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THREE DOLLARS PER ANNUM. Vol. XXXII.—No. 30. Bad Taste. I desire to en*er an earnest protest against a p ACtice which is occasionally indulged in by some ministers of the gospel. I allude to the habit of using Latin phrases in their sermons. Is it not in bad taste 1 The fif* teenth Article of religion in our Discipline reads thus : It is a thing plainly repugnant to the word of God, and the custom of the primitive church, to have public prayer in the church, or to minister the sacraments, in a tongue not understood by tte people. Is not this principle applicable to preach ing the gospel? Such phrases may suit the lecture-room; but they are certainly unbecoming the pulpit ? It is not surprising that men who have a superficial knowledge of the languages should be guilty of this practice; but there is no excuse for Christian ministers who have enjoyed the advantages of a lib eral education. The simplicity of the gos pel is one of its chief excellences. It is related of the celebrated Dr. Archibald Alexander, of Princeton, that on a certain occasion, he preached to a large congrega tion in the oountry. Among the auditors was a plain, illiterate woiuau. She was asked how she liked the preacher. She replied, that she did not regard him as a great |man, but a good man, for she could scarcely read, and yet she understood every word he spoke. When it was mentioned to the Doctor, he said he regarded it as the greatest compliment ever paid him. And a greater man than Dr. A. has said, “And my speech, and my preaching was Dot with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of the pow er : that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." It is not improper to refer to classical history to draw illustrations from the sci ences, or the observations of travellers in Palestine, which may serve to explain Dible truths; but is it not in bad taste to use hatiD phrases which but few can under stand ? P. M. llyburn. Reminiscences of Billy Dawson. BY AN ENGLISH METHODIBT. Billy Dawson was familiarly called “the prince” of local preachers, and well did he deserve the title The rousing character of his appeals and the quaint eloquence of his style will bo long remembered; for, as a preacher, he was fearless and bold—not by rhetorical flourish, or pageant parade of empty but large-sounding words, dazzling his hearers by a mere lip eloquence, but by powertul, searching appeals, by “Thoughts that breathe and words that burn,” seeking a way to the heart. As illustra tive of the power of Billy Dawson as a preacher, we may quote the following. It is selected from a sketch of celebrated Methodist preachers, which appeared some years ago in a New York religious journal: “Mr. Dawson was delivering a discourse which was peculiarly suited to his genius, and which will be long remembered in many towns and villages in England, be cause of the effect it almost always produc ed. The sermon was generally known to bo one of his favorite discourses (and such he preached many times over,) and was called by his admirers, ‘Death on the Pole Horse.’ As the reader will readily sup ple, it was fovnded upon Revelation G : 7, 8. I have heard the sermon more than once, and know not that ever I heard one that was throughout of so startling a char acter. In bold and striking imagery, in powerful, thrilling, irresistible appeal, it soarooly could have a parallel. When Mr. Dawson had been happy In its delivery, I have seen the congregation listen with such absorbing interest that it seemed as though their very breathing was suspended, and, in the pauses of the preacher, a long and deep inspiration was resorted to as a relief. “This discourse Mr. Dawson was deliv ering at the village in question, and was indulging in that peculiarly vivid imagery which was the basis of his popularity. ‘Come and see! The sinner is in the broad road to ruin; every stop takes him nearer to hell, and farther from heaven. Onward, onward he is going; death and hell are after him quickly, untiringly they pursue him. With swift but noise ess hoof the pale horse and his paler rider are tracking the godless wretoh. See! see! they are getting nearer to him !’ At this moment, so perfect was the stillness of the congre gation that the ticking of the clock oould be heard in every part of the chapel, and upon this, with a facility peculiarly his own, he promptly seized, and, without any seem ing interruption, leaning over the pulpit in the attitude of attention, he fixed his eyes upon those who sat immediately beneath, and in an almost supernatural whisper con tinued : ‘Hark ! hark ! here they come ! that’s their untiring footstep—hark ! hark!’ and then, imitating for a moment the beat ing of a pendulum, he exclaimed in the highest pitch of his voice : ‘Save the sin ner—save him ! See, the bony arm is rais ed, the dart is poised ! omy God ! save him—save him ! for if death strikes him, he falls into hell, and as he falls he shrieks : Lost! lost! lost! Time lost! Sabbaths lost! Means lost! Heaven lost! All lost! lost ! lost !’ The effect was so overpowering that two of the congregation fainted, and it required all the preacher’s tact and self command to ride through the storm which his own brilliant fancy and vivid imagina tion had aroused.” Billy Dawson once refused to dine with a family on the Sabbath day because the servants were kept from divine service to prepare dinner for him. A short time af terward he met his would be hostess, when she told him she had hit upon apian which would remove that hindrance. Said she, “We send our dishes to the public bake house,’’ fully expecting this plan would at onoe meet his approval. On asking his opinion thereon, Mr. Dawson made answer: “Very good plan, very good; only you must first find a baker without a soul.” Generally accounted as true is an anec dote of his preaching at Pudsey, a village inhabited ohiefly by woolen cloth weavers, some five or six miles from Leeds. It has been thus related by the writer in the American religious paper before referred to: “As the story prevails, Mr. Dawson was preaching from the history of David Blay ing Goliath, and was indulging freely in tne pictorial representation of which he was so perfect a master. Personating Da vid, he had struck down the boasting Philistine, and stepping back in the pulpit, he oast his eye downward, and commenced a train of irony, whioh had the twofold ef feot of pieroing every one that exalted him self against the Lord, and of adding force to the graphic picture he had already given of that strange confliot. So powerfully did the speaker depiot the conqueror’s emotion, and so rapidly did he heap taunt on his prostrate foes, that the congregation seem ed to forget the actual state of things in the ideal, and waited in breathless suspense for the catastrophe. Some in the gallery, in the intensity of the exoitement, literally leaned forward, as though they expected to see upon the floor of the pulpit the giant’s form with the strippling’s foot upon his breast; and one persor, carried away by his feelings and forgetting in his excite ment the sanctity of the place, exclaimed, in the broad dialeot of his country: ‘Off with his head, Hilly !' ” Another time, urging sinners to give their hearts to God, he suddenly stopped and exclaimed : “0 God ! here is mine." An old lady in the gallery immediately re joined : “And here 13 mine, too/' One more remioisceDce of this remarka ble man to close. At Bristol he had once to preach missionary sermons, and on the sue ceeding Thursday to address the missiona ry meeting. He was called upon to speak, and after a few preliminary remarks he rolled up his copy of the resolution in the shape of a telescope, and placed it to his eye. Then, in vivid language he depicted the state of the heathen. Putting it to his eye again, he asked, “What do I see now ?’ and after a pause went on : “Oh ! I can see a chariot. It is the Gospel chariot; it is golden and lined with love. There are ropes to it of purest silver, and there are men in white robes drawing it.*' Then the sounding of the trumpets, the Saviour sitting in the chariot, and scattering on every side the Gospel blessings, were pic tured in glowing words If the speaker hai stopped here, the description would have been very fine, but Billy Dawson put up h's mimic telescope again. The au dience waited in breathless silence for what would follow, when he said : “And what do you see now, Dawson ?” “Why,” he continued, “I see that there will be a good collection.” Such was Billy Dawson, one of the greatest ornaments to the local ministry in connection with Methodism. It was such men as these who rendered Methodism fa mous. Like Stephen, they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and therein we have the secret of their power. Have we lost that Spirit ? In the school of modern Metho dism are there not to be found some kin dred souls ? We are forcibly reminded of the remark of an old lady, who, when the venerable Dr. Dixon, preaching a funeral sermon for the late Dr. Bunting, lamented that God was taking away all their best men, exclaimed in a loud voice: “Bless the Lord, that’s a lie," As meant by this old lady, if God takes a David he supplies a Solomon, so that the good work still goes on. Thauk God for Methodism; may it wield a yet far more extended influence, and rise to a higher baptism of the Spirit from on high.— New York Methodist. Anecdotes of the Wesleys.* Charles Wesley, the Doct of Methodism, had a son who bore his name, who was born December 11, 1757. Charles Wes ley, Jun., was a musical prodigy in his in fancy. Before he was three years old he manifested great talents for musio, and in early life rose to eminence in the profes sion. No one ever excelled him in per* firming Handel’s music on the organ. Two of the Kings of England, George 111. and George IV., employed him for a long time to play in their presence, and were highly delighted with his performances. Like his father, he was a man of small stature, and exhibited the eccentricities of genius. He abounded in anecdote. Sev eral that follow were related by him. For years Charles Wesley, Jun., was a member of tho Wesleyan Society in London, a good man with a pure Christian character. May 23, 1834, he died in great peaoe in Lon don, and was gathered to his fathers. CJ.ARLES WE.MLEY, JUN., AND KINO GfORGE 111. King Gcorgo HI. it well known to have been very fond of music, particularly that of Handel. Charles Wesley excelled in playing the compositions of that great mas ter. He became a special favorite with his Majesty. At one time he offered him-. self as a candidate for the vacant situation of organist at St. Paul’s Cathedral, when he met with a painful repulse. On ap pearing before the ecclesiastics, with whom the appointment lay, and presenting his claims to their confidence, they said to him abruptly, “Wo want no Wesleys here.” The King heard of this unseemly act, and was deeply grieved He sent for the obnox ious organist to Windsor, and expressed his strong regret that he should have been re fused in such a manner and for such area son, adding, with his own frankness and generosity, “Never mind, the name of Wesley is always welcome to me.’’ At auother time, after King George had lest his sight, Mr. Wesley was one day with the venerable monarch alone, and the King inquired, “Mr. Wesley, is there any body in the room but you and me? “No, your Majesty,’’ was the reply. The King then declared his persuasion that Mr. Wesley’s father and uncle, with Mr. Whitefield and Lady Huntingdon, had done more to pro mote the spread of true religion in the country than the whole body of the digni field clergy who were so apt to despise their laborr. CHARLES WESLKT, JOS , AND SING GEORGE IV. Charles Wesley, Jun., used to speak of Ki ng George IV. as an admirable judge of music He was very fond of Charles Wes ley, Jun , not only for his ability as a per former, but beoause, such was the tenacity of his memory, he scarcely ever had occa sion to refer to his books Mi hatever fa vorite composition the King might call for, Mr. Wesley was prepared to play without delay or hesitation. In one of his visits to Carlton House one of the pages refus J to admit him by the front entranoe, L , or dered him to go round and seek admission by some less honorable way. He obeyed. The King saw him approach, and inquired why he came to the palace in that direction. Mr. Wesley explained, and his Majesty sending for the page, gave him such a re buke as he was not likely soon to forget, and commanded that whenever Mr. Wesley visited the palace he should be treated with all possible respect. THE BISHOP'S REBUKE. Charles Wesley, Jun., was dining with the venerable Bishop Burgess, remarkable for his theological learning, and for the zeal and ability with which he defended the principles of Protestant Christianity. There was a young clergyman at the dinner table who seemed desirous of attracting at tention by the avowal of his partialities as a minister of the Established Church. “My Lord,’’ said he, addressing the Bish op, “when I was passing through I saw a man preaching to a crowd in the open air. I suppose he was one of John Wes ley’s itinerants.” “Did you stop to hear him ?” inquired the Bishop. “O no,” said the clergyman, “I did not suppose he oould say anything worth hearing ” The Bishop ended the conversation by saying, “I should think you are mistaken, Mr. preaches better sermons than you or I could have done. Did you know, sir, that this gentleman,’’ pointing to Charles Wesley, “is John Wesley’s nephew ?” CHARLES WESLEY, JUN., AND HIE SISTER SARAH. Sarah Wesley was younger than her brother Charles. She was finely endowed, and had great influence over her brother. At a certain time he was greatly dejected, feeling that his talents had not been ade quately rewarded. He oame to his sister in a melancholy mood, and said, “All my works are neglected. They were perform ed at Windsor, but no one minds them now.” Sarah answered him in a sprightly tone, “What a fool you would be to regret such worldly disappointment! You may secure a heavenly crown and immortal honor, and have a thousand blessings which were denied to poor Otway, Butler, and other bright geniuses Johnson toiled for daily bread till past fifty. Pray think of ••‘Anecdotes of the Wesleys,” by Rev. J. 3. Wake ley, of the New York Conference, your happier fate.’’ “True,’’ said he, with sweet humility, and took away his produc tions. Flaviog recorded this* anecdote, she adds, “Lord, sanctify all those mundane mortifications to him and ine. The view of another state will prevent all regrets.’’ CHARLES WKSLKY, JTIJf., AMD HIS UNCU JOM. In early life Charles formed an attach* meat for an amiable girl, but of inferior birth. His father was not pleased, and wrote to him, “If any man would learn to pray/' the proverb says, “let him go to sea ’’ I say, “If any man would lsarn to pray, let him think of marrying." The engagement met with strong opposition from the mother, and she mentioned it with much concern to John Wesley. He said, “Then there is no family blood. I hear the girl is good, but of no family.’’ “Nor fortune either,” said the mother of Charles. John Wesley, who was as far above those sentiments as the heavens are above the earth, ever preferring sound sense and reli gion before money and an honorable ances try, encouraged his nephew, and sent him fifty pounds as a wedding gift. But some way the engagement was broken off, and Charles doomed himself to perpetual bache lorship. Lazy Attitude in Praywr. Posture in prayer is of some acoount. Standing, kneeling, and prostrate are all mentioned in the Bible. A modern inven tion adds to those of Scripture authority, sitting in the pews. This we are far enough behind the spirit of the age to consider un becoming and irreverent. It is a city habit mainly. But country souls in their simplioity are apt to ape city manners. Hence you will find here and there in country churches, where the old devout habits can at all be broken in upon, the city style is copied by a select few We have noticed Elders and Deacons and their families act thus irreverently, and set this unbecoming example. It is dis respectful to the congregation and to God. It wears a lazy look. It is not crucifying the flesh. It is not worshiping God with the body and spirit, which are his. Prostrate may do in the closet, and sit ting in the invalid’s chair; but it is unhe* coming in the congregation. Lying in bed to say prayers is as lazy and inexcusa ble as to sit in time of prayers during pub lio worship. When the congregation kneels, then all devout persons present should kneel. When the posture is standing, then it is a mark of disrespect, if nothing worse, to sit still in the pew. In prayer-meetings and special acts of humiliation kneeling is the custom in our Church. In ordinary public worship the standing posture is almost universal. Tlere are a few of our congregations with which we have at times worshiped where the the ory of the custom is to kneel always in prayer and stand in singing. This comes from surrounding influences. The theory is not put into practioe. For, while most all rise up to sing, few kneel in time of prayer. Nearly all sit bolt upright in their pews. It is copied from surround ing sects. A minister of onr church in one of those places, labile attending a meeting of the Western Synod, was assigned to preach for the Baptists. Tic asked before service, “What is your posture in prayer?’’ “Siauding,” was the reply of the Bap tist Deacon. At the proper times the minister said, “Let us pray,’’ expecting the congregation to rise. No one moving in the pews, he repeated, “Let us pray ?’’ Two or three men rose to their feet. Looking the congregation in the face, and iudicating his request with a gesture of uplifted hands, again the minister chal lenged them with, “ Let us pray!’' That brought the congregation to their feet, and, we trust, taught them a good lesson. In a Boston congregation of many hun dreds assembled, with which we onee wor shiped, a committee of six, with us and the minister, represented the people before the Lord in the requested attitude of prayer, and a smaller committee of four did the singing. Let all things be done decently and in order. This requires all to join in the worship of the congregation in united acts of divine service. When they sing, then sing. When they pray then pray in the attitude of the adopted custom. —Reformed Church Messenger. Spurgeon and Wayland on Open Communion. The most eminent living Baptist in Eng land is Mr. Spurgeon, and no name is more revered among American Baptists than that of the late Dr. Francis Wayland. The fol lowing letters from each, relating to the subjeot of open communion, will be read with interest. Remarking upon the effects of the prac tice of open communion on the English Baptist, churches, Mr. Spurgeon says in a letter lately published : “Whether open communion be right or not, one thing I should think is beyond all dispute, viz : that where it has been adopt ed it has been like life from the dead to many old and decaying interests; and in no case has its adoption retarded the growth of the churches, except where strict breth ren have seceded and made themselves into parties. Ido not look upon the fact as of any consequence, because churches may grow all the more with a sort of increase under unhealthy systems ; but I venture to assert that our largest, most wealthy, most intelligent, and most growing churches everywhere , except in Yorkshire, are all open communion. Indeed, striot commun ion is about extinct among us, exoept in certain districts. The assertions which yon allude to are baseless, and the small show of statistics, taken years ago, and in a limit ed area, goes for nothing. Ask any man, who knows England, and he will tell you that the practice of open communion has been the sign of growth amoDg ns, and has always followed at the heels of enlighten ment.’’ There has been some dispute about Dr. Wayland’s opinion on this vexed question, but the following paragraph in a letter da ted June 22d, 1865, and lately published in the Church Union, sets the matter at rest: “As to the subject of communion, I be lieve that it is one to be left to the indi vidual conscience of every believer. If I believe it to be my duty or privilege to com mune with a disoiple of Christ who holds to Pedo-baptism, it should give offence to no one If another brother thinks it his duty to decline such communion, it should give me no offence. Both desire to please the Master, and we should not ‘judge another man’s servant.’ There is no precept res pecting it in the New Testament. Men, from what is revealed, may infer one thing or the other. Their inference binds them selves, but no one else.'* God’s Word. —Seeing a man reject the inspiration of the Scriptures, while he said he maintained his belief in Jesus Christ and biß redemption, I bad oompared him to someone who has a costly perfume in a glass vessel; he breaks the vessel, thinking that he can at the same time preserve the perfume, but he loses it all. Set aside the inspiration of the Scriptures, and all Chris PUBLISHED BY J. W. BURKE & fY, FOR THE M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH. Macon, Gal; Friday, July 23, 1869. tian doctrine will disappear. This id not! theory, I hare seen it to be a fact; there fore the question is one of the greatest 114 portaoce. £am not ignorant of the objef tioos, of the diffienkies that are raised, bii the plcntitude of the divinity to be in the Scriptures is too great to be in ths least prejudiced by them. 1 say from the depth of my heart, “Thy word is truth.? Not to believe that the Bible is God's mes sage is voluntarily to deprive one’s self of att true, wholesome, well-founded knowledge about God and our future state. It is return* ing to darkness ; it is to ruin our own pros* pects, and perhaps also the welfare of others with us. —Merle D'Aubigne. t “Himself Hath Done It.” Isaiah xxxviii. 15. “Himself hath done it” all! O, how those words Shoo Id hash to silence every murmuring thought “Himself hata don® it,” —He who lores me best— He who my soul with his own blood hath bought. • Himself hath done it.” Can it then be aught Than fall of wisdom—lull of tendcrestlove Nr tone unneeded sorrow will He send, To teach this wandering heart no more to rove. “Himself hath done it.” Yea, although sever# ( May seem the strode, and biite- the cup, 'Tis His own hand taat holds it; and I fctow He'll give me grace to drink it meekly up. .1 “Himself hath done it ” O. no arm but His Could e’er sustain beneath earth’s dreary lot But while I know He doeth all things well, My heart His lovii g kindness questions not. ‘ Himself hath done it.” He who searched me through Sees b< w I c ing to earth’s ensnariug ties, And so He break* each reed on which my soul Too much for happiness and joy relies. “Himself hath done it.” He would have me see What broken cisterns human fri a nd9 must prove; That I may turn an-i quench my burning tnirst At His own fount 01 everlasting love. “Himself hath done it.” Then I fain would shy— Thy will io all things ever more be done; E’en though that will remove whom best 1 love, While Je*>us lives I cannot be alone. “Himself hath done it,” —precious precious words Himse f—rnv Father, Saviour, Brother, Friend! Whose faithfulness no variation knows— Who, having loved me, loves me to the end ! And when, in His eternal presence blest, I at His feet my orown immortal ca t. IM gladly own, with all His ransomed saints, “Himself ualh done it” all from first to last!” The Book of Remembrance- A man of God when speaking to a poor sufferer in the Block-rook Convalescent Home at Brighton, who was bowed down by despairing remorse, inquired, “Have you asked to-day for the pardon of all your sins ?” “That I have.” “And do you think God has written down your prayers in His book ?” “I did not know that He kept one for my prayers.” 'r.' “He tells us that He has a book of re* membrance for our thoughts when we think upon His name; and elsewhere, that our words are kept account of; and between tho two do you not think that your prayers are included ? And do you think the loving God has written in that to-day, on the 25th of February, 1868, William T. asked Me for the forgiveness of all his sins, for My dear Son’s sake, and 1 refused him ?” “No, sir ; I cannot believe that.’’ “What, then, has He written beside your prayer? It is not with Him, as with you or me, to say, ‘I think 1 may/ Tnerc is no uncertainty in His mind.” The man thought deeply for a time, and at length replied, “Then it is mote likely that He has written ‘granted’ by its side.’’ From the moment the fetters of his fears were broken, and the man was set free to trample on his sins, and to serve his Saviour. 1 This was repeated to a dying brioklayer, who had been employed, when a mere boy. at the building of the Crystal Palace, ai>d who had, at that time, attended the Bible readings held in Beckenham. Now, he had again come to the neighborhood, in the last stage of consumption. He was still a young man, skilled in his work, of high moral character, and happy in his home. Ho had lamented his early fate, and ex pressed a dread of death, as if it would close all his prospects of enjoyment. “Have you, then, no happy thoughts of heaven—no pleasure in looking forward to its boundless joys ?” “None whatever,” was the mournful re ply ; “because I cannot believe that I am pardoned and saved and have a right to ex pect to enter heaven. J have been honest and steady, good at my work, and a kind hnsbaßd; all that 1 know, but it is not all I have to think about. I have done de cently well by my fellow-creatures, but very shabbily towards my God. How shall I know that He will forgive me and receive me ?’’ The sugge«tion of the book kept for our praters and God’s answer caught his fancy. “There’s a good deal in t at. But read me more of what God says about forgiveness.” Two passages seemed to his mind to be almost conclusive; “By Him all that be lieve are justified from all things,” and “that through Him whosoever believeth on Him shall receive remission of sins.” But it was plain that he conld not yet accept the message of comfort for himself. One more was left with him—the ninth verse of the first chapter of the first epistle of John. The next day was Sunday. A young ar tillery officer—himself a happy Christian —went to see him, and brought baok tid ings of a face beaming with joy. Early the next morning I found him as it had been told me, his thoughtful counte nance radiant with his new-found blessing. “I have got it! I have got it!” he ex claimed; “I have got the forgiveness of all my sins. It was that last verse that did it: ‘lf we confess our sins, He is faithful and jnst to forgive us oar sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ If God had said He was merciful to forgive us our sins, I might have said, Mercy’s His own look out ; to show it when Hs likes, or never, if He don’t. But when He says He’s just, it’s another matter. Why no honorable man would like to delay doing a justice as soon as he got the chance of doing it. It’s what you owe to another, and you don’t like keeping it back from him a minute. And how much more would the great God do the justice He owes His poor creatures as soon as they claim it of Him. And I see how it is He owes it to ns. It is because His own Son paid for it beforehand.” Then with a sudden burst of grateful love he said, “Now I would not take thou sands of gold and silver, nor health and strength to enjoy it, to take me off this dying bed. I would rather take a short cut at three-and-thirty to go to Jesus. I want to see Him, and bless Him for paying the whole debt, and for opening the door of heaven to me.” This transport of thankful happiness and bright anticipation, scarely affected for a moment by pain or weakness, lasted to the end ; so that he passed through the valley of the shadow of death in unclouded light from his Saviour’s oountenanoe. Shall we die in it, and live in it too ? It would be no more than obedience to the Divine command, “Rejoice in the Lord al ways ?—Miss Marsh’s “Shining Light.” Sectarianism. —There is a great deal of cant and nonsense talked about sectarian ism. It is often imagined that if a man is fond of his church, he is a sectarian. You might as well say a man is sectarian if he likes his own house and family better thaD any other in the same street. The man I call sectarian is the man who is not content ed with the blessings of number one in th street, but who is always throwing stones o mud at number two; who is not eonten with his own wife and family, but who talks and gossips about another man’s family. Give me the man who has honest, earnest conviction about his own church, and I ex tend to him the right hand of fellowship. Love your ohuroh and do all you oan for it j bat try to imagine, at the same time, that other men are as conscientious as you are, and give them the right hand of fellow ship when they do ail they can for their church. The Practical in Religion. The practical duties of religion are not preached from the pulpit as frequently as they ought to be. A friend of ours told us of his clergyman lecturing for succes sive weeks on the Epistle to the Ephesians. The doctrinal points he discussed at length and with much unotion. But wheu he came to the duties of husband and wife; parents and children; masters and ser vants; he passed them by, as seemingly very unimportant. His experience does not seem to differ Ifrom that of some others. We have before us an account of the inauguration address j of the distinguished historian, Mr. Froude : j have had,” he said, “thirty years i of unexampled clerical aotivity among us; ; churches have been doubled, theological I books, magazines, reviews, newspapers, have been poured out by hundreds of thou- J sands, while by the side of it there has j sprung up an equally astonishing develop | ment of moral dishonesty. From the great J houses in the city of London to the village frooer, the commercial life of England has een saturated with fraud. So deep has it jigonc that a striotly honest tradesman can ; hardly hold his ground against competition. iYou oan no longer trust that any article jthat you buy is the thing which it pretends to be. We have false weights, false meas ures, cheating everywhere. Yet the clergy j.have seen all this grow up in absolute in ! difference; and the great question which at this moment is agitating the Church of England is the color of the ecclesiastical ! petticoats!”, He said, he heard man y hundred sermons, ®any a dissertation on the mysteries of the on the divine mission of the clergy, fan apostolical succession, on bishops, and , justifioatioo, and the theory of good works, • and verbal inspiration, and the efficacy of j the sacraments; but never, during these thirty wonderful years, one that he oouid j recollect on common honesty, or those pri | mitive commandments—“thou shalt not tile,” and “thou shalt not steal.’’ After all i this, he felt that he had much the same |.oause for thankfulness as an old verger at Cambridge, who one day said to the bish sop : “Oh ! my lord, I have much to he thankful for; I have heard every sermon 1 which has been preached in this church for fifty years, and thank God I am a Chris tian still.” The Gentleman at Church. The gentleman at church is known by following matks: 1. Comes in good season, so as neither '0 interrupt the pastor nor the congregation ~>y a late arrival 2. Does not stop upon the stops, or in portico, either to gaze at the ladies, sa ~ mends, or display his colloquial powers 3. Opens anu shuts the door gently, takes off his hat, and waiks deliberately and Rightly up the aisle or gallery-stairs, and gets his seat as quietly, and by making as few people remove as possible. 4. Take his place either in tie back part of the scat, or steps out into the aisle when any one wishes to pass in, and never thinks of such a thing as making people orowd past him while keeping his place in the ; seat. 5. Is always attentive to strangers, and gives up hia seat to such ; seeking another for himself. 6 Never thinks of filling a house of God with tobocoo spittlc, or annoying those who sit near him by chewing that nauseous weed in church. 7. Never, unless in oaße of illness, gets up or goes out during time of service ; but if necessity compel him to do so, goes so quietly that his very manner is apology for the act. 8. Does not engage in conversation be fore the service. 9. Does not whisper, or laugh, or eat fruit in the house of God, or lounge in that holy place. 10. Does not clap his hat on his head and rush out of the church like a trampling horse the moment benediction is pronounced, but retires uncovered, slowly, in a noiseless, quiet manner. 11. Does all he can by precept and ex ample, to promote decorum in others, and is ever ready to lend his aid to discounte nance all indeoorum in the house of God. The Value of the Sabbath. Not many years ago, a contractor in America, went far to the West with his men and teams to make a turnpike road. At first he paid no regard to the Sabbath, but continued his work as on other days. He soon found, however, that the ordi nances of nature, no less than the law of God, were against him. His laborers be came sickly; his teams grew poor and fee ble; and he was fully convinced that more was lost than gained by Sunday labor. When gold was first discovered in Cali fornia, the miners worked for a time with out any weekly cessation ; but they found that they were digging graves as well as gold ; and, having lost their reckoning of the Sabbath, they actually made a day of rest for themselves. When the engines of an extensive steam packet company in the south of England were getting constantly damaged, the mis chief was soon repaired by giving the men wbat the bounty of their Creator had given them long before—the rest of eaoh seventh day. A distinguished merchant in America once said, “I should have been dead or a maniac long ago had it not been for the Sabbath/’ Tnis was said in the hearing of others ; and one of them told of a mer chant who used to boast that he found Sunday the best day for planning voyages, but wbo was then in a lunatio asylum. “Hail,Sabbath ! thee I hail, the poor man’s day: On other days the man of toil is doom’d To eat his joyless bread, lo'i<*ly; the ground Both seat aad board, screen’d from the winte ’i cold tnd summer heat by neighboring tree or nedge : But on this day, emoosom’J in his hom >, He shar-s the frugU nriiai with th >se he lov«s; With those he lovon he shares the heart-felt joy Os giviDg thanks to God.” „ , _ —Early Days. Preparation for Preaching. —ls the clergy would study the Bible with a closer and more penetrating exegesis, and that theological system which has in it most of the solid substance of the Bible, with a more patient and scientific spirit; if they would habituate their intellects to long and couneeted trains of thought, aad to a pre cise use of language; then, under the im pulse of even no higher degree of piety than they now possess, greater results would follow their preaching. When the clergy shall pursue theologioal studies, as Melanothou sajg -h6~~ did, for personal spiritualist ; when theological science *haj| j} e wrought into the soul, induoinga theologioal mood ; when thorough learning and diligent self-discipline shall go hand in-hand with a deep love for God and soul; and when the clergy shall dare speak to „tbe people with extemporaneous boldness out of a full heart, full head, and clear mind, we may expect, under the Divine ble&siDg, to see some of those great move ments which characterized the ages of ex tempore preaching —the age of the apostles, the age of the Reformers, the age of John Knox in Scotland, the age of Wesley and Whitefield in England and Amerioa.—Pro fessor Shedd. How Men Die. A number of years ago, in upper Hin dostan, the Rev. John Ireland, a faithful minister of the Gospel, yielded up his spirit to the gracious God who gave it. Surrounding the dying pastor’s bed were members of the sooiety of the station ; some civilians, a few military men, together with some of the swarthy natives—servants devotedly attached to the self-denying mas ter whom they were now to lose. But ere Mr. Ireland’s eyes closed for ever on this world, to open in an eternity of bliss, he essayed to speak to those around him. His words were few; but long years after he had gone they were remembered by men who, at the time, young and thoughtless, have sioce embraoed Christ as the Saviour: “I have preaohed many sermons to you, my friends; but before leaving you I should wish to say, if all is forgotten, let this be remembered: ‘O! what a joy it is to die !’” In the same station, but a latter period, a thrill of uneasiness passed through many hearts among the European residents, when it became known that malignant cholera had attacked Mr. , a popular young planter, a native of M , in Scotland. He had supped at a late hour at one of the station balls, and was seized with the mala dy after retiring to his hotel. The skillful services of the medioal offioer of the native regiment were promptly at hand; but a few hours told the mournful talo, that though remedies might alleviate the suf ferer’s pains, they oouid not bs expeoted to prevail. The poison of the terrible scourge had done its work with fearful rapidity, and death must soon ensue. The scene whioh arose when the sorrow ful opinion, “No hope,” was givon, can better be imagined than depioted. The anxious surgeon, with bared arms, aided l>y a native assistant, rubbed the youth’s cramped limbs, and a sparkling stimulant was occasionally applied to his lips when he oomplained of thirst. A friend ner vously penned the last will, and a minister kneeling with earnest voice, offered prayer. But ever and again, until the final scene closed, an agonized cry rose from the dying youth : “I’m dying 1 I’m dying! 0! how hard it is to be obliged to die!’’ In a small pitch of burying ground in that distant land, the dead rest until resur rection day shall break upon this world “And many that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting con tempt.’’—British Messenger. The Christians. There is a sect in the United States, be sides that called Camphellites, that repudi ates all ecclesiastical surnames. As their orthodoxy has been c tiled in question, their Conference in New England has set forth the following platform of general prinoiphs and specific declrines, as held by them. We need not Bay that we oould not stand on this basis, but we would not unchurch those who can. The general principles are— I. The Holy Scriptures, the ultimate and only infallible rule of faith and prac tice. 11. The name “Christian,’’ the most ap propriate and fitly descriptive name for dis ciples of Christ. 111. Christian character, i. e., a Chris tian experience and life, founded upon Christian belief, the only proper test of fellowship. IV. The Congregational form of Church government: eaoh Church being independ ent and the highest ecclesiastical tribunal on earth. The specific doctrines are— 1. The existence of Jehovah, as revealed in the Bible and in nature. 2. The real divinity of Jesus; that he is not a mere man, nor a oreated being but the “Only begotten Son of Goi,’’ hence, “oonsubstautial” with Him. 3. The Holy Spirit, the Divine Renower, Comforter, Guide, and Sanctifier. 4. The Infallible Inspiration and Divine Authority of the Holy Scriptures. 5. Man’s entire destitution of holiness previous to the new birth. 6. The Freedom of the Human Will. 7. The necessity of Regeneration—a su pernatural change wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit. 8. Salvation through the atonement and mediation of Christ. 9. The Immersion of believers as the most faithfully expressive of the Scriptu ral Idea of Baptism. 10. Admission of all regenerated per sons to Christ’s table. 11. The perfeot equality, in Christ, of all believers; and Christ the “Head” of his Church. 12. The Resurrection of the Dead, both of the just aud unjust. 13. The judgment of the world in right eousness by Jesus Christ at the appointed day. 14. The “everlasting punishment” of the wicked, and the everlasting happiness of the righteous, in the future state. Teachers’ Qualifications. . 1. Deep piety. Love to Christ should always precede, and ever accompany work for Christ. 2. Bible knowledge. The teaoher must be taught by the Spirit of God, to “know’’ the doctrines he teaches. 3. Seriousness and thoughtfulness. Friv olous teachers never succeed. The truly successful teacher must give his brain, as well as his heart, to his work. 4. Adaptation. He must acquaint him self with his olass, and adapt his manner, his words, and his ideas, to the mental abili ty and habits of his pnpils. 5. Watchfulness. A* the agriculturist watches for the early blade of corn, or the horticulturist for the development of a fa vorite flower, so must the teacher watoh for the Bigus of success, for the evidence of gracious feeling in his scholars. lie is a watcher for souls. 6. Patieooe. The time often seems long between the sowing time and reaping hour; the true teaoher must know both how to la bor and to wait. 7. Devotedoess. That teacher whose whole heart is not given to this great work, is but little better than an automaton ; the form without the life is there. A true teacher gives himself wholly to his work. 8. Prayerfulness. Prayer is the teaoh er’s great strength; through or by this he expects to suooeed, and he shall not be dis appointed. The more prayer, the greater the power both for God and the soholars. Praying teachers always succeed. These aie some of the qualifications ne cessary to suooessful teaohing. Teaoher, ao they ornament your character ? If they do, then go fearlessly onward; you must “win souls to Christ.” If not seek them earnestly that your “labor be not in vain,” and that immortal souls committed to you perish not. The Bich Poor Woman. There was a poor woman, a member of his church, whose lot was cast in the very lowest state of poverty and laborious exer tion. Her husband was a kind hearted being, but possessed no energy of character, who drifted along in the same track, year after year, without ever bettering his con dition, and who could never imagine how a family could be very poor ao long as they neither froze nor starved to death. They had a numerous progeny, who were always as neat as it was possible for their hard working mother to keep them. That oheerlulness and contentment, whioh in the husband was the eonsequence of imbecili ty of character, in the wife was the result of a deep inward feeling of the require meDts of the religion she professed, and a strong desire to obey the injunction of Him who was meek and lowly in heart, and who said, “if ye love me keep my com mandments.” Nothing could exceed the cheerfulness and patience with which her laborious duties wore performed. She ap peared half of each Sabbath in her custo mary seat, and it was always gratifying to witness her humble and devout aspect. “One day,” said the minister, “she called at my house more dejeoted than I had ever seen her. She had called to tell me her little trials, and to ask my counsel and in structions relative to her obligations to her own family and the church. It seemed she had been frequently reproved by l the members of the church, for non attendance at their private and stated meeting. It was utterly impossible for h?r to do so, I knew, and told her so. Every moment of exemption from severer labor was occu pied with her needle, while at the same time she gave her ohildren sueh instruo tion as her capacity and conscience dicta ted. I know, said I, you have very little time for publio worship, but you, undoubt edly, attend to the daily exercises of your jloset, and therefore receive all the com forts of religion. The tears gushed to her eyes; “that, sir,’ she replied, ‘is what dis tresses me more than anything else. I hardly ever find timo for that. When I would be alone with my Maker some duty whioh my conscience tells me must not be neglected, will intrude, and I find nojlmc to be alone from morning till night. When I go to bod I try to pray, but my eyelids are so weighed down with weariness that I have no command of my thoughts, and drop asleep. And yet I am happy, and whilo I dress my ohildren, sweep my house, or stand over the dish-kettle, I have sueh sweet oommunings with my Maker, that 1 feel he will aeeopt my poor servioes, though I have so little time to offer them.’ ‘Patient and guileless Christian,’ I ex claimed, grasping her hand, ‘so loDg as you can feel happy in praying over your dish-kettlo, don’t be troubled at what oth ers may say to you; such prayers are the most aoecptable wo can offer our Creator, because the most sincere and unostenta tious.’ Verily, I said, when she was gone, this poor woman has oast in more than wo all. For wo have offered donations, or cast into the treasury from our abundanoo of time, but sho, of her want, hath cast in all that she had. The Religious Paper. The Texas Baptist Herald has the fol lowing good thing: 1. A good religious paper make Christians more intelligent. 2. It makes them more useful. 3. It secures better pay for the pastor. 4. It secures better teaohers for the Sab bath-school. 5. It secures better attendance at the prayer meeting. 6. It leads to a bettor understanding es the Scriptures. 7. It increases interest in the spread of the gospel. 8. It helps to settle church difficulties. 9. It gives unity of faith and praotioc. 10. It exposes error. 11. It places weapons in tho hands of all to defend the truth. 12. It affords a channel of communica ion between brethren. 13. It gives tho news from the churches. 14. It brings out tho talent of tho de nomination, and makos it useful on a wider scale. 15. It throws light upon obscure ques tions of practical interest. 16. It gives light on obscure passages of the Bible. 17. It cultivates a taste for reading. 18. It makes the children more intelli gent. 19. It makes better parents. 20. It makes better children. 21. It awakens interest for the salvation of souls. 22. It gives general religious news. 23. It gives the more important ourrent news of general interest. All this it furnishes at a very small cost compared with its value. Join the Church. It is a delusion for any soul to think it can fully enjoy the grace of God and obey the Saviour’s commands, and refuse to be connected with the visible Church of Christ, if the opportunity were afforded. It is the duty and the privilege of all to enjoy the fellowship of saints. Do not say, “I do not know which church I ought to join, and therefore I will not join* any.’’ Go where you feel most at home, where there are congenial influences and sur“ roundings. These different churches exist in harmony with the divine plan and the human mind. They exist to satisfy dif ferent tastes and intellectual preferences. Your Christian humility would forbid your saying, “I do not wish to join any ohuroh, beoause all are imperfect.” A. certain minister met another who had left the church because of its imperfeotioo. “What arc you doing now ?’’ said the former. “I am looking for a perfeot ohuroh,” was the reply. “Well,’’ was the response, “you will never find it, for you would make it imperfect by joining it.” So with you. But perhaps this is the very plea you are urging, “I am too im perfeot to enter into church relationships/' But we answer, the churob was never de signed for perfect beings. There would be no ohuroh were that the prerequisite for membership. The church is a school to discipline aud develop us. Its divine word, its ministry, its ordinances, its sacra ments, its varied forms >.f Christian activi ty, are all, by the inworking of the Holy Spirit, to train our earthly rudimentary life for the life to come. The Church of Jesus Christ can alone do this. It only is able “to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” Come, then, you who are oonsoious that you are full of faults, bcoome earnest, eon* secrated workers in the ohuroh below, fight ing with sin within and without, that at the last you may form a part of “the Churoh triumphant above, whioh is with out fault before the throne of God.” A Word about Social Prayer.— Be reverent. Do not address God in the con versational tone in whioh you speak to your brethren. If the Holy Spirit has stirred you up to call upon God; do not try to le attractive or eloquent; do not indulge in flights of fanoy; do not “journey among the stars,’’ or “ride the foaming main/’ Remember those around you, not that you E. H. MYERS, D. D., EDITOR. Whole Number 1761 may impress them with admiration of your self, but in that simple, dircot language you may express their desires as well as your own ; and remember God as “the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, ’» and as accessible only through the merits of Jesus. Do not forget that wo have no right to conic into the presence of God ex cept through Christ. Do not i fiend him by irreverence of approach to a mercy seat, sprinkled with the blood of his Sen. Feeling and Fulfilling. “I do not see what right I have to re gard myself as a Christian,’’ said Mr. Earn ers to his pastor, who, observing a shade of sadness on the countenance of his parishon er, had inquired if he was unwell. “What right have you not to regard yourself as a Christian ?’’ said the pastor. “I am conscious of so much indwelling sin. If I had a renewed heart, it seems to me I could not have so many tendencies to sin.” “Tendencies to sin are not sins. A dis tinction is to be made between tendencies and action in accordance with those ten dencies, between feeling the risings of evil desire and indulging them. A person in jures you, or acts in a way to provoke an ger. The feeling begins to rise. Within certain limits, it may be lawful. If there is instant effort to subdue the feeling, or keep it within due hounds, and those ef forts arc successful—as in many cases they are—no sin has been coni milted. To be tempted is not to sin. If it were, we should be responsible for the acts of Satan. Do you eDjoy the indwelling sin you speak of? Do you cherish it?’” “Certainly not; it is my grief and bur den.” “And you earnestly desire deliverance from it ?’’ “Certainly.” “Do you believe any unrenewed heart liabitnalljL, desires dclivcranco from sin, espeoialljlne siDs or tendencies to which you refer ? The desire for deliverance is one of the strongest proofs of conversion.” “But may not a person, knowing that a desire for deliverance from sin is a mark of conversion, deceive himself into a belief that he feels that desire ?” “I don’t know how far self-deception may be carried, but that does not concern you. You are conscious that you desire deliverance from sin, because it is hateful to God and to yourself; not merely be cause sin is followed by punishment If you are not conscious of desiring deliver ance lrom sin, you arc not conscious of anything. You are as sure of it as you ere that you arc talking with me. Now in stead of brooding over this consciousness of a tendency to sin, you should look to the Deliverer and ply the means that he has famished for deliverance. The Apostle tells us to make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. Ho makes a distinction between feeling and fulfilling, that must not be overlooked.” It is not wrong to be tempted. Christ was tempted, yet without sin. Ilis temp tations, it is true, did not spring from a disordered nature, as ours often do. God does not look with disfavor upon our strug gles to overcome our sinful propensities. It is only when we yield to them that we displease him. Four Impossible Things. 1. To esoapo troubles by running away from duty. Jonah onoe made tho experi ment, but it did not sucoeed. Therefore manfully meet and overcome tho difficul ties and trials to whioh the post assigned you by God’s providence exposes you. 2. To become a Christian of strength and maturity without undergeing severe trials. What fire is to gold, such is afflic tion to the believer. It burns up the dross, and makes the gold shine forth with unal loyed luster. 3. To form an independent character ex oept when thrown upon one’s own resour ces. The oak in the middle of the forest, if surrounded on every side by trees that shelter and shade it runs up tall and com paratively feeble; cut away its protectors, and the first blast will overturn it. But the same tree, growing in tbo open field where it is continually beaten upon the tempest, becomes its own protector. So the man who is compelled to rely on bis own resources forms an independence of charac ter to which he could not otherwise have attained. 4. To be a growing man by looking to your position iu society for influence in stead of bringing influence to your posi tion. Therefore prefer rather to climb up the hill with difficulty than to be steamed up by a power outside yourself.— Church Gazette. Loving Darkness —John iii. 19. Dr. Connolly, in his work on Insanity, tells of a father whose reason was dethroned. He called his ehildren around him, and bid them dose the shutters, ar.d light the gas, at noonday, while the suu was shining in its strength. Ho then vowed, since he was offended at the sun, it should never shine in his home again. The man lived and died keeping his oath; and with the day light shut out, the world rightly pronounced him insane. • Men, wise in their own esteem, bate the better, purer light of the truth ! They love darkness rather than light, not because darkness itself is better than light, but they love the fruits of darkness. “They that hate me,” says Christ, “love death”— (Prov. viii. 36) —not death for its own sake, but that whioh surely issues in death. He that loves the flowing cup, loves the stiDg of *a adder—(Prov. xxiii. 32)—not the stiDg for its own sake, but that which produces the adder’s sting. Thus men un renewed, love darkness, not for its sake, but “madness being in their hearts”— (Koo. ix 8) —they love the fruits of dark» ness rather thau light. In eternity, all the universe of God will proaounco these in sane ! Van Boren, in Presbuterian. The Cross and the Crown.—The cross now—the crown to-morrow. Now the bed of languishing—to-morrow the throne of Jesus. What eneouragement to “fight the good fight of faith !” The body now bears the spirit down; wait till the dawn of the day, and the spirit will bear the body up. A few breathings more in this dull and oppressive element, then all will bo health and buoyancy, strength and gladness, purity ar.d peace the body changed, tho heart all holy. Even now the Lord is with you; but you cannot sec him for the darkness of night. You walk by faith, not by sight. Yet you can say, “[ know that my Redeemer liveth.” He lives —he thinks upon you—lie is with you—be will never leave you nor forsake you Ho is a Friend, a Brother, a Lord— a Friend to guide you by his counsel, a Brother to sympathize with you in all your sorrow, a Lord to defend you from all evil and make all things work tog“ther lor jour good. No Bafcty but at his side; no com fort but in his bosom; no strength but in his arm; no holiness but in his steps.— Hemtson. To indulge Anger is to admit Satan as a guest; but to indulge malice is to close the door upon. him as an inmate ; in the one ho finds a transient lodging; in the other a permanent home.