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Southern Field and Fireside. VOL. 1. [For the Southern Field and Fireside.] 4 TO AGNES. 9 On a Wedding-Ring of the IS<A Century. Y A solid ring of purest gold—how many changeful years, / With all their wealth of happiness, and all their flow of \ tcare - W Are circled in its shining round, wherein we yet may trace' The record of a faithful love, which timo could not efface! "The love this knot hath knit”—thus runs the o ancient line, / "The God of peace continue itt”—nor did the threads ]f* untwine; / The prayer was heard, and, like the ring, this knot con \ tlnued whole, y Until the silver cord was loosed, and broke the golden bowl. L And could the blessed annulet, its story all reveal, To eyes that glisten o'er the verse which speaks to hearts 9 that feel, <. What deep unwritten eloquence would run around Its Jr rim! t Well might the eyes that looked thereon with tenderness A grow dim. The truth, the love, the puriSy, the trust of other days> Would lend this quaint old wedding-ring the diamond's A steady blaze; * No rich Genevan jewelry for queenly Angers wrought, J Could sparkle with the wondrous light this simple band vs had caught / O lady, be this precious ring a very potent charm "jV Upon your lily hand, to save from every threader'ng <& harm— S' The annulet an amulet, whatever fate betide, Though yet a <laarer ring shall press your Anger as a bride. a And may that cherished, Indy pledge of faith and hope J and joy, I* And all your wedded happiness be both without alloy; / A ring of thrice-refined gold to symbolize the bond JY Which still shall brighter grow on earth, and in the Blue y Beyond 1 \j Jno. R. Thompson. [Written for the Southern Field and Fireside.] ; Entered according to the Act of Congress, <tc., <tc. T by the Author. } MASTER WILLIAM MITTEN; V 'OB, 4 A YOUTH OF BRILLIANT TALENTS, y WHO WAS RUINED BY BAD LUCK. J BY THE AUTHOR OF THE GEORGIA SCENES, ETC. {% CHAPTER XVII. Yj Captain Thompson delivers himself at large upon Church matters — William teaches Snap-dragon some rare accomplishments—Turns him to good o' account in learning human nature—The Captain 7 becomes uneasy at his progress — William gains V two victories, which puzzle the Captain consider- J ably—The Captain amuses William exceed >ingly; and is greatly comforted in getting him back to school. \> As soon as Captain Thompson j'oined the 1 Methodists, his sister expressed a wish to attach herself to the same Church to which ho and his 9 wife belonged. ' “No, Anna," said the Captain, “I advise V you against it. I am suro you cannot be / a better Christian in the Methodist Church >than you have proved yourself to be in the Presbyterian Church. If I can bo as bright an \) ornament to my Church, as you are to yours, I shall deem myself greatly blessed ” “Brother, you greatly over-rate my piety. I o' have a great many faults and weaknesses which J your eye never sees, but which I see and mourn V over, and struggle against every day.” / “I shall hardly bo convinced of my error by >that kind of proof, my dear sister. One brazen sin would bring your piety in question with me n- more than a hundred faults and weaknesses hidden in the heart, and mourned over and struggled against every day. But enough of o' this—stay with your people with whom you .7 liavo long held sweet communion, to whom you Y are endeared by a thousand ties, and who are J entitled to the benefit of your influence and ox ample. lam not suro that the division of the y Church into sects is not of God's appointment, fs. Some good results from the division, obviously. It secures the Scriptures from interpolation and Yk. mutilation, stimulates the several Churches to o' good wokks, liberality, gonerosity, and activity in i7 the advancement of the Redeemer’s Kingdom; Y brings truth to the test of open, fair, and able ,/ discussion, guards the Church from now heresies, [A if it cannot eradicate old ones, and effectually y prevents a union of Church and State in this kj blessed country, at least. So much good does it, and much moro would it do, if each sect 4ft would practice, as it should, the heavenly pre -3 cepts of love and charity taught them by their .7 common Head.- If others will not practice them, V let us do it, my dear sister; and be assured, if / our example passes unobserved on earth, it will A not be overlooked in Heaven." y “ Those are sweet counsels, my dear brother,and f JAMES GARDNER, [ I Proprietor. j AUGUSTA. GA., SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1859. they have already banished from my mind every thought of quitting my Church. It is strange, very strange, but I cannot dispossess my mind of the thought that some heavy calamity is going to befall us. lam too happy for earth. I question whether there is this day a human being this side of Heaven as happy as I am. You once said to me sportively, ‘ turn Methodist and shout,’ and now I could do it with right good will. I can hardly keep from it ” “Ana why should you wish to keep from it ? It is one of the means which Providence has appointed for relieving the overcharged heart, and Ido not see why it should be repressed. I know why it is repressed, very well. It is re garded by most people as very undignified— only, however, when most people are devoid of the feeling that provokes it. Let the people, dignitaries and all, witness a closely contested .election of deep interest; at ono moment it seems to be going ono way, at the next the other, and thus the contestants alternately pass each other, until they stand abreast with but two votes in the box—they come out for the same man. AVliat do you see, then, among the victors ? One weeps outright with joy, another laughs frantically, another vents the long sup pressed breath, and smiles; but all applaud, and nine-tenths raise a shout that may be heard for miles. There is nothing at all undignified in all this! It is perfectly nat ural. Now, they are all moved by the same spirit; but it manifests itself in different ways according to tho diflbrent temperaments of the crowd. I suppose if a battery of artillery were bearing upon them, and they were forbidden to shout, under pain of berng fired upon, they might suppress it (doubtful if all would); but what would be thought of the man who would recommend such a measure, or any milder one, to prevent this honest outburst of feel ing? When General Washington passed through the country on his Southern tour, he was met by multitudes at every town and village at which he stopped. As soon as the throngs caught a glimpse of tho approaching hero, they made the welkin ring with their shouts. As he passed through the streets, wo men waved their handkerchiefs, and wept; old soldiers wept, but most waved their hats, and shouted again, loud and long. He would have been regarded as a Tory who gave no outward demonstration ofjoy at such times. Tho very next day these same people would go to a Meth odist meeting, and sneer at a new convert for shouting. And what has Washington done for any one of us, compared with what Christ has done for the new convert ?. What the liberty winch Washington gained for lis, compared with ‘the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free T' — What can we promise ourselves from this great Republic, compared with the Saviour’s legacy to the soldiers of the Cross? At His birth, the an gels of heaven shouted. His second coming to earth will be heralded by a shout. At His tri umphant entry into Jerusalem, the whole multi tude of His disciples shouted. The Pharisees (strict religionists) begged Him to rebuke them.— What was His reply ? 'I tell you, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.’ But He had not yet died for these disciples. No ono is offended at a shout from the dying Christian! In the times of David and the Pro phets, it was not regarded as undignified in holy men to shout. I used to laugh at the shouting Christians, myself. I used to be provoked with them, until I learned something of their feelings, and tlien I was very ready to excuse them.— From excusing, I went to thinking, and from thinking to reading upon the subject; and the result of my deliberations and research is what I have delivered to you. Now, do not misun derstand me. Ido not say that Christians ought to shout, much less that shouting is an infallible test of Christianity; and least of all, that there are not just as good Christians who never shout, as there are who do. Ido not believe that there is a better shouting Christian in our Church than you arc; but Ido say that it is tho most natural thing in the world that Christians of some tem peraments should shout, if I understand any thing about religion; and that ridicule of it comes with ill grace from a shouting world, or a non-shouting Church. “ But brother, how does it happen that there is shouting in no other Church in the world but the Methodist?” “Just because the Methodist is, (in one sense) the newest Church in the world. When we join a Church we as naturally drop into the ways of its people as we do into its creed. I know very well where they all began; it was in such a scene of excitement and clamor as amazed the lookers-on, and led them to mock, and to say that tho converts were full of new wine. But all Churches will, in process of time, conform them selves to the opinions and manners of the world, just as far as they can, without compromising their principles. Prudence or policy may dic tate this course—to avoid persecution, ridicule and contempt, or to gain popularity. Never did the world show any mercy, not to say charity, to religious excitements. The Methodists have hardly yet passed the fiery ordeal through which all zealous, self-denying, God-serving, world-de fying Christians must pass. The marks of vio- lence are still upon their humble meeting houses, and derisipn meets them atall their services.— As yet, they have no Chuifch etiquette (if you will excuse the term), no tlought, and very little knowledge, of the world’s dignities; for they arc mostly poor and illiterate; no idea that joy should bo disciplined, or transport suppressed. They, therefore, give the run to their feelings, just as nature prompts them. They are happy, very happy, and they express tleir happiness in the natural way, without fear of startling their breth ren, offending their pastor*, or provoking sin ners. But it is not to be supposed that our Church will be exempt from the common lot of Churches. With a penniless Ministry, fervid, zealous, devout, persecuttd, traversing the coun try from the mountains 'to the seaboard, and preaching the Gospel to every creature, white, black, bond, free, rich, poot at their own doors, it must grow, and as it grows it will increase in dignity, science, fine preaching, fine dressing, fine eating, fine stations, fine circuits, fine mu sic, fine churches, and strong voting. Os course, it will then become, especially with the most res pected office holders and office seekers, very respectable. There will fcc religion in it, ster ling religion in it still—rdfigion armed for giant work, and well employed: but there will be no shouting in it, no fraternal embraces in it, no out-gushing of hymu3 from a thousand voices, eloquent of the heart’s heavenly inspirations, no ‘brotliering’ between great preachers and poor members. Or if these distinctive features of primitive Methodism lx» **ot entirely effaced, you will have to seek them, to find them, in some poor brother’s circuit, in the gorges of the mountains, the wilds of the West, or the negro quarters of the rich.” “ Verily, brother, you have said moro in de fence of shouting tjjan I supposed could be said; and most certainly, if I never shout myself, I shall always, hereafter, look with tho greatest in dulgence upon those Christians who do.” “ That is the lesson that I would inculcate, my sister. And when you leam what may be said in defence of it, tell me, wliat think you of that Pastor of a Church who requested a good sister of his flock to leave the Church, because, under his own glowing description of Heaven, or under something elsq he said, that filled her heart with joy, she relieved it with a shout ? Think of her, if you please, perchance the holiest of his charge, retiring from the house of worship—from the sermon which refreshed her, under the eye shot of the congregation, shamed, subdued, de pressed, disgraced!” “ Oh, my dear brother I Surely such a thing never happened.” “Surely such a thing did happen, if a credible witness is to lie believed. It may be that that woman paid more, for her means, to build the Church from which she was ordered—paid more, for her means, to support the Pastor who so deeply wounded her, than any other member of his congregation. She never shouted again, in lus church, you may bo sure, nor did any other one of his flock; and the consequence was, (I con jecture, not without some reason), he had ever af terwards a veryquiet, orderly, Laodicean Church. Charity, my sister! let there be charity among the Churches. Instead of looking for faults in each other, let them be looking for what is good in each other, and let them reciprocally interchange the good, and reject the faulty. In this way, all might be improved—all would be more en deared to* each other than they are.” “ You have so well defended shouting among Christians, that perhaps you can give me some new views upon another usage ot your Church, which has always seemed to me much more ob jectionable than shouting. I allude to your altar scenes in times of revival. Some are sing ing, some are talking to mourners, and two or three are praying aloud at the same time, and when to all this is added the shouts of the con verts, the whole scene is one of utter confusion, it seems to me. What can you say in defence of all this ?” “ Nothing. It is not only indefensible, but it is positively unscriplural. Eaeli and all of these exercises are proper in their place; but to have them all going on at one and the same time is little better than to set all the rules of order, human and divine, at defiance. The honesty of intention and benevolence of purpose with which it is done, are all that make it tolerable, even to the most charitable; but these are very poor ex cuses for those who are presumed to have read Paul’s Epistles, and yet encourage such things. And here, a very pertinent illustration of what I have just safd, presents itself: If at revi vals in your Church, your people would borrow a little more fervor from ours, and ours in like circumstances would borrow a little more or der and solemnity from yours, I think both would be improved. Dignity, gravity, and or der well becomo the Christian; but love, joy, and zeal, much better become him; and if they cannot all be harmonized, why, let the first; give way, I say, and let all give way to love, if it he possible to separate joy from it! And when love and joy abound in him, let him be indulged in his nature’s way of manifesting them, even to the interruption of a sermon for a time; and if the feeling become general among the flock, why, let the sermon go; there is no better preaching, at times, than the rejoicing together of many happy Christians. These are my crude notions, sister; take them for what they are worth.” “ I thank you for them, my very dear, dear brother, and I am sure that they will be of ser vice to me, Oh, how much happiness I have lost from your delay in embracing Christianity 1” “ Not so much,perhaps, from want of my coun sels and religious opinions, as from want of that deference and respect which I should have shown to your piety, and that tenderness of ad dress that I should have shown to a sister.” In the main,things went on smoothly and hap pily in the two families, during the vacation ; but before its close, both the Captain and his sister had their quiet a little disturbed by Wil liam’s over attention to Snap-dragon. It was a natural curiosity that prompted him to enquire carefully into Snap-dragon’s capabilities, ac complishments, predilections, and tractability.— By close observation and experiment, he discov ered that a little needless whipping improved him wonderfully—(such the difference between a teacher and a disciple.) It made him move airi ly, and infused life, grace and activity into both his extremities; that he could trot eight miles an hour—that he could beat Billy Figg’s Nick tail, Billy Pine’s Catham, and Bob Maston’s Flying-Nelly easily; that he stood the firing of a gun on him very well; that he could clear a six-rail fence at a leap; that by tickling him in a particular way in the flank (which lie called “the grabble-tickle”) he could make him kick amusingly that by applying the “grabble-tickle” to his back-bone, just behind the saddle, he could carry him through a variety of most inter esting evolutions—tail-switching, warping, bi ting, (backwards, at nothing,) polka-dancing, and furious kicking. One thing he taught him which was perfectly original, and that was to stop at the cluck or chirp, and go at th? word “wo /” To teach him all these accomplishments William had to devote nearly his whole time to him. He had to ride him far and near; and in so doing it was just as well to call and see all the planters within seven miles of the village, and rest awhile with them, and entertain them with all the wonders of Doctor Waddel’s school, as to ride that far and return without dismount ing. Every gathering in the county he was cer tain to attend; by means whereof he had a fine opportunity of studying human nature, in some of its most interesting aspects. He saw how petty elections were conducted—how election eering was carried on—how much rum it took to elect a Captain and a Justice of the Peace.— He saw justice administered by magistrates in their shirt-sleeves, and heard stiff quarrels be tween them and the suitors—he saw card play ing in its most unpretending humility and sim plicity, to wit, by a couple of the sovereignty, seat ed cross legged on the ground, with a dirty cot ton handkerchief between them for a table, and a half deck of dirtier cards. (Here was the in troduction of “ squatter sovereignty ” into the coun try; but who could have supposed that it would ever make such a fuss in the world as it has made!) He saw cock-fights occasionally, dog fights often, and men-fights regularly—now and then he was entertained with a quarter race and a foot-race —upon one occasion he took up a ban ter of “the universal world” for a foot race, by a youth both older and larger than himself, and gained the victory handsomely. His competitor said, “if he couldn’t beat him a running, he could whip him.” Bill “pitched into him,” as the say ing is, without a parley, and flogged him beau tifully, and to the delight and admiration of everybody, who thought it mean in him to pick a quarrel with a boy who had fairly beaten him, just from shame of his defeat. These feats gave William great renown in the county. Perhaps no youth in the land ever made greater pro gress in “the study of human nature” than Wil liam did in the short space of two months. But without Snap-dragon, where would he have been ? Confined to the darkness of his own village! And whoever heard of any human na ture in a village, save at Court times, general elections, and general parades ? The Captain often heard of his progress, and often counselled him. “ William,” lie would say, “ I fear I com mitted a great error iu giving you that horse; I am sure I did. It was one of the most impru dent acts of my life.” “ Why, uncle?” “ For many reasons. He takes up all your time. I never see a book in your hand ; you have hardly attended a religious meeting, except on Sunday, since the vacation commenced. You are too young to have control of a horse. He is a spirited horse; and if not managed with care ho may break your neck—” “ Uncle, he can’t throw mo to save his life." “ I’m glad to hear that; my main design, in giving him to you, was to make you a good horseman; but lie may run away with you, car ry you under the limb of a tree, and knock your brains out. If you will be careful with him, there is no danger, for I know him to be a very gentle horse, though spirited—but youths of your age are so thoughtless. I hardly ever see you in the day time ; where do you keep your self?” “Just riding about in the country, Uncle,” “ But sometimes you’re gone the live long day, j Two Dollars Per Annum, I | Always In Advance. j and surely you aro not riding all the time with out your meals!” “ Oh no, sir! sometimes I take dinner at Mr. Love’s, sometimes at Mr. Todd’s, sometimes at Squire Mattoxes, sometimes at Mr. White’s, and Curtis King’s " “ Why, William, my son, you ought not to visit people’s houses in that way ” “ Uncle, they always tell me they are glad to see me, and always beg me to come and see them again.” “ To be sure they do ; but because they aro kind, you should not tax their hospitality all the time. At times, lam sure you must full upon them very unseasonably, and give them no little inconvenience. When they see yon in town here, and ask you to come and see them, why, then go; but dou't thrust yourself upon them at all hours, uninvited. “ I’ll obey you,'•uncle.” Again the Captain would renew his complaints and advice: “ William, your mother is very uneasy about you. She says you constantly come home charg ed with news from all the gatherings in the county. Surely, you don’t frequent such places ? What interest can you take in them ? W r hat do you promise yourself from such resorts ? I charge you, under pain of my sore displeasure, to abandon them.” “I will do so, uncle.” William’s victories happened to be reported to the Captain by Mr. Moore, in the presence of William, and in the way of congratulation to him I “ Why, William (’’exclaimed the Captain, “is it possible that you have been running foot races and lighting ” “Oh, don't blame him,” said Mr. Moore; “I supposed you knew all about it, since it is talked about everywhere. But don’t blame William, for he never did a better thing in all his life, and never will do a better while he lives. He was at the Court, at old man Haralson’s, nnd there was an uncommonly large gathering for the oc casion. There was a fellow there, a forward, noisy chap, named Jake Black, who was cutting up high shines. He said he could beat anything of his weight and inches in the universal world at a foot race. ‘I can beat you,’ said William. ‘You!’ says Black. ‘I can run round you three times in fifty yards and then beat you.’ ‘Well,’ says William, ‘suppose you try it.’ The match was made up, a hundred yards were stepped off, and all on the Court ground went to seethe race. At the word they started, and William beat him a clear light of at least sev«n yards. There was a general shout as they came in, and many had something digging to say to Black. One told him he oughtn't to run against anything but grub-worms and terrapins. Another told him his belly didn’t give his legs fair play. ‘I saw your thighs,’ says he, ‘hit your belly every step you made. If you can only manage to hook up your belly just three quarters of an inch before you run, so as to give your legs full sweep, you’d beat Bill Mitten thirty yards in the hundred, I know you would.’ ‘Oh,’ says a third, ‘his stomach had nothing to do with it—at least it wouldn’t have had, if be liad been in good keep; but he was in no order to run. I saw him eat two water millions and a peck of peaches, not an hour before the race. Take that weight off of him, and where would Bill Mitten have been ?’ ‘Well,’ said the second, ‘that’s just what I say. He only lacks three-quarters of an inch of beat ing ‘the universal world,’ I thought his belly was nat'ral.' “This kind of chat,” continued Moore, made Jake very mad, and as ’William stood laughing with the rest, Jake stept up to him, and said, ‘lf you can beat me running, I can whip you mighty easy.’ You kntiw that hard place in the road between old man Haralson’s house and the Court room? He was standing there; and the word was no sooner out of his mouth than William seized him, fetched the hip lock upon him, and gave him the hardest fall that I ever saw a boy get in all my life. Before Jake could recover from his fall, William was on him, giving him bringer. He very soon “told the news’ (cried ‘enough !’) and William got off of him without a scratch. I don’t suppose there over was a people more rejoiced and sur prised than they all were at William's doings. Jake had no idea that a boy dressed as fine as William was could fight at all, nor lid anybody else believe it; but, Lord bless your soul, Captain, he walked over Jake in the highest style of fighting! I tell you what, sir, he's as active as a cat and as bold as a lion. So you see he was not to blame.” “And now camo the tug of war,” (intestine war) with the Captain. Before Moore had pro ceeded four sentences in his narrative, Captain Thompson’s countenance lost every trace of amazement and indignation, and assumed a rather unchristian placidity. The next transi tion was to a benignant smile; then to an ex pression of wonder and delight; then to a laugh of triumph; and so it went on, stronger and stronger, to the end ofthe chapter; so that when Moore concluded, it was manifest that “brother” Thompson had no more thought of religion in him, than he had of the tattling of his counte nance ; and no more thought of the tattling of NO. 16.