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The Methodist Advoeat^ . IS PnsUHIIHT) WEEKLY H.V 5 * HITCHCOCK & WALIJit FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL, CHUfeCH, A* N#. 105 Whitehall -street. terms: ': .. : Two Dollars a year, Invariably in advance. AU traveling preachers of Methodist Episcopal Chnrch are authorized .agents. ' ? i --L-- il U «?! ■ •■* fft * r I!.. 77 } All subscriptions must close with the end of each year. A DAY OP PRAYER RECOMMENDED BY THE GENERAL CONFERENCE, I On page 442 of the published Journal of the General Conference of 1872 we find the follow ing text: “ A resolution from the. Committee on Education was presented and adopted, rec ommending that the day observed as a day of prayer for colleges, be changed from the last Thursday of February to the last Thursday of January.” . The last Thursday of January is therefore solemnly set apart by the General Conference as a day of prayer for colleges. It certainly ought to be taken for granted that the highest authority of the church has not taken this action superfluously, or without an earnest purpose that all our pastors and Churches should heed this recommendation. We may asfeume, then, that if timely atten tion oaii be called to this action, prayer-meet ings will be held, at least, on Thursday even ing, January 30, 1873, by our societies gener ally in America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, tor, thank God! “the world is our parish,” and we have some representatives in all quar ters of the earth. -Eat. us pray, if for nothing else, to rebuke that insidious spirit of infidelity, that foun tain and origin of all iniquity, which professes to doubt the efficacy of prayer. This palsy of the soul needs to be rebuked, especially in our schools, and we earnestly invoke the church to call down upon all our institutions of learn ing such a blessing as shall signally demon strate anew the efficacy of prayer. There are in the schools belonging to the Methodist Episcopal Church, to-day, at least, ten thousand youth of both sexes, all of whom ought to be disciples of Christ. Many of them, perhaps even a majority, are. Hundreds of them will soon be preachers of the Gospel, missionaries, teachers, or active lay laborers in the vineyard of the Lord. The presidents, principals, and instructors in these schools need special grace, that they may be patient in their cares, wise to win and instruct, and may be assured that the church does not forget them. Many of the students preparing for the min istry feel tlie pressure of waut and can not see how they ean complete the study which they believe to be essential to their largest success. None who have not passed through this experience can fully appreciate their anxiety. There are also hundreds of others who be lieve that God has called them to the minis try, who sec no open door by which they may obtain the requisite preparation. Just here is a pressing and present demand. Many of the colleges are only partially endowed, and the faculties are painfully conscious of the incom pleteness of their work for the want of ade quate means. I would suggest that all our seminaries, col leges, and theological schools hold religious and that every leges in the evening/' Let the leader of the* meeting prepare himself to present tlie facts pertaining to the educational interests of the church, and thus give direction to the praises and prayers of the people. And, now, is it improper for me to suggest, that on the following Sabbath the annual col lection for education, which also has been or dered by the General Conference, be taken? The subject will be fresh in the minds of the people. We do not ask any extraordinary effort. We want no ebullition of feeling, but a steady purpose. I know personally of very many young men, called of God to the minis try, who by receiving a little aid—say SIOO a year—will be able to prosecute their studies. The most of them would prefer to borrow it, to be returned, if the Lord spare them and enable them to do it, after they begin their life-work. We want the means, to help them. At any rate, let the day of prayer be observed, and take your annual collections if you can. E. O. Haven, Cor. See. Board of Education. A Higher University for Methodism in the South. P,Y PRESIDENT JAMES A. DEAN. Mr. Editor : I have been much interested in the discussion of the above named topic by Profs. Wilson and Pierce. Will you allow me to add a few suggestions? I would, in the first place, saj T a word in regard to the NAME. I doubt whether the term “Central” would be desirable. First, because for the whole Methodist Church the college will not be central; and if we wish to restrict the signifi cation to the Southern part of our work, we will be obliged to add an adjective to that effect, which will make the title too long. In the second place, I believe the Church South has already given that name to a proposed college, and consequently we are debarred irom it by courtesy, if for no other reason. Is jt not better to follow the practice of nearly all others, and name our college either from the chief douor, or from the place where lo cated? THE LOCATION of the college is one of the most important questions that will come before the committee, if a mistake is made in that, it will be almost impossible to rectify it. The old Wesleyan, at Middletown, Conn., is laboring under that disadvantage to-day, because it would cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars to re move. A few of the data which ought to be con sidered in determining the location are the following: First, an indispensable condition is healthy uxness. To select a malarious section of the country, or a town which lor any cause Is unhealthy, (unless the cause is temporary and will soon bo removed,) would be suicidal. The place where a large number of youth are to spend several years of- their lives, ought to be a sanitarium as well as a seminarium —a home ol health not less than a home of learning. Many would be thus attracted to it who would otherwise be repelled. In the second place, A LIBERAL DONATION should be secured from the place where it is located. I would fix no sum; but it seems to me it ought not to be less than one hundred thousand dollars, but as much more as can be secured. The city of Syracuse, ,N. Y., gives, through its corporation and citizens, not less than three hundred thousand dollars for the location of a Methodist college there. If a place can now be found which is suffi ciently liberal, while possessing the other re VOL- IV. quisites, let the selection be made at once; but if not, then let us “bide our time.” Bet ter wait three, five, or even ten years, than make an injudicious location. The university just located at Syracuse, waited twenty years before finding a permanent home. Rest as sured that it will not be many years before more than one place will be ready to make a high bid for such a college as we propose to build, and,. by the help of God, bill build in the South. “Make haste slowly” in this matter.- We build for all time, and we can afford to be deliberate in our work. What ever place secures the college will soon have disbursed in its midst, not less than fifty thousand dollars a year from the school alone, besides securing many families who will move there to secure its benefits. But beyond this, it will be of great advantage, both by the cul ture that it will introduce and by the great saving to parents in educating their children at home, instead of abroad. One will see from the catalogue of almost any institution, that the people of the place, whether they are friends or not, avail themselves very largely of the opportunities it affords them. The last catalogue of the Hast Tennessee Wes leyan University gives the names of nearly one hundred students residing in Athens and vicinity. In the third place, locate the uni versity where it will have from the citizens A HEARTY WELCOME. Such an institution confers too many benefits on a place to be treated with open or covert hostility, or even with cold neglect. Let the citizens be called upon as u body to show their feelings, both by making a general sub scription, according to their means, and by expressing their views in public gatherings. I need say no more on this point, but it is too important to he neglected. Again, A READILY ACCESSIBLE LOCATION ought to be secured. It should be on some trunk railroad, and if at the junction of sev eral, still better. Out of the way places, though once popular, are now considered un suitable for colleges. If the town be of con siderable size, it will be more desirable, but this ought not to be an indispensable condi tion. ' Thus have I indicated some of the condi tions that ought to be insisted on before we locate the proposed university. It may be years before the right place will be found, and what are we to be doing in the mean time? I would say, either select some institution al ready in existence, or establish one for the purpose, and make that, for the time being, our Central University. Let it be fully manned, with competent professors in all the departments, and let their support be pro vided for by special calls upon the church. Then when the school is finally located, and buildings erected, let the students, so far as they will, and the professors, so far as shall be mutually desirable, and apparatus, and li braries, so far as they belong to the new insti tution, be transferred to the new and perma nent home. It would not be amiss, also, to have fine dr more’ agents engaged during (ftfa" interval, in soliciting funds for buildings and endowment, so that when tlie school is trans ferred, it shall have good buildings, unbur dened with debt, and a sufficient endowment to lift it above embarrassment. If we thus “ learn to labor and to wait,” I think we shall, in the course of a few years, have a university that will be an honor and a blessing to our church and to the South. DIVORCED. BY ROSE TERRY. “ Custody-of the child given to the father." My darling! my darling! the midnight ia here To stiile and tempt me with longing and fear; I hear through the darkness thy sweet little voice, Like birds in their neats that in slumber rejoice. My darling! my darling! a long night has come; I am {straying alone in the ashes oi home: Its echoes of love and their answers of peace— All voices that blessed me in solitude cease. I gave them my love as our Father gives air; I gave them my life without stint or compare; They used me and left to die by the way; My darling! my love! thou wert kinderithan they. IV'oln thee in thy blossom, the sweetness of dawn; The perfume and faith of thy life are not gone; Thou lovest for love’s sake, not duty, nor gain; Life hath not deiiled thee, nor sorrow, nor pain. All! would that together in some quiet grave, Or deep in the ocean’s long sorrowing wave, Thy tiny arms round me, thy head on my breast, We two lay forever in passionless rest. In the night and the day time I long for thy face; I dream that thou liest at re3t in thy place; I waken and call thee with pitiful prayer, My darling! my darling! why art thou not there? O God! when Thou judgest the false and the true— When the madness and passion of living are through, I ask of Thee only to give me above This baby, who only hath answered my love! — Scribner’s Monthly for December. TENNESSEE CONFERENCE. Our conference shows fine success iu all its workings during the past year; yet there is much room for improvement, especially in the collections. 27 charges take no mission ary collections, and 47 no church extension; 66, none for tract; 61, none for Sunday-school Union. Asa total, there were about four hundred collections omitted that should have been taken. Nashville district contributes, for all collections taken, about 30 cents per member, including probationers; Liberty district,about3|cents; Murfreesboro,3cents; West Tennessee, 7 cents; Shelbyville, 9J; Tennessee River, 11 cents; Memphis, 71 cents. The conference gains, in members and probationers, 997; Middle Tennessee loseg 359, and West Tennessee gains 1,316; Middle Tennessee reports a loss, in two years, of over 700, and West Tennessee a gain of over 2,600; the Shelbyville and McMinnville districts report a loss of 425 last year, and 453 the year before—a loss of 878 in two years. Now, brethren, let us determine, by the help of the Lord, to change this, and have McMinn ville district gain 425 by next conference. West Tennessee will push us; they are determined, if possible, to be in the lead again. But we must make them work for it. Let there be no blanks in your collections this year. Do not defer this matter, but commence, at once, and be sure and present every collection at each -appointment; the Discipline requires this, and we have no right to neglect it. At tend to'securing land for churches and par sonages, and to building wherever possible. Urge this upon the people; push the work! Let us endeavor to organize in every section, devoting all our time to the work of the min istry. Unless prevented by an actual impos sibility, every preacher should live in the bounds of his circuit, cut loose from farms and trading, and give the entire time to the work of the church. Travel, visit the people, ATLANTA, GA., WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4. 1872. pray with them; preach wherever we can get hearers, and endeavor to organize! Count not our lives dear unto us; live holy, work hard; be faithful and bold, constrained by the love of Christ. Let the salvation of souls, and the extension of the Methodist-Episcopal Church, and the promotion of all her inter ests, be the work of the year; and let it be unequaled by any of the years of the past, and a grand success shall be ours. And as the preachers thus live and work, we trust our dear brethren and friends will use every effort to “pay the preaeher,” assist in building churches, and subscribe for The Methodist Advocate. Let no Methodist family be without it. Especially should every official member take it; and in more than one case have we known where a copy of the Advo cate opened the Way for our preachers before any organizations had been made. Keep the Sunday-schools going through the winter, and if there should be churches not suitable, meet in some private house; also, for class and prayer meeting. God help us this year, brethren; it may be the last some of us may be permitted to work on earth for the Master. Live holy! O, that the love of souls and of the church may move us to be at it, and at it all the time! V. [When presiding elders talk like the above, success is a certainty. They, place themselves at the head of the column, and lead to the charge. The spirit and example of the leader make the soldiers brave. - Let every preacher and every con ference do their full duty, and great success will crown their labors.— Ed.] A VOICE FROM TEXAS We are glad—yea, thankful—for any thing that may be done for us by way of beginning a normal school in the bounds of our confer ence, as our needs are very great. We have thousands of children and grown-up people suffering for teachers throughout this .Empire State —for such it is in extent of territory. When our Sunday-school interests can not be attended to, we feel that our work is being little more than half done. To prepare teachers for our church must be a work of our beloved Methodism in this country, if it would spread Scriptural holiness over these lands. This ean not be done, by the itiner ancy, only as they have local organizations, such as our church proposes iii all places where we have formed classes or churches. Until we can raise people enough to attend to the teaching of the multitudes in our Sunday schools, our work must suffer; we must look well to this thing. Those who are not with us, and yet are teaching week-day schools in our own houses, are reluctant that we should report the Sunday-school as of the Methodist Episcopal Church; yet, among ourselves, we are advancing slowly. Our conference —or, rather, the Freedmeu’s Aid Society—(as we think, and the great body of our people are with us in this respect,) should locate an institution in some accessi ble place, .where exercise in agriculture and horticulture should be practiced by the stu dent/f.AVbile the best portion of their time is given to the studies necessary for tttefr-iifs business. Such a place as this may be started at once; when, if the persons placed at the head go to experimenting in our little cities, they can only have a few that belong to the place, while none (or but very few) will come to such a place to board themselves and run the risk of working, or getting no work in those places, as it may happen, and in such oases become loafers, throwing themselves away for want of sufficient means of obtaining a support. Concentrate them, teach them, work them lightly as a compensation from them for board and clothing, and in a few years you will fill the church in Texas with competent teachers of our own choosing. What have you got to-say on the subject, Mr. Editor? Hope you like the plan. Onward. Houston, November IQth . [We say, go ahead in the best way possible—in that plan, if the only one at present. Not only do something, but do your best. Our people in Texas should be aided by our church heartily, promptly, liberally, and constantly, until they need help no longer.— Ed.] SECTIONALISM IN WORDS. Words are signs of ideas; and as long as any minister, or member of a church, uses any terms that carries invidious distinctions in the sounds, so long are the utterers of them proclaiming their malice and hatred to the world, where the evident design is to lessen the influence of the church they design to banish from their section or parish. How very unwarrantable it is to say the Methodist Episcopal Church, North. In this term “North,” as used with reference to our church in all the late slave States, is cal culated to eater to the prejudices of any who may yet feel that the power of the general government was of the North, and not of the South, and this being the feelings in the South, those who would write or speak of the Church North, knowing that there is no such church in existence, must do it from bad mo tives, and is a spirit of evil design. But where the Northern Church is spoken, of without knowing what they are taking about, to their ignorance must be imputed such expressions. It has been said by the writer, lately, when asked if he belonged to the Northern or South ern Church, that there was no Northern Church. Surprise would seize the questioner, and the reply would come, “0, yes, there is;” an explanation would follow —an acknowl edgment on their part that they were misin formed by their papers and the frequent oc currence of the term, “the Northern Church.” None of our ministers should get iuto the habit of thus speaking of our church. Let those be politically sectional in choosing names for their churches who choose to do so, but let us ever abide, as we have done, in our Dis cipline and church periodicals by the good old name —Methodist Episcopal Church —not of the United States, only, but of the world. What a pity that terms will be used that pre sent to the mind sectional differences with the terrible circumstances that were con sequent on the secession of the Methodists liv ing in the slave States, or rather a majority of them, for all never agreed to it. Old Ship. The Washington Star sayS: “The first of fer of sympathy and aid to Boston, in hbr great calamity, came from the South. Let that fact be remembered, as evidence that, however much the different sections of our common country may differ politically, the mystic cord of brotherhood still exists, and only requires some peculiar emergency to ex hibit itself in generous words and deeds. Baleigh, North Carolina, was the first city in the Union to appreciate the necessity of suf fering Boston.” GOOD MANNERS. Mr. James Jackson Jarves, in a late num ber of the The Independent , hafc ah exceed ingly interesting and well-written paper on ‘ ‘ Fine planners a s a fine ArU’ ft is written from the stand-point of an amst, and relates mainly to the aesthetic element-in manners. We do not propose to criticise it, and we al lude to it only to point out and emphasize the distinction between gogd manners and fine manners. A manner may be hue without be ing good, and good without bethg fine. It may also be good and fine at the same time. The manner of an aristocrat, who looks down upon every nine persons in ten whom he may happen to meet, may be fine, bu( it is not good. The manner of a Frenbhftian—a mem ber of the Latin race, which Mr. Jarves praises—may be fine, but it is not good, be cause it is not based in that profound respect for woman, without which all fine manners exhibited in his intercourse with her are no better than an insult. And this brings us to the only point we choose to make in this article. A catholic We of humanity, and a gensill %.r espeet for its .rights, is the only sound baSft. foi ! good manners. A tender and pure regard for wo man, added to this among men, furnishes all the spring and impulse necessary for the best and finest forms of politeness. It is not nec essary to go to the Latin peoples, with their traditions of art and their aesthetic culture; it is not necessary to see countries where classes are recognized and manners take the forms and are shaped to the arbitrary rules of etiquette; it is not necessary to study manuals of social usage, or sit at the feet of Mr. Tur veydrop, in order to learn good manners, pro vided a man thoroughly respect his fellow, and find himself possessed of that sentiment toward woman which makes her his ideal and his idol. Without this respect and this love, there is nothing more hollow and worthless than fine manners. They become, in this ease, simply the disguise of an egotist more or less base and contemptible. We know that it is quite commou to attri bute fine manners to the Latin peoples as a characteristic. That their forms of polite ness are graceful and picturesque is not to be denied. There is more of the show of court esy among commou people, and more of what may be called gallantry in the treatment of women, than among the Saxons and the Celts; but a form of courtesy which is a 'form of fawning for a purpose, and a gallantry which originates in sensuality, arc neither fine man ners nor good manners. The French have been for many years regarded as the politest nation of the earth. The French capital is looked upon as the very home and high court of' fine manners; yet there is probably not a city in the world that entertains so little re spect for women as Paris, or that is so thor oughly permeated by distrust. The French man does not trust the Frenchwoman, nor does she trust him. His treatment of her, though fine enough in its manner, is dictated by that which is base in him. It has tlie look of gold, but both he and she know that it is only lacquer. France is full of fine man ners, but we should never think of looking in France for good manners. Any man who lias traveled there knows that they who bow lowest to him will cheat him worst, and that underneath a fine exterior and a show of self depreciation and outgoing deference and re spect, there lives and dominates a selfishness that is hideous and hateful. As we are in the habit of praising tlie Frenchman’s politeness, so are we in tlie habit of speaking very contemptuously of tlie man- A'fsrs .o*' the. j<> \mericau.... .That in the lower forms ot American social life there is much that is rude and uncouth is admitted; 1 but it is also claimed that, in some respects, the American is the best-mannered man liv ing. He is never quarrelsome, his whole ed ucation has made him careful to respect the rights of those around him, and he entertains a regard for woman which the eharaeterisub representative of no other nation shares with him. The theory on which the institutions of his country are founded, and the influence of those institutions upon him since the day of bis birth, are favorable to the development iu him of that respect for the rights of all men which is essential as the basis of good manners. In no country but America can a woman, unattended, travel wheresoever she w ill without insult, or the danger of insult. There are no countries in the world in which a woman traveling alone would travel in so much danger as iu those most noted for fine manners. American society is comparatively new. We have very little among us that is tradi tional. The national style of manners is in a formative state; but we certainly possess the basis for good manners in a pre-eminent degree. We are a good-natured, facile peo ple, not ungraceful, and certainly not lacking in self-possession. We have need only to re spect ourselves a little more, cease looking across the water for models, and give as grace ful an expression as we can to our sentiments toward universal man and woman, to become the acknowledged possessors of good manners. Fine manners will not become universal and characteristic of American life for many years. The absorption of the American mind in the development of the material resources of the country, in the prosecution of its indus trial interests, and in the pursuit of wealth, forbids that aesthetic culture whose natural outgrowth is fine manners. Good manners, which we already possess, and for which we hold the only legitimate and reliable basis, need simply to be refined. The-refinement oi' good manners will not come to us through the pursuit of “fine manners as a fine art,” but they will come as a natural outgrowth of gen eral aesthetic culture. As the nation becomes more refined, manners will be only one of the forms and modes through which the growing idea of that which is beautiful will express itself. The man who feels finely will act finely, provided he mingle sufficiently in so ciety to act freely. There is no value in any form of fine art without fine feeling, and there must be something better than the character of the typical Latin on which to base a style of manners worth possession or emulation. Manners pursued as an art, for their own sake, will become artificial, and thus react upon character in a very disagreeable way. — J. G. Holland, in Scribner's for December. Christ the S. S. Teacher’s Example. Let us glance at some things in the exam ple of the great Sabbath-school Teacher. Christ never delivered set discourses. No brilliant harangue ever fell from his lips. His teachings were much more like the teach ings in the ounday-school than like modern pulpit addresses. Christ never demanded that his instructions should be appreciated by those to whom they were addressed. He had but one object in view; —the benefit of those he was teaching. No indication appears that he ever thought of the estimate his pupils would put upon his instructions. We desire to have our motives and efforts appreciated. We soon weary of laboring for those who can not or who do not appreciate our labors in their behalf. This is natural, but not Christ-like. Our duty to God does not depend upon the absence of stupidity and perverseness in men. Our duty to our pupils is to do them good. If they do not appreciate our efforts, and are not grateful, the greater need there is of effort on our part in their behalf. • It is indeed difficult to labor earnestly for such pupils. But all duty is as difficult to an unsanctified heart as melody is difficult to an untuned harp. Melody is difficult iu propor tion as the instrument is out of tune, and duty is difficult in proportion as the heart is ouf of tune. More thought, more sympathy, and more prayer is necessary v?hen our pupils do not appreciate us. Let us have constant reference to the exam ple of Christ. Christ was not provoked when his instructions were not only not appreciated, but were rejected. He endured the contradic tion of sinners, and maititained the calmness of his benevolent spirit, even when “they laughed him to scorh.” . . > ot I The Sabbath-school teacher often comes in contact with the wayward. It is easy to say, “If they will not be taught, they must take the consequences.” Christ did not take that attitude toward the persons to whom his les sons were given. Sometimes his instructions were well re ceived. Sometimes the common people heard him gladly. Sometimes all present wondered at tiro gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth. 'Sometimes he was met by captious questions, and efforts to pervert his instruc tions to his ruin. Teachers have a similar experience. They meet with some who have no desire to learn, and who wilfully resist all efforts put forth for their good. They piust possess their souls in patience. It may be well to consider Low they have treated God’s dealings with them. To how many lessons from his providence and his word they have been utterly inattentive! How many loving influence they have resisted! God did not lose patience with them,® and leave them to follow the devices and desires of their own hearts. Let teachers not get out of patience with their wayward pupils, aud five them over to themselves and to the devil. t is by patient continuance in well-doing that we secure the sublime rewards of eternity. Christ sometimes felt sad in view of tne failure of his benevolent effort. “0 Jerusa : lem, Jerusalem, . . . how often would 1 have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” While he thus wept over the impending fate of' those whom his instructions would have saved, he did not relax his efforts. He was sad, but not dis couraged. He kept at work till ho had finished the work that his Father had given him to do. We may feel sad, but we must not be dis couraged. We have reasons for sadness such as Christ never had. Perfect wisdom was his guide, and a perfect character gave weight to his instructions. We are conscious of great defects in our teaching, and of great defects in our characters. The teacher who sees the work to be done, is led to exclaim with Paul, “Who is sufficient for these things?” One of the modes of improving as a teacher is to strive to become Christ-like in character. Christ retired to a mountain, and continued all night iu prayer to God. The objects for which he prayed are not mentioned. We may safely infer that his prayers had especial reference to his work. His recorded prayers have reference to liis disciples and their work. Our prayers may have too exclusive refer ence to ourselves —our own spiritual interest. A larger portion of our prayers should be in tercessory. There can be no selfishness in prayer for tlie benefit of others. The more a teacher prays for liis pupils, the deeper will be his interest, and the more earnest his ef forts in their behalf. Hand-Book on Teaching. THE PRAYER OF PETER. BY MRS. M. A. DENISON. Thou Lord of life and light! Thou sinner’s friend, Thou great. High Priest! me with thy lightilings rend: Oriymy false soul. thy righteous judgment send; Thou tender, true, and faithful unto death— Love on thy lips and wisdom in thy breath, Thou who all sin with sorrow visiteth, I have rejected thee. I saw: thee, stainless, at great Pilate’s seat; My soul on fire to witness tliy defeat, A bold girl, passing, challenged my deceit, And 1 rejected thee. Once more my coward heart threw off its dread; I yearned to shelter that defenceless head, Then spake another damsel, honor fled, Aud I insulted thee. With viler oaths than common lips profane, For by thyself, 1 swore: thy sacred pain Athwart my vision, I, the second Cain, Lied, and defyingly. And yet again; my God! why palsied not This traitorous tongue? Lo, tears with passion hot, Fall for this sin, which shall not be forgot, Throughout eternity. “Thrice ere the cock crow!” 0 divinest eyes! Torture me not; my guilty spirit lies In deeps of anguish; hear my broken cries— j r Reject not me. For O, I love thee, Lord; I love thee Lord! Those groans, this agony, this sharpest sword Os wild remorse—these are my sin’s award; Yet I love tliee. Afar I follow: “Jesus, Master!” Lo! Again he turns pale with majestic woe, And from his lips I hear the sentence, ‘^Go, I have forgotten thee.” Divinest eyes! by all thy patient light, I will obey thee, die for thee, and fight Thy foes unwearied, till my day be night, And death join thee and me. LOST PULPIT POWER. Preaching is a Divine institution; but the methods of using it are human. The ability to influence men by preaching, is pulpit power. This is more or less effective, as it does, or does not avail itself of the Divine and human appliances pertaining thereto. The effectiveness of the modern pulpit, as a whole, is far less apparent than either its learning or piety. It would be a vast service to the church and cause of Christ, if it could be shown why this is so. Little as we hope to accomplish toward that great object, we sub mit the following dash or two: A measured, precise, or stiff style of preach ing, showing more, care of its grammar, rhet oric, or pronunciation, than of its results, soon wearies, and puts ill at ease the hearer. Then the desired effect is lost. An effective writer is not always an effective speaker. A declamatory or stilted style of speaking, sa vors so much of heartlessness as to produce about the same effect as the stormy and uu meaning threats of forceless parents —loud, but empty. The hearer, like the child, sbon learns that such words are for show, and not for dead shots. No learning or piety can re deem the lost power of such preaching. In like manner, one uniform, monotonous sound from the pulpit, destroying all empha sis and vivacity, is as effective —to produce stupidity and drowsiness —as a steady wind, a roaring water-fall, or distant thunder. It ob scures all freshness and vigor of thought, if such are in the sermon; and the only lasting impression left on the hearer’s mind is a great noise with very little to make a noise about. A mechanical zeal or vehemence, in the pulpit, consisting of “bodily exercise,’' profits but little toward the great purposes of preach ing: as soul-force only can reach and effect soul. When cold-hearted and emotionless preachers attempt to show warmth and feel ing by great pulpit bluster, to conceal their coldness, they are less successful and less respected than- cripples are., who get on horse back to hide their limping, for tbeir horrid deformities are self-superinduced. A preacher with the most faultless elocu tion, unwarmed by love of God, love of souls, and love of Bible truth, may draw around him flattering crowds, as one who can “play skillfully with a loud noise,” hut he will not “add much people unto the Lord,” as his pul pit exhibits the human, rather than Divine power. Yery much of this lost or latent power of the pulpit might be uncovered and brought into the richest service of God and humanity, by friendly, but sharp criticism and exposure. /?., in Zion’s Herald. A Costly and Elegant Church. U. R. Disosway, Esq., in a communication to the Christian Advocate, gives the following account of the Methodist Episcopal edifice just erected in Baltimore, aud called the Mount Vernon Methodist Episcopal Church: This is located iu the most fashionable part of Baltimore—Mount Vernon Square— very near the great Washington Monument, aud facing the beautiful Peabody Institute aud an open area, or small park, of grass. This church, without doubt, in almost every as pect is the finest in the city; it is built of va riegated stone, said to have beeu brought from four of our States—some of it all the way from Scotland. There are two towers in front, from each of which springs a spire, one not very high, tlie other quite lofty-’-one hun dred and sixty-eight feet—surmounted by a cross. The interior of the edifice, sixty by eighty feet, is elegant: almost beyond descrip tion. Many churches liave I seen, but this ill beauty outstrips ihfem ail. Modern Beza leels ,aud Aholiabs, "with knowledge in all manner of workmanship, knowing how to devise cunning work,” must have been en gaged in these mechanical refinements, and the genius of the most skillful artists iu va rious departments severely taxed to produce such brilliant, unique, tasty, and harmonious effects iu molding, carving, gilding, painting, and general decorations; indeed, if there be any fault, rather is there an excess of this. The church lias galleries, and will seat fif teen hundred worshipers. The cost of the ground was $100,000; of the building, $200,- UGO. It was well remarked to me by a plain man looking over the edifice, “If the congre gation would be as good as the church was beautiful, the money would not he wasted.” So may it be—might I not say so will it be? for I recognize among the institutors of this church some of the oldest, most active, and most respected members of our denomination in this city. To fill a building like this will require a minister more than .ordinary. Such a one the congregation believe they have in Rev. Thomas Guard, who is engaged to be their pastor. lam told there will not be a cent of debt on the church when completed. A .WEEK OF, PRAYER. The officers of the different branches of the Evangelical Alliance have issued their annual programme of topics for the week of prayer, from January 5 to 12,1873, as follows: Sunday, Jan. s—Sermons.5 —Sermons. Subject: The foundation, security, and universal extension of the Christian Church. Monday, Jan. 6/ Devout acknowledg ment: Remembrance of God’s mercies to the nation, to families, and to the churches; prov idential and spiritual blessings to ourselves; confession of sin. Tuesday, Jan. 7. —Prayer: For Christian churches; their increase in love, activity, fidelity to the truth, and the clearer mani festation of the unity in the faith; for minis ters, missionaries, aud evangelists. Wednesday, Jan. 8. —Prayer; For families, for sons and daughters of Christian parents; for a blessing on home influence, and on the services aud ordinances of “the church of God;” for schools, colleges, and universities; f or' children at "SCa” of "in foreign lands , -for young men in business and professions; for servants; and for all in sickness aud tribula tion. Thursday, Jan. 9. —Prayer: For nations; for kings, and all in authority; for the main tenance of peace; for increase of righteous ness; for the spread of religious liberty; for tlie growth of sound knowledge: for content ment, concord, aud good-will among all classes; for the discernment of God’s hand in national judgments, and for the removal of intemperance, immorality, and the sins w’hieh are “a reproach to any people.” Friday j Jan. 10. —Prayer: For mankind; for the circulation of the Holy Scriptures, and the spread of pure literature; for the overthrow of all forms of tyranny and op pression: for the removal of every form of anti-Christ; for all prisoners and captives, and for the increase of that kingdom which is “ righteousness, peace, and joy iu the Holy Ghost.” Saturday, Jan. 11. —Prayer: For Sunday schools; for missionary, tract, and other re ligious societies; for the raising up and send ing forth of more “ laborers into His harvest,” and for the removal of hinderances to the spread of the Gospel, and the conversion of the world. ■ Sunday, Jan. 12. Sermons: “Let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen,” “I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE.” In these words the English language fails to give the full meaning of the Greek. It implies, “ Never, no, never, nor ever!” This world is a world of “leaving, parting, separation, failure, and disappointment,” Think of finding something that will never leave nor fail. Grasp this, “ I will never leave thee,” and store it in your heart; you will want it one day. The hour will come when you will find nothing so comforting or cheering as a sense of God's companionship. Stick to that word “Never.” It is worth its weight iu gold. Cling to it as a drowning man clings to a rope. Grasp it firmly, as a soldier, attacked on all sides, grasps his sword. “Never!” Though your heart faints, and you are sick of self, failures aud infirmities— even then the promise will not fail. “Never!” Though the devil whispers, “ I shall have you at last; your faith will fail, and you will be mine” —even then God will keep his word. _ % • “Never!” When the cold chill of death creeps on, and friends Can do no more, and you are starting on that journey from which there is no return —even then Christ will not forsake you. “Never!” When the Day of Judgment comes, and the books are opened, and eternity is beginning—even then the promise will bear all your weight; Christ will not let go his hold on your soul. — Rev. J. C. Ryle. Do Something for the Sabbath-School. Do something for the Sabbath-School, and to increase it. Let all, teachers and scholars, and church members, too, take this course, and the school will prosper. What is wanted is work —strong, personal, united effort. Let the scholars, all of them, set their lessons, and be present every Sab ath to recite them. Let each try to persuade others —as many as can be persuaded—to come into the school, and thus increase its numbers. Let the teachers prepare themselves by a study of the lesson they are to hear, and do all they can to illustrate and enforce it, and by this punctuality aud faithfulness manifest interest in the school. Also, let every member of the church con sider the Sabbath-school as an important in strumentality, and do all he can by his pres ence and co-operation to contribute to its prosperity, and there can be no doubt as to the result. Friends of.Christ, just try these means, and you will have no reason to complain in regard to a poor Sabbath-school. It is the far-off look that brings repose. No man can he very wise on an empty stomach. Methodist Advocate. . Terms of Advertising: Single Insertion 12 cents per line Any number of lines, 3 mo’s, each Insertion, 10 cents per line Any number of lines, 6 months or longer, each insertion ..... 8 cents per line. On advertisements or fifty lines or more, 10 per cent, discount Special Metiers .16cento per line.’ Business Items .«}centsper ItaS. Marriage polices 60 c#nt# AVe intend to insert no questionable advertisements. NO. 49. _ Brevities Miscellaneous. Fernando Wood is said to be worth $10,000,000. A recent census shpws that the city of. Vienna, Austria, lifts a population of 900,000. New Zealand is in the true modern fashion, for it has a public debt of about $50,000,000. 1 bitty tons ot silver are required annually for photographing. A single pound of wool will furpish a piede of yarn 100 miles hi length. There are said to be 10,000 children in the streets of New York who live by begging. The total length of electric land telegraphy in the world is set down at 180,000 miles. The number of passengers on the railways of - United Kingdom in the year 187 V, averaged more than ami llion a day. , t . of. palace-car notoriety, is said to be in 1 aris for tlie purpose of placing his cals on the line of railway between Paris and Vienna. M. Fug. CJayot\has produced a cross between the hare and rabbit which has been fertile to the sixth generation. The Commissioner of Patents has lately is sued a patent to John R. Weed for A hash 6f dried fish and potatoes, as an article of food. Who should be most thankful, boarders of hoarding-houses? swi.l) ' Four native priests fmve i„<- t E uroJ)e to study the various religions of that country.’ Magistrates have been appointed in all the police districts of Yedo, with a jurisdiction similar to that of the United States. M. Helouis proposes the introduction of a platinum-bronze for the manufacture of cooking utensils. It is said to be entirely inoxidizable. The proportions are, nickel 100, tin 10, plati num 1. The use of zinc for the manufacture of the so called tinned iron employed in making domestic • cooking utensils is on the increase in France. Articles of food cooked in such vessels are not only unwholesome, but also poisonous. The Centennial Commission has issued an ad dress to Rie people of the United States, signed by President Joseph R. Hawley, for subscrip tions to the fund of $10,000,000, required to make the Centennial such a success as the patri otism and pride oi every American demands. The completion of the railroad from Yoka homa to Yedo was'celebrated in grand style on* the 14th of October. The railroad is the tirst one built in Japan. The Emperor presided over the ceremonies and passed over the road ill person. It has generally been supposed that the leaves of plants neither absorb vapor of water nor wa ter. M. Cailletet linds that when the supply of water to the roots is sufficient this is true, out if the supply to the foots is insufficient the leaves will absorb liquid water though they will not absorb watery vapor. The election in New York city, November sth, resulted in the clear triumph of the Reform ticket. Mr. Havemeyer was elected Mayor, and the Reform candidates for Judges and llistrict- Attorney were returned by large majorities. The effect of this victory will be to remove all im pediments in the way of the regeneration of the city government. German newspapers arc expressing gratifica tion at the gift of 15,000 Bibles by the British and Foreign Bible Society to the widows and families of German soldiers and others killed in tlie late war. These are given as a token of con dolence and solace in bereavement, without re gard to the financial condition of tlie parties re ceiving them. The value of some of the patented stove im provements be learned from statistics made, public at the recent meeting of the stove manu facturers <>f theUn>ted-Bi-ates, Vldiu <’i«icinii«ti This interest has, in this country, a combined* capital of over $80,000,000. It employs men, and the probable product, during the cur rent year, will not fall short of 2,500,000 stoves* An acorn suspended by a piece of thread within half an inch of the surface of water in a hyacinth glass, will, in a few months, burst and throw a root down into the water, and shoot up ward its straight and tapering stem, with beau tiful little green leaves. A young oak tree, growing in this way on the mantleshelf of a room, is a very elegant and interesting object. Experiments were recently made in Berlin to ascertain the effect of gas on tlie roots of trees. The gas from tlie street mains was delivered into the soil in which two lime-trees and a maple tree were planted. After the lapse of two months the roots were examined, and it was found that all the fibers were dead. The bark of the strong est roots was decayed, and even the woody part altered. The gas was then cut off to see if the trees would recover; one of the limes produced a sickly crop of leaves, but the other trees showed no signs of life. Painting on tin-foil has reached so high a de gree of perfection as to constitute anew and beautiful decorative art. The tin-foil is stretched on a moistened plate of-thick glass and carefully smoothed, the design is painted in oils on the tin, and when perfectly dry it is varnished. The foil is then removed from the glass and trans ported on wooden rollers to the surface or object to which it is to be attached; this is covered with a npn-hygrometric gum, and the decoration ap plied. The flexibility of the tin-foil enables the artist to attach it in the most perfect manner, even to surfaces which are.very irregular. A deep well this: At the village of Spereu berg, about twenty miles from Berlin, a well has been sunk to the depth of 4,194 feet. A abaft was sunk in this locality, because the known ex istence of gypsum there led the explorers to infer that they might possibly find a mine of rock salt. At the depth of 80 feet they did reach the salt, and continuing on they passed through the salt deposit, 8,907 feet, without hav- . ing reached the bottom of it. The boring would have been continued to ascertain what deposit lay under, the salt ; but the mechanical difficulties were too great. The greater part of the boring was done by steam. A University of Arts and Trades may be come a fact in Ohio, for a prominent citizen of Toledo, Ohio, has matured a plan and donated to the city a building si to for the establishment of a “ University of Arts and Trades,” for the pro motion of knowledge in these and the related sciences*by means of lectures and oral instruc tion; of models and representative works of art; of museums of the mechanic arts, and of what soever else may serve to furnish artists and arti sans with the best facilities for high culture in their respective occupations, in addition to those which are furnished by the public schools. explosion on the sun! .Read what lollows: “Prof. Young, of Dartmouth College, observed on the 7tli of September, what appears to have been a verv sudden and violent explosion on the surface of the sun. He was examining an enormous pro tuberance or hydrogen cloud on the sun's eastern limb, which, by his calculation, was 100,000 miles long by 54,000 high, floating at a height of 15,000 miles above the surface, and sending down to the sun pillars of its own substance like a vast banyan grove. Being called away from the telescope a few moments, he was astohished on returning, to find that the whole cloud had been blown into filaments, which rose, as he gazed, with a greater rapidity than had eveT been be fore observed in this substance, to a height of more than 200,000 miles, from the solar surface. Hydrogen, in this 6tate, has never before been re corded as rising so high. As these broken fila ments streamed upward, they melted away like wisps of filmy cloud. Meanwhile, a little cap or knob which has been noticed near the sub stance of the sun developed wonderfully into a pyramid of flame 50,000 miles in height; there its summit was drawn out into long filaments and threads, which were most curiously rolled backward, and downward, like the volutes of an lonic capital, and finally it faded away, and at half-past two (the first change was observed at five minutes to one) had vanished like the other.”