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Banks County Gazette. VOL 2.—NO. 6. Joining the Church. Should I join the Church? This is a question which many thoughtful persons are anxiously considering. They believe the Bible. They receive all the great doctrines of evangelical Christianity. They are in no way troubled with the new theology. They believe that all men are sinners by nature; that they are under condem nation; and that the Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, is the only Savior. They believe that all who have heard the gospel should repent of sin and believe in Jesus. They are persuaded that there is sal vation in him, and no other; and that all who refuse to accept him as their Savior in the present life will perish eternally. They' have at least an in tellectual persuation of all those truths. They further admit that all deciples of Christ should make a pub lic profession of their faith in him and be found in fellowship with God’s people. And yet there are those who, ac cording to their own declaration, be lieve all this, but neglect, or refuse, to join themselves to the company of Christ’s deciples. Their only relation to the Church is that of adherents. They may lie as regular in their at tendance upon the public ordinances of religion as those who are in the full communion of the Church. They are frequently generous supporters of the Church, and are as forward as any'in promoting, nil charitable and benevolent enterprises. It is not supposed that all these persons are in precisely the same state of mind, are all affected toward the Church alike, or have all the same difficulties* and keep themselves aloof from the Church for the same reasons. Some of them have such views con cerning the nature of the Lord’s Sup per and the sin of eating ami drink ing unworthily, that they feel safer in declining the tender appeal of our Lord, “This do in remembrance of me,” than in complying in a possibly unworthy manner, and thereby bring ing condemnation upon themselves. It is proper, we think, to say to such persons their position in regard to this matter is not one that is hon oring to the Lord Jesus, or one that affords satisfactory justification of a course whica places ibem in virtual antagonism to the authority and will of the Head of the Church. Is it not saying, in fact, that there is at least one command of Christ, the obeying of which involve so great hazard that some of his friends, those of peculiarly tender consciences if you will, are to be excused for neglecting? Is it not assuming that he is unable or unwill ing to give the grace t at every soul needs in making an acceptable ap proach to him, and in observing all his commandments? Is not the spirit of that one who humbly goes for ward in the performarice of every plain duty saying, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief,” the true spirit of every child of God? Another says, “I believe in Chris tianity, and recognize the obligation resting upon all to confess Christ be fore men, and just as soon as I feel that I will be able to honor the Chris tian profession and live up to its re quirements, I propose to join the Church. Ido not wish to be a mem ber of the Church and act so incon sistently with the vows I take upon myself as many do.” Such a declaration may seem to be candid, and indicative of right views, and intentions. But the man who resolves that he will not pray until he renders himself more fit to draw near to god; who will not make a profession _of religion until he can say, “I thank God that I am not as other men,” but that now I am so strong, so righteous, that I will be an honor to the Church and to religion, will never pray with a broken and contrite heart and will never posses the spirit of the true penitent and true believer, until he can say, “I am vile, lam a helples sinner, Christ’s grace shall be sufficient for me, through Christ strengthening me, I can do all things.” Every man who has been brought by the gracious influences of the Spirit to know that he is a sinner, and that Christ is able and willing to save him, and that he is willing to yield himself to Christ to be saved by him, and has submitted himself to God in all things, though he may be conscious of much sin, much weakness, entire inability in his own strength to serve God ac ceptably, yet humbly relying upon the grace that is in Jesus Christ, may say% “I believe in the Lord Jesus and confess that God hath raised hint from the dead; what doth hinder me to be baptized, and admitted to the fellowship of God’s people ?”—United Presbyterian. What One May Be. The religion of Christ not only re veals to us an infinite ideal of good ness, but it assures us of the power to reach it, to. realize it. It says to you not merely, ‘‘This is what you may and can be.” Apart, from this, the gospel would lie no good news, no message of gladness to us. As you know that the first r:\y of light your eye catches, gilding the eastern horizon in the morning, is the sure pledge and prophecy of the coming day, or as you know that the future plant is contained in the little seed or germ, so (he first movement in the human breast of true spiritual life, the first throb, of genuine self-devo tion to Christ, self-surrender of the soul to God, is fraught with the new born perfection and beauty of the life that is hid with Christ in God. The religious life, indeed, like other life, is progressive; and here, as elsewhere, effort, struggle, conflict, are the inevitable conditions of prog ress. You can no more become a holy aud good man than you can become a wise and learned man without effort and painstaking. But, my brethren, here lies the power over evil, the conquering impulse, and strength of the human life, that, iT only we be true to God and ourselves, the final victory is sure. The sun and rain and dew, ail the genial in fluences of nature, will not make a stone grow; but the tiniest get m, the fragile plant, just peeping above the soil, has in it a secret principle which can transmute air, earth, sunlight, moisture, into means of i;s develop ment, and so the heaven-born life has in it the vitalizing, the assimilat ing forces that will make “all things” in this our earthly existence, “all things” in the moral atmosphere, “work together for its good,” aud bear it, onward to perfection.—South ern Presbyterian. Misfortune is never sad to the soul that accepts it as from God, for such do always see on every cloud the face of an angel.—W. C. Whitcomb. A Washington correspondent says that a curious lack of proper restric tion upon the licensed liquor traffic of the national capital was brought out by the petition of a poor woman to the local authorities asking that certain saloon keepers, who had dis regarded her personal requests, be prevented from selling liquor to her husband, who is, she says, an habit ual drunkard. The petition was re ferred to the chief of police, and lie in turn referred it to the Attorney for the District of Columbia in order to ascertain his legal authority in the premises; and that official, after a careful search, said there was no law by which these saloon-keepers could be prevented from selling the poor woman’s husband all the liquor he wanted, notwithstanding his being an habitual drunkard and the piteous appeal of the wife. Congress offers a splendid field for temperance mis sionary work. The Every Day Workers. The church is yet to learn that its chief work is to be done by conse crated men of ordinary caliber. Great speeches never marshaled a host. An eminent Scotch divine, getting into the pulpit after a week’s elaboration of a learned discourse, forgot it entirely, and was compelled to give a plain talk, which, under God, lIOMEII, BANKS COUNTY, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 18111. swept half his audience into the kingdom. There is an absurd call in the church to-.day* for what are called “big guns,” and but little ap preciation of well loaded rifles. The “Swamp Angel’’ in the last war was a failure. It proposed to do great things but after awhile they found it was cracked aiul were afraid to use it lest ti blow up. So, while men of small capacity are doing their work well, and make no fuss about it, we have a few “big guns” half cracked with concei . about themselves, and they blow up just when they are wanted for important service. The nuissance of the church to-day is ec clesiastical “Swamp Angels.” Dr. Chalmers’ astronomical sermons “make us see stars,” but we suppose there were at the time of their deliv ery uncelebrated ministers of Christ in Scotland who were bringing more souls to the Savior. Patrick Henry’s speech did good in the Virginia legis lature, and was of service in giving us, when boys, something to practice on at the country school house till the dinner pails along the wall shook with the cry of "Liberty or death,” but there were men who could scarcely say a word in public who did as much service when in Independence hall they put their names to the document that declared onr national deliverance. We must all lay hold of the work. If the raging conflagration of sin is to be put out it will not, be by one fireman standing with a big born making a groat racket, but by men, women and boys bringing what water they can— some in hogsheads, some in pails and some in small dippers, every one doing what ho or she can, God help ing all the time: “Not by might or by power but by my spirit; saveth the Lord.” —Chris tian Heraltl. Whatover God gives yonjtO clo, do as well as you can, Thi“ is tlio l>es possible preparation for what he may want you to do next.—George Mac- Donald. Patient prayer is powerful prayer. If tliou hast come into Christ’s school, submit to his lessons and Iris tasks. One of them is: “Not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Waiting and Getting. It has been said that the reason why so few people get what they want in this world is because they do not want it bard enough. There is profound truth at the bottom of this conceit. Earnest striving and perseverance are rare quali ties. A little struggle, and then a falling off; a few faint efforts, and then despair. This is the usual story of attempts to “get any thing,” whether it ho a physical, mental, or spiritual good. But to long for a thing so strongly that for the sake of its attainment one can conquer obsta cles, live down opposition, ignore discouragement, and work persistently and through years of trial and ob scurity toward the fulfillment of a hope—is not this the record of all grand achievements and the history of all heroic lives ? Many more wishes might he real ized if people were willing to pay this price for them. Aby thing worth having in this world is clear, includ ing experience. Genius itself has been defined as only unlimited pa tience, or an endless capacity for hard work. It was told of some celebrated gen eral that he never knew when he was defeated; by and by he could not be defeated. A little of the same spirit infused into ordinary life-work would make many a dream possible that now seems to tr.e wist ful ijreamer as extravagant as the cloudiest castle in Spain.—Religious Telescope. The beautiful Maltese lace, made of black or white Burcelone silk, sprang from the philanthropy of Lady Ha.mil toil Chichester, who exhibited to the native lace makers a Greek coverlet and induced them to imitate its ex quisite mesh. USE OF ARTIFICIAL STONE. It la Surceetllns the Natural Article in Building Houses and Bridges. Of oil the great improvements -which hove been witnessed daring the past twenty years that of artificial stone stands in the front rank. Nearly all the large cities of the United' States have Uieir works for manufacturing art ificial stone, and seores of thousands of barrels of cement, are annually used in the industry. This may not be news to people who travel, and are es pecially interested in architecture and engineering work, but others who have not had thy opportunity of investiga tion would Ik? amazed to see the con structions in artificial stone which have taken place in tile last decade. The magnitude of these works would as tound, the old Roman engineers, whoso works’ are historic. Tiie Vaune aqueduct, thirty-seven miles long, to supply the city of Paris with water, is built of composite stone, it comprises two and a half to three miles of arches, some of them as much as fifty feet high, and eleven miles of tunnels. It also includes eight or ten bridges of seventy-five feet span. The pipe is six and a half feet interior diam eter, with a thickness of nine inches at the top and twelve inches at the sides. The lighthofise at Port Said, Egypt, 180 feet high, is another notable example of artificial construction. A Gothic church at Visile (, near Paris, is one pieee of stone, including the steeple, 130 foot high. The municipal barracks at Notre Dame, Paris, of artificial stone, have arched ceilings whoso spans vary from twenty-two to twenty-five feet. Over thirty-0110 miles of the Paris sewers are constructed of this material. The jot ties at the entrance of the Suez canal are built of artificial stone blocks, each weighing abmit twenty tons, and 16,000 of them wore used in the im provement of the docks iu New York. Space will not permit of statement in detail of scores of hundreds of ex amples of artificial stone construction in this country, but among the more recent may be mentioned the Pompeian villa at Saratoga, the Moorish villa, Hotel Ponco do Leon, Alcazar hotel and the Casa Monica, St. Augustine, Fla. These hotels, the most magnificent in (lie world, are constructed of artifi cial stone, including roof towers, ceil ings, baths, etc. There is not a joint In immense yaruotun-a. The bnl coit&s, high up on the towers, are of solid terracotta, and weigh five tons apiece. The Casa Monica has a front ngo of 450 feet. More than (50,000 barrels of cement wore used in the con struction of these hotels. A dwelling was erected a few years ago at Port Chester, without joint or seam. The house is fireproof. The lioois, roof, stairways and towers are all of stono and 4,000 barrels of cement were used. An interesting application of this material in the construction of a hollow sustaining wall was made at the cetue tery of Pussy in supporting a bank of earth 21) 1-2 feet high. Numerous rus tic bridges in parks and cemeteries in various parts of the country have been built of this material. Tlio most im portant and general uses, however, to which artificial stone is put is that of trimmings for brick buildings, It is specially adapted for entire fronts of commercial buildings and for churches, schools, hospitals and dwell ings. It is also largely used for wall facing in basements of frame dwellings. Late improvements have been made which greatly enhance its value as a building material, whereby the surfaces of the stone are made rough, represent ing the tool work of the stonecutter. And buildings erected of this material are represented as being much admired, and the stone in them is not easily dis tinguished from the natural stone. — Rochester Post-Express. Ot>y One Subject on Which to T;ilk. I overheard a remark the other day that siad a good deal of domestic pathos in it. One woman said to another: “I do have the most stupid call when I go to that bouse. ” “Why so. She is a very pleasant lady.” “Oh. I know that, but—but—well, I will tell you. You know lam so un fortunate about getting good servants. I am obliged to change every few weeks. Mrs. has actually had her servants eight and ten years, and we never havo anything to talk about.”—Chicago Opinion. Little Ollie Miller heard her sister Lula speaking of a diary, and having had it explained to her that a personal diary was a brief record of one’s life, she exclaimed: “Well, then, I don’t see what they want to call it u diary for; seems to me they oughter call it ali very. ” —Boston Courier. Caution. "Can you cook?” ho asked anxiously, ere he popped the question. “I don’t know,” she answered, “but i-1 can try. ” ‘Not on me," he rejoined, reaching for his hat—-New York Sun. A POPULAR MISCONCEPTION. Waller llesant There Was No Lclsuro f;* tho Eighteenth Century. It Is conventional to represent the Eighteenth century as a time of leisure and quiet happiness; when a poet writes about this time lie tries to breathe into his verse an atmosphere of peace; ho does bis best to throw into the poem a calm of thesoul. Then people applaud tire poet forcatching so wonderfully the very spirit of tire time. Well, 1 cannot for my own part find anywhere in England during the last century anything at all to justify this belief in the universal leisure. The Eighteenth century was a desperately turbulent, dangerous, hardworking, poorly paid time; it was torn by con tinual contests and struggles, by party faction and by civil wars; it began with a long war, and it ended with a long war. England had three civil wars; two at home and one in her colonics. The press gang was busy in every port; the recruiting sergeant in every country town; the Hoggings, by which disci pline was maintained, seem almost in credible; tho iniquities of the govern ment —not on this or that side, but on both sides— tho jobbing, buying of* places, sinecures, pluralities, nepotism, simony, as wo read them now, appear simply intolerable. If there was no rest or peace without, there was little within. Religious men who were affected by a weakness of faith simply tortured their lives. Johnson, always praying and meditating, dreaded death with a constant fear which poisoned at least twenty years of his liife Cowper, after a life spent in religious exercises, died in -‘despair unutterable.” No peace or quiet anywhere, save, perhaps, in some quiet cathedral close, where the canons, keeping aloof from controversy, dozed away their harmless lives as still they do; or outside the little country towns, where, to quiet women and retired men, the seasons passed then, as they may still pass, nnvexed by questions, doubt or thought of danger or of change. Hut as regards the life of action, the life among one’s fellows, the only life worth having, tho life of London, it must have been filled and perpetually troubled by the pain of witnessing con tinnal injustice and needless suilering, the stupid engagements in war after war, with no end and no settlement, and tlie noisy struggle of opposing opinions, in which every man must play his part. But leisure, peace and quiet--these things I cannot find Walter Bcsant in Harper’s. Horscfi ami Horsemen in Aneie.nt Times. The East was the original home of horsemen, and war the early training of tiie horse. Though he appears firs* as a beast of burden, and though riding preceded driving, there is evidence to show that chariots in great numbers were used in war before cavalry be came common. The use of the horse ,vas all but limited to war. Bullocks were the usual moans of transportation, and were no doubt then, as now, in the orient, sternly and rapid travelers. The higher the warrior above the common soldiery, the more terrible Ills aspect and tbedeadlier his aim with lance and arrow, lienee the steed's early appear nnee in battle. To debase him to the purposes of pleasure was never dreamed of. Wo find the very best of cavalry in ancient times. The Greeks ran against a serious problem in the Persian light horse when they first trod the soil of Asia Minor. They were nothing like so good horsemen as the Asiatics until Alexander’s Companion cavalry showed them what drill could do; and the Roman was still less apt. Philip of Macedon first utilized the excellent nm terial of the Thessalian plains, and or ganized a cavalry which, from its ma nenvers and lighting, must have eon sister] of admirable horseman.—Col. T A. Dodge in Harper's. Better Pork Than Pianist*. Although Liszt’s is one of the gen tlest memories the world has ever known, lie could be severe at times. On one occasion a young man from Nassau, in Hungary, a town famous for its hums, applied to Liszt with a view of taking lessons from him. As was usual with him at such times, he invited the young man to take a seat at the piano and play something. When lie had finished the piece lie waited for several moments to allow tbe nbbe an opportunity of pronounc ing judgment on Ids playing. At last the master, noticing that the young man was waiting for him to speak, asked him where lie was born and where he lived. “In Kassan,” replied the youth, with pardonable pride. “Well," returned Liszt, “1 can only say that I prefer the Kassan hams to Kas san piano players. Etelka Illofsky in Ladies’ Home Journal. A rrofMUi.2il i'Ctabimibt. “Why, 1 thought Weehera real opti mist.” “No, since lie went into the meat business he makes the wurst of every thing.”—- Alitnsey's Weekly. SINGLE COPY THREE CENTS. POPLAR LEAVES. The wind blows down the dusty street; And through my soul that grieves— It brings a sudden odor sweet, A smell of poplar leaves. O leaves that herald in the spring, O from)ness young and pure, f Into my weary soul you uring The vigor to endure. The wood is near, by* "vnt ofw|*ght. Whole all tho poplars gro\., Straight up and tall and silver white. They quiver in a row. My love is out of sight, but near; And through my soul that grieves, A sudden memory wafts her here As fresh ns poplar leaves. -Now York Commercial Advertiser Napoleon and the Scientists. r"pnW*n was fond of the society of seieniis s, and .• -arded with prizes and honors tho most nbUt worthy of scientific discoveries. Although at wu. with "periido Albion,” as ho was wont to call England, lie drew the line at scientists, and pardoned English pris oners at the simple request of Joseph Priestley, after all other means bad been exhausted, and acceded to the award of 3,003 francs by the first class of the Institute to Davy for his cele brated memoir of 1806. it was Bona parte who proposed to award a gold medal to Volta, after reading his me moir on galvanism, and later induced Volta, by ei. iluiuciits and titles, to surrender his Italian professorship fora residence in Paris. When tlie memorable expedition to Egypt set sail Bonaparte took with him many savants and academicians. After the wager of battle had turhed against the great soldier, and lie was trans ported to tlie lonely St. Helena, lie must have felt that the last tie to Franco had been severed when, in 1817, he felt forced to resign his chair in the Acad emy of Sciences. --W. C. Caliall, M. D., in Popular Science Monthly. Da ngerottt* Knowlrd £<>. A certain illiterate nmn had married a woman with just enough education to want to air what little learning slio did have. As she became older, the habit of using big words grew into a mania. The pocket dictionary did great service in perplexing her associ ates, and many a disgusted reply did she receive from delayed groccryiiK-u, who were in haste to get back to bush ness, but she only moralized the more upon the "illumination” of mankind. Suddenly her husband became very successful in his lumber speculation, and his wife Hoeuiod to think that big ger words would add to the dignity of her new position. One day a former townsman visiting in the town congratulated the lady upon her brighter fortunes. lie was rather taken back at tlio reply, “Oh. yes, Joshln.li aud I havo had quite a boomerang since you wore hero!”— Lew istown Journal. A Fro blent About CVmi. Here is a puzzle in geometry. It does not require a skilled mathematician, however, to solve it. It is required to demonstrate (geo metrically) that a larger crop of corn can be grown on an acreof level ground than on tin acre of slanting ground. The stalks of corn are supposed to grow perpendicularly in both cases, and all other particulars, such as fertility of the soil and the like, to be the same. The ingenious reader will probably’ have no trouble in solving tlio problem without assistance. —Now York Trib une. True (ieullemnn. Old words are continually receiving new definitions. Two negroes were talking about their respective employ ers. “Well, now,” said one. “nobody can’t say but Mr. Loftus is a real gentleman. ” “Oh, no," answered the other, "lie’s well enough. Hut lie ain’t no such nmn as my boss. My boss is always jes’ so. Why, I see him step on a ba naner peel t’other day, an’ it didn't frustrate his dignity the leastest bit.” Youth’s Companion. Never purchase glasses from a ped dler or a jeweler. Even opticians, ex cept the most careful ones, practically allow the customer to make his own se lection, and if he is near sighted he commonly selects glasses which are too strong, while if he is far sighted he se lects such as enlarge the print, or else arc of too low a number, from the false idea that this will favor a long pres ervation of ''is sight. Arguing from the measurement oftiie fifty-second parallel of north latitude, between Valencia, Ireland, and Orsk, Russia, the conclusion is reached that the earth’s surface on this parallel is not that of an ellipsoid of revolution. This confirms the conclusions reached in this country when the forty-second parallel was measured, and shows that the earth is not a perfect spheroid. ' In Elizabeth's reign the English army wore a variety of colors, but a change occurred in'” 1584, when some of the troops for Ireland wore coats of motley and others of “sudd greeue or russet." The cavalry at this time wore red cloaks p.iid breeches, and the infantry who went to low countries wore red coats.