Newspaper Page Text
To Prepare Wool for Carding.
At the present time, when wool is so
much needed it may be well to repeat a few
facts, that are not known to all :
1. Wool sheared from sheep that are well
kept is much the best.
w 2. When the shearing operation is to be
performed, it should be done by a skillful,
practiced hand, as wool that is cut up in
shearing always falls out of the cards and is
lost.
3. The sooner wool is washed after shear
ing the better. It should never be packed
away in a close pile, and left, to lie in that
position, either washed or unwashed.
4. The washing operation is the most im
portant of all. A few years ago, a premium
was offered in one of the finest wool grow
ing regions of Kentucky, for the best mode
of washing wool. The lot of wool that
took the premium, was washed after the fol
lowing manner: It was thrown into a pot
of boiling water, and kept stirred just one
minute by the watch. It was then instant
ly thrown out into water milk-warm, and
washed, and then it passed through several
tubs of water of common temperature, be
ing washed all the while until it was thor
oughly cl%an. The writer has seen the thing
tried, and it works finely. Wool can be
washed in this way without soap. But espe
cial care must be taken that the wool does
not lie in the boiling water more than one
minute, as it is in danger of being ruined.
The philosophy of this quick scalding is to
soften the gum, which is on all raw wool,
so that it will wash off easily.
5. When the wool is washed, it should be
spread out thin at once to run, and kept
stirred until it is thoroughly dried. It should
never be allowed to get wet after it is put
out to dry.
6. Wool that has been dyed, should have
the dye stuff washed out thoroughly. Wool
should not be allowed to start to the card
ing machine even in a damp condition. It
should be entirely dry.
7. When wool lias been well handled in
washing it will have a glossy appearance in
the sun, no matter what the color of the
wool.
8. Some lots of wool will waste more
than others in carding, and it is difficult to
account for it. But clean wool, that has
been well handled in the manner above di
rected, should in no case lose more than one
pound in eight or nine, and generally about
one pound in ten.
9. But lastly, where there are no pains
taken to fix wool up properly for carding,
the owner should not complain if the rolls
are few and of an inferior quality. The wool
should be lifted out of ths boiling water
with a fork with several prongs made for
i r e> ,
the purpose.
The Miscliicvious Spark.
The fire was burning brightly on a farm
er’s hearth—not a quiet coal fire, in a tidy
little black grate —no, this was an old fash
ioned brick hearth, and great logs of wood ;
were piled upon it, one upon another, crack
ling and blazing. Among them vas one of
those logs which for some reason or other
—it is hard to say why—are always spit- <
ting out sparks all around, a log not at all
safe to leave, and unhappy. Susan, the far
mer’s wife, having been called out sudden
ly, had never given one look at the fire.
Spit! went the log, and out flies a great
spark ' Never mind, no harm will happen
—it has fallen into a large basin of water. I
There is a moment’s hissing, as if the clear ,
cold water did not understand such a fiery
visitor, so all unlike itself; but the water
has prevailed—the spark is quite extisguish
ed. Spit, spit! goes the log—out flit's an
other spark. Where will this light? It
has fallen into a wisp of hay, with which
Susan was going to pack a basket. The hay |
is so dry it catches like a tinder. () ! what
a blaze I it is well it is a brick floor, or the
whole house might have been on fire. Su
san must, make haste, home; but Susan does
not come home, and now it is worse than
ever, for the very next spark that flies out
lights on the farmer’s powder-flask, eaie
lessly left, open on the table. There is not
much powder, out enough to do great mis
chief, for of course, it explodes, and crash
goes the window—part of the side of the
house is blown out, and the rose which
< limed up it, lorn down. It will take many
days, and many dollars too, to repair the
damage (hatspark has done, and years must
pass before the traces of it are altogether
gone.
\ou will be more than usually happy,
my friends, if you never come across a
crackling log, spitting its sparks of fire. 1
do not mean a log ot wood on the hearth,
but one of these fiery tempers whose angry
words fly like sparks all around. Notice,
the misehiet done depended not only on the
spark, but on the place where it fell. When
an angry word falls on a gentle, loving
heart, lheie will be a moment’s pain—all
the sharper because such words are so
strange there, but it will not last. Bv one
of those soft answers which turneth away i
wrath—by some means or other the loving J
heart will conquer—there will be no flame'
there. But it it falls upon an irritable tem
per, ready like the dry hay, to take tire at
anything, what a blaze there will be I It
will be well if such an one be alone at the
moment, for if others be near, the flames
will be in danger of running round so rap
idly. Do not boast of having too high a
spirit to brook a word ot reproach—it is
dangerous to be dry hay when sparks are fly
mg I But above all, do not be a flask ot
gunpowder--do not join malice and revenge
to a hast\ temper. Do not let every spark
that falls on you lead to an explosion —or
Insist that none ever injured you without
n aping consequences they rue perhaps tor
long years. The gunpowder is mighty , but
it is a feartul—O, a hateful power !
I’nless a man is scrupulous in telling the
truth, he can not expect others to be scru
pulous in belies mg him.
SHB SAJPSXBX
i Righteousness Exaltelh a Nation/
A SER.HO.X,
DELIVERED ON FAST-DAY, AT THOMASTON, GA.,
BY REV. It AFTON HOLLAND.
Righteousness exalleth a Nation.
[Proverbs xix: 34.
We are in the midst of an earnest I
war for national independence. Our
rights trampled underfoot in the Union,
for the establishment of which our dear
est blood was shed ; our social system de
nounced as infamous by the ungrateful
people whose happiness our legislation
assisted to secure; we have been forced
to seek redress of grievances in an ap
peal to arms. For two long years we
have been absorbed in this struggle for
freedom. Our thoughts, our sympathies,
our purposes and our actions, have all
been concentrated on the preparation
for continued resistance. And need we
add, that our prayers, odorous with
grief and affliction, have, from ten thou
sand heart-censers, never ceased to be
exhaled to the throne of God. During
| the progress of this war we have seen
the most fertile fields of the land deso
ilated, the most splendid palaces envel
oped in flames, and even the sanctua
ries of the Most High defiled by the
1 unhallowed habitation of a Godless,
1 profane, and barbarous soldiery. With
no patriotism but avarice, with no object
■ but plunder, like hordes of Vandals, the
myrmidons of a republican autocracy,
pretending to civilization, have rushed
forth, with torch and sword, to.obey
the mandates of their master. And
: how well they have succeeded in their
hellish purposes the smouldering ruirs
of the cities they have overrun—the
fenceless, fruitless, withered plantations
they have visited—the loathsome, pesti
lential cells of their bastiles, crowded
with thin, emaciated prisoners, the
chivalry and nobility of the land they
seek to subjugate—too plainly attest.
The pulpit they have contemned; the
frailty and chastity of woman disre
garded ; the laws of honor and magnan
imity—if they have ever known them — i
they have now spurned. Truly can it
be said of them —“ wherever they march
in enmity, desolation tracks their pro- .
gress ; wherever they pause in amity, as- i
fliction mourns their friendship.” We i
have not the heart to dwell upon their <
deeds. Barbarity itself upon ]
their atrocities, and Christianity lets j
fall the tear of anguishat the thought of ]
its own inability to refine their natures. <
Meantime, too haughty to submit to <
an inferior; too free to be bound in the t
chains of a mob despotism ; too deter- t
mined to abate one iota of energy ; too ;
trusts ul in the assistance of Heaven to i
doubt the ultimate result; our people s
have borne, almost uncomplainingly, i
their sufferings; our soldiers resisted -
with a bravery and fortitude unparallel- i
ed, the invasions of the banded assassins <
of abolitionism ; and our women—God i
bless them!—have ever spoken the i
comforting “ good cheer!” in behalf of <
their heroic sons, brothers and husbands. :
And to-day we look around us, and
while few hearts there are that plead
not, few eyes that weep not; while ’neatb
the turf of many a battle-field the young
and dauntless sleep their last sleep, and
from the cinders of many a deserted
home ascends the smoke of desolation ;
yet we thank God that the advancement
of the foe has at length been stopped ;
his intoxicated revelry fearfully disturb
ed ; and that, chagrined and fretted, he
is as anxious to devour his own offspring
as he has hitherto been to ruin us.
In view of all these things our Chief
Magistrate lias appointed this, the twen
ty-seventh of March, as a day of fast
ing, humiliation and prayer. And in
obedience to his proclamation, and the
request of many friends, 1 have unwor
thily assumed the task of suggesting a
few thoughts, which I hope will be ap
propriate, conducive to our civil and re
ligious welfare, and illustrative of the
glory of our Supreme Benefactor. To
the better promotion of these ends, 1
have selected as a theme ’the thirty
fourth verse of the nineteenth chapter
of Proverbs— “ Righteousness exalteth
a nation.”
In the olden time the custom was,
when a child was born, to watch the sit
uation of the stars, and according to
their astrologic instructions, foretell the
shadowy future into which its parents,
looked with so much anxiety. And as
! our country may now be said to have :
passed through the smugglings of its in-'
troduction into a new life, and to have
come forth in a healthy and promising,
, condition—ready, like the young Her
cules, to strangle the foul serpent that
would poison its existence—it may be |
meet tor us to consult the moral hea
vens, and strive to cast its horoscope.—;
\\ e desire, then, in this discourse, as 1
t tar as the usual limits of pulpit minis
, (rations pennit, to exhibit the ennobling
; influence ot religion upon a naiion.—
r i And lest any one should mistake the
t . relationship of the divine to the civil
r government, we will first ask your at
t' tention to tin se distinguishing features
in the two, rendering an amalgation or
union corrupting and destructive.
e While Christianity inculcates those
i- duties and recommends that spirit which
I will ever prompt us to cherish the prin-
' ciples of freedom and patriotism, it
does not assume any immediate 'direction
in theaffairs of government. The union
of Church and State is necessarily bane
ful. Christ’s kingdom is not of this
world. Its constitution drafted in Hea
ven, its ends reaching into the eternal
hereafter, any connection of it with the
contrivances of man for temporal secu
rity and improvement must be a perver
sion of the designs of God. And this
degradation of the Church operates by
reaction to the enervation of the State.
The beatific virtues eulogized by the
Savior as the germ of all true religion,
are purity, humility and charity. The
nerve that has moved the muscle of
Christianity to the accomplishment of
its gri at triumphs has ever been single
ness of pturpose. Make the aim of the
church anything butthe glory of God,
and the arm of its power is paralyzed.
As long as the disciples of Christ were
persecuted; as long as, spurned by
the affluent and influential, they had to
erect their altars in secluded groves and
offer up their prayers at midnight hours;
so long did the religion they professed
widen and strengthen.
It is only when other motives than an
anxious desire for the glory of Zion and
the salvation of souls, prompt the church
to action ; it is only when the pros
pect of wealth and titles or the love of
display and parade steal into the heart
and displace the purer emotions ; that
the edifice of prosperity begins to exhi
bit signs of decay—that the ivy that,
clinging around the sturdy oak of Di
vine promise, sought only to reach the
skies, is torn from its support, and made
to creep along the earth and twine
around meaner and grosser objects. —
Need I appeal to history to verify these ■
assertions ? Need I trace the decline of 1
the Roman empire—show how, that as- 1
ter, by struggles of unimpaired vigor,
she attained universal dominion —her i
silver eagles screaming over the battle- .
ments of innumerable cities, and holding (
in their talons the writhing bodies of ,
subjugated provinces, she sipped the i
poisonous beverage of licentiousness and i
wealth, and fell stiffened in the parox- i
ysm of a fatal delirium ? Need I dwell
upon the elevation of Christianity into 1
royal patronage under Constantine ; '
show that as the cloud under which she (
had been living, was removed and the
full warmth of court favor beamed upon 1
her, she threw aside the robe of right- (
cousness and slept in the debilitating heat
of voluptuous indolence ? Need 1 show t
that, as emoluments were placed upon i
the respective offices of the Church, i
ambitious hypocrites arose and sought
the gain acquired by ecclesiastical po- I
sition, strifes entered into the hitherto
united body and dissipated its strength
—Arius driving Athanasius into exile,
and Athanasius seeking the overthrow
of Arius, until, swarming with here
sies, the temporal power was united with
the spiritual, the keys of Heaven and
earth placed in the hands of the Pope,
a false religion dressed in the pure
robes of original piety—and then the
sick empire hurriedly breathed its last?
The torn, dilapidated Rome of ruins
that saddens the eye of the modern trav
eler, is a gloomy comment upon the fate
of ecclesiastical nations; and the super
stitious pageantry of a soulless Catholic
ism with its Cardinals, and Bishops,
and Priests, is an apt illustration of the
destiny of the Chufch that unites itself
with the corrupt machinety of human
authority.
It is alike the interest of divine and
civil governments‘'to keep in their own
separate spheres—each moving in its
own path, around the centre of its own
system, and never clashing or conflict
ing. Let the Church benefit the State
by purifying and exulting the people
that compose the State. Let the State
benefit the Church by guaranteeing to'
its every member freedom of conscience
and the right of undisturbed worship.
Acting in this way, the greatest tempo-:
ral and eternal good will be accomplish
ed. But, combining the two into one)
ecclesiastoco-political government, reli
gion will become inanimate and perfidi
j ous, and republicanism transmogrified
into a horrid monster of despotism.
In England we have a living exam
ple of a religion established by law,
with magnificent emoluments attached
to its clergy; and what indication of
. dissoluteness do we find there ? We can
I answer the. question in no way better
' than by quoting the words of one of
her most eloquent and most accomplish
ed orators —Robert Hall. He says, in
his “ Christianity Consistent with a Love
of Freedom,” “The boasted alliance
I between Church and State, on which so
many enconiums have been lavished,
seems to have been little more than a
compact between the Priest and Magis
trate to betray the liberties of mankind
both civil and* religious.”
Coming still nearer home, in our own
land we behold a repetition of this same
sad and heart rending spectacle. Not
that in our free and democratic insti
tutions, we have suffered the revenues of
State to be appropriated to the bribery
of the Church, or that we have permit
ted the Church to wrest prerogatives of
i an entirely political character from the
•jState; but that, by gradualand almost
'imperceptible transgression, the pulpit
has at last seized the reins of public
opinion and attempted therewith to guide
the progress of government. Forsa
king the high trust confided to their
vigilance, and permitting the vestal
flames of religion to wane upon their
altars, the guardians of the Church
have bowed the knee to the golden im
age of fanaticism, and like maniacs,
raved only of higher law and universal
emancipation, until, maddened into fury
by the contagion of so much misdirect
ed zeal and pseudo-philanthropy, a
mob-nation now rushes forth to the de
struction of imaginary evils. And when
ever the ministers of the Gospel cease
to proclaim God and Heaven and pane
gyrize nothing but transcendentalism
and human equality, then will the flames
be fanned by the ardent cries of their
thoughtless followers; and to the utter
astonishment of the foolish instigators,
a whole nation will blaze w’iththe con
flagration, the entire fabric of society be
shocked to its foundation and both vic
tim and victor justly perish in a com
mon ruin.
[concluded next week.]
When the War is Over.
This expression is now upon every lip.
When the war is over, we are going to do
thus and so. Isn’t there danger here? Are
we not finding in this formula a miserable
excuse for not doing what ought to be done
now ? There is a wretched tendency in our
nature to procrastinate —to put off till to
morrow what we ought to do to-day. The
slightest possible pretext exonerates our
conscience, and we lapse back into self-com
placency and lie contented, when every rea
sonable and religious consideration urges us
to be up and doing. Here we have an ex
cuse which is palliating to the conscience,
and we hedge ourselves about with it, in the
spirit of a man who has a stronghold that
can not be reduced. When the war is over,
we will bend ourselves to our duty with
tenfold energy. When the war is over, we
will rise to the performance of our various
obligations with new vigor and zeal. We
can’t do it now, the pressure is too great,
the crisis is too immense, the emergency is
too fearful ; we can not think of anything
now but the war and its tremendous issues.
True, we have no minister in our church,
but we can’t get one until the war is over,
or if we have one, we know it is difficult for
him to support his family in these hard
times, but we can’t get one until the war is
over; we are making no contributions to
the great benevolent operations of the
church now, but we will double our efforts
when the war is over. All our energies
and resources are swallowed up in the great
national and political crisis W'hich has come
upon us, and we must wait; when the war
is over, we w’ill correct all these evils and
gird up our loins and work manfully for
Christ and His kingdom. Many an indi
vidual, especially among our soldiers and
officers, says, “1 know 1 am a sinner, under
the curse of God’s law and exposed to His
w rath, but 1 can’t repent now ; 1 am too
much engrossed in the affairs of my coun
try ; the enemy must be defeated, the war
must be ended, and when peace and inde
pendence are achieved, then 1 will repent
and turn to God.”
Alas, what infatuation ! what blindness
and folly! The divine command is to
“seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness.” This is unconditional and
absolute—no pressure of circumstances, in
dividual or national, can excuse us from the
duty prescribed. To be sure we must ral
ly to the standard of our liberties, and fight I
to the last man and the last dollar for our
country; but we must not forget Christ
and His kingdom. This is the first great
object before us, and he best serves his!
country who best serves his God and does j
most for His glory. Who can tell when
the war will be over? and who does not
know and feel that, when it is over, we shall
then be plunged into the very midst ofl
overw helming anxieties avid absorbing in
terests? That w ill be the culmination of
our national crisis. It will require all wis
dom and patriotism properly to adjust our
national affairs, and if the war should end
to-morrow’, it may be years before every
thing is settled and arranged as it ought to
be. Let us not deceive ourselves, there- ,
fore, with this vain pretext. God never
devolves upon us more duties than we can .
perform. While we ought to devote our-
I selves and all that we have to this great
national struggle, let us not neglect the
claims of God and the interests of His
cause. The two things are by no means
' incompatible; the one will further the oth
i er. It will be no easier to discharge these
I duties w hen the war is over than it is now. -
If our church is without a pastor, let us get I
one now ; if his salary is too small, let us
raise it now ; if our contributions to the
great interests of Christ’s kingdom have
fallen Leh nd-hand.or ceased altogether, let
us revive and redouble them now; and,
dear reader, iif the army or at home, it you
are still in vour sins and exposed to the
w rath of God, we exhort you to repent and
believe now, because “ now,” and not when
the war is over, “ is the day of salvation.”
You may not live to see the end of the war,
though it should close next week, and Lt you
do, you w ill find more difficulties and dis
couragements in the way then, than when
vou read these lines. “ Behold, now is the
ac epted time; behold, now is the day of
salvation.”
To our Subscribers.
We take this occasion to say, with Erateful
feelings, that withie four months past the cir
culation of The Baptist Banner has been
nearly doubled; we entertain no fear in regard
to a supply of paper; and we are determined,
‘ by God’s help, to do our best in furnishing an
■ acceptable paper.
> THE GRAVE.
> Died, in Cedar Bluff Baptist Church, at two
o’clock p. m., on the 10th inst., while in the act
ofclosing the administrate n of the Lord’s Sup
per, Robert Baber —in the 06th year of his
age. He was deacon, and while he was turn
ing round to present the wine to the last mem
ber, he fell to the floor without uttering a word,
and died without a struggle or a groan. Truly,
death was but a shadow to him. Brother Ba
ber was a native of Rutherford county’, N. C.,
where he spent nearly all his life, eight years
being spent in this county and State. lie has
been known to the writer ever since the days of
his boyhood, and since his profession of God’s
grace. All that knew’ nim never doubted the
reality of his change. He lived the life of a de
voted Christian. 1 have often talked with him
about our future prospects, which was the sub
ject of his delight. His confidence was unsha*
ken in the forgiving and sustaining grace of the
blessed Jesus. He leaves a w’ife, two sons (who
are in the army’ and who are members ot the
church), a daughter, and many friends, to mourn
their loss. Sister Baber, the daughter and son
in-law are devoted members of the < hurch,
which was an untold consolation to brother
Baber. “Blessed are tbt dead who die in the
Lord; from henceforth they cease from their
labor, and their works do follow’ them.”
Cherokee county, Ala. S. G. H.
May 18, 1863.
Died, in Atlanta, Ga., on the 2lst instant,
Crhistopher C. Sew’ell, Printer —aged 23
years.
.GEN ER aL DI RECTORY.
Confederate Government
President— Jefferson Davis, of Miss.
Vice “ —A. H. Stephens, of Ga.
The Cabinet. — Judah P. Benjamin, of La.,
Secretary of State.
C. G. Memminger, ofS. C., Secretary of
Treasury.
James A. Seddon, of Virginia, Secretary
of War.
S. R. Mallory, of Fla.,Secretary otNavy.
Thos. 11. Watts, of Alabama, Attorney-
General.
John 11. Reagan, of Texas, Postmaster-
General.
TSte Senate.
Alabama— Win. L. Yancey, C. C. Clay.
Arkansas— Robert W. Johnson, C. B.
Mitchell.
Florida — J. M. Baker, A. E. Maxwell.
Georgia— B. 11. Hill, H. V. Johnson.
Kentucky— Henry C. Burnett, William
E. Sims.
Louisiana— Edward Sparrow, Thos. J.
Semmes.
Mississippi— A. G. Brown, Jas. Phelan.
Missouri— J. B. Clarke, R. L. E. Peyton.
North Carolina— George Davis, W. T.
Dortch.
South Carolina— Robert W. Barnwell,
James L. Orr.
Tennessee— Gustavus A. Henry, Landon
C. Haynes.
Texas— L. T. Wigfall, W. S. Oldham.
Virginia— R. M. T. Hunter, William
B. Preston.
House of Iteprescntatives.
Alabama: T. J. Foster, W. R. Smith,
J. P. Ralls, J. L. Curry, F. S. Lyon, W.
P. Chilton, David Clopton, J. S. Pugh, E.
S. Dargan.
Arkansas: G. A. Garland, James M.
Patterson. (Incomplete.)
Florida: James B. Dawkins, R. B.
Hilton.
Georgia: Julian Hartridge, Charles J.
Munnerlyn, Hines Holt, Aug. 11. Kenan,
David W. Lewis, W. W. Clark, Robert P.
Trippe, Lucius J. Gartrell, Hardy Strick
land, Augustus R. Wright.
Kentucky : (Not yet elected.)
Louisiana: Charles J. Villers, Charles
M. Conrad, Dunean F. Kenner, Lucien J.
Dupre, John L. Lewis, John Perkins, Jr.
Mississippi : J. W. Clapp, Reuben Da
vis, Israel Welch, 11. C. Chambers, O. R.
Singleton, E. Barksdale, John J. Mcßae.
Missouri: W. M. Cook, T. C. Harris,
Caspar W. Bell, Adam 11. Condon, G. G.
West, L. W. Freeman, Hyer.
North Carolina: W. 11. Smith, R. R.
Bridges, O. R. Kenan, T. D. McDowell,
A. IL Airington, J. R. McLean, W. S.
Ashe, William Landor, B. S. Gaither, A.
T. Davidson.
South Carolina: John McQueen, W.
Porcher Miles, L. M. Ayer, M. L. Bonham,
James Farrow, W. W. Boyce.
Tennessee: Joseph B. Heiskell, W. G.
Swan, W. 11. Tibbs, E. F. Gardenshire,
Henry S. Foote, Jr., Meredith P. Gentry,
George W. Jones, Thomas Mennes, J. D.
Adkins, John V. Wright, D. M. Currin.
Texas: John A. Wilcox, C. C. Her
bert, F. W. Gray, F. B. Sexton, M. D.
Graham, B. H. Epperson.
Virginia: M. R. 11. Garnett, John B.
Chambliss, John Tyler, Roger A.. Pryor,
Thomas S. Bococke, John Goode, Jr., Jas.
P. Holcombe, D. C. DeJarnette, William
Smith, A. R. Boteler, John B. Baldwin,
Walter R. Staples, Walter Preston, A. G.
Jenkins, Robert Johnston, C. W. Russell.
Government <»f Georgia.
Joseph E. Brow’n, Governor.
N. C. Barnett, Secretary of State.
1 John Jones, Treasurer.
Peterson Thweatt, Comptroller General.
E. D. Brown, Librarian.
John Billups, President of the Senate.
J. M. Mobley, Secretary “ “
Warren Akin, Speaker of the House.
L. Carrington, Clerk “ “
J. B. Campbell, Secr’y Executive Dep t.
11. 11. Waters, Private Secretary.
J. S. Rowland, Sup’t State Railroad.
James A. Green, Keeper Penitentiary.
! T. T. Windsor, Book-keeper
, Supreme Court Jndaes. — J- H. Lumpkin,
i of Clark. Charles J. Jenkins, oi Richmond.
R. F. Lvon, of Jb ulton.