat stranger Tiands prepare ;
Dimmed are the eyes that long shall weep for
thee ;
But, soldier, while for Freedom men shall dare,
Thy noble deeds thy fadeless crown shall be.
Modern Elijahs. —lt is not well always
to look on the shady side of affairs. There
are men who came into existence under a
shadow, and the shadow has dogged their
lives, and all that is bright, and pure, and
beautiful, takes the sombre hue of their own
fancies. Their religion consists in bemoan
ing the evils of the world, in lamenting the
gradual decadence of good, and in regard
ing ail home evils and foreign complications
as signs of the times. They are the Elijahs
who retire irdo the. wilderness of their own
Contemplations, saying, “ I, even I, only am
left,” unconscious that, all the time there
arc not only the seven thousand who hav*
not bowed the knee uutoßaal, but that mul
titudes arc everywhere obeying the Gospel
call. They ore tkc Jonahs sitting under
the gourds of their own security, amazed
that the judgments of God do not descend
on a guilty world. These hypochondriacs
are seldom found among the earnest workers j
who seek to leave the world better than ■
they found it, but among those who see its j
evils and sit by with folded hands.
—
Th* "Work of Grace in the Heart.—
A writer on the new birth, says :
“ Often God does his great work in sin- j
uers’ heart so stdl and gently that nobody j
can tell just when it was done. They often ;
doubt it themselves wonder whether
there can be the new heart —they arc afraid
they have made sotse mistake. Especially
when some young Christians speak ot a sud
den change, it makes others say, ‘ If that is
the way we have to be converted, I can’t be
a Christian.' Now 1 want to clear up that
trouble; sometimes a change in fueling is as
quiet as the sun’s going over our beads at
twelve o’clock ; it makes no noisff at ail,
but the shadow begins to fall the other way.
The fruits of godliness begin to appear, and
the rescued soul is enabled to say, “ Where
as J Was blind, now 1 see.’ ”
Weight of Heaven lx Bodies. —One
of the most interesting ol the results oi as
tronomy is the” accuracy with which the
weight of heavenly bodies is ascertained.
The mu.- sos Jupiter is found to be more
than 322, and less than 323 times the mass
of ibis globe—so accurately has this work
been accomplished* The nja-s of the sun
is 330,55' times greater than that of the
earth and moon, and i 00 times greater than
the united masses of all the planets. The
planet Saturn is composed ol nutter only
half a a heavy as water. Mercury is heav
ier than quicksilver.
“Words, words, words!’ says Hamlet,
disparagingly. But God preserve us from the
destruwiv* power of words ! There are
words which can separate hearts sooner than
sharp swords. There are words whose stings
can remain in the heart through a whole
life. Therefore, think always before you
speak, and speak in love, or besileut.
THE ARMY & NAVY HERALD.
Fr*m the Southern Presbyterian.
Lights and Shadows of a Southern
Home. .. •
A SCENE IN THE REVOLUTION OF 1864.
The sun was sitting calmly in the dark
pine forests of Georgia on a bright winter
evening, and the inmates of a sweet South
ern home were preparing for rest from the
cares and toils of the day. The merry tink
ling of the cow bell added its notes to the
pleasant sounds, as each animal was return
ing to the full stalls awaiting their coming.
Little children were feeding their pet kids,
and the servants afier finishing their tasks
for the day were merrily singing and whist
ling, as though no care troubled them.
Within the house sat an old lady reading
the evening lesson for the day, and beside
her sat the mother of the children. They
both had anxious faces, for their loved one
was far away, exposed to the dangers of the
battlefield, and news had come that the ene
my was approaching.
Suddeuly sound broke the stillness of
the evening air; not the thunder of Heav
en, but the far worse worm of human wrath
was approaching. Yell succeeded yell, and
that quiet home, and those defenceless wo
men were soon surrounded by three hun
dred cavalrymen with drawn sabres in their
hands. The mother and daughter Hfied
their hearts in pray'er and met their fate.
The old ludy T met the vandals at her door,
and asked them their bidding. “We will
soon show you,” they replied, and pushing
her aside rushed into the house. Then be
gan their work of fury and destruction. Iri
a short time thousands more of the dreaded
enemy advanced, and the next day fifteen
thousand of Slocum’s corps were t ire guests
of that home in the woods. A glorious vic
tory to Northern arms can be recorded of
that day. Two noble Southern women faced
the 2Uth Federal corps, and surrendered to
them almost every article of their clothing,
ail of their provisions, and everything valua
ble in their home. Front cellar to attic,
from stable to kitchen the rubbers flew.
Nothing was too sacred Idr their vile touch.
From tke highest officer to the lowest pri
vate the work of robbery went on. Flames
soon rose from the gin house, and but for a
merciful change in the wind, their dwelling
would have goie too, but lie who “stayeth
the rough wind in the day of his East wind”
spared them a home.
In the midst of-that fifteen thousand men
to their honor be it spoke*, there were feur
kind hearts, who did what they could to
prevent the work of wreck and ruin, and
said “had they known the war was to be
waged against helpless women and children,
they would never have enlisted in such a
cause.”
The next evening what a different picture
presented itself in that homo, 'flic few cat
tle which escaped the vengence of the foe,
were lowing for food. The faithful servants
were shivering with cold and hunger, for
their philanthropic deliverers had saved
them from all further care-of their food and
clothing. The young mothers eyes over
fi .wed with tears as her hungry children
begged for bread, which had been seized
from their very bands. The eldest of the
children cried because her pet goats lay
dead at her feet. The old lady was mute
with agony. Id he could hear the loss o! food
and clothing better than the treaurcs of her
heart. One little trunk, she sacredly open
ed, once in a year, as it contained letters
written by the partner of her young days,
whose hand had long since hi in slili in death.
Only on their wedding day this trunk was
opened. Now its contests were scattered
to the winds. Bui worse than this, the sa
cred family Bible, was ruthlessly thrown
Guto a pond of water, and tears of agony at
this sight burst from that widowed heart.
There had been recorded her marriage vows.
There her iufant babes’ life and death had
been told, for the Savior kindly sheltered
these lambs in His »wu fold, long years ago.
In that book too were recorded the death
of her dearest earthly lore, ami of a gentle
daughter, u-hom God had mercifully taken
to that land where “no thief approueketh,
neither moth corrupteth.” All these treas
ures of her life were dashed from her in a
few short hours.
Here my picture is completed. W omen
of Georgia, henceforth with your nursery
rhymes, tell your children what their sires
have suffered at the hands of Northern foes.
The mothers form the nation, and by the
torch that has burned our dwellings, by the
robbery that lias taken from us our food,
! by the river of bloo-d that flow from the
1 Potomac to the Gulf of Mexico, whose only
J echo is the wail of widowed and orphaned
i hearts; by the death of the aged, who went
■ to their graves mourning for their sons; by
i the prisoners who have languished and died
1 in Northern dungeons, by the shattered
limbs of our brothers, by the destruction of
our churches, by the desecration of our Bi
bles, teach your children never, never to
form a union with a people who would crush
them back to their mother dust, and as sure
ly as there is a God to whom “ vengeance
belongeth,” so shall our oppressed nation
yet be free. Debor ah.
— -o-
Angels, Ministering Spirits.
Spurgeon remarks as follows upon the
15th verse of Ist Ezekiel —“ And when the
living creatures were lifted up from the
earth, the wheels lifted up:”
These living creatures I believe to be
angels; and the text teaches us that there
is a connection between Providence and an
gelic agency. I do not know how to ex
plain it; 1 cannot tell how it is; but I be
lieve angels have a great deal to do with the
.business of this world. In times of mira
cles and wonderous things, there was an
angel came down and slew the first-born of
Egypt: and an angel cut off the hosts of
Sennacherib. Augelsdid mighty things in
those ancient days. My firm belief is, that
angels are sent forth somehow or other to
bring about, the great purpose of God. The
great wheel of Providence is turned by an
angel. When there is some trouble which
seems to stop the wheel, some mighty che
rub puts his shoulder to it. and hurls it a
ruond, and makes the chariot of God s Pro
vidence still go on. Angels have much
more to do with us than we imagine. Ido
not know but that spirits sometimes come
down and whisper thoughts into our ears.
1 have strange thoughts sometimes, that
seem to come from a land of dreams; and
fiery visions that make my soul hot within
me. Sometimes I have thoughts which 1
know come from God’s Spirit; some which
are glerious, and some that are not so good
ns those which the Spirit would have put
there, but still holy thoughts; and often attri
bute them to angels. I have sometimes a
thought which cheers me in distrpss; and
was not the angel sent to strengthen Christ
in the garden ? How do you think the an*
gel strengthened him ? Why, by putting
thoughts into Christ’s mind. Tie could not
in any other way; he could not strengthen
him by a plaster, or by any physical means ;
but by injecting thoughts. And so with
us. There was a temptation which might
have led you astray; but God said “Ga
briel, fly ! there is a danger to one of my
people ; go and put such a thought into bis
soul, that when the danger conies lie will
say, “ Get thee behind me Satan, I will have
nothing to uo with sin.” We have each of
us a guardean angel to attend us; and if
there be any meaning in the passage, “In
heaven there angels do always behold tile
face of my Father which is in heaven,” it
means that every person Ims a guardian
spirit, and every Christian has some angel
who flies about him, arpl holds the shield
of God over bis brow; keeps his foot, lest
he should dash it against a stone ; guards
him, controls hi*, manages him; injects
thought, restrains evil desires, and is the
minister and servant of the Holy Ghost to
keep us from ‘in, and lead us to righteous
ness. Whether 1 am right or wrong, I
leave you to judge ; but perhaps I have more
angelology in me than most people. I know
my imagination sometimes bus been so pow
erful that I could almost, when T have been
alone at night, fancy I saw an angel fly by
me, and hear the horse hoofs of the cheru
bim as they dashed along the stony road
when I have been out preaching the word.
However, I take it that the text teaches us
that angels have very much to do with Sod’s
Providence. For it says, “ And when the
living creatures went, the wheels went by
them ; and when the living creatures were
lifted up from the earth, the wheels were
lifted up.” Let us bless God that he has
made angels ministering spirits to minister
unto them that are heirs of salvation.
..<!>.«
Washington’s Hying Words.- —When
George Washington bequeathed to his heirs
the sword he had won in the war of Liberty,
he charged them, “Never to take it from
the scabbard but in self defence, or in de
fence of their country and her freedom;
but that, when it should thus be drawn, they
should 'never sheath it or give it up, but
prefer falling with it in their hands to the
relinquishment thereof” —words says an em
inent Englishman, the majestv and simple
eloquence of wli%li are not surpassed in the
oratory of Athens and Rome
Let. every soldier of the Confederacy en
grave those last words of Washington upon
his heart. Let them he inscribed in letters
of gold upon the Capitol of every Confeder
ate State. Let the pulpit proclaim them ;
let the mother learn them to her children ;
let them be blazoned on every banner ; ring
in every trumpet cull, and flash fron every
sword.”
A Glorious Thing. —Men of the world
are sometimes ashamed to pray, and unwil
ling to be seen in a praying circle ; but they
only proclaim their spiritual ignorance and t
blindness. The following paragraph indi- '
cates wisdom and discernment :
“As John Foster apriroched the close of
life, and felt, his strength gradually stealing
away, he remarked on his increasing weak
ness, and added, “ But I can pray, and that
is . a glorious thing ! ’ Truly a glorious
thing; more glorious than an atheist or pan
theist can ever pretend to. To look up to
an Omnipotent Father, to speak t* Him,
to love Him, to stretch upward as an infant
from the cradle, that he may lift His child
in his everlasting arms to the resting of Ilis
own bosom ; this is the portion of the dying
Christian. lie was overheard thus speak
ing with himself- —‘ O death where is thy
sting? O grave where is thy victory?
'I banks be to God, who giveth victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ The eye
of the terror-crowned wms upon him.”
An Arab Mode of Cursing.— A
Frenchman, residing in one of the Oriental
cities, while once watering some flowers in
the window, accidentally filled the pots too
profusely, so that a quantity of water hap
pened to fall on an Arab who was below bas
king :n the sun. The man starting up,
shook his clothes, and thus gave vent to bis
feelings respecting (lie offender. “Tfitis
an old man who lias done this, I despis*
him; if it is an old woman, 1 forgive her;
if it is a young man, I curse him ; if it is a
young woman, I thank her.” Th« young
Frenchman, who had managed to keep out
of sight, laughed heartily on hearing the
malediction that fell to his share for his
carelessness. »
sT’O.sat Yifivlio cH
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