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‘ The entrance of Thy Word giveth light’
A. C. DAYTON, Editor.
JAS. N. ELLS, Secular Editor.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1863.
Our B>lalform.8 > lalform.
1. None but those wlW’&ake a credible pro
lessibn of faith in Christ should be baptized.
2. None are really baptized except those who
are immersed’ upon a profession of their faith in
Christ.
3. None can properly be members of the
church of Christ, except they have been bap
tized.
4. None can properly be ministers of Christ
who are not members of the church of Christ.
5. Non-affiliation with those who refuse to
•"■obey Christ in these things—with those who re
fuse to walk according to the Divine rule.
, 6. We shall insist upon Baptists practising
Wjiai they hold and teach.
•* .
The Banner.
Failing to obtain paper, last week, our
patrons, and thousands of soldiers in tent
and hospital, were disappointed—they did
receive The Banner.
For the paper on which the present issue
is printed, we are indebted t<<> the courtesy
of fIW cotemporaries of the Southern Con
w federacy. We shall remember the kindness.
And now we turn to a brighter picture.
AV(?Kave the pleasure of announcing to our
b friends, and the public general we
arrangements which will
enable us hereafter to- publish The Baptist
Banner in a more attractive form, and
have, in all human probability, secured
paper on which to print it in the future.
In there Icnn Religion now than be*
fore the War?
We have often been told that there is vastly
less. We do not believe it. There was much
before the war that was called religion and
passed for religion, which was not religion,
and has there cast off its cloak. We heard,
a few days since, of two Baptists who had
been constant good church members at
home, who had been engaged in selling
whiskey to the soldiers. We have heard of
professors of all denominations who were
regarded as Christians at home, in
the camps are profane, gambling rowdies.
What of it? They have not lust their re
ligion. They have onlynhown the fact that
they never had any. The truly converted
man is a Christian in camp as much as at
home, and probably shim 1 * out the purer
and the brighter for the trials and tempta
tions by which he is surrounded. His God
is able to preserve him in the camp as well
as in the quiet of his home. If but few
can bear the ordeal, it shows what the Lord
said to be true, “ many shall be called, but
few chosen.” We shall probably be greatly
astonisrfd in the day of judgment to see
how few church members wore real Christ
ians.
Then, it is said that of those who.remain
at home, so many professors of religion
seem to have lapsed into worldliness, to be
all absorbed in making money, there is so
little attention to the ordinances of the
church, and so little talking about religion,
vital godliness seems banished from the
earth. But is it so ? There were in the
churches many who never had any heart in
religion. Some joined the church to make
money by securing influence, some because
they thought they would be more likely to
get to heaven, some because their friends
pursuadedtheni to dosojonly a few,probably
of all. because their hearts were full of love
to Jesus and his people, and they longed to
come near them in obedience to their Lord's
commandment. But these few are faithful
tot their duties now as they were before the,
war. They are probably more so. They ■
had religion, and they have lost none of it.'
It is all here yet. The others have, to some
extent, been made manifest that they were
nut of us, and well were it for the churches
if they Vould utterly go out from us. —!
What has been lost was only the hyp
ocritical semblance of true religion. But I
on the other hand, when have there ever
been so many meetings for prayer as since j
the war, and when has there been so much
real praying? Prayer is theotferingupof our j
desires to (rod. It is not saying over words
upon our knees with closed eves. There |
has been a great deal of that in past days ’
where there was uo prayer. We have heard
men say over the same words in the
THE BAPTIST B A N N B
(same order till we know them by heart,
but was there any praying in it? Now,
men call on God for what they want. They
pray for our country. They pray for our
armies. They pray for our President.—■
They pray for their brothers and sons
in the camps. It is real desire, and,
if they do not pray so much for spiritual
blessings, it is because the need of these
other blessings is just now pressing more
heavily upon the heart. a c. d
Si ■ , » fc
Prayer for our Country.
What the country now imperatively needs is the
united, sincere, and heart-uttered prayers of the
people. We have drawn near to God with
our lips while our hearts have been far Iroui
him. We have turned days of fasting and prayer
into days for the display of eloquence and know
ledge. Instead of humbling ourselves befoie Al
mighty God, repenting of our sins, and prayinir to
the Jesus, the Mediator, to intercede for us, we sim
ply went to church to hear a long political harangue.
This is the fatal error we have committed. God
must be worshipped in spirit and in truth, not by
lip and form. He will not bless us until we turn
from our evil course. Let the people everywhere
unite to pray— to pray to Jesus, the only name
given in heaven and on earth whereby man can be
saved. Dispense with all political sermons—hum-’
ble ourselves, and pray fervently and sincerely.
Then and then only can we expect a blessing.
We clip the above from the Atlanta
Gazette. We cordially agree with the editor,
that days of fasting and prayer appointed
by the President should not be made occa
sions for political harangues or displays of
learning. They are appointed for prayer, not
for oratory. Our addresses should be to God,
' not to men. But is there not something more
than prayer required to secure God’s bless
ing on our nation ? Our cotemporary says
“ God will not bless us unless we turn from
our evil courses.” This is true. But what
evil courses are they from which we must
turn? Must we wait for God’s blessing
on our nation till every sinner in it repents
' of all his sins and heartily turns to God ?
Then the blessing will never come. Let us
get definite ideas about what we have to do,
and then we may expect to do it.
National afllictions are sent as the punish
• ment of national sins. National blessings
are bestowed as the reward of national obe
dience. But how does a nation sin ? How
does a nation repent ? How does a nation
j>bey God? It is not by the act of each
J person in the nation. His sin, his repent
, ance, and his obedience, are his own. God
I
deals with him as an individual. God
will require him to give account for himself.
■He must answer for his own sins. But
when the Government in its official capacity
sins against God by doing such things as
i violate his laws, and especially by requir-
ing its citizens to disobey God, I can not
repent of that. No individual in the nation,
nor all the individuals in the nation, can re
pent of this as individuals. The repentance,
’ like the sin, must be national. The Gov
t eminent, in its official capacity, must turn
, from its sin,and must conform its conduct and
P its laws to the laws of the God of nations.
, Now,here is our fatal error. It is not that our
( people, the religious part of them, have not
prayed, and prayed earnestly. It is an easy
thing for men to pray for temporal blessings.
But it is, that while the people have been
I praying,theGovernment hasgoneon sinning.
While the President has appointed days of
fasting and prayer, Congress has persisted
in requiring of thousands of our people
I every Sabbath day to do what God has
plainly said they shall not do. In the War
department, the Sabbath is chiefly known
I as the day of extra labor. The soldier in
camps may lounge away the time of eve
ry other day in the week, but early Sabbath
, morning he begins to polish bisgun,fix up his
accoutrements, and prepare himself for the
inspection of arms and dress parade. In
the POst-office department, the Sabbath is
hot known at all. The same labor and care
is required on that as on any other day.—*
God says, “Remember the Sabbath day, and
keep it holy. In it thou shalt not do any
work." The Richmond Government says,
Thoji shalt work on just, as on any other
day. The people at large can repent of this
only by calling on their representatives
in Congress to repeal these laws, and make
them conform to the laws of God. They
have petitioned and remonstrated to some
very limited extent, but it is to be feared
that they are partakers with the Govern
ment in its rebellion against God, and really
do not desire it to reform. They will pray,
but they are unwilling to dispense with the
Sunday mail. They will keep a fast day
'as often as President Davis desires,but their
I must have their political papers, and their
j business letters, to study over on God’s
J day of rest. When theGovernmentcalls upon
the people to pray, let the people call upon
’ the Government to repent —to reform in
. this and other things, if there are other
■ things in which it is in open rebellion against
i God. Let them at least adopt some public
j means of protesting against the official
: wickedness of the Government, and then
' we can pray with some assurance that God I
(will hear our prayer, and grant us the de-1
I sire of our heart.
In our next we will announce the names
■of the successful competitors for the Pre- i
miums promised to the three ladies .send- ’
ing us the largest lists of subscribers. ]
THE LIFE AND ACTRESS.
•[Translated for the “Literary World,” from the
French of Julus Janin.]
The recent and wretched death of an actress,
whose name was Ion? popular among the frequen
ters of the Theatre des Varietes, has inspired Julc#
Janin with some pages of prophetic power, and a
truthfulness almost terrtble in its biting irony. Few
pens have yet laid bare, with so much courage and
power, the bleeding wounds which, ia the ease of
most women, are hidden beneath the spangles of
the theatrical costume.
* * * * In vain do I laugh and strive to be
gay—l am in no mood for laughter. Yesterday, at
night-fall, in the Champs Elysees, I met a phantom !
a true phantom! an old woman, a being without a
name! She was sad, and yet you saw upon her
faded countenance all the indications of laughter!
She was'walking slowly, and there was something
bold and flaunting in her step! She was in mourn
ing, and the corner of a pink petticoat was visible
through her black gown. She passed silently
through the long avenue, and her sob seemed like
the refrain of a song! In that ruined nature you
recognised, with close attention, some -traces ol
refinement; you saw some marks of care amid those
rags: Who was that phantom? She held in one
hand an old fan, that might have belonged to a
duchess, in the other an old umbrella that a por
tress might have carried; she had a wooden shoe
•upon her left foot, a silk stocking on her right; she
smelt of ambergris, and the wine of the tavern; in
the adjustment of her head-drbss you recognised
the coquette, the slattern in the disorder of her
hair. Ah ! what luxury, indigence in that
woman ! She had trodden under foot, and scattered
: with lavish hand, all the flowers of spring * * *
■she had grown old upon a pallet of straw! She hath
drunk from the golden goblet of youth all sorts of
praises of her grace, her beauty, her talent ; and
alter intoxicating herself with the draught, now
grown old, she had quaffed the filthy dregs, con
( tained, with a thousand nameless insults, in the
broken cup of age. She had been beautiful, ele
gantly adorned—all was worn threadbare. Alas !
lor her, the wretched ! the triumphant! the envied
woman ! the hoary crone ! She had been the goddess
f of honest joy and innocent laughter, and six months
before her death she was but the horrible priestess
' of the coarsest mirth! She was born at the theatre;
she died in a booth at a fair. Even the smiling
1 name of her youth had become, with age, an appella-
- tion of pity and disgust; she was called Flora ; she
had played the principal child’s partin the Courses
d'Ete, she had appeared for the last time in la
Canaille 1 And now she was walking, with her soul
in trouble, seeking for one word of sympathy be-
, yond the tomb.
, The above extract, though presented in
, the colored language of romance, is doubt
; less a life-sketch of one whose sole business
; had been to make people laugh. In her,
' youth and beauty had been perverted; and
s she whose mission should have been one
, of mercy, had turned aside from the holy
path of duty, to seek the incense of praise.
- She had sacrificed her womanly heart, de
< signed as the seat of all holy affections, at
. the shrine of vanity and worldly ambition;
and in her failing years was left to reap the
i regard of her folly—nay, of her wickedness.
i And is there not a moral to be drawn
. from this life-like sketch? Surely, to the
| wise, there is.
! This French actress was a representative
,of her class. Her powers had -been ex
hausted in sowing to the wind, and when
the snow of age was upon her trembling
i head, she walked the streets of Paris to
gather in her harvest—which was the
; whirlwind. And can others who pursue the
same unnatural course expect a more solid
and desirable reward ? Can any good thing
come out of the Theatre ? Are the pursuits
of its devotees in accordance with’the dig
nity and responsibility of rational beings?
Let those who can, answer.
But, if some will so far deflect from the
pathway to the skies, as to give themselves
to employments which pluck no thorn from
sorrow’s path* or, if so, to transfer it and
place it in sorrow’s pilloiv, surely they will
not intrude these things upon a people
whose fields are red with the bldod of our
fallen sons. Surely they will not tear
afresh the bleeding wounds of those who
lie in our hospitals, by makingnight hideous
with their unseemly mirth. When the
nation forms one grand funeral procession,
and our hearts, like muffled dreams, are
beating the March of the Dead, we wish not
revelry—we desire not mirth. The balm
for a nation’s sorrow is not drawn from the
performances of the stage, with their gor
geous deceptions; the theatre has not the
remedy for aching hearts; and those who
would so pretend, give us a stone when we
seek bread. Surely, sufficient unto the day
is the necessary evil thereof, without adding
that which is thrust upon us perforce.
The Augusta Orphan Asylum.
While in Augusta a few days since, in
company with several Atlantanians, we
made a visit to the Orphan Asylum, now!
under the superintendency of Mr. Wm. C.
Derry—the right man in the right place.
We were well repaid for the visit, and
would advise our friends who may have a
leisure moment in that beautiful city, to
call at the Asylam, some afternoon about
four o’clock, and listen to the sweet singing!
of ninety-six dear little children.
The people of Augusta may well be proud
of this noble institution. It was commen
ced about ten years ago, under the charge
of Artemas Gould, President, T. W. Mil
ler, Vice-President, and six other managers.
It was begun by voluntary contributions—;
some gentlemen paying SSOO. others sloo,'
and many smaller contributions. The City .
Council generoisly gave the interest of
$20,000 Georgia Railroad stock per annum, !
forever. It struzgled along in this way for
a few years, the citizens being always will
ing to subscribe to any deficit. Mr. Isaac
S. Tuttle, at his death, bequeathed it up
wards of $50,00f, leaving it comparatively
free and easy. A few years afterwards,!
Dr. Newton, always a very kind friend to
the institution, (a step-son of the late Mr.
Tuttle.) bequeathed it upwards of $20,000.
It is now in a prosperous condition, under.
the control of a competent board of mana
gers —Mr. Derry as the general superin
dent, Mrs. Dodge as matron, and Miss
Martin as teacher. Mr. Thomas Snowden,
Mr. Foster Blodget, Sr., and the Rev. J. R.
Dow, devoted a great deal of time, free of
charge, to the Asylum when it was ‘little
and unknown.’
Winter, and the Poor.
’ The season of heat, of buds and blossoms,
fruits and flowers, is gradually passing
away, and sombre autumn, with her wail
ing winds and decayed foliage, is about
stepping forth to play her part in the fleet
ing year. Winter, too, with her frost and
snow, her chilly days and freezing nights,
is moving onward, and will soon be upon
us. Those who are possessors of comforta
ble houses, and an abundance of money
with which to supply every article the
country affords, essential to comfort, are
• now preparing for the cold and chilly time,
when wqrm fires and thick wrappings will
be brought into requisition. Happy are
those who are able to thus prepare and
“ laugh in scorn,” the icy moanings of Win
ter. But there is a class in our community—
a class in every community —that are not
able to take any steps to protect themselves
from the bleak blast of December —that
have no resources for supplying themselves
with provisions, with wood, or articles with
which to keep them comfortable by night
as well as by day. We allude to that class
of persons known as the “ poor”—poor,
because their means of making a livelihood
have been cut off—poor, because they were
in moderate circumstances, and at the be
ginning of the struggle, sent their brothers,
husbands, and sons, to wrest our freedom
from the foe, relying on assurances of “ men
or means” for a support, until our “ bruised
arms” were “ hung up for monuments,”
and even jointed peace and prosperity re
gained. This is the of persons to
whom we desire calling “special-and par
ticular” attention.
i The country owes them a deep debt of
: gratitude, and the people at home an un
flagging and substantial support. Their
5 purses are not filled to overflowing, and in
■ consequence of extortion, their larders are
i poorly supplied with articles of food, their
I wordrobes scant of clothing, and the wood
-1 pile small,’ indeed. Though poor, they have
1 given to the “ boys in armor,” until they
! find themselves without a blanket,or cover
let to keep them comfortable during the
winter season. Are they not worthy of
our consideration and assistance? Most
assuredly they have strong claims upon us,
and we hope there will be no neglect of
them. Something must be done, or we
cannot see how they are to live from now
until April next. At the present prices,
they cannot procure the necessaries of life,
and will, unless alleviated by some act of
the Government, or measure of the people,
who are able, be reduced to great privation,
if not famine. We see that in some places
associations are being formed to supply the
' poor, and in one or two others, societies,
1 the object of which shall he to reduce the
1 exorbitant prices in every line of business,
- to aid the Government and soldiers’ wives
and children, until the storm is past. A
Considerable amount of good will be no
doubt done in the immediate
of these associations, but some step must
be taken to reach all sections—some effec
tual mode" must be divined for supplying,
to a great extent, the wants of the needy
everywhere. Experience teaches us that
free markets, &c., where people have to
present themselves in the undesirable atti
tude of beggars, are greatly beneficial to
our common enemy, the speculator. Some
other mode of supplying their wants should,
therefore, be adopted. Let there be prompt,
energetic action in the matter, all over the
country. Time will not wait for us. We
must act at once. We have no pet scheme
to offer, but leave that to others more able
to devise one. We simply urge upon some
movement—point out its necessity, and our
duty to the poor.
Acknowledgment*.
The list of payments to The Banner, for
the past fortnight, will be published next
week. In the meantime, brethren, swell
the list. It costs a great amount of money
to print our paper now.
Personal.—There is one good ancient
.custom, at least, that ‘the war’ has not
put a stop to. It will be seen by annouuce
; ments in to-day’s paper, that our enterpri
sing Commission neighbor has received a
new consignment and gone to Camp; and,
also, that our esteemed Roman friend has
done well. How-well will be noticed by
reference to the appropriate column.
May the pleasures of earth, and the joys
of heaven, be theirs I
J ... r * .
The law of the wise is a fountain of life,
1 to depart from the snares of death.
What Religion Is.
In the words of one of its best exemplars,
it is the “ Life of God in the soul of man.”
It is the union of the soul -with God—the
very image of God drawn on the soul, or,
in the Apostle’s phrase, “It is Christ formed
within us.” It is a Divine life. It is not a
sudden fit or passion, says our author like
the convulsive motions of a newly beheaded
body, caused by the agitations of the ani
mal spirits, which, however violent they
may be, cannot be of long continuance.
The motions of truly regenerate souls are
regular and constant, proceeding from a
fixed and lively principle. It does not
always maintain the same strength and
’ vigor, but sometimes suffers sad decays,
and yet is not wholly extinguished. It is
an inward, free, and self-moving principle,
powerfully inclined to that which is good
1 and delighting in |he performance of it. A
Christian prays* and repents and gives
thanks, not only because he is commanded,
but also because those religious exercises
are the proper emanations of the Divine
life—the natural exercises ol a new-born
! soul. His alms are not extorted from Him,
- His Jove makes him willing to give. In
justice, falsehood, intemperance, and all
. other vices are contrary to the constitution
and temper of His mind. What our blessed
Saviour said of Himself, is in some measure
applicable to His followers, “that it is
their meat and drink to do their father’s
, will.” He who is utterly destitute of this
, religious principle, and contenteth himself
with those performances to which he is
prompted by education and custom, by the
1 fear of hell or carnal notions of Heaven,
can no more be called a truly religious
, person than a puppet can be called a man.
, The difference between a religious and a
wicked man, is, that in the one the Divine
’ life bears sway, and in the other, the animal
life prevails. Our natural affections are
not to be rootqd out, but only to be over
ruled by a superior and more excellent
principle. The root of the Divine life is
faith, the chief branches of it are love to
God, charity to man, purity and humility.
[For The Baptist Banner.]
Dear brother Dayton: In The Banner
of the 22d August, I see an exgesis on the
1 parable of the unjust steward, or rather on
the verse in the chapter (xvi), “ And I say
unto you make to yourselves friends of the
mammon of unrighteousness,” &c., by M.
B. In the article, reference is made- to
viewsgiven by you, (which I have not seen).
M. B.’s translation of the words “ everlast
ing habitation” may be correct. Os this I
cannot say, as I know nothing of the orig
! inal; but it strikes me that the subject
’ matter of our Savior’s teaching in the par
able would not admit of such construction.
, Our Lord evidently designed to show up
the spirit of the world in the unjust stew
ard’s character, looking after the things that
inure to this life. And we may readily in
; fer fr urn His condemnatory expressions of
the unjust steward, that He would not have
His followers pattern after him, or commit
such unlawful acts. Again, I cannot recon
, cile the general interpretation of this verse,
from the fact the great point in our Lord’s
teaching with regard to the friendship of
the world is in direct opposition to such a
thing. He knew too well that we would
strive in the flesh for the flesh, and the great
. agency of the Spirit was to induce the war
fare against it. This is the war of every
Christian, and I cannot conceive that our
Saviour had any notion that a change of heart
would so materially affect our social regu
lations as to admonish us of making friends
in this world. I have ever regarded the
language of the verse as intended for thoss
who were present on that occasion who
were acting out the theft of the unjust
steward towards the Saviour—viz: the
Pharisees—and it is alike applicable to all
who hold to otfier gods, where the light
of the Gospel has gone, of whom there are
thousands. 1 am fully aware of the violence
done (in this verse) to rules of composi
tion, and merely suggest the idea to you,
privately, and, while so doing, would be
glad to hear your views through The Ban
ner as to the rule referred to above. How
far should it govern in the teachings of our
Saviour as recorded ?
I trust the prospect for your school is
good. You have my warmest wishes for
your success.
Yours in Christ,
J. H. STOCKTON. >
Thomson, Ga.
r Novel way of Curing a Drunkard.—
I here is an anecdote of a gentleman whose
favorite coachman was once found insensi
ble from the effects of drink, a circumstance
to the possibility of which the master had
long been looking. He had arranged his
plans and prepared for the emergency.—
John was astonished, upon waking the next
morning, to find his head shaved, and his
neck immovable with blisters. He was in
formed by his benevolent employer that he
had been discovered sick—dangerously sick
—and that the most active treatment had
necessarily been resorted to, to save his life.
He did not come a second time under such
treatment, preferring a preventive policy
to a mode of cure so harsh.
♦ • 4>»- - ■
Life is a Stormy Ocean.—Over that
ocean no being presides but God. He holds
the winds in his hand, and can still their
howling, and calm the heaving billows.
On that ocean the young have just launched
their frail bark. Daily will they need pro
tection ; daily they will need new supplies;
daily be exposed to the rolling of the bil
lows that may engulph them forever. Igno
rant, inexperienced, and in danger, they
I should look to God to guide and guard
them. Safe in his hands they will outrid e
the storm, and come to a heaven of peace.
In the way of righteousness is life : and
in the pathway thereof is no death.