Newspaper Page Text
8 Ulillisk M
VOL. IV.
For the Methodist Advocate.
Heart Piety.
People have different ways of being pi
ous. With some, their piety is purely and
wholly sectarian. They are zealous for
their favorite denomination. They will
work for it, talk for it, give for it, and, if
needs be, fight for it; in fact, do almost
any thing except pray for it. They are not
gifted in prayer. They have no family al
tar, no place for secret prayer. Praying is
not their forte. Not having the spirit of
Christ, they are very hostile to other de
nominations. They would build up their
own sect by pulling others down. That is
all the piety they have. If that will not
save them in the day of judgment, they
have no well-grounded hope. Yet the piety
of how many is precisely of this type!
“ Depart from me, I know you not,” is all
they Jiave any right to expect to hear from
the final Judge.
The piety of another class consists in
external morality. They endeavor to be
strictly honest. If they fall away from
this under powerful temptations, they honor
God by believing in the possibility of par
don. They aim to tell the truth generally,
especially when nothing is to be gained to
them by departing from it. They seldom
attend prayer-meeting or class-meeting.
They go to public service on Sunday when
inclination leads them, to hear some favor
ite preacher —not otherwise. Their religion
is morality. To them there seems to be
great virtue in abstaining from outbreaking
sins. They seem to feel that God is under
great obligation to them for not being such
great sinners as some others are. There
will be a slim chance for them when the
door is shut.
The religion of another class consists in
doing duty. They are simply formalists.
They are regular church-goers—no matter
who preaches. Their seat is seldom vacant
at prayer and class-meeting. They promptly
pay their quarterage, and give something
to the benevolent causes of their Church.
They are upon the whole a pretty good set
of people, though not very numerous.
They seem to vex their souls from day to
day because so few come to the solemn
feasts, and the cause of their vexation is
very great. It requires a great deal of
grace to remain sweet-tempered and love
able in the presence of so much provocation.
They are servants of the Lord, not sons
and daughters of the Almighty. They
serve through fear, not from the love of
God. They are led by a sense of duty. It
taxes all their firmness to get them along.
With solemn countenance, compressed lips
and knitted brow they move slowly on as
if going to a funeral, when they might, un
der the inspiration of privilege, bound for
ward with smile, and laugh, and shout, and
song. The Holy Spirit has reached their
them', tnit has not yet" shed abroad the
Savior’s love in their hearts. '•*
There is another class who have heart
piety. They love God and delight in his
service. They are sweet-tempered, happy,
loving and lovable Christians. They are
full of sympathy for humanity as they find
it, embracing some with a complacent love,
and others with a love of pity. They try
to make people in their own families happy.
They actually call on their neighbors, not
only the near but the more remote. They
go more to do good to others than to have
others do good to them. They are a won
derful people, a blessing and a blessed peo
ple. The trouble is, there are too few of
them. In some localities they are about as
rare as the bird of paradise. It is only
heart piety that saves in the present life,
and only those who have this piety have
much hope of being saved in the world to
come.
Christ’s objective point with the believer
is his heart. His voice of invitation to
each is, “Give me thy heart.” If only sur
rendered to him what excellent care he will
take of it: “ I will come into him, and sup
with him, and he with me.” What a heart
that will be. No earthly banquet could
compare with it. “Great peace have they
that love thy law, and nothing shall offend
them.” As all are invited, it is the privi
lege of all in this life, and all the way
through this life, daily to sit down to such
a banquet.
Why do not professing Christians press
on to this point ? It is accessible to all,
even the youngest and the weakest. Why
not seize upon it ? Does not the ministry
habitually invite and exhort all to labor to
enter into this rest? Do they not lead the
way themselves, and say, “Follow me as I
follow Christ?” That is their privilege,
their duty. They are a sorry set of minis
ters without it. Their Savior experts this
of them. O, for this baptism of the Holy
Ghost to fall upon the pulpit and the pew
in a glorious revival of true, deep, spiritual,
heart religion! *
For the Methodist Advocate.
The Prayer-Meeting.
It was but a little company that came to
gether on Tuesday evening. Eight breth
ren, only one sister, and the pastor, met to
worship God. There was a word of greet
ing at the door, a moment of bowing the
head and lifting the heart, as they
quietly took their seats, and then a famil
iar chorus, in which hearts communed as
voices mingled. The pastor stood up to
say a few words —very few they were—
designed to stimulate devotion. The
substance of the short address was this:
“Through God’s mercy we enjoy another
meeting for social worship. Since last
Tuesday evening one of our number has
passed to eternity —gone, we trust, to be
with God. It may be that very soon some
of us who are now present shall receive the
summons which will call us hence. This
may be our last meeting. We would es-
teem it a blessing if our last meeting with
our brethren might be the very best we
ever enjoyed. And since this evening’s
meeting may be that very last, O, let us,
now, by earnest, faithful prayer, bring
heaven nearer to earth than ever we real
ized before! Let us beseech the Lord to
make this, above all our former experi
ences, a season of blessed communion with
himself, an hour of calm trust and un
speakable joy. Let us now seek to take
such a firm hold of Jesus as we shall need
when our feet are in the waters.”
This was the exhortation, brief and sim
ple, but earnest and practical, and spoken
from the heart. And some of the brethren
said, “Amen,” and said it evidently, not be
cause they thought the utterance polite or
decorous, but because the heart’s response
rose unbidden to the lips. Then a hymn
was read, and all stood up to sing,
then knelt in prayer. Now it happened,
as men say, that the brother who led in
Erayer was one who hod bog«n oomc huurs
efore to lift his heart to God for a bless
ing on the meeting, and now the earnest
warmth of his petitions set every heart
aglow. As the meeting went on, prayer
and praise alternating, the tide of spiritual
enjoyment rose higher and higher. The
place became a bethel, for God was there.
After the closing prayer the pastor said,
“ I think it would be delightful and profit
able to tell each other how we are enjoying
this meeting, and how near we find our
selves to the Savior. Let us, therefore,
speak briefly of our present experience.”
Testimonies were freely given. All felt
that it was a sacred hour. One had been
aroused from a coldness of which he had
been unconscious, but which he could now
see had been stealing upon him, and
chilling his spirituality. But in the exer
cises of the prayer-meeting the snare was
broken, and he trembled at the peril, but
rejoiced at the deliverance. To another
had been given a more exalted view of
Christian privilege and duty, and he was
resolved to live nearer to God. Another
surrounded with peculiar temptations, and
fearing lest he should be overcome now
felt safe in Christ. And one thought that
this was surely the very best meeting he
ever enjoyed. If to the rest it was bethel,
to him it was Penuel. But it was time to
separate, and the doxology was sung, the
benediction pronounced, and then how lov
ing the greeting in the aisle! When we
are nearest to God we are nearest to each
other. And now as with a kind “ good
night” we separate, our prayer-meeting is
over, and its history is written. But its
mission is not accomplished. Such meet
ings as these lie about the roots of the
Church, and supply the sap which nour
ishes its life. At this fountain apostles
drank and were refreshed. Do you, reader,
regularly attend your prayer meeting ?
....... i. Monitor.
For the Methodist Advocate.
Work for Jesus.
BY T. S. WALKER.
In a community where there had never
been a church or school-house, eighteen
months ago, an elderly lady instructed five
boys, sons of a tenant, two nights in each
week, and on Sabbaths. She said, “ I can
not bear to see children grow up at our
door and not know how to read.” Lessons
from the catechism and moral instructions
were given.
Their instructor had been in bad health
for some years, and more than once had'
her friends and physicians despaired of
her recovery. Soon after she began to
teach those boys, she said, “I do not
know for what my life has been spared, it
may be for this ; and if we can get a house
somewhere, in the Spring, for Sunday
school purposes, I think something can be
done for these and other families in the
neighborhood.”
Spring opened and her husband ob
tained a small room in which to start a
Sunday-school. He visited the neigh
bors to see if they would join him in this
work, to which they assented. The school
was begun with over thirty attendants, and
constantly increased until one hundred had
been enrolled, when they were compelled
to move into an old lumber-room, which
had formerly been occupied by sheep.
There the project of building anew house
started, and in a few months one was com
pleted. Its name was “ Ruhama,” and
stands in Greene county, Tenn., within the
bounds of the St. Clair circuit, Holston
Conference. There is an average attend
ance of one hundred scholars, though more
are enrolled.
As we contemplate those eighteen
months of labor and the grand results
wrought out, we can but exclaim, “ Be
hold ! how great a matter a little fire
kindletb.” When the house was completed,
the writer, assisted by others, held a seven
days’ meeting there, during which there
were thirty-two accessions to the Methodist
Episcopal Church. Thirty of these were
converted there, two came from another
branch of the Church. We baptized the
father of the original class and ten of his
children. There were twenty-seven bap
tisms in all. Two of the men who were
baptised are over fifty years of age. Two
others have been converted but have not
joined any "Church as yet, one, aged sixty
four years, having been brought to know
God directly through the influence of the
Sunday-school. In that school there are old
men who used to profane God’s name, who
used to lay in the gutter and otherwise
violate His law. Now they pray and ex
hort the young to early piety. “This is
the Lord’s doing and is marvelous in our
eyes.” Reader, remember the instruction
of your Lord: “In the morning sow thy
seed, and in the evening withhold not thine
hand : for thou knowest not whether shall
prosper, either this or that, or whether
both shall be good.”
ATLANTA. GA., WEDNESDAY, JULY 17. 1872.
This is the life of trial, heaven, the place
of reward. This our field of trial, heaven,
the soul’s rest. This the arena of strife,
heaven, the place of exultation and vic
tory. But if we have no trial by which to
test our loyalty to God—if we do not la
bor in his vineyard, if we have no conflicts
with the powers of darkness, then is there
no reward, rest or victory for us to enjoy
in heaven. Then do something for Jesus
and do it now.
For the Methodist Advocate.
Chesapeake City, Va.
This is a town recently laid out, between
Hampton and Fortress Monroe. Here our
Church has a small society, and is making
substantial progress. An acre of ground
has been bought, and on this there stands
a comfortable parsonage, two-story, with
three rooms on each floor, and a covered
porch in front. There is also « genteel
chapel, capable of seating at least two
hundred persons, which was dedicated
June 30, 1872, by Rev. E. P. Phelps, pre
siding elder of the district, who preached
morning and evening. The day’s subscrip
tions amounted to SB3B, which secures the
success of the enterprise. It was more
than we hoped to raise, and proved the in
terest and liberality of the people. All
this has been done in six months. The
ground was secured in December.
J. S. B.
THY WAY, NOT MINE.
Thy way, not mine, O Lord,
However dark it be;
Lead me by thine own hand,
Choose out the path for me.
Smooth let it be or rough,
It will be still the best;
Winding or straight matters not;
It leads me to thy rest.
I dare not choose my lot:
I would not. if I might;
Choose thou for me, my God,
So shall I walk aright.
The kingdom that I seek
Is thine; so let the w r ay
That leads to it be thine,
Else I must surely stray.
Choose thou for me my friends,
My sickness or my health;
Choose thou my cares for me,
My poverty or wealth.
Not mine, not mine the choice
In things or great or small,
Be thou my Guide, my Strength,
My Wisdom and my All. Bonair.
Ritualism Defined.
We propose to state exactly what Ritu
alism is. We shall not here discuss the
riebt or the wrong, its wisdom or its folly ;
we shall merely state it. It is the worship
of Christ, God, anti man, on the altar, un
der the forms of bread and wine. The pur
pose of all the ceremonial, which has created
so much discussion, so much scandal, sO
much confusion in the Church, has been to
introduce that worship. The question of
Ritualism is not a question of the manner
of worship, but of the object of worship.
Having decided on the object, the manner
necessarily follows : all the decorations of
the altar, all the dresses, all the gestures,
have reference to the object of worship.
It is claimed that our Communion Service
is only truly celebrated with reference to
that object—Christ under the form of bread
and wine. Some while since, in some com
munication to the New York Herald , a
writer on the Ritualism side, professing to
speak for the party, took exactly the line
of argument and explanation we have taken
here. It was written to show that the Rit
ualists were not children nor fools; that
they were not undergoing “persecution”
for the sake of a candlestick or a stole;
that, in themselves, these were trifles;
what people ordinarily understood by Rit
ualism —the forms only—was only folly ;
that the real thing was underneath, and
the ceremonial only its outward symbolism,
and that that thing was the adoration of
God under the form of bread and wine.
The whole defense of Ritualism, then, as a
means of adding to “the glory and beauty”
of divine service, as an increase of solem
nity or dignity to such service, was only
for the sake of gaining toleration for the
time. The real question is the question of
eucharistic adoration, of introducing a spe
cific sort of worship, which is certainly new
to Churchmen of this generation. The cer
emonial has all its value from reference to
the object. Ritualism, we repeat then, is
the worship of God under the form of bread
and wine on the altar. “Eucharistic vest
ments,” caudles, prostrations, genuflexions,
elevations, bbwings, and turnings to the
altar, all grew up in the first case around
that worship and are its expression. That
worship gives them all their meaning now,
and this is the declaration of those, both
in England and America, who have the
right to speak for the “Ritualistic party.”
The introduction of that worship is the pur
pose of that “party.” —Church Journal.
How to Treat Enemies.
Go straight on, and don’t mind enemies.
If they get in your way, walk round them
regardless of their spite. A celebrated
character who was surrounded by enemies,
used to remark: “They are sparks which,
if you do not blow, will go out themselves.”
“Live down prejudice,” was the Iron Duke’s
motto. Let this be your feeling while en
deavoring to live down the scandal of those
who are bitter against you. If you stop
to dispute, you do but as they desire, and
open the way for more abuse. Let the
poor fellow talk —there will be a reaction if
you do but perform your duty; and hun
dreds who were once alienated from you
will flock to you, and acknowledge their
error.
The Redeemed of All Ages.
Henry VIII. brought Anne Boleyn to his
palace. The river Thames was the scene
of her triumphal entry. Fifty barges fol
lowed the Lord Mayor. Officials dressed
in scarlet. Choirs chanting along the
banks of the river. Flags adorned with
bells that rang as the breeze stirred them.
Anne Boleyn, in cloth of gold, and wear
ing a circlet of precious stones, stepped into
the barge amid the sound of trumpets and
the shout of a kingdom. Then entering
the street, seated on a rich caparisoned
palfry, that sometimes walked on cloth of
gold and velvet; led between houses
adorned with scarlet and crimson, and de
fended by guards in coats of beaten gold ;
and along by fountains that were made on
that day to pour out Rhenish wine for
the people, until she at last, kneeling in
Westminster Abbey, took the crown. But
•alas for the career Henry Vixr
Anne Boleyn I They lived in sin and
died in shame, and their splendid career
went out in darkness. Not so with those
whom our King shall call to the honors of
heaven. Along the river of Death their
barge shall glide amid the shadows until
it comes to the light of the City 7; and then,
on streets of gold, and amid palaces of
gold, and greeted by harps of gold, they
shall join the armies of the King, follow
ing on white horses.
But I can not count the interminable
troops of God as they pass, the redeemed
of all ages, and lands, and conditions. One
hundred and forty-four generations of peo
ple have lived since the world was made ;
and consequently about twenty-nine thou
sand million of people have died—figures
of which we can have no appreciation. A
great proportion of these must have gone
into glory, so that nothing but an archangel
for a mathematician, with an arithmetic of
eternity, could give any idea of the num
ber who shall make up the throng that
follow on white horses. Every hour the
line is lengthening. They are going by
scores, and by hundreds and thousands.
At the beginning of this discourse, we
took our position on the street of heaven
to watch, but the first regiment has not
passed yet; and I hear the clatter of the
hosts still coming. Yea, stand at this
point and watch until the century has gone,
and the world has perished, and time is
wound up, and myriads of ages have gone
their slow round, still you will not have
seen half of the First Division who follow
upon white horses. Go up on the highest
tower of heaven; look to the North, and
look to the South; can you see the end ?
No! No! Coming! Coming! Forever
and forever they pass on ! “ The armies
which were in heaven following Him upon
white horses .”— Talmadge.
For the Methodist Advocate.
A Prodigy in the Sunday-school..
A few weeks ago a premium was offered
in our Sabbath-school to the scholar who
would commit to memory the greatest num
ber of Scripture verses within a given time.
A spirited contest began at once, but a lit
tle girl, Rebecca Graham, outstripped them
all. She is nine and a-half years of age ;
her father does not know the alphabet, and
her mother can hardly read. On the first
Sabbath after the contest commenced she
repeated thirteen verses; on the second,
fifty-five; on the third, one hundred and
thirteen; on the foui’th, two hundred and
seventy-nine ; on the fifth, was prepared to
repeat one hundred and forty-five chapters,
beginning with Acts iii, and ending with
Revelations ii, inclusive, but for want of
time and strength she only repeated two
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight
verses. She could always tell the number
of the verse she was repeating. Her Su
perintendent says her mind is equal in
other respects only to the average of chil
dren. Can any of the readers of the Ad
vocate beat this? T. S. W.
The Poor and the Invalids in
Heaven.
Mr. Talmadge, in a recent sermon, talks
thus encouragingly to the sick and the
poor:
Here comes a great column of the Chris
tian poor. They always walked on earth.
The only ride they ever had was in the
hearse that took them to the Potter’s Field.
They went day by day poorly clad, and
meanly fed, and insufficiently sheltered.
They were jostled out of houses whose rent
they could not pay, and out of churches
where their presence was an offense. Con
sidering the insignificant way many of
these went out of the world, the poor doc
toring, and the coarse shroud, and the
haste of the obsequies, you might have ex
pected for them a tame reception on the
other side ; but a]shining retinue was wait
ing beyond the river for their departing
spirits, and as they passed, a celestial es
cort confronted them, and snow-white charg
ers of heaven were brought in, and the con
querors mounted ; and here they pass in
the throng of the victor—poor-house ex
changed for palace, rags for imperial attire,
weary walking for seats on the white horses
from the King’s stable. Ride on, ye vic
tors !
Another retinue: that of the Christian
invalids. These who pass now languished
for many a year on their couches. From
the firmness, and the strength, and the ex
hilaration with which they ride you would
not have supposed that they had been bent
double with ailments, and had crouched
with pains immedicable, and writhed in
sufferings which were ghastly to the be
holder. But after twenty years of useless
prescriptions, and all surgery had failed,
in one moment they recovered. The black
groom named Death came out and put their
foot in the stirrup, and gave them one lift,
by which, in a moment, they sprang upon
white horses to ride forth—conquerors for
ever.
if.
If the careless tongue would ponder
Ere it peddles mischief so;
Carry less of idle scandal,
Less of bitterness and woe;
Cease its vile and bitter breathings,
Words that mix our cup of bliss,
Bitter words, that taiiit the sweetness
Os our earthly happiness;
I am certain it would be
Better far for you and me.
If we watched for gleams of sunshine
Breaking thro’ the darkest cloud;
If we’d shun the damps and shadows
Which around us heaven crowd;
If we looked for stars of morning,
In the darkness of the night;
If we saw above the landscape,
Ever present streaks of light;
Brighter, clearer life would be
Better far for you and me.
If we’d speak a little kinder
Os the faults of other men;
If we knew eacli man as brother,
Not as saint or angel born,
But as human, often erring,
Very often led astray;
If we knew the sore temptations
Which beset our brother’s way,
I am certain there would be
More of sunshine on life’s sea.
If we’d learn to wait and labor
In the earnest work of life;
If stout faith were ever present
In the midst of every strife;
If we’d plant the flowers thicker
By our dwelling here below; •
If we’d cultivate the roses,
I am certain they would grow;
God would send the rain and sunshine
On our earnest work of love,
We should feel the inspiration
Os our Father’s smiles above,
O’er these damp and dismal lowlands
There would float a sweet perfume,
There would stray amid this winter,
Gentle, rosy-fingered June;
Blessed work of doing good,
All might learn it if they would.
J. W. Barker.
The Will of God.
Rev. A. Longacre spoke as follows:
“I do not suppose I am singular in find
ing it impossible this week to take my
mind away from the sufferings of Christ.
We sometimes see pictures of the cross
intwined with flowers. I have thought,
if we could, it would be better to take
the flowers off at this season. This is
not fancy : wo think too much of having
flowers on our crosses. We call little
things crosses; but have we any fellow
ship with Christ in his sufferings? One
thing he said of himself, looking forward
to these sufferings (and he saw them all)
‘I delight to do thy will, 0 Cod.’ lie
looked across to the stripes, across to the
agony in the garden, across to his death
on the tree, and said, ‘ I delight to do thy
will.’ I want to bring this out clearly.
He was so set on accomplishing the will
of God, that suffering was his chosen por
tion. If we will be crucified with Christ,
we must bear his cross. We may not
have the heroic faith of the apostles to
ask for it: when they came seeking a
place in his kingdom, the test-question
was given: 4 Are ye able to drink of the
cup that I shall drink of, and to be bap
tized with the baptism that I am baptized
with?’ They said,‘We are able.’ He
said they should indeed have it. And
we must all go that way: who follow him
must drink his cup. Life will bring
crosses, to the total crucifying of self in
us. We sometimes ask, ‘Why have I
this trouble? why is it so dark?’ Ah!
that is the precious gift of God, to work
in us conformity to his will. We must
go the way his Son went: there is no
other way. Did he say, * Come after me,
and have a pleasant time?’ No: it was,
‘ Deny self.’ God will not go out of the
way to find the cross for us: it will come
to us, just as Christ’s came to him, in the
path marked out before us by God. When
I think of the sufferings of Jesus for me,
I am ashamed to think how hard my
crosses feel to me—how the flesh shrinks.
How much easier I have it, how much
lighter my load, than his! And shall I
not say of my easier cross, my lighter
burden, ‘I delight to do thy will;’ in the
sweetness of absolute surrender embrace
the divine will? We can not afford to
leave out one act of self-denial, or drop
one thorn from our crown, if it will
bring conformity to God’s will. Have
we enough of Jesus in our hearts to say,
‘Thy will be done?’ Will we open our
hearts, and let him reign ? Shall we have
the spirit of Jesus, and thus become par
takers of the divine nature? Jesus will
dwell in us; his life shall be brought in;
he will put his Spirit in our hearts: let
him work his will in us; say, ‘Come in,
teach me to bear the cross, that I may
sit with thee in thy kingdom.’ ”—Advo
cate of Holiness .
An Archbishop on Modern Strikes.
Achbishop Purcell, in addressing the
graduating class at the St. Frances Xaviers’
College, June 26th, animadverted severely
upon the recent strikes and denounced the
destructive and demoralizing influences of
Internationalism, and said, if eight hours
were acceded to now, four hours might be
demanded to-morrow, as there would be
no limit to such arrogance and dictation.
No government could exist under such a
system. The next cry would be for a di
vision of property, every loafer and drunk
ard requiring anew subdivision every Sat
urday night. The remedy for these evils
was liberal education.
From the Brethren.
Memphis District.
We dedicated anew church on Lexington
circuit a few Sundays ago. Since then brother
E. N. Williams held protracted meeting atrthat
point, when a number were converted and
added to the church. Anew Church building
is just finished on Benton circuit and awaiting
dedication; also, the second camp-ground on
the work is being prepared, with the intention
of holding two camp-meetings this year. The
Sunday-school cause is prospering finely on the
district. Bro. G. W. Williams has great ly aided
in this work. The church building at Memphis
is progressing finely under the watchful care
of Bro. Taneyhill. He intends to have it dedi
cated first Sunday in September. Bro. T. has
had a hard field, but Uod is giving him suc
cess. F. W. V.
June 21, 1872.
Tazewell Circuit, Holston Conference.
The third quarterly meeting for this work
was held at Yellow Branch, near Cumberland
Oap, 29th and 30th of June. We had a good
meeting, which was conducted by Bros. E.
B. Clark, J. Snaveiy and Elder K. F. Patty,
who preached with his usual force and power.
Sunday morning, from 10 to 11, was spent in
prayer for the success of the meetiug and the
Church in general, after which Elder Patty
preached an excellent sermon on the Immuta
bility of God. There was present a large con
gregation. At the sacrament of the Lord’s
Supper many communed. Several Southern
brethren were present and took part in the
meeting. The sacrament of baptism was ad
ministered in the evening to six adults and
three little babes. Three applications were
made for license to preach, and granted. We
feel thankful that the Lord is calling more la
borers into his vineyard from among us. A
collection was lifted for the support of tiie min
istry, and the people contributed very liberally.
Brother Clark is at his post, and the Church
is in a prosperous condition. He is the right
man in the right place, and doing much to pro
mote love and union between all. He is all the
time at work, in the Church and around the
fireside, is friendly and affable, and Is much
loved by all. E. R.
For the Methodist Advocate.
Alcohol as a Medicine.
In glancing over my newspaper the fol
lowing paragraph caught my eye, and sug
gested the thoughts herein laid down :
The homeopathic doctors of Pennsylvania
protest against being held responsible hence
forth “for the indiscriminate use of intoxicat
ing liquors for medicines.” They declare that
alcohol in its pure state serves every useful
purpose in medicine that it can serve in any
form, and that whisky, brandy, etc., ought not
to be disposed of at all “for medicinal pur
poses.” They also condemn all tonics, bitters,
etc., which contain more than enough alcohol
to hold their active principles in solution and
preserve them from chemical changes.
This is a move in the right direction.
Too long has alcohoHield sway among us,
and too long has it been abused by the
medical profession. Animated discussions
are going on through the journals of medi
cine, regarding this evil. Arguments are
be advanced pro and con, able men are de
nouncing the wholesale use of the spiritu
ous solutions which abound all over our
country. For almost every aliment to
which humanity is subject some liquor is
prescribed, not for its medicinal purpose so
much as because the physician knows his
patient’s taste, and feels that by satisfying
this, he will gain practice.
Now why can not this be stopped ? In
the materia medica can be found many
stimulants which will do away with alcohol,
not entirely, but to a great extent. Os
course it is not expected that this valuable
medicine can be dropped out altogether,
for its preservative powers are needed in
making many of the most important mix
tures. But it can be arranged that only so
much of it be used as is absolutely neces
sary. It can be so arranged that instead
of putting a drachm of rhubarb, and two or
three grains of some mild tonic into a half
gallon of poor whisky, the quantity of spir
its shall be only just sufficient to extract
the virtues of the ingredients and keep
them from deteriorating.
It is good to see the waking up on this
subject, and the results thereof. England
has the honor of the lead, but our country
has not been slow to follow her good ex
ample. Not long ago—since the beginning
of the year, I believe—the papers stated
that over three hundred of the leading and
most learned physicians of Great Britain
had petitioned Parliament to enact a law
prohibiting the use of spirituous liquors in
that government for any purpose. They
boldly asserted that as a medicine it was
not needed, other things being at hand
which could be used in its place for all dis
eases ; and even if it should be indicated in
some few complaints, its evil effects were
such that the small number of persons who
might die for want of it, would be as a mere
handful compared with the thousands who
are annually killed by its use. Their noble
teachings were not useless, though of course
they failed to get any action on the matter
in Parliament. The excitement crossed the
water, and many of Philadelphia’s best
medical men joined their ranks in denounc
ing alcohol. Resolutions were adopted
and steps taken to discontinue the use of
this drug. These were all allopathic physi
cians, but now the homeopathic brothers
come forward to enter this crusade.
The war has begun in earnest, the battle
is opened, and these bold men ai’e confront
ing an enemy whose ranks are full, and
whose force is numerous. But their attack
will be felt. Their work and its influence
will not end here. The ball will keep roll
ing, and soon, I hope, the hosts of King
Alcohol will And themselves conquered for
ever. X. Y. Z.
Men’s lives and characters are deter
mined mainly by their ideal , that is, by the
thing they lay to heart and live by, often
without themselves being aware of it, by
that which they, in their inmost souls, love,
desire, aim at as the best possibility for
themselves and others.— J. G. Shairp.
The most frightful of all slavery is to
have the will and the liberty to do evil.
NO. 29.