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Ons of the Many Hindrances to
Prayer.
Anger is a perfect alienation of the mind from
prayer; and therefore is contaray to that atten
tion which presents ouv prayers in a right line
to God. For so hare I seen a lark rising from
his bed of grass and soaring upwards, singing
as he rises, and hopes to get to heaven and climb
above the clouds ; but the poer bird was beaten
back with the loud sigfifngs of an eastern wind
and his motion made irregular and inconstant
—descending more at every breath of the tem
pest than it could recover by the libration and
frequent weighing of -tiis wings, till the little
creature was forced to sit down and pant, and
stay till the storm was over; and then it made
a prosperous flight, and did rise and sing as if
it had learned music and motion from an angel,
as he‘passed some time through the air about
his ministries hero below. So it is with the
prayer of a good man ; when his affairs have
required business, and his business was matter
of discipline, and his discipline was to pass upon
a sinning person, or had a design of charity, his
duty met with the infirmities of a man, and au
ger was its instrument; and t lie instrument be
came stronger than the prime agent, and raised
a tempest and overruled the man ; and then his
prayer was broken, and his thoughts were trou
bled, and his words went up towards a cloud,
and his thoughts pulled them back again, and
made them without intention ; and the good man
sighs for his infertility, but must be content to
loose that prayer; and then he must, recover it,
when his anger is removed and hi* spirit ig be
calmed— mail* even as tiic brow of Jesus—and
then it ascends to heaven upon the wing* of the
holy l)ove, and dwells with God, til! it returns
like the useful bee, ladencd with a blessing and
the dew of heaven '.—Jeremy Taylor.
,®,
.A Cure for Duelling.
“It was in one of the Prussian,campaigns/’
says Ilarte. in bis life of Gustavns Adolphus,
king of Sweden, “ that, the irrational practice
of duelling rose to such a height in the Swed
ish army, not only among persons of rank and
fashion, b*ut even between the common soldiers,
that Gusfavuspublished a severe edict, denoun
cing death against every delinquent. Soon af
ter there arose a quarrel between two ofiicers
very high in command, and as they knew the
kind's firmness in preserving his word inviola
ble, they agreed to request an audience, and
• esoitght his permission t.o decide the affair like
men of honor, ilis majesty repressed his pas
sion, and under the appearance of pitying brave
men who thought their reputation injured, lie
told them that though he blamed much their
mistaken notions of fame and glory, yet as this
unreasonable determination appeared to be the
resnlt of deliberate, reflection, he would allow
them to decide !he affair at a time and place
specified: “ And, gentlemen,” said he, “ I my
self Will be a witness of your extraordinary va
lor.” At tlie hour appointed, Gustavus arrived,
accompanied with a small body of infantry,
whom lie drew up around the combatants. Hav
ing done this, he desired them to fight on till
one of them should bo killed, and calling the
executioner of the army to him, he ordered him
tho moment one should fall, to be ready instant
ly to behead tho survivor. Astonish, dat such
inflexible firmness, the two generals, after paus
ing a moment, fed upon their knees, and asked
the king s forgiveness, who made them embrace
each other, and give their promise to continue
faithful friends to their last moments ; as they
both did with sincerity and thankfulness.
From Gen. Johnston’s Army.—We learn
that dispatches have been received from per
sons connected with the army under General
Johnston, dated at Smithfield, N. C.. the 27th,
(Monday). This place, it will be remembered,
is about twenty-seven miles from Raleigh, and
on the railroad, about mid-way between that
city and Goldsboro’.
We should judge that this is a position where
Gen. lirngg can form a junction with General
Johnston, if that is desirable, or has not al
ready taken place, while it is one from which
Sherman must force him, (if lie cam) before lie
attempts a forward movement on Raleigh, as
Sherman will hardly dare advance in that di
rection with such a force under such an an
tagonist, able, ready and willing to strike hi/,
on his flank or rear. Kach day now adds to
the interest of the situation, both in North Ca
rolina and Virginia.— Tel. and Confcd.
“ Tiiy Wti.i. be Done.”—At an anniversary"
meeting of the London Sunday School Union,
the Rev. S. Kilpin remarked, that in catechiz
ing some children on the subject, “ Thy will be
done on earth as it is in heaven,” the following
were the questions and answers : Wliat is to be
done? The will of God. Where is it to fee
done? On earth. How is it to be done ? As
it is in heaven. How do you think the angels
do the will of God in Heaven, as they are our
pattern? The first replied, “they do it imme
diately,” The second, “they doit actively.”
The third, “they do it unitedly.” Here a
pause ensued, and no other child appeared to
have any answer; but after some time a little
girl arose and said, “ Why, sir, they do it
without asking any questions.”
THE ARMY & NAVY HERALD.
On Providential Preservations.
HY OLD HUMPHREY.
It is a profitable thing for a pilgrim to
look forward to the city with the golden
gates; for a sight of the shining portals of
heaven animates him to bear with patience,
and to overcome with perseverance, the
| trials he meets with on earth. Not that he
! can always do this : for oftentimes there is
j a cloud in the, distance, and a mist around
1 him that obscures his view: hut when he
| can catch a glimpse of his heavenly inheri
j tance, it gives strength to his fainting soul.
I Nor is it an unprofitable thing, while resting
besides the King’s highway, to give a back
ward glance at the crooked lanes, the thor
ny places, and the quagmit os through*'?,'lnch
he had been led and mercifully sustained.
Let us apply these observations to ourselves.
It may be that you are younger than I
am, and have not borne so long the heat
and burden of the.day; or it may be, that
your years outnumber mine: in either
case, your memory will no doubt serve to
remind you of many narrow escapes, or rath
er of many merciful preservations, from im
minent danger.
Now it seems to me that we hardly think
enough of these things ; for consider, what
can be a stronger pledge that (Jod will pro
tect us in future dangers, than the knowl
edge that he has preserved those which
are past? lam trot calling on you to enu
merate your mercies, for you may as well
try to count tho blades of grass, as attempt
to do that; bt.it you may recall to your
mind such particular instances of God’s al
mighty and merciful preservation, as may
constrain you to say, “ 0 Lord, open thou
my lips; and my mouth shall show forth
thy praise.” IVa li. 15.
In order that you may be persuaded to
sum up your preservations, Twill here re
late to you a few of mine. By them you
will see that if the heart l*ating in the bo
som of Old. Humphrey be not grateful, it
must be harder than stone.
In the days of my childhood, a servant
brought a pan of hot coals to warm the bed.
wherein I had been pul without her knowl
edge. You may guess wliafc.followed. My
agonizing screams confused and confounded
poor Betty, and the pan of coals was not re
moved til! it had. indicted on me injuries
that placed my life in danger On what .a
spider’s thread our existence seems to hang !
What is our life? “It is 1 even a vapor,
that appeared) for a little time, and then
vynisheth away.” James iv. 14.
Not long after I had recovered my
strength from my accident by the warming
pan, l fell through the cellar window of a
haif-ithished house, by which misfortune,
my forehead striking against the sharp
edge of the brick-work, was laid open. Lor
some time I lay bleeding, and was taken up
for dead. Grey hairs are now growing on
my.head, but the soar on my brow is visible
still. Truly nitty we say to one another,
whether we are old or young, “ Boast not
thyself of to-morrow; for thou knowest not
• wliat a day i/tay bring forth.” 1 'rov. xxyii. 1.
\\ hen a school-hoy, in attempting' to des
; ceud a high rocky bank, my toe caught un-
S der the root of a tree, and i. was pitched
! down headlong into the hollow way beneath.
! A sloping heap of sand at the bottom eased
i'my fall, and most probably saved my neck
j from being broken. Surely dangers are
i ever around us, and “our days upon earth
! are a shadow.” Jobviii. 9\
Before I could swim I was a good diver,
; and often amused myself with diving in
j deep water to a certain point, where I caught
| hold of the top of the granite stones which
j foimed the side of the basin. On one oc-
I casiou, the water was So low, that when I
| arrived tit the accustomed point, I could not
: reach the granite stones. Again and again
i l struggled desperately to effect my pur
! pose, but in vain, and was on the point of
l sinking, being out of my depth, when a
! swimmer caught hold of me.
I The result is the same, whether God of
: his goodness sends an angel from his heav
| enly throne to save us when in danger, or
I strengthens the arm of a fellow-mortal for
] the work of our deliverance. To him, in
I'either case, be the glory and the praise.
| “ It is a good .thing to give thanks unto the
j Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name,
| O Most High.” i\sa. xcii. 1.
| In going, on a certain occasion, in an up
| per room of a very old house, the crazy floor
gave way under iny feet. Had I not caught
hold of the joist, most Ukely I should have
found my way into the cellar, and this re
cord of mishaps would never have been no
ted down by Old Humphrey. “ Lord make
me to know mine end, and the measure of
my days, what it is; that'l may know h«w
j frail I am.” Psa. xxxix. 4.
I once accompanied a friend of mine to
j examine the roof of a chapel, and, while
the ringer of the bell was absent from the
| belfry, we climbed up past the bell to the
roof. The place we clambered through was
narrow, so that the hell, which then stood
with its clapper upwards, when swinging
round occupied almost the whole space.
My friend arid I had crept through a trap
door to the roof, and were on the point of
returning; already had I bent my body to
creep through the trap-door, when a loud
creak made me vftthdra# my head. The
sound of the ponderous bell at that moment
thrilled through my heart. The ringer had
returned to the belfry, and had pulled off
the bell, not knowing that any one was
above. Had not that timely creak warned
me of inv danger, the massy bell must of
necessity have dashed me in pieces. In
such danger, my language might indeed
have been, “ There is but a step between
me and death.” 1 Sam. xx. 3.
At % period of my life, when T was some
what more nimble than 1 am now* I fool
ishly ventured to cross a precipice on the
side of a mountainous hill. The hill was
several hundred feet in height, and the pre
cipice, perhaps one or two hundred. I
had supposed the side of the precipice to
be hard and firm ; but no soonqr had I got
to the steepest part, than the ground gave
Gray beneath me. There was no hope but
in dashing on, and this I did with qjl the
headlong energy of despair, the earth crum
bling beneath my foot every step l took.
When I stood on the opposite side of the
precipice in safety, I looked back with a de
gree of terror on the jeopardy that had well
nigh destroyed me. “ Walk circumspectly,
not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time.’
Eph. v. 1», 16.
During my first visit to Loadon, a friend
and I took a boat oh the river Thames.
Those who remember the fall of water
through the centre arch of old London
Bridge, when the tide was returning, well
know, that to pass through it safely, in a
small boat, without a very skilfull boatman,
was very dangerous.
My friend and I,,both inexperienced in
rowing, had taken up the oars to paddle
about in the stream, giving the boatman &
cheese-cake or two, with which to employ
himself. Imperceptibly we got. into the
strong current, and in a few minutes should
have been hurried through the centre arch,
and perhaps into eternity, had not the boat
man hashing down his cheese-cakes, suddenly
caught hold of the oars and rowed for his
life. We sh ot through one of the side ar
ches like an arrow from a bow, and escaped
with our lives, not unmindfuLof our danger,
nor unthankful for our preservation by Him
“ in whoso hand is the soul of eyery living
thing, and the breath of all mankind.” Job
xii. 10.
In France, I was one night, when travel
ling, so beset with peril, and driven to such
extremity, that I took out my knife, hold
ing it ready open in my hand to defend my
self from auy sudden attack of my treacher
ous companion. I had reason to “offerun
to Gad thanksgiving,” and to pay my “ vows
unto the Most High.” Psa. i 14.
Never was I in.greater danger than on
the occasion of seeing a female relative home
late at night. Not being able to make the
servant hear by ringing the bell, and fearing
lest an accident had taken place, I went
round to the back of the house, to clamber
over the garden wall. As I stood on the
wall, the casement of a cottage near was
gently opened ; little did 1 then dream of
my perilous situation. At that moment" a
loaded pistol was directed against my life.
The owner of the cottage, hearing people
talking, had got up to the window, and see
ing as he supposed, a robber scaling the
wall, he stepped back, laid hold of his load
ed pistol, cocked it, and placed his finger on
the trigger, aimed it at me. At this in
stant, he thought that he recognized his
neighbor’s voice speaking to me; and thus
was I again mercifully preserved. “ O give
thanks unto Lord, for he is good ; be
cause his mercy endureth for ever.” Psa.
cxviii. 1.
The last instance of imminent peril that
I shall now record, is one of a singular kind.
! had descended a copper mine, habited in
the flannel jacket and slouched hat of a mi- -
ner, carrying a candle in iny left hand. If
I remember right, the miae was double the
depth of an ordinary coal mine. I went
down not less than forty or fifty ladders
placed perpendicularly against the sides of
the different shafts.
After reaching the bottom, visiting every
part of the mine, and observing the differ
ent operations performed by the miners, I
began to ascend the perpendicular ladders,
bathed with perspiration occasioned by beat
and fatigue.
I had ascended about midway, when
grasping one of the rounds of the ladder on
which 1 stood, it came out loose in my hand.
It happened at the moment, that my left
hand, which held the candle, had a suffi
cient hold of the ladder to prevent my fall,
otherwise I must have been precipitated
down the fearful abyss beneath me. Now,
ought not Old Humphrey to be among
first and foremost of those whose hearts and
tongues cry aloud, “ Let every thing that
hath breath praise the Lord?” Psa. el. 6.’
Haply these instances of providential pre
servation will recall to your memory some
of your own that you had forgotten, * and
prompt you to pay some fraction of the debt
of gratitude you owe to your Heavenly Fa
ther, for his parental care and continued
loving-kindness ; so that we may together
“sing u»to the Lord, and make a joyful noise
to the re ck of our salvation. Let us come
before his presence with thanksgiving, and
make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.”
Psa. xcv. 1,2.
“ When nil thy mtreies, 0 my #©d,
My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view I’m lest,
In wonder, lore and praise.”
How a True Soldier and Patriot Feels,
The Columbus Times has been permitted
to make the following extract from a private
letter, written by General Cockrell, to a
friead iu that city. This officer is a Missou
rian, and commands a brigade in French’s
division. He has not been at home in four
years, but has L ecu constantly in the field
except when wounds (of which he has many)
compelled his absence. His brigade of
Missourians, with himself at their head, lias
won a name that •tn never die. Tit* letter
was written in the freedom of private corre*-
pondeice, and, of cource, was never intend
ed lo he published; but the sentiments it
utters are so honorable to the author, and
are, moreover, so well calculated to inspire
faith and hope in the cause, that we trust
he will excuse the liberty taken.— Telegraph
and Confederate.
“ Since 1 saw you last, I have gone
! through a regular flint mill. My noble bri
gade has been almost obliterated. At A 11a
toona. Georgia, 1 lost one third of the num
ber taken into the fight, and at Franklin
Tennessee, ! lost two thirds—having had
every fourth man killed dead, or mortally
wounded, and since died. This was by far
the fiercest, and bloodiest and hottest battle
I have ever been in. My brigade acted
more handsomely, defiantly and recklessly
than on any field of the war; and you know
what it required to eclipse all former con
duct on so many bloody fields. They march
ed quietly, and boldly, and steadily through
the broken and fleeing ranks of at least
twice their own numbers, and no man waver
ed—ail to the step, with colors six paces in
front, just like a drill, and never brought
their guns from a “ right shoulder shift”
uulii with'ii thirty or forty yards of the en
emy’s works, and then fired by order, and
hurled- themselves against the works. It
was grand and terrible in the extreme. A1
most all were killed ami wounded very near
•the works, or iu the ditches of the works.
I have no language,to paint the scene.
“ We hear that Col. Gates lias escaped
the enemy, and is now somewhere in our
lines. I hope it is true. He is the noblest
and best soldier I ever saw.
“ I bad a rough time getting out of Ten
nessee, but would hare ventured almost any
thing before falling into Yankee hands. I
rejoined my brigade at West Point, Miss.,
January 30, 1895, just sixty days from tlie
day I was "wounded. I have been on crutch
es up to March 4, 1865. Laid them aside
on that day to take an even start with Old
Abe forthe coming four years. lam in for
that time, and four more if necessary-forever
if required. We arrived in Mobile, Februa
ry 4th, and since then, I have bceu com
manding French’s division.
“I am not well yet.. My right leg is
still not well. ,1 have six pieces of bone
which have worked out, and think more pie
ces will yet work out.
“ I got" disgusted with the rear—could
scarcely keep from breaking my crutches
over the rear men, who talked so loudly of
demoralization, peace, etc. I never want
any man to gas to me of peace. I don’t
think of any such good thing. I think of
war—Litter, cruel, devastating war—am ful
ly prepared for the worst. I expect Rich
mond to fall; and even when all Our large
armies are disbandoued by force of" the ene
my —our cities, rail-roads and rivers in their
possession—then I will just commence fight
ing iu earnest. Will take to the mountains
and swamps, and fight on, fight ever. Let
us all resolve to do this, and we are free.
Re not overjoyed with victory, and draw
new, fresh inspiration from disasters and re
verses. Trust in God and our own arms,
and all will be right. I firmly believe in
our entire ability to maintain our separate
nationality and achieve our independence.”
-
The Christian’s burden is like the wings
of a bird which she carries, yet they support
her in her flight to heaven.