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Til!’ BAPTIST BANNER.
BY JAS. N. ELLS & CO.
VOL. IV.
She
DEVOTED TO RELIGION AND LITERATURE,
Is published every Saturday, at Atlanta, Georgia, at the
subscription price of throe dollars per year.
JAMES N. ELLS & CO.,
Proprietors.
Jas. N. Ells. S. D. Niles. A. K. Seago.
Steam Press of Franklin Printing House— J. J. Toon i Co.
' MISCELLANY. I
CHRIST STILLING THE TEMPEST. .
Fear was within'tlie tossing'bark
When stormy /winds grew'loud,
And waves came rolling high and dark,
And the tall mast was bowed.
And men stood breathless in their dread,
And baffled in their skill —
But One was there who rose and said
To the wild sea, “Be still."
And the wind ceased —it ceased —that word
Passed through the gloomy sky;
The troubled billows knew their I,ord,
And sunk beneath|His‘eye.
And slumber settled on the deep,
And silence on the blast,
As when the righteous fall asleep
When deatli’sjierce throes are.past.
Thou that didst rule the’angry hour
And tame the tempest’s mood,
Oh ! send Thy Spirit forth in power
O’er our dark souls to brood.
Thou that didst bow the billow’s pride ;
Thy mandates to fulfill —
So speak to passion’s raging tide.
Speak and say,—“Peace, be still.”
First Fiove.
A PLEASING SKETCH.
O A M I your only and fust love?” asked |
J 1 a bright eyed girl, as she reclined
her classically moulded brow upon the
shoulder of her lover.
“ No, Leila, you are not my only, my
first love; 1 have loved another. Long
years before 1 saw you I loved another—]
and I love that other still.”
“ Love the other still, and better than,
me? Paul, why do you tell me that?”'
asked she, raising her dark blue eyes and I
gazinj* steadfastly into those of her lover,
half in astonishment, half in sorrow, while!
her jewelled lingers tightened convulsively,
upon his arm.
“ You asked me, Leila, and 1 answered
with truth and sincerity ; you would not
have me deceive you, would you?”
“ You love her still, then?”
“ 1 love her still.”
“ And better than you do me?”
“ Not better, but as well.”
“And will love her still?”
“ Until death, and even after death ; over
her last resting place will I strew spring's
Ctrrliest Howers, and bedew the sacred spot t
with the purest tears that love ever shed.”
“ Handsomer than I, is she not?”
“ Here eyes were as black as night, and
her hair in glossy blackness outvied the
wing of the raven. She hasn’t your sweet
blue eyes, nor your soil brown hair ; yet,
oh ! Leila, her eyes have been the sweetest
eyes, to me, that ever looked the look of!
eternal love.”
“ Paul, why do you wish to break my ,
heart? Why have you taught me to love
you so wildly and blindly, and then, in the
midst of my happiness, tell me that there
is an impassable barrier between us? This
night, Paul, we must part forever! 1 would;
not have believed this, had another told
me!” and her eyes grew dim with tears.
“ Be not too rash, Leila ; hear me to the
end; you love me too dearly to part with
me thus ! Think you that you could not
share my heart with one that 1 so dearlv
love ? ”
“Never, Paul, never!"
“You shall, Leila, and must! Listen
tor a moment, while I tell you of my first!
love, and 1 am sure you wjll be willing to
share with her then."
“ I will listen, Paul, but will not share
your love; 1 must have all or none. lam
selfish in that respect, and who that loves
as Ido is not? Forget me, Paul, or forget
her forever.”
“ Forget her, Leila' Never! I would
not lose one jot of her pure affection tor
the fairest face that ever bloomed ; no, not
for the girdle of Venus, or the love of a
second Helen ! ”
“ Then, Paul, you arc lost to me forever ; ;
we must part. Farewell to our every dream
of a brightened future. 1 love you too
well, and am too proud to share vour love
with aught created. Oh! Paul, you have
wronged me deeply ;” and her exquisitely
chiseled lips curled with indignant sorrow.
“ btop, Leila, or you will deeply wrong .
me, also. 1 met this loved one, as 1 said
before, long years ago, in one of the sweet
est and sunniest vales of our broad land;
wandered with her. hand in hand, for wars,
beside the sparkling waters of my child
hood's home. First, by the smUe' of her
exquisite sweetness, she taught inv heart
that she loved me with unutterable fond
ness, and never have 1 doubted; my love
in her has ever been steadfast and fearless ;
never has her cy e looked coldly upon me,
and never will it till the breath of the death
angel shall dim it for the long sleep.
•• Oft in the still hours of the night have
I been awakened, as if by the gentle fan-
A AMS HSITWSSPJUFSM®
'
ning of the sleep god’s wing, and beheld
that face ; those eyes gazed upon me with
all the beatic tenderness ol a guardian an
> gel over a repenting prodigal; and a kiss
would fail upon my brow more soothing
than the dews of Hermon. The same gen
tle hand has led me among life’s flowery
way and beside its unruffled waters; and
if ever my arm was raised to do a deed of
i wrong, or my heart to conceive it, that ad
monitory voice came whispering in my* ear,
and stayed the one mjd-way and drew the
i iron from the other. And I do well remem
ber, in my manhood’s riper years, when
deep sorrow fell upon my soul, and 1 would
fain have drank oblivion from the wine
cup’s fiery brim, that same dark-eyed wo
man came, and bade me, in the name of God,
to shun the fatal snare; and twining her
arms around my neck, while her eyes beam
ed with love’s deep inspiration, she poured
oil upon the troubled waters, told me of
purer hopes and higher aims, and in my ear
whispered a golden word that has outlived
all sorrow. Leila, would you know the
n.'.rna of my first love? ’Tis my mother!”
“Oh! Paul, I’ll forgive you and share
your love; indeed I will.”
“I knew you would, Leila. Second love
i is as dear as the first.”
; THE LADIES’ COLUMN.
Hypocrisy.
Think’st thou there arc no serpents in the world
dut those who slide along the grassy sod,
And sting the luckless foot that presses them ?
There arc who in the path of social life
Do bask their spotted skins in fortune’s sun,
And sting the soul —Ay, till its healthful frame
Is changed to secret, festering, sore disease,
j So deadly is the wound.—[Joanna Baillie.
The Gem ofl* Beauty.
A. SKETCH FOK GIRLS.
“Who is that beautiful girl?” asked
Mrs. G rove of the lady whom she was vis
iting.
“ Which do you refer to?” Risked Mrs
! Wyman, approaching the window where
! her friend was seated, watching a company
of young misses at play upon the lawn in
. front of the cottage.
1 ‘‘That little fairy, with head uncovered,
and her golden curls falling over her snowy
neck,” and the lady pointed to a really
beautiful creature, who stood, hat in hand,
with glowing cheeks and noble brow, be
neath the shade of a tree, as if to recover ■
her breath after her spirited run.
“O, that is Rose Carlton, the lawyer’s
daughter.”
“ Well, she is a rose, truly. I think I 1
never saw' a more beautiful countenance.” ;
“ Yes, she is very good looking; but I j
fear she knows it quite too well for her own (
good,” was Mrs. Wyman’s rather signifi
cant reply. *
“Why, isn’t she as pretty as she looks?”
asked the lady in some surprise. 1
“Susan likes her very well, and they are ‘
very good friends; but she is not a favor- I
it< among the girls generally,” replied ;
Mrs. Wyman. i
“ What is the trouble with her?” Mrs. 1
G ove began to feel more than common in- I
te/est in the girl. (
“ Well, 1 hardly know ; some think she ;
is too forward. Perhaps they do not judge 1
i her rightly, foi Rose is really a kind-heart- 1
cd and quite sweet tempered girl. And yet ;
tlirreis something about her that makes
ot e like her less upon acquaintance than at ;
, fust sight. She always interests strangers,
ju.t as she has interested you.”
“ Is she self-willed?” and the lady close
ly scanned the features and general bearing
of the girl, but she failed to ascertain her
ch iraeter.
! “Not exactly that,” replied Mrs. Wy
m m, “ although she likes to have her own
j way pretty well; but she is bold. Per
haps we might call it a want of modesty.”
“ Well, it is a pity there should bo so
se ious a blemish in one so fair,” replied
th? kind-hearted woman, as a shade passed
joy er her benevolent face.
“It is, indeed ; and I hope she will re- •
so in as she grows older. She has an ex
cellent mother.”
Mrs. Wyman ■‘resumed her seat at the
o} posite window, and there was a silence
so • some moments, each lady being busy
w th her own thoughts.
“ But who is Rose Carlton ?’’ I think 1
i hear you ask. I will tell.
Our beautiful little Rose, whom 1 have
in roduced to the reader under rather unta
v< rable circumstances, is, as Mrs. Wyman i
: has already informed us, the daughter of,
Mr. Carlton, the talented lawyer of the vil
lage. Her parents came to the place when
th »ir little girl was just gathering the roses
of her third summer, and bought the man
sion which crowns the hill yonder. <
Little Rose and Susan Wyman were,
m arly ot one age, and as their parents
were near neighbors, the two children soon
became warm friends. Rose was much at
the cottage, and Susan frequently spent an
• afternoon at the beautiful home of her
‘ ,rie; 'd. As they grew older they loved to
ramble, hand in hard, through the green
pastures, and down the dancing streamlets,
•; picking up berries and gathering Howers, ‘
HIS BANNER OVER US IS LOVE.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA,- CHRISTMAS, 1862.
and joining their happy voices with the
songs of the birds.
People wondered they should be so inti
mate when they were so unlike in their dis
positions, for Susan was the very opposite
of Rose; but still there were not two girls
in the village so much together, and appa
rently such good friends.
And yet, as Mrs. Wyman has said, Rose
was not a general favorite. Somehow, her
mates did not like her. They could scarce
ly tell why; but there was something
about her appearance that made them feel
uncomfortable when in her company.
The truth is, Rose was a bold girl. She
was beautiful and talented, and this she
knew full well; and she usually contrived
to make those with whom she associated to
feel their inferiority. She was constantly
intruding her opinion unasked, and seem
ed to think no one could do a thing quite
as well as she could do it herself. Indeed,
when in the company of older persons, her
manner was much the same; and she has
been heard frequently advising even her
mother in some very difficult matters.
Beautiful as Rose was, and there were
few more beautiful, this pertness often ren
dered her displeasing. The people of the
village liked Susan far better than they did
her friend, notwithstanding she lacked much
of her symmetry of features and that min
gling of the rose and lily of her complex
ion, which made the other so beautiful.—
This fact Rose could not help observing,
and it often vexed her sadly. Why Susan
should be such a favorite, when she was al
ways so silent and retiring, and so much
less attractive in person than herself, she
was puzzled to tell. Alas! with all her
beauty and refinement, with all her natural
talent and superior accomplishments, Rose
Carlton lacked the pearl of modesty. Oth
er gems she had, and they shone with pecu
liar lustre, but without this her adorning
was sadly defective. God had given her a
superior mind and great personal charms;
He had also granted her superior privileges
for the culture of her mind and heart. But
all these could not supply the lack of that
one great gem of beauty— modesty.
THE COLUMN.
Stead it, Eoys.
The following extract is taken from a
short speech made by the late Gen. Cobb.
It is an argument in favor of universal Free
Education, of which Mr. Cobb was an able
ardent supporter,and to whom we looked for
fcllicient and effectual service in the future.
It contains encouragement to boys to make
up their minds what they will accomplish,
and then to persevere until it is done—to
improve every opportunity to advance
themselves in the world, intellectually, pe
cuniarily' and morally :
“ Do you knows, boys, that some several
hundred years ago, in a little town in the
State of Germany, over in Europe, in a lit
tle primary school, similar to the one that
you have, conducted upon the principle of
free and popular education among the little
boys then, on an occasion like the present,
there sat a little one who, on account of
diligent attention to his studies, his punctu
ality at school, his great assiduity in at
tempting to learn his. lessons, received the
highest honors that were distributed, such
as those awarded here this afternoon? Let
me carry you along with me for a moment,
and follow that little boy from the primary
school, lie entered the district school—
one bearing the same relation to the prima- j
ry school that this district school bears to |
yours. If we follow him there, we find the [
same earnest, zealous interest in everything
pervading the whole conduct and character]
of this b >y. We pass with him still fur-’
ther, and we find that as he goes out of the
district school of Germany, he passes thro’ <
the University, receiving all the time a free
education from a liobl e government. As-j
ter he passed through the University, this I
good boy that I am speaking to you of,
went into a monastery and there he became J
a monk ; but after awhile he felt there
were restraints which he could not bear,
and that boy (without taking up your time
to tell you how much he has done) —that
boy revolutionized the religious world. I
am giving you the history of the great re
former, Martin Luther. [Applause.] Oh!
will you not. boys, seek to follow his exam
pie, and endeavor to elevate yourselves to
s me high and honorable position ! The
little boy is now either here, or in some
other school within the Confederacy, who, |
in future days, shall sit in yonder White
House to be President of his country. The :
little boys are here, or in some other school,
who shall constitute bis cabinet, to be the
J udges of the. Supreme Court, be the lead
, ers of our armies, be members of the Con
gress of this great nation, or the Mayors
of cities. These are the places that the
boys are to fill. Oh, ther. will you not do j
as John Jacob Astor is said to have done ?
A< he was one day walking down Broad-;
way, in Now York—a poor ragged little
boy —as he walked along the streets unno-1
tieed by anybody—said if he lived he would ■
build a pala.e right at that spot, and to-day
> the Astor House of New York is the fulfil-’
i ment of the promise of the little boy as he
passed down Broadway. Oh, then, remem j
- ber that he who achieves much must be he
- that resolves to do much. The little boy
i who passes carelessly through his school
; days, who acquires no honor, who has no
ambition, who can not be excited to emu
lation—that little boy will be a drone
1 among society, and instead of occupying
■ the White House, will rather be found in
the workhouse or the penitentiary."
Good Maimers.
A Word to Girls and Boys,-
Young friends, are you polite, genteel,
well-behaved everywhere? at all times? in
all societies? Good breeding is a fortune
already made—an independent fortune.—
Courtesy, kindness, a noble, dignified, hea
venly deportment, paves the way to emi
nence, stations of honor, wealth —respec-
tively to glory imperishable.
Well, young reader, how is this excel
lence to be attained ? Where is the start
ing point? In early life. Yes, begun at
home, in the domestic circle, around the
fireside. The very moment you can lisp a
single syllable audibly, begin to acquire
courtesy. Be.kind and polite to your pa
rents, brothers and sisters, your superiors
and inferiors. See that every thought, ev
ery word and action, bear the impress of a
sweet, gentle, affable courtesy. Study to
make everybody happy. True politeness
is benevolence. When these habits of
courtesy or good behaviour are. thus ac
quired at home—exhibited on all occasions
—they become household words, easy, fa
miliar as life. Then, when you go abroad,
mingle in society, the. high, the rich, the
poor, you are daily prepared. Politeness
of manners is uppermost —it flows out
spontaneously. Therefore begin at home
early as the dawning life. An excellent
writer, touching this question of good man
ners, says:
“Young folks should be mannerly. But
how to be so is the question. Many a good
boy and girl feel that they can not be
have to suit themselves in the presence of
company. They are awkward, clownish,
rough. They feel timid, DasTiful and selt
distrustful the moment they are addressed
by a stranger or appear in company. There
is but one way to get over this feeling, and
acquire graceful and easy manners—that is,
to do the best they can all the time, at
home as well as abroad. Good manners
are not learned so much as required by
habit. They grow upon us by use. We
must be courteous, agreeable, civil, kind,
gentlemanly and womanly at home, and
then it will become a kind of second nature
to be so everywhere. A coarse, rough
manner at home, begets a roughness which
we can not lay off, if we try, when we go
among strangers. The most agreeable
people we have ever known in company,
are those that are perfectly agreeable at
home. Home is the school for all the best
things.”
Babies.
Darling little things—who does not love
babies ? those little angels of earth, who be
guile away so many hours of care and ren
der so many firesides happy. Awake or
asleep, they are forever new. Always pos
sessing the same magic power over one’s
heart. The most painful rellection concern
ing them only is that they should ever
grow up and become sinful and hard heart
ed men and women. We loathe from our
very soul that sentiment we sometimes
hear expressed, a dislike for children. The
man or woman who has no love for chil-i
idrenisbuta selfish and spleenish m : -.m 1
I thrope. He who does not love a little
[child, wholly incapable of doin<j one wrong
act, innocent as the little birdling which lies
' unfledged in its downy nest, and as pure us
i the snow-flake just drifted from heaven, is
[ too immeasurably vile and earthly to en
[ tertain for a moment one hallowed thought.
Too far cankered and blasted ever to min-'
gle in the loves of the world, or sir I a tear
for the afllicted and the sorrowing.
The baby is the spring of happiness in
every family. It gets nearly all the atten
tion and all the kisses. There is love U its
eyes and in its sunshiny face. There is
music in its little jabber and tattle. There
is a mystic charm about every act and mo
tion ot its body which defies description,
and is only visible to the eyes of th -s- who
love them most.
The baby »*opens fountains in the heart
where before all was barren and de->- late,
and where nothing did ever bloom savei
[ foul weeds r zoted in sin and bearin_ fruit
for perdition. Love those little he irs of;
; heaven’s kingdom if you would honor vour
Creator. If you dislike them, it is only
, because they are so infinitely more holy ■
and perfect than yourself. Shame upon
that dastard heart of thine that will not'
j clasp to thy bosom those little flowers, re
dolent and fresh from the Maker’s band.—
No wonder that guardian angels hover
around their beds, and w hisper sweet words
in their hearts never audible to mortal ears.
Life is a strange problem. It is some
what remarkable that the verb which ex
presses existence, so be. is defective in most,
’if not all. languages.
TERMS — Three Dollars a-year.
Passages in the Uife of an
Old Georgia Preacher.
NUMBER VI.
I have failed to attend but one session of
the Georgia Baptist Convention in thirty
years, and was then prevented by a revival
meeting. Only two or three, besides my
self, of those who were members when I
first entered it, are found in its meetings in
these latter years. The “ancient men”
have nearly all passed away, and a new
generation have taken their places. It is
with gratitude to God, however, that I re
cord the fact that one Spirit has animated
the members of this body during all the
years of my connection with it. They
have ever been of “one mind, striving to
gether for the faith of the Gospel.” If dif
ferences of opinion and alienations have
arisen among us, they have been of short
duration. Never, perhaps, in the world’s
history, has any’ body of men been more
united in sentiment and action during the
same period. The consequence has been
that they have not only accomplished much
in the cause of education, as shown in my
last article, but they have been instrumen
tal in sending the Gospel to remote heathen
nations. They have been represented among
the Indians of our own country, in Burmah,
and in Afi_. i then at borne God has
greatly prospered our denomination, which
it is believed outnumbers all other denom
inations in the State combined. In thirty
years our numbers have been more than
trebled. “ What hath God wrought! ”
In the discussions which arose between
Southern Baptists and our Northern Boards
on the subject of slavery, and which result
ed in our withdrawal from the North and
the formation of the Southern Baptist Con
vention, the Baptists of Georgia took a
prominent part and a firm and decided
stand. With Saunders, Thornton, Stocks,
Dagg, and Wyer, I attended the Triennial
Convention in Philadelphia in 1844. It
was a stormy session, for the fell spirit of
abolitionism had full sway. In vain did
such men as Dagg, Fuller, Jeter and Wyer
DI cad for the. rfoLt. TU a., „,i
naticism broke down every barrier, and
swept all before it. Ido not believe there
was a man from the South, in that meeting,
who wtft willing to participate in another
such. We felt that it was vain to reason
with men who had no regard whatever for
constitutional principles. True, there were
a few faithful and conservative Northern
men: Doctors Cone, Wayland, Williams,
McGinnis, Sears, Cushman, and a few oth
ers. But their influence was not sufficient
to arrest the progress of fanaticism, nor to
prevent the Board of the Home Mission
Society and of the Triennial Convention
from adopting Resolutions, soon after, de
claring that slaveholders were ineligible to
office as Missionaries under them.
This was the crowning act of infidelity
and injustice, which prompted brethren in
Virginia to call a meeting of Southern Bap
lists at Augusta, Ga., in the spring of 1845,
which resulted in the formation of the
Southern Biennial Convention. Being call
cd by secular business to New England
about that time, and passing through Rich
mond, brethren Jeter and Taylor agreed to
accompany me to Providence, R. 1., in or
der to attend the meetings of the above
Boards, which took place two weeks in ad
vance of the meeting in Augusta, above
mentioned. Our object was, to be pre
pared to report the state of feeling among
our Northern brethren up to the latest
date. What we saw and heard, then and
there, tended in no small degree to bring
'about that unanimity of action, by which
the Convention in Augusta voted, that
Southern Baptists would withdraw from
the North and set up lor themselves. Moro
than three hundred delegates constituted
that assembly ; the utmost harmony pre
vailed ; and altogether it was one of those
occasions w hich men delight to remember
1 while life lasts.
About the same period, from causes
I which need not be mentioned here, 1 had
become deeply interested in the education
>f the Deaf and Dumb, it was through
mj instrumentality that this subject was
urged upon the attention of the Georgia
Legislature, and I soon after had the privi
lege of locating at Ove Spring the Asylum
f<>!- ’hi« unforrmtate class. Upon theestab
lishment of that L stitution 1 look back as
of the hap[ i- st events of my life. .
11 ARKIBON.
Is not the mind of childhood the tender
ent, holiest thing this side of Heaven? Is
jit not to be approached with gentleness,
[with i>-. a heart worship of the
Igreat God, J most angel in-
nocence, it has pr<>, eued ? A creature un
defiled by the taint of the w-orld—unvexed
by its injustice—unwearied by its hollow
pleasures. A being fresh from the source
of light, with something of its universal
lustre in it. If childhood be this, how ho
ly the duty to see that, in its onward
.growth, it shall be no other !—to stand as a
watcher at a temple, lest any unclean thing
. should enter it.
, His sacrifice continued through His life,
and was completed by His death.
NO. 7.