Southern Christian advocate. (Macon, Ga.) 18??-18??, January 05, 1866, Image 1
THREE DOLLARS PER ANNUM.
Vol. XXIX.—No. 1.
MONDAY MORNING.
It wa« the Sabbath when we 1 id us down,
And while ..e slept, our Sabbath could no! part.
Now w awoke, and b>! its gleam is flown,
And the cold, common daylight chills our heart.
No s slowly from the holy hill descending,
Leav-sve ihe sanctuary gates ajar, . •
That, fr >«ri the .‘■scr- and portals downward w nding,
Some rays may follow us, where’er we are.
And, a« we issue from the temple fair,
Let a faint hr athofits sweet incense linger,
About us yet—a breeze of heaven’s own air,
From censers never waved by mortal finger.
From that celestial garden whence we rove,
Shall we not carry forth as many treasures
As Adam brought awav from Eden’s grove—
Dear relics ol' its lost and longed-for pleasures.*
An ear of whpat, in every soil to sow,
Till the whole earth Go i’s cornfield sha l become;
A cluster of iipe fruit, lest we should grow
Faint by the way, ere yet w.) reach our home;
A fragrant bough, still rich with lingering scent—
Toe old familiar scent that used to aide
Among (ho e shadowy leaves where came and went
The murmurs of Euphrates’joyous tide.
Thus from the Sabbath garden let us wander,
Carrying as much of Eden as we may
Out with ns toward the sunny distance vonder,
Where dawns the everlasting Sabbath day.
* Adam says a Mohammedan tradition, was permit
ted to . ring with him out of Paradise three things :
the myrtle, which is the chief of swoet-s ented fi ov
ers in the.'w ild; an ear of wheat, the chief of all kinds
of f>od; a id dates, the chief of all the fruits of this
world. Lane.
MflAyjMlEßaßraroTgHig^^iijnßHHgnwTraHWHfrra'rwi'UMßßHMßHEHßaßHHgai
ContriMicms.
A “ MOTHER IN ISRAEL.”
Mrs. Amelia M. Bass, widow of the late
Rev Henry llass, of the S. C. Conference, w s
born January 18tb, 1794, and fell asleep in
J sua, October 21st, 1865, in Cokesbury, S. 0.
So long identified with the church as the
wife of an itinerant minister, and devoted with
a hearty z al to all that concerned Methodism,
it will doubtless bo gratifying to her numerous
friends in South Carolina and elsewhere to
read some 6ketch of her holy life and happy
death.
Converted in womanhood, her whole
life became imbued with religious principles,
and her character was built upon the broadest
foundition oi Christian faith. She was nur
tured m the pure principles o, the gospel, and,
under the trainirg hand of a ministry remark
able for piety and zeal, she devoted herself to
the cau e of Christ and the salvation of souls.
In January, 1821 she became the wtfo of
Rev. Henry Bass, and through his long itiner
ant ministry, proved herself a helpmate in*
deed. Her heart was fully in her husband’s
work, and her steady faith and glowing love
inspired him with new zeal a : and a more heroic
purpose in the cause of his divine Master. Per
sonal sacrifices were made without hesitation,
for this devoted woman “ conferred not with
flesh and blood, ” when the glory of God and
her husband’s u efulness were involved. Tra
veling large d:s ricts before the days of rail
roads, he was necessarily absent from home for
long periods of time, thus devolving upon her
the care of the househo and and the training of a
family of six children. It was a great respon
sibility, and shesometimes almost sunk beneath
its weight; yet, fortified by grace and trusting
in God, she was strengthened and sustained in
the arduous work. Industrious, frugal, self
denying, she “looked well to the ways of her
household,” so as to advance the interest of her
family and uphold the hands of her husband.
We cannot honor too highly the nob’e heroism
of those Christian wives who forego the plea
sures of a permanent home and patiently sub
mit to the inconvenience and discomfort of
frequent removals, in order to sustain their
husbands in the itinerant ministry. How j
many bright names adorn the records of Me
thodism of noble Christian women, who have
left all to follow Christ and devote themselves
to His service ! Among the brightest of these j
names is that of the excellent Christian lady j
to whose memory this feeble tribute of affec
tion is offered. Her life, like her husband’s,
was devoted to the church. She loved it above
all else. Its prosperity was the burden ,of-her
prayers, and the joy of her heart. For more
than fifty year?, a communicant at its altars
• and the intimate friend of its ministers, she
was identified with all its interests and labored
for its advancement and honor. The old Me**
thodist3 of Charleston, where many years of
her useful life were spent, will call to mind her
zeal and devotion in the prayer meeting and
cjas3 room, and her kind ministrations to the
sick and bereaved. Her heart was full of ten
derness. Love, gentleness, and a “meek and
quiet spirit” were the beautiful ornaments
that adorned her life Her piety was of the
most scriptural character. Her faith was in
telligent and well instructed Meek, humble
and consistent, she exemplified in her daily life
the great principles of her profession. Charity
was a crowning grace in her beautiful charac*>
ter, and she delighted to magnify the virtues
and forget the faults of others. Kindness was
the law of her life. Universal love inflamed
her heart and glowed in her actions. Selfish
ness found no place in her nature; but to make
others happy, by gentle words and kind deeds,
Beemed to be the great aim of her being. Her
well-worn Bible attests how well she loved its
sacred pages, and her familiarity with its pre
cious truths showed she had not studied it in
vain.
Few Christians ever prayed as much. Many
times every day did she frequont her “closet”
and hold communion with God She loved
the “gates of Zion,” and her seat in the sanc
tuary was never vacant, when health allowed
her presence Yet, pure and guileless as she
was in the eyes of others, she mourned over
her personal defects and earnestly longed after
higher attainments in the divine life. In a
letter to an absent'son—perhaps the last she
overwrote —she says : “I feel that my days
on earth, in a 1 probability, are drawing to a
close. I try daily to examine my heart. I
feel that I can take God at His word. J3e has
promised to turn none empty awav that come
unto Him through Jesus Christ. It is all my
plea—
‘ I the chief of sinners am,
Yet Jesus died for me.'
PUBLISHED BY J. W. BURSE & CO., FOR THE M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH
Oh, it is a comfortable hope! I feel that I
rea.ize the Divine presence.”
That was her language the day before her
illness She leaned upon Christas her only
Saviour. This was the foundation of her fai h
through life and it was unshaken by the rude
sho k of death.
The last eighteen years of her life were spent
in Cokesbury, S C. During a portion of this
time, her husband had charge of the Board! g
Department of the Conference School located
at that p’ace, thus furnishing to her anew field
of usefulness among the young men who re
sorted there for education. In the midst of
arduous dut’es, she did not fail to use every
opportunity to inculcate religious principles in
ti e minds of those around her; and her tender,
motherly care and Christ'an spirit won a place
for her in every heart. In the young of both
sexes she manitested the deepest solic tude, and
she possessed ther.->ra faculty of winning their
confidence and ass ction. They felt that she
was their friend, and that if they needed sym
pathy or counsel her loving heart would freely
give it.
Asa Christian mother what shall I say of
her? Ass ction may bn partial, hut affection
cannot portray in colors bright enough her ex
cellence ar.d worth How memry goes back
to the bright days of childhood, when at the
evening hour she would take her little boys,
for whose spiritual welfare she seemed to feel
an ntense solicitude, and in the private cham
ber su; plicate the divine favor upon them.—
How full of sympathy she wa3 in all thiir
efforts to do well in life ! How she aided them,
by ter couno 1 and prayers ! .A voiiirn* w uld
hardly contain all that might .be said of he* :
beautiful devotion to her 1 usband ad children
She was the bright light of the household, and
her sunny smile of love c >u!d dispel all gloom
fri m the domestic hearth-stone
In 1852, death, for the first time, inVadcd
the homo circle, and struck down a son on
whom she doated with peculiar ass ction. That
son had been the object of her com tar t prayers,
yet he had made no profession of religion He
d;ed penitently, yet that death almost broke
her heart. Years of g’oorn succeeded, and such
agony and wrestling in secret prayer I have
never known. Faith was tried, hut it tri
umphed and came forth from the ordeal puri
fied “ like gold tried in the fire ”
In the summer of 1857 sho was very ill, and
all despaired of her recovery Many soi rowing
friends stood around what was supposed to be
her dying bed and listened to her inspired rx
horta iors, for she talked with rapturous de
l'ght of the gloricus scenes which seemed to
open to her vision. But God strangely rai-ed
her up to perform other duties and endure other
6uff ring s . She lived ! o attend her aged and
faithful 1 u bsind through his protracted sick
ne s And h'w grateful was the privilege to
her loving heart! No other could have alle
viated his pain and mini-<ered to bis wants so
we 1 She saw him breathe his life out quietly,
and her heart murmured r ot; for she felt that
he had entered upon his heavenly rest.
The war recently closed was a source of great,
distress to her heart. She shrank from all
scenes of cruelty and blood, and delighted most
in an atmosphere of peace. A son in the prime
of manhood fell in the cause of the South, and
her heart bled; but he was a Christian hero,
and grace assuaged her sorrow.
She was a woman of great energy, though
her phys’eal constitution was by no means
strong. For some years her health had been
feeble, and, at times, she was a groat sufferer.
A few weeks previous to her d*ath, it was the
privilege of the writer to enjoy several days ot
most delightful communion with her. He
never saw h r more calm and cheerful, and
though the feeb encss of age was upon her, yet
there was no appearance of rapidly approach
ing decay. She was able to attend to her usual
duties up to within a few days of her death.
The last time she ever left her room was to visit
a sick friend who desired her kind attention.
On the 17th of October, she was seriously
attacked, and seemed to Realize that it would
be her last sickness. Physicians and friends
vied with each other in their* offices of kir.dness
and love. She said to a devoted daughter, in
the early part of her sickness^#— 4 * Change the
position of my bed, I want to die where your
father died.”
Her attack was violent; medicine failed to
give relief, and her suffering became intense.
Opiates were administered .and sleep ensued.
From this she seerped-to become unconscious ;
but on Friday, 20th Oct., p. pious'Jady sought
to arou-e her and iiass, Heaven
is your home!” Openin^J^j&yek,•sheoexclaim
ed, “Yes, glorious kjjjq^pf'endles% rfest—of
endless rest
times. hours,^ her son-in-law—Rev.
S. H. Browne —approaemng her, said, “Mo
ther, do you know me ?’’ to which she made no
reply. Again, he asked, “ Mother, do you
know Christ ?” She.exclaimed with emphasis,
“Yes! Yrs!” Scme’tiaie later in the day,
Prof Wannamaker, an intimate friend, ad
dressed her—“ Aunt Bfiss, do you think you
will leave ub soon She could, not respond,
but raised her hands as if in affirmation.
“ You will soon be with Uncle Bass.” Again
she lifted her hands with glowing face. He
mentioned the circumstance connected with
Mr. Fletcher’s last moments, who, when he
could not speak, raised his hands as evidence
that his Saviour was with him, and said—
“ You have Mr. Fletcher’s sign,”—when
again she elevated her hands and struggled to
articulate; but speech was denied her. The
way-worn pilgrim had reached her journey’s
end—the earthly tabernacle was crumbling,
hut the tongue which had so delighted in the
praises of Zion, and which wa3 ever ready to
speak for Christ, was silent now. Its sweet
music is hushed forever on earth. Those weep
ing daughters can catch no word from those
dying lips—those absent sons. will receive no
farewell message from that honored mother.
But what need of further testimony?—what
need of the rapturous shout, or triumphant
song ? That long life of consecration—that
beaming smile of hope—that eye bright with
the visions of Paradise—are enough. Thus she
lingered till Saturday, 21st of Oct, when she
quietly breathed her la9t on the bosom of that
Saviour whom she had loved so well and served
:so long.
A funeral discourse, suitable to the sad occa
sion, was delivered in the village church by
Rev. Prof. Wannamaker, and her precious
dust was deposited in the old Tabernacle church
yard, by the side of her sainted husband. The
community where she had spent so many use
ful days vi*d with eachethtr in paying tribute
to her memory, and the South Carolina Con-
Macon, Ga., Friday, January 5, 1866.
ference, by resolution, exprsssed their appre
ciation of her worth and bereavment in her
death.
The noble motfce-, the d?vcted Christian, is
gone to her reward, but the memory of her
virtues will never die
« The memory of the just is blessed.”
One Who Loved Her.
DR. GREEN’S MEMORIAL—N 9. 1.
I propose a review of the memorial offer
ed by Dr. A. L. P. Green to the Tennessee
and other Conference?, which suggests
alarmingly radical chat gps for the action of
the next General Conference. It is true,
the memorial was not adopted by the Tennes
see Conference, nor h-.s it been, so far as
the writer’s information extends, by any
other Conference to which it has been of
fered—nevertheless, it is connected with
the name cf an individual well known and
of considerable personal and
such views as are presented in it are the
more dangerous on that account, for who
hss not been compelled to confess to the
prestige of a name? Matters of such trars
cend;*nt importance as the weal or woe of
one cf the most numerous and Heaven-bl* st
Protestant churches should be discussed
without regard to any individual's opinion,
no matter how eminent that individual
ma/ be; for the church’s interests, the
world’s salvation should be the controlling
motive in every atlempt to steady the ark of
ihe Lord. I propose, therefore, to set an
humble example to all who may discuss the
memorial, or any other matter of church
polity, by withholding my name from the
pubbe. No good esuse needs any man’s
name to sustain il, if an appeal to calm,
dispassionate judgment is possible; nor
should the idiosyncracies < f any one, no
matter how honored or beloved, mislead
the church ot God. But enough. To the
work before us.
This memorialist says, as preliminary to
eight or nine changes proposed in the poli
ty of the M. E. Church, South, that “ It is
patent to all observant minds that for years
there have been defects somewhere in our
system of operation. Multitudes brought
under divine influence by our ministry and
blf s»ed with peace and consolation in Christ,
ultimately take seats in other churches and
worship at other altars, and frequently even
the children of Methodist parents are found
among those who forsake our sanctuary.—
We think the time has come when we
should look ass ! the cause of this evil and,
if possible, remvf e it. It cantaot be the
want of spirituality! i. r we-have power with
God as His instruments to a??ake pinners
and to cause them to return to God ; but
we fail to induce them to take a life-time
interest among us; so we should look else
where for the difficulty. M»y it not be
f 'und in our refusal to accommodate our
selves to the advanced and improved con
dition of society and changes of the times ?”
I give the precise language of the memo
rialist, became this is the assumed position,
from whence he proceeds to tear down and
to build again the Lord’s house. Let us
now, admitting the above to be a statement
of facts, see whether the m« morialist has
discovered the remedy tor the “ defect
somewhere in our system of operations,”
* patent to all observeot minds,” in what
is proposed by him in these eight or nine
changes.
It is true that “multitudes broughtunder
■divine influence by our oninistry,” do not
unite with us, but “ worship at other al
tars,” and that sometimes (he says “fre
quently,”) “ the children of Methodist pa
rents are found among those who forsake
our sanctuary.” Now, how does he .pro
pose to remedy this admitted fact? Ist.
By changing the name of the church ; 2d.
By destroying our system of itinerant Gen
eral SuperinteLdency, and reducing our
Bishops to mere diocesans; 3d. By indefi
nitely prolonging the pcstoral term—atthe
Bisnop’s will; 4th. By introducing the lay
element into the legislative department of
our church; sth. By permitting our people
to give to their pastors as salary any
amount, be it great or small, they may
elect; fyb. By doing away with the system
of probationers, or catechumens, in the
church ; 7th. By striking a blow at the ex
piring body of class meetings, in proposing
that attendance upon them, be by law msde
optional; Bth. By the adoption of the pew
system, instead of free sittings, in our church
es ; and, lastly, by blotting from the book
of Discipline every condition of membership
‘ not clearly found in the Word ot God.”
By which I he means that an act
must be not only Against the spirit, but the
precise letter of the law of God, or it must be
tolerated.
Before entering upon a discussion of the
merits of these proposed changes, I-make
an assertion, and will endeavor to sustain
it. It is this* the memorialist has proposed no
thing remedial ; because he has entirely mistaken
the origin of the evils which he proposes to remedy.
Now for the proof. It has been, and con
tinues to be, the glory of American Metho
diem that unnumbered thousands, not con
nected with it, have been converted through
the instrumentality of her ministry. This
is attributable to our camp and protracted
meetings, our night preaching in the cities
and towns, the frequent changes in the pas
torate, exciting the curiosity of persons
usually attendant upon the ministry of oth
er churches—the solemn, awakening char
acter of our preaching and the irresistible
ness of our Scriptural doctrines, when ac
companied by the power of the Holy Ghost
Under such circumstances, many thousands
are convicted and converted who become
members of the church in which they were
reared. ‘ But it was not so in the earlier
days of Methodism— then large numbers,
nearly our whole increase, came fiom with *
out.' True; but then most of cur popula
tion, especially In the South and West—
that portion with which our preachers most
frequently came into contact, and among
whom they had most success, living in
sparsely settled districts or wilderness ter-
ritory—h and no church affinity, and knew
nothing of Sabbath-schools, pastors or even
regu’ar church services. An ccca-iouat
sermon of burning, scathing words, ming
led with loving entreaty and powerful ap
peals to conscience, from seme itinerant
M thedist preacher, was the suna total of
their religious privileges, and they joined
the preacher’s “society” and became a
leader or member ot the class organized by
him, as a matter of course.
But it is very different now. The church,
the Sabbath school, the zealous sectary,
watching vigilantly over his own, and the
proselyting big at, seeking for victims, are
found everywhere. Nevertheless, thank
God ! thousands on thousands of souls, not
of our denomination, are converted under
our ministry, who come with hearts filled
with gratitude into our told, whilst it is
true—and when all the facts are considered
it is not singular that it is so—that many
other thousands thus blessed under cur
ministry “ worship at other altars.”
Is there any remedy tor this ? Will any
tinkering with our church polity, or any
radical changes in it, prevent these “ mul
titudes” from unitirg with theil S. bbalh
schoolmates, teachers, parfnts, brothers
and sisters in church relation? Whilst
other churches have such systefns in opera
tion as they row have, for holding and get
ting unless we become proselyting bigots can
we do more than preach the Word faith
fully to these visitors to our churcVs and
attendants upon our extra meetings, in
struct them when inquiring the way of life,
and rejoice with them when converted?
Must we become exclusive immersionists to
secure such as, though converted under
our ministry, believe that immersed be
lievers only should be members of a church
of Christ ? Or must we adopt Presbyterian
forms of worship or modes of chutch gov
ernment to secure such as prefer these, or
the organ, the chant and the ri'ual, to suit
the aesthetics!, who, no matter by what in
strumentality converted, have been trained
to feel that such things are essential to the
worship of that God, who, neither by the
gorgeous ceremonies of Jerusalem nor Mt.
Gerizim, is to be longer worshipped, but in
spirit and in truth ? Shall the church become
a chameleon, changing with every, eircum
s'arce, vainly endeavoring to adapt itself
to the endless varieties of taste ?
.A Member of the Ga. Conference.
[We must beg our esteemed errreppon
dent rot to complain that, we Lave divided
hi3 article. We do not give quite half of
it this week ; but we could not give more,
and find a good stopping plsce. We must
insist on brief articles, or else reject them,
even when they are acceptable in every
particular but th v eir length.— Editor ]
#
iwlttfiras.
From the Christian Advocate and Journal.
Conversion of an Infidel.
Among Ihe papers left by the late Bish*
op M’Kendree is a letter from the Rev.
James O. Andrew, giving at the Bishop’s
request the particulars of a remarkable con
version, and the long-delayed answer to a
mother’s prayers. *The letter has no date,
but was evidently written at Wilmington,
N. C., and in 1818, as Mr. Andrew
was stationed mere in that and the prece
ding year. N,
Mr. Howard had been an infidel about
twenty years, during which he seldom at
tended the house of God, insomuch that be
observed to me, after his conversion, that
he had heard but three sermons in six
years. The world had been the sole object
of his pursuit, and he had succeeded in a
msssing a considerable quantity of its
wealth. He was in this situation in the
beginning of 1817.
He possessed among a number of other
slaves one named Peter, who usually attend
ed to bis cattle, and in whom he reposed
considerable confluence. Peter had been
for a number of years a faithful member of
the Methodist Church. Some time in the
early part of the above named year, Peter
died. When he saw the corpse Mr. Howard
was struck with astonishment—for he had
seen him in health, perhaps, only the
day before he beheld the lifeless clay—and
exclaimed, “My God! Peter, are you
dead ?”
At that moment, he says, this reflection
came into bis mind : ‘ Yes, you are dead,
but you are happy. But how can this be?
If you are happy lam wrong.” He ban
ished the reflection from his mind, _but it
returned again and again.
At length he resolved to search the Scrip
tures for himself, and see if there was a
sufficiency of cogent reasoning in the Bible
to convince him of its truth. He would
during this examination, read no other re
ligious book, nor converse with any religi
ous person, but confined his examination
and reading altogether to the Bible.
After thus reading and examining for
four or five months he became fully con
vinced of the authenticity of the Scriptures.
This took place on Sabbath morning, about
eleven oclock. About one he sat down and
wrote-a full recantation of his former prin
ciples in a letter to one of his most inti
mate associates in Deism, requesting him
to make it known to his former compan
ions in irfidelity, exhorting them to search
for thempelves.
He next morning called his family to
gether atd made known to them the change
which bad taken place in his mind. lie
said “We have all served tlje devil togeth
er, and if we do not repent we shall all per
ish.” From that morning he commenced
family prayrr.
Comparing his life to the sacred word;
he now began to feel that he was a wretch
E H. KYEES, D.D., EBITOS.
Whole Number, 1465.
ed finner, and that something more was
necessary than a simp'e admission of the
truth of Scripture. He felt, that he must
te brm again, and began to cry mightily
to God. After seeking thus earnestly for
about a fortnight, being in great distress,
he sent out on a Sabbath morning, and
cilling his neigh! ors together addressed
them to this effect: “You who have an in
terest in the throne of grace, I have col-,
lected you together that you may pray for
me ; and you that do not pray, I wish you
to witness the condition of one infidel.”
They began to pray about ten o’clock,
and continued in prayer until about two,
when the Lord spoke peace to his soul and
gave 1 im the witness of his acceptance.
Shortly after this he came to Wi'minglon,
and in the presence of his foimer compan
ions united with our society, and has ever
since seemed to enjoy the life and power
cf religion.
It may, perhaps, be proper to observe
that Ms mother bad been praying for h ; m
about forty years ; that during a'l that time
she had seen only one of her children con
verted ; but how the Lord gave her to see
her whole family gathered into the Church
in the space of two months.
Religion and Beauty.
God is the author of beauty. The descrip
tions of his character given in his wo and and the
revelations of a future stale—whethor the lans
gurge be figurative or literal—are replete with
beauty. The Psalmist pr ys that the beauly of
the Lord our God may be upon us. Under
the old dispensation, regard was had to beauty
in the structure of the tabernacle ard temple,
and in the services connected with tin m. Un
der the new dispensation a more spiritual wors
ship las been ordained If the costly cathe
dra!, with its groined arches and stained gloss
and elaborate works of art, be rot in keeping
with the simplicity of a worship in •which all
are kings and priests, yet surely that worship
may be performed in decorous ed’ficrs, and
G( d’s pra ; ses uttered in unison with the musical
sounds. The beauty of holiness and material
beauty are not antagonist.
On the contrary, religion furnishes the con
ditions favorable to tfce full doveb j ment of
man’s se-thetic nature. In the first plfee, it
restrains and eradicates those passions v hich
prevent the perceptions of beauty. The heav
ens are mirrored in the waters of the lake
only when those waters are pure and peaceful,
and a similar condition of the soul is n: cessaTy
in order that the forms of beauty may be mir*>
rored there When disturb! and by earthly pas
sions the power to perceive ad eijoy the
beautiful is destroyed. The drunkard as he
staggers homeward at night sees not the beauly
of the quivering shade cast by the aspen on the
moonbeams deepening in hispaihwav, nor hears
the music of the whippoorwill which be startles
from the door-stone of his dwelling. Brute
passion has destroyed the power of ptreeivirg
beauty ; and just in proportion as passion of
any kind bears *iway, sensibility to beauty is
destroyed. Now, religion purifies the heart,
the emotive nature, and thus leaves the mind
open to the power of beauty.
Again, religion associates the beauty of the
Lord with the beauty of his works. One is
visiting a gallery of paintings. He is passing
a picture without giving it sufficient attention
to perceive its merits. He is told that it is the
work of a dear friend who died beyond the sea.
He is at once placed in a condition to perceive
all its beauties.
Religion associates God with all his works.
The humming-bird, as he poises himself in the
viewless air and draws the sweet nectar from
the honeysuckle, is beautiful even to the un*.
taught rustic, but far more so to one who knows
that his Father’s hand gave symmetry to that
tiny form, and painted its plumage with that
brilliant green, and tipped those wings with
go’d and scarlet.
The young man is walking through a clover
field. Though he may be of the earth, earthy,
he cannot fail to be pleasantly affected by the
fragrance and gorgeousness of the wiving car
pet, and the brilliancy of the gems which tip
each leaflet. But to the thoughtful Christian
that morning walk is a source of far higher
pleasure. He views the clover field as the work
of a divine Artist, and that Artist his dearest
friend. He sees how much it cost to spread
out that carpet and stud it with t ose gems
Sunshine and showar, heat and frost, and
chemical forces, and the mixing of colors infi
nitely more skilfully than was ever witnessed
in the studio of Titkn, and those diem on dp,
which sparkle more brilliantly than thhse on
queenly brows—what an expenditure of res
sources was necessary to produce them ! The
ocean had to exhale its waters, and sober even
ing to condense them on the leaf, and a ray of
light had to be sent $ hundred million wiles to
kindle up its brilliancy. This man is not in a
mere common-place clover field.' He is in
God’s studio, God’s laboratory for forming ob*»
jeots of beauty. Will not his power to perceive
and enjoy beauty he increased?— Hoars at
Home.
Testimony of Infidelity.
The first infidel witnesses who came on the
stand after the death of Christ, testified that
while they (the testators) were asleep, a man’s
body was stolen from the tomb which they
were guarding. The points of their testimony
are as follows: Ist. Sixty soldiers acting unv
der military regulations, which punish with
death guards who were found sleeping on their
posts, were all asleep at the same time 2d.
That a number of men (not exceeding twelve)
approached the tomb, rolled away a heavy
stone, and bore away the corpse withqut wa
king the guard so as to enable them to arrest
the accused. 3d. That notwithstanding they
slept so soundly as to allow these unarmed men
to carry away the object they were guarding,
they nevertheless identified the men, to be the
“ Disciples,” even in the dark and in this
sound sleep. Subsequent history shows that
infidel testimony from that day to the present
is of a similar character.
Stray Thoughts —To confound’ wealth
with happiness is to mistake tho means for the
end. You might as well fancy that a kryfe and
fork would give you an appetite.—The smallest
compliment we receive from another confers
more pleasure than the biggest compliment we
pay to ourselves I—Most fashions are ridicu
lous, but one is obliged to tumble into ridicule
to avoid appearances still more ridiculous.