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THREE DOLLARS PER ANNUM.
Vol. XXXII.—No 49.
Contnbtrairs.
Our Faults.
“I do remember my faults this day,” ex
claimed the chief butler, as he heard of the
failure of all the great magicians, and all
the wise meu of Egypt to interpret the won
derful dreams of King Pharaoh upon which
the lives of millions depended. “This day,
after the expiration of two long years, do I
remember tin; great wisdom of the young
Hebrew, confined within the dismal prison
walls of Egypt with me—my dream—his in
terpretation—liis request, ‘think on me
when it shall be well with thee, and show
kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make
mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me
out of this house. ’ I have ungratefully neg
lected to bestow that favor which gratitude
for such kindness, and admiration for
such wisdom would naturally have elici
ted. But, Ido this day, with great remorse
for my negligence, remember my faults ;
and I will now make amends, by making
known to the king the great wisdom of this
young Israelite.” And the butler, immedi
ately, made amends for his faults.
Header, this short clause affords the wi
dest field for reflection. l>o you remember
your faults this day ? Are you trying to
make amends for them ?
Let us for a short while traverse the sad,
sweet, mournful past, when we were but
children, full of life and gayety, sporting
around the dear old school house ; or roving
through the fields and forests, plucking
bright flowers from the banks of some peb
blyjjbrook, meandering sparklinlgy through
field and meadow; or sitting beneath the
wide-spreading branches of the old oak, and
studying with resolution the lesson assigned
to ns; down to tlm time when we were happy
ip tfiu confidence of school-mate and asso
ciate ; and then through all this time to that
sad, fearful, frightful event —the commis
sion of our first fault, and on to the next—
and next—until hardened in sin, we no lon
ger cared for the reproof and importunities
of friends and relatives ; or felt the disap
probation or remorse of conscience in the
perpetuation of any offences against God’s
law ; for as they were committed they wore
forgotten, until pain and anguish, disap
pointment and sorrow, sickness and death,
threatening us with instant destruction,
awoke ns to an anticipation of the future
woefu,! consequences of our many faults.
Conscience then smites. We think of the
time » we were but innocent children,
buoyant with the hope of future honor, glo
ry and success. Trace our first footsteps
up a few years, we see here and there the
wrecks of precious golden opportunities, of
hope—bright hope—the skeleton forms of
anticipated pleasures, which lie bleaching
ghastly white, upon the barren battle field
of our past misspent life, with liere and
there a bright flower, scattered upon the
pathway of life, the recollection of which
but renders the present more painful.
Do we remember <n\r faults '? Yes—yes ;
but oftentimes Un> late for it to avail us any
goad. We remember our faults, but it is
when we wake up to a realization that our
race is run and death is at the door. Do we
remember our faults ? Yes— yes ; but it is
\vhen our bodies arc racked with pain, and
scorched with fever, and all is dark—dark,
dark ! When we feel that there is no arm
potent euQUgh to veai’li forth and lift from
before ns the sombre vail that slirouds etc: -
liitv in the darkest gloom, and hides it from
our view—that the liiglit-time of life is fast
approaching ; 'tis then, with painful remorse
we remember our faults. We feel that
flowering Spring, ardent Summer, fad
ing Autumn, are all past with us, and with
them, hope—all hope ; and now comes pah’
concluding Winter to close the scene, and
launch ns into eternity unprepared. Then,
let us study our faults and make amends im
mediately. J. E. M.
Irwinton, (lit., Nor. 24///, 1869.
Catholicism in Brazil.
The work of Professor Louis Agassiz, re
cently published by Fields, Osgood & Cos.,
Boston, opens up to the religious world sev
eral ne.w phases of Catholic faith (if .it has
a faith,) in the tropical region named Brazil.
The student will be sorry, that the account
is pot more complete. The Professor agrees
pith, all that Protestantism claims of the
teachings of the Papal hierarchy—that no
Catholic country enjoys a Sabbath, no peo
ple under the dominion of priests have in
theipselves any consciousness of rectitude of
life, all morals—if tlio term may be allowed—
are systems of gross immoralities. The Pa
pal States themselves, over which the Pope
lias personally absolute control, and where
he could exercise Iris right of religiously
commanding the people, are States where no
Sabbath is recognized, and where God in
any one day of the week does not engross
the hearts of the people. France has no
Sabbath, neither has Austria, Spain, Portu
gal nor any of the countries of Europe,
which acknowledges the Poire as the ruler
over the consciences of men.
So is it in South America. There the
governments recognize the Pope and the
Catholic religion as their spiritual guide and
faith, and not one of them enjoys the privi
leges which are accorded to all Protestant
countries on the first day of the week.
There is much that is discouraging in the
aspect of Brazil, even for those who hope
and believe as Mr. Agassiz does, that she has
before her an honorable and powerful career.
There is much, also, that is very cheering,
that leads him to believe that her life as a
Uation will not belie her great gifts as a
country. Should her moral and intellectual
endowments grow into harmony with her
wonderful natural beauty aud wealth, tlie
world will not have seen a fairer land.
He has no faith in the character of the
clergy. On the Sabbath, they early attend
mass, and in the afternoon go out to eujoy
the spectacle of cock aud bull fighting :
mingling in the scenes with all the gusto of
a gamin, betting, winning and losing just
the same as one of the lowest of the lazza
roni.
Whatever be the church organization iu a
country where instruction is still so inti
mately linked with a State religion as it is
in Brazil, it is of infinite importance that
the clergy themselves should not only he
men of high moral character, but of studi
ous, thoughtful lives. They are the teach
ers of the people, and so long as they be
lieve that the mind can be fed with tawdry
street processions, -with lighted candles and
cheap bouquets, and as long as the people
accept this kind of instruction, they will by
it be enfeebled and debased.
Beside Sunday, shows of this kind are of
almost daily occurrence in all the large
cities of Brazil. They interfere with the
ordinary occupations, and make working
days the exception rather than the rule.
In Brazil there is no laborious, cultivated
class of priests, there are no fine institu-
Hiifkwtt Wrisjiaw JUrocaie*
tions of learning connected with the Catho
lic Church. Asa general thing, the ignor
ance of the clergy is universal, their immor
ality patent, and though their influence is
deep-rooted and very extensive, it is mon
strous to suppose that under Catholic influ
ence the Brazils are ever to kuow the only
true and. living Cod.. The people tend to
superstition rather than to skepticism.
The spirit prevailing the Papal doctrine in
the larger cities of Brazil lias found its way
to the Indians of the interior, and it is curi
ous to see how “devotedly pious” these poor
heathens are.
When Mr. Agassiz was near the Eamos
river, he stopped at the tent of an Indian,
by name Esperanza. lii the morning a
hideous old Indian woman came into his
room to make him a visit. Before leaving,
he was surprised to see her kneel down be
side a trunk in a corner, open the lid
slightly, and throw in repeated kisses, touch
ing her lips to her fingers, and making ges
tures as if she dropped the kisses into the
trunk, as she did so, crossing herself at inter
vals. He asked the meaning of all this,
when the poor devotee took him to the trunk
and upon throwing the lid entirely back dis
closed “our Lady of Nazareth,” a common
coarse print framed in wood; one or two
smaller colored prints and a few candles ;
over the whole was thrown a blue gauze.
This room appeared to be tbe family cliapel,
and she showed him all the gewgaws, taking
them up one by one with a kind of tender,
joyful reverence, only made the more touch
ing by their want of any material value.
What ai’e the people of enlightened coun
tries doing for that great Empire that is
washed by hundreds of miles of the Atlan
tic ocean ? Here is a country of milions of
inhabitants who know nothing of the cardi
nal points of Christian belief.
There is only one society in North Ameri
ca which has a foot-hohl there, having for
its object the preaching of the truth as it is
in Jesus. I allude to the American and
Foreign Christian Union of New York.
The field is white for the harvest; our
treaties with Brazil allow all kinds of reli
gious creeds be there established, and our
Methodist brethren, North and South, should
assist this organization of Christian men
who are trying to evangelize not only Brazil,
but the entire ignorance and superstition of
the Itoman Catholic world.
A. Watson Atwood.
Pfnlm.ldjthin, Nor. 1869.
A Wife’s Prayer.
[\\ ill Dr. Myers oblige me by re-publisli.
ing the following prayer ? The copy which
I have has a typographical ei’ror, and wish*
ing tt correct one, I take the liberty o f
requesting its insertion in your paper.
Expressing so simply and beautifully the
feelings of a true woman— not excepting tlie
htonilily and obedience it will doubtless be
prized by many of your readers, who may
uot have it. Respectfully, L. B. C.]
Lord, bless and preserve that person whom
thou hast chosen to be my husband ; let his
life bn long and blessed, comfortable and
holy ; and let me also lxecome a great bless
ing and comfort unto him, a sharer in all bis
joys, a refreshment in all his sorrows, and a
meet helper for him in all the accidents and
changes of the world ; make me amiable
forever in his eyes, and very dear to him.
Unite liis heart to me in the dearest union
of love and holiness, and mine to him in all
sweetness, charity and compliance. Keep
me from all uugentleness and ill-hmnor, and
make me humble and obedient, useful and
obseiVant, that we may delight in each other
according to thy blessed word and ordinance,
and that both of us may rejoice in Thee, hav
ing onr portion in the love and service of God
forever.
Qocirtuc itnb (Erpcrirncf.
A Christian Conference.
A Conference of the Ministry of the dif
ferent Evangelical Denominations was lately
held at Stirling, in Scotland.
We give a synopsis of some of the discus
sions :
WALKING WITH CHRIST.
Mr. M'Dowall Grant said : The first
thing we must know to enable us to walk
with Christ is, that He is our friend. In
walking through the world, the great enemy
whom wo encounter at every step is Satan.
We require to overcome that enemy in order
to swell a walk. But this we cannot do with
out assistance, and no assistance is of any
avail, but that of Christ! Hence that ne
cessity of the friendship of Christ. He
alone can say-effectually, “Get thee hence,
Satan !” What- therefore we must know is
that we arc utterly helpless. This is a most
valuable lesson to learn, that we may be as
little children. It is not safe to trust our
own strength. Simon Peter was the bold
est, and seemed the strongest of the apos
tles. It was he who widked on the waves to
Christ ; who, in the interest as he supposed
of Christ, cut off the ear of the servant of
the liigh-priest ; who boasted that he would
go to the prison or death with Christ ; yet
it was he who fell three times in one night,
and denied that he knew his Lord. The
life of a believer should be made up of watch
ing and crying for help ; aud that leads to a
constant communion with Christ, for who
can walk with Christ, unless he is of a like
mind with Christ. “How can two walk to
gether except they be agreed 1” To enable
us to walk with God, who is the stronger,
we must have our wills subdued to the will
of God ; we must be of the same mind as
He who said, “Not my will, but thine be
done.” We must be looking always uuto
Him who is working out our salvation.
There must be an entire surrender, no room
given to the exercise of self-will in oppo
sition to the will of God.
The Bev. Dr. Horatius Bonar said :—I
have just risen from the perusal of Mr. Ma
lan’s life. It is full of interest. The main
feature of his character was liis close walk
with God ; and the foundation of that walk,
as his biographer remarks, was “an absolute
personal assurance of the love of God” to
Himself.
Two men in Scripture are said to have
walked with God—Enoch aud Noah ; aud
the one was carried up that he should not
see death, the other was carried over the
waves of the flood. They walked by faith.
All the different parts of man’s natural life
aud movements are used by the Spirit to
symbolize the spiritual. “My foot standeth
in an even place.” “I -will not sit with the
wicked.” “I will lay me domi in peace.”
“Run with patience the race set before you.”
“I have leapt over a wall.” These are ex
ceptional, the movement of a man’s daily
life is liis walking. His whole life, in all its
movements, small and. great, are compre
hended in this.
Iu walking iu Christ these four things are
included
(1.) Reconciliation. (2.) Abiding. (S.)
Fellowship. (4.) Obedience.
This walk on earth is through storms and
trials ; but there is another walk when this
is ended ; and when the Lord come .“they
shall walk with me in white” —the walk of
peace, and triumph and glory—when the
Lamb shall lead us to the living fountains
of waters, and Gad shall wipe away all tears
from onr eyes.
HOW TO RECOMMEND CHRIST TO THE WORLD.
This was the subject of free conversation
on the afternoon of Wednesday.
The Rev. John M’Pherson, Dundee, said :
—The best way to recommend Christ to the
world is to live Christ. For example, the
apostle says, “I beseech you by the gentle
ness of Christ.” We too must exhibit gen
tleness in our persons, in our conduct, and
in ottr deportment, if weave to succeed in
commending Christ to the world. Another
thing whereby you can recommend Christ
to the world is Christian cheerfulness. There
are many things in the religion of the Lord
which the world cannot understand, nor at
all appreciate ; but they can understand and
appreciate happiness. Now there is no reas
on why the followers of Christ should not
wear the happiest of countenances in the
presence of the world. I remember the
remark of a worthy Christian, “I always
try to keep the dark side of my experience
to God and to myself, and always endeavor
to keep the cheerful aspect of my counte
nance to the people I have to do with.” How
cheap is happiness ! and how we can scatter
it about like sunbeams in our path, by a
cheerful countenance beaming with the gen
uine spiritual happiness of God’s love ! Thus
we can commend Christ to the world.
Mr. Mackieson, C. E., Dundee, said :—lt
is essential that in recommending Christ to
the world we do it all for the glory of Christ.
We are to keep ourselves in the back-ground.
We ought to be decided for Christ, and not
compromisers witli the world. If we recom
mend Christ to the world, we must live
nearer to him. We must have His Spirit
dwelling in us.
Oaptain Brotcliie, of the Seaman's Cliapel,
Greenock, said :—An old Christian minister
in the north many years ago—one who lived
out his words—told me that he took every
meal as a sacrament, and spent every ejay as
a Sabbath-day. He was one who lived by
faitli in the Lord Jesus Christ. When Dr.
Bonar was so often reverting to the phrase
to-day, “Abide in me,” I was struck with
the frequency, and on turning up the chap
ter in John’s Gospel, found that the word
“abide,” was mentioned seven or eight
times. “Abide, abide, abide in me. As
the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless
it abide in tbe vine, no more can ye except
ye abide in me.” The first and best means
of recommending Christ was setting forth
His excellencies, and His sacrifice as dying
in our room and stead. Then we must
maintain a consistent character and a con
sistent spirit, that people, may say of us as
the Jews said of the disciples, that they had
been with Jesus of Nazareth.
Rev. John Heuselwood, of Haddington.
We may recommend Christ by our speak
ing for Him, and also by our active exer
tions to promote His cause. But unless we
have love to one another, it ail goes for
nothing, not only in the eyes of God, but in
the eyes of men. If we exereise a censo
rious spirit toward one another, and look at
one another’s crotchets rather than their
excellencies, we cannot commend Christ to
tlic world. In order to do so we must have
Christ’s love in us, that love which attracts,
cements Christians together.
Kov. .Tallies Boss, of Stirling.—The apos
tles when at Antioch wore called Christians.-
Now the word “Christian,” I believe, came
to bo used from the fact of the disciples
talking so constantly about Christ, and
working so much in His name. They did not
call them good jteople, or enthusiastic people,
or mad people ; they called them Christians,
because they were followers of Christ. So
let it be wit! 1 ns who are called Christians.
Rev. William Taylor.—lt is essential to a
> Christian’s recommending Christ to the
World, that the Holy Spirit have so recom
mended Him in His preciousness to his own
soul, that he cannot choose but recommend
Him to others—both unconsciously and con
sciously. Ido not think that woman who
was a sinner had a conscious design of com
mending Christ to others when she came
into the Pharisee’s house : it was the sense
of His preciousness to herself that drew her
there; and it was love to Him tlmt, as she
came near to His biased feet, made her tears
.fall fast upon them, until she had to wipe
them with the hairs of her head. Yet that
act of hers has recommended Hrm through
all the ages, and has -been the means of
bringing thousands of sinners like herself to
the same blessed Saviour. But He also
summons Christians to be His conscious wit
nesses. Such a one was Paul, who gloried
in being led in the triumph by Christ, to
make manifest the savour of His knowledge
in every place—a captive bound to His cha
riot with the cords of love.
Peter Drummond, Esq.. Stirling.—There
is one other way of recommending Christ to
the world; aud that is by setting a good ex
ample before our servants, our families, and
our visitors—especially as to the keeping of
the Sabbath, which there are so many efforts
in these days to put down. There is a great
lack of decision with a certain class of so
called Christians, so that they do not honour
aud glorify Christ under all circumstances;
they rather give way to the opinions of men.
We must never mind what people say, or
write, or do.
Mr. Daniels.—ls we are to recommend
Christ to the world, it must be out and out:
we must not truckle with Satan or the world,
saying, There is no harm in this; and no
harm in that. Satan says there is no harm
in anything.
The Chairman.—Wo must remember after
all that ice can’t recommend Christ to the
world; the world won’t have Christ. Do not
be astonished if it turn again o.nd rend you.
They did so to the Master ; and the disciple
is not to he above the Master.
Mr. Bell.—To recommend Christ to the
world, we must have a likeness to Him in
our actions. There are a great many Chris
tians in the present day who are like weath
ercocks—they can speak of the preciousness
of Christ in the company of Christians; but
they can suit themselves to other companies,
and never mention the name of Christ. This
inconsistency is tlie greatest barrier in the
way of sinners coming to the Saviour.
Rev. M. Peet, Methodist Minister, Stirl
ing.—While we maintain a spirit of cheer
fulness, we must never throw off Christ’s
yoke. Let us exercise a habitual conformi
ty to our profession at home, and in inter
course with our fellow-men. Ministers es
pecially should be very careful net to undo
the effect of their preaching by levity after
it is over.
Mr. Colville said : —Every Christian is con
scious that he has many times failed in liis
life to recommend Christ. What is to be
done with these failures ?” As toward God,
He has made provision for this ; “If we con
fess our sins, Ho is faithful and just to for
give us our sins.” And so as regards
men, let us follow the example of the Chris
tian who, when it was tauntingly said to
him, “Is this your religion?” humbly re
plied, “No. it is not my religion, but my
want of religion.” We thus take the blame
off our Master, and lay it on ourselves; and
we may then get in a word for Christ, and
speak of His blood by which we and they
may be cleansed.
Tlie Starlcss^Crowii.
A Christian lady dreamed that, falling
asleep on earth, she awoke in heaven. Her
first thought was one of inexpressible joy to
know that she was safe in heaven —no longer
harrassed by fears of losing it—not a doubt
remaining of her interest in the heavenly in
heritance. As she was exulting in this great
joy, Jesus himself approached her, holding
iu his hand a crown of glory. As he placed
the diadem on her brow, she looked wonder
ingly into his face, and beheld, mingled
with the unutterable love that beamed on
liis countenance, a look of stillness she could
not comprehend. Can sorrow’ thou enter
into heaven? and can it reach even the lov
ing heart of the Redeemer himself? were the
queries that formed themselves in her mind;
hut ere she had time to shape them into
w’ords, Jesus comprehending her thoughts,
pointing without speaking, to “an iunumer-,
able company,” who wore crowns like the"
one just placed on her head, except that they
were ail adorned ■with stars —some with only
one or two, some with more, but hers had
none. Looking up to the Saviour, she would
have asked the reason of this disparity; but
again he answered ere she had time to utter
tlie question. “You,” said the blessed Jesus,
“have balieved in me; therefore you are
sure of heaven; for none who believe in me
ever perish. But you nerer won a soul to me
—not one through your instrumentality has
a share in this heavenly glory; and therefore
you have no star in your crown to lay at my
feet, in token of your gratitude for my ever
lasting love. Can you wonder that I grieve
for your loss—a loss that now can never be re
paired?”
The intense emotion produced by these
PUBLISHED BY J. W. BURKE & CO., FOR THE M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH.
Macon, Ga., Friday, December 3, 1869.
words awoke her; and she adds: “My first
waking thought was, to fall on my knees and
thank God that I was on earth and not in
heaven—that time was yet allotted me to
win souls to Christ, that I might yet be
saved tlie unutterable shame and grief of
having a crown without stars.”
Wliat a Sermon sliould lie.
It should be brief; if lengthy, it will steep
Our hearts in apathy, our eyes in sleep;
The dull will yawn, the chapel-lounger doze,
Attention flag, and memory’s portal close.
It should be warm; a living altar coal.
To melt the icy heart and charm the sonl;
A soulless, dull harangue, however read,
Will never rouse the soul, or raise the dead.
It should be simple, practical, and clear;
No tine-spun theory to please the ear;
No curious lore to tickle lettered pride,
And leave the poor and plain unedifled.
It shonld be tender and affectionate
As bis warm theme who wept lost Salem’s fate;
The fiery laws, with words of love allayed.
Will sweetly warn and awfully persuade.
It should be manly, just, and rational;
Wisely conceived, and well-express'd withal.
Not stuffed with silly notions, apt to stain
A sacred desk, and show a muddy brain.
It should possess a well-adapted grace
To situation, audience, time, and place;
A sermon form'd for scholars, statesmen, lords,
With peasants and mechanics ill accords.
It should with evangelic beauties bloom,
bike Paul’s at Corinth, Athens, or at Koine;
While some Epictetus or Sterne esteem,
A gracious Saviour in the gospel theme!
It should be mixed with many an ardent prayer.
To reach the heart, and fix and fasten there;
When God and man are mutually addressed,
God grants a blessing, man is truly blest.
It should be closely well applied at last,
To make the moral nail securely fast;
Thou art the man, and tliou alone will make
A Felix tremble and a David quake!
Remarkable Answers to Prayer.
In the private journal of the late Rev. Asa
Kent, for many years au able and honored
member of the New England Conference,
there are recorded many very interesting
illustrations of special answers to special
prayers. From among them I select two,
which I give to your readers in his own lan
guage :
“Brother Isaac C.’s daughter, Fanny, had
been for some tiilie afflicted in her eyes, and
greatly feared she would be 1 tliiid—enti rely so.
At this time [brother Kent’s quarterly meet
ing! her sight had left her, and her father
was in great agony, and spoke in the love
feast of his daughter's affliction—at a time
when there was a great degree of feeling
among us. He said, ‘I can not bear the
thought of my child’s being blind for life,
and it si’ems to me, if we should all kneel
down, tmd our presiding elder [brother Kent]
should pray for her, the Lord will answer
prayer. ’ We all kneeled and I prayed. A
gracious influence rested on tis, and 1 found
great liberty in coming before the mercy
sent, and freedom and power to ask that her
sight might be restored. I felt the Spirit
was in this helping my infirmities, and teach
ing me what to pray for, and made interces
sion according to the will of God, and if we
task according to his will lie will do it. A
shower of salvation came upon us, and broth
er C., on his return home, found Fanny’s
eyes quite well, and they remained so. I
saw her thirty-three years after, and they
remained so then. I think it was in answer
to prayer.”
The other case is related more at length
and some very judicious remarks are added
by tills devout man of God. lie tells us lie
had prepared an account for publication,
which was accidentally lost, but now makes
the record from his distinct recollection of
the leading facts as follows :
“There was a remarkable answer to prayer
last year -I,Nil—in the Winohedou society,
which I think ought to be recorded. A wor
thy sister, Nancy Warner, was instantly res
tored to health, and she walked the room,
which she had not done years before.
Her father was a pious man, and exhorter,
but poor, and his family had very little op
portunity for learning, and the means of
instruction in those days were very limited.
Nancy was very much devoted to God, hut
when, I think, about twenty years of age,
became very painfully afflicted with rheuma
tism. All means resorted to for relief seem
ed useless. It gradually so affected her joints
that her wrists, hands, ankles, and feet, be
came greatly distorted. It was not long
before she cculd not walk or work, and
suffered great pain. Various doctors were
applied to, but all remedies failed. But the
Lord sanctified the affliction to her and filled
he( soul with perfect, love. She saw God in
all this, and rejoiced in him evermore. I
think she suffered about five years, and the
last two or three of which she could never
walk alone, and the bones of her hands,
shoulders, hips, and ankles, were strangely
out of joint. While thus afflicted, it was
strongly impressed upon her mind, that she
might be healed in answer to prayer. She
spoke of it, but it seemed to others as only a
nothin. However, lier confidence became
so strong, that she made a particular request
that brother Elisha Streeter, who was on tlie
circuit, and six brethren, whom she named,
would come on a certain evening, and have a
prayer meeting at her father's and she re
peated, the Lord would cure her. This
being known abroad, some of them did not
like to go, as they might he laughed at for
going to work a miracle. A part were pre
sent and prayed, but no answer came. She
told them they must come again and the
others must conn 1 with them. The time was
fixed, and all were present. She was dressed
and lying on the bed in the room. They
began praying, aud an uncommon spirit
of prayer came upon them—a spirit of
intercession, which increased until a tre
mendous shock seemed to shake the place,
and a number of them fell to the floor in an
instant-. Nancy started up, took nor feet in
her hands, and wheeled them off the bed.
Her mother, kneeling close by, saw her, and
laying bold of her, said, ‘Nancy, what are
you going to do ?’ ‘Let me alone, mother,’
said Nancy; ‘I am well—l can walk,” and
across the room aud back she walked, and
then sat upon the bed, while the shouts of
glory tilled the house. Being so overwhelmed
with salvation, but a part of the company
knew that Nancy was walking. It was some
time before the v were sufficiently composed
to hear any tiling else except ‘glory.’ Nancy
said when that shock fell upon them, she felt
it strike her head and run through her whole
body, placing every bone in its socket as it
passed. As it went off at. the ends of her
fingers and toes, she knew she was healed,
and immediately started up praising the
Lord. No one could doubt, for she showed
them her hands that had been distorted for
years, now in perfect shape; and she could
use them with ease. The report spread, and
many called to see for themselves. A num
ber of doctors who had attended her, I think
four or five, came to see her, and were satis
fied. They were requested, and did sign a
certificate, setting forth her helpless condi
tion, aud that they were satisfied no medicine
could have restored lier.
“Nancy was very free [to tell them how
she was cured, aud whatever were their views
of answers to prayer, they had nothing to
object to her declaration and that of the
family. She gave me a copy of the doctors’
certificate with her statement of her case.
Her piety was undoubted by all who knew
her. Her modest humility and meekness of
spirit were calculated to endear her to the
hearts of all the lovers of Jesus, and surely
I could find no reason to doubt the truth of
what she affirmed.”— The Methodist Home
Journal.
Power op Love.— A certain man had a
wayward son. His conduct brought down
his father to a premature grave. On the day
of his funeral the son was present, saw, un
moved, the pale face of his father in the cof
fin; stood unmoved on the brink of the grave.
The family retraced their steps. In their
father’s will and testament was the name of
the undutiful son. As his name was read
liis heart heaved with emotion, his eyes were
bedewed with tears, and he was heard to say,
“ I did not think that my father would have
so kindly thought of mein his will.” luthe
family of Christ, some of us, in reading His
Testament, and thinking upon his great love
and marvelous gifts, feel our unprofitableness
and unworthiness, and are filled with con
trition and gratitude, with love and wonder.
— Rev. John Davies.
From the Christian Index.
! An Appeal to tlxe White in Behalf
-v of the Colored People.
! The present condition and the future des
! tiny of the colored people is fraught with
tie highest interest to us. God, in his pro
vidence, has permitted their lot to be cast
in this country. They are in our midst and
form part and parcel of our body politic.
Their permanent occupation of this country,
i:i connection with the white people, is, to
cur mind, a fixed fact. Their presence
among us, with the moral certainty of the
continuance of our present relations, in
volves the highest interests to us and to our
children. They are, and will continue, a
Messing or a curse to tis, to themselves, and
to posterity ; whether the one or the other,
Till depend greatly upon the manner in
vhicli this difficult and delicate matter is
managed. We should not, therefore, if we
could, put away from us the consideration
«f their temporal and spiritual welfare. We
are shut up to the solution of the problem
of their destiny, and we should not suffer
my of tlie disagreeable results of tbe late
war to interfere with onr final conclusion on
fins important subject. We must bring to
its analysis a mind unbiased by the wrongs
we have suffered, and a heart deeply desi
rous to meet faithfully the high requisitions
ta our responsible relations to each other,
i Gar own'interests, as well as the obligations
of Christian charity, urge 11s to free our
selves from all unhappy influences, to do for
them .wliat an enlightened conscience dic
tates to be right in the sight of God and
man. They are a class *f onr unfortunate
people. Without affirming wrong to exist
anywhere, their sudden transfer from slavery
to freedom lias seriously compromised their
interests. Their freedom, which was once
thought by many to be the only tiling neces
sary to their perfection and happiness, may
prove to many of them their misfortune if
we, with a pride unwise as it is cruel, cast
them from ns. Tlie gate to fancied bliss
will prove to them the open door to utter
ruin, unless we take them by the hand and
lead them safely over the dangerous paths
along which they are now moving so unstea
dily. We must act the part of the Good
Samaritan to them—go where they lie bleed
ing, bind up their wounds, pouring in oil
and wine. This is, emphatically, our work.
By us only can they be saved. Heretofore
our path of duty toward them was too deep
ly obstructed to accomplish much. The
way has been hedged up by which we might
reach and bless them. By a thousand wick
ed devices, many of them have been turned
so far away from us that our sympathies,
luiwcvcr extended, could not reach them.
Strong domestic ties, life-long in their
continuance, have been most unwarrantably
sundered bv a policy cruel as it was intense
ly selfish, and they have been made to dis
card their best and only real friends. There
is a very decided change in the temper of
their disposition toward us. They have
seen the utter incapacity, if not the indis
position, to fulfill the promises made to al
lure them away from us. Many of them,
with painful consciousness that they have
been deceived by promises that were never
intended to be performed, are standing in
desolate isolation. • Having been seduced
from those who loved them, and now aban
doned by those who jiromised to befriend
them, their condition is truly pitiable. Their
helplessness and dependence should excite
our sympathies and demand our assistance.
We must not turn away from them. Lot us
stretch forth our hand to their relief, and
draw them to our friendship again. Many
of them still cling to us in their church re
la lions. In many places they are sadly in
want of spiritual ministrations. They' are
like sheep scattered on the mountains with
out a shepherd. Their continued attach
ment to us, and their general fidelity to our
interests should awaken in ms the kindest
feelings, and impel us to the most active ef
forts for their welfare. Every consideration
of former friendships, and all the obliga
tions of Christian charity imperatively de
mand us to befriend them. Forgetting, as
we may be able, much of the late unhappy
years, let us remember only their former
service and their almost universal fidelity to
ns during the unfortunate war', and deal
generously with them. We must give direc
tion to their interests, and -help them build
up their fortunes ; and, above all, see that
tlieir souls are cared for and their spiritual
Wants fully met.
It is for this purpose that we propose to
edit a paper devoted mainly to their inter
ests, in connection with those among whom
they live and with whom they must, in the
very nature of tilings its they are, be identi
fied. May we not expect the hearty co-oper
ation of the ministry and membership of
the church every where in otu - Southern
land, and especially the thousands to whom
we had access whilee onducting the organ of
three of onr Annual Conferences. To you,
brethren, we appeal to aid us in this untried
experiment of sustaining a paper, the ob
ject of which is indicated in this, its first
issue.
Wasted Time.
Few things in the lives of distinguished
men are so impressive or so full of valuable
suggestions, as their frequent lament over
lost opportunities for mental and moral cul
ture.
In his autobiography, Sir Walter Scott
says: “If it should ever fall to the lot of
youth to peruse these pages, let such a youth
remember, that it is tlie deepast regret that
I recollect, in my manhood, the opportuni
ties of learning which I neglected in my
youth; that through every part of my liter
ary career I have felt pinched and hampered
by my own ignorance; and that I would at
this moment give half the reputation I have
had the good fortune to acquire, if, by do
ing so, I could rtst the remaining part upon
a sound foundation of learning,and science.”
Edmund Burke grew wise iu this respect,
while it was not too late to retrieve the most
of his errors and losses; for, before his youth
was entirely passed, lie wrote to a friend:
“ What would I not give to have my spirits
a lit.le more stirred! lam too giddy; this
is tlie bane of my life; it hurries me from
studies to trifles, and I am afraid it will hin
der me from knowing anything thoroughly.
I have a superficial knowledge of many
things, but scarcely the bottom of any.”
Washington Irving, when giving counsel
to young friends exclaimed in the bitterness
of his heart: “How many an hour’s study
have I had to subject rnyself to, to atone, in
a slight degree, for the hours which I suffered
society to cheat me out of.”
And Josiali Quincy, iu his diary, laments
more than once his “ neglect of that mental
and moral cultivation ” which he regards as
the noblest of human pursuits.” On one oc
casion he says: “ i resolve, therefore, in fu
ture, to be more circumspect—to hoard my
moments with a more thrifty spirit—to listen
less to tlie suggestions of indolence, and to
quicken that spirit of intellectual improve
ment to which I devote my life.”
• lx the Temple. —“l saw no temple there
in”—it -was all temple—“for the Lord God
Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of
it.” So the man who would worship in
heaven must he inside God: the man who
would get to heaven must be able to worship
—and, in order to worship there, lie must be
inside Jesus Christ. “Ye see your calling,
brethren.” These things are not easy. You
see now why it is that the way of life is
called in Scripture narrow. There “but one
goes abreast.” Each alone, each by himself,
must knock at the Door, which is Christ;
each alone, each by himself, must walk care
fully along the narrow Way, which is Christ;
he must enter Him, he must keep within
Him, he must abide in Him, he must walk
in Him, here—and then, at last, when lie
dies, he willhe able to worship in Him, in
that Celestial City of which He is himself
the Temple. Try your life by this test—
and try your worship. Many of us are still,
as it were, standing about, abroad under the
bare: cold sky, in the open snowclad field.
We are not in any one—wo are not under
shelter at ail—we are just looking about us,
to see what will happen. These, when Ad
vent and Judgment overtake them»what
shall they do ? These, when they omy are
safe who “are found in Christ”—where shall
they, he ? And yet there is room —room in
Him here, who is the Propitiation and the
Life—room in Him hereafter, who is first
the Resurrection and then the Temple 1 In
side Him, through eternal ages, may any of
us rest and w’orship. Inside Him, our time
Home, our everlasting Temple, whosoever
will may this night lay him down and sleep.
God give that will, which alone is wanting;
the will to be forgiven and sanctified; the
will to have Him for onr Friend, who made
heaven and eai’tli, and shall yet, one day,
make all things new! May Ho, of infinite
mercy, wash in his own blood our poor sin
stained service, and fulfil to each of its the
blessed, the all-embracing promise, “Behold,
the tabernacle of God is with men, and He
will dwell with them, and they shall be his
people, and God himself shall be with them,
and be their God. And God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes; and there be
no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there bo any more pain; for the
former things.
The Border Land.
One of the dark aspects of death, when
viewed from the standpoint of human’ na
ture, is the separation of the dying from all
that is dear to them on earth. Things and
friends who have been objects of familiarity
and fondness arc now to us lost in the dark
ness of death. We leave them all; mere
earthly love is no more. The parting scene
is solemn and affecting. It is an hour when
the natural affections are awakened to the
most excessive tenderness of which they are
susceptible; and the one who is passing away
often shares their intensity with those who
are weeping around his bed! The sorrow of
sundering natural ties is inseparable from
natural love, and there is nothing derogatory
to the character of pity in a falling tear anil
parting pang, which betray that something
is sacrificed for the final gain of every thing.
God never intended that holy affections
should make us cold to tlie natural attach
ments of life. Our Lord and Master, Jesus
himself, wept true human tears at the grave
of his friend. Far from us be that religion
which would turn'our humanity into stone!
But tlie past experiences of grace have till
along prepared tlie dying Christian for these
operations. The objects of liis holy affec
tions have gradually multiplied, and lie has
been inspired with a growing love for the
employment, the company, the Saviour and
the King of heaven, until it has become with
him a settled state of feeling, that good as it
might seem to remain for the comfort of
friends, it will be infinitely better to depart
and be with Christ. God has wrought within
him the habit of keeping a loose hold of
present delight, tmd taught him to live more
upon such abiding joys as lie can carry with
him, than upon the pleasures which can go
no farther than earth. 111 sueli ways lie has
fore-armed liis friends against any over
whelming sorrow, when the hour of parting
comes. They lose only what they expected
to leave when the soul should stretch her
wings for her passage to the sides, Wliat
was really unworthy of their love they had
learned to disregard. Wliat was worthy'of
their attachment, but was only adapted to
their comfort us passing travellers, is easily
exchanged for the superior delights of their
abiding home.
The friend of God, feeling that his eyes
are about to close upon the world forever,
may ask to be carried to the window of his
chamber. There lie may look out for the
last time upon the rising sun. and the glow
ing sky, the grecu wood and sprightly brook
where he had so many pleasant rambles, aud
the harbor around which liis own hands
taught the vino to entwine itself in such
tasteful beauty. • What if a shadow does cross
his brow at the thought that he is to look
upon these delightful things of God no
more? It is but a shadow, and that for a
.moment only, for the eternal sun is rising,
aud faith even now is gazing upon skies
which are never darkened. He forsakes the
strolls of earth to walk along the river clear
as crystal, shaded by the tree of life. There
can be no disturbing sorrow in the change
when the same breath which bids the world
farewell welcomes heaven.
Bo much of the affection between tlie dy
ing believer and the friends from whom lie
parts as lias been sanctified by their mutual
love of Christ, will remain unbroken. Love
which has been refined by grace is immortal.
There is no reason to suppose that death
ever suspends the attachment of the glorified
spirit for the pious friends, whom he lias left,
in the world.— Rev. K. Ji. Hotehl'in.
The High Church anil (lie Low.
Many Episcopalians, as well as other peo
ple, are at a loss to know the distinctive
difference between Ritualists -and Low
Churchmen. We copy from one of the
ablest of the Protestant Episcopal organs,
the Christian Witness, a very lucid statement
as to the essential difference between the
two.
In a former article we indicated the dan
gers which threaten the peace and tin 1 unity
of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Two
conflicting elements are struggling within
her fold. Two great schools, historic schools,
coming down from the day of the Reforma
tion, live aud labor and contend side by
side. Call them by whatever names we
please—Evangelical and Sacramentarian or
High Churchmen and Low Churchmen—
they exist as most marked and distinctive
schools, representing different conceptions
of the Gospel and the church of God, of the
method and the means of salvation. It is
upon the central and vital doctrine of justi
fication that these schools divide most sure
ly. “We disagree.” says Hooker (of the
Church of England in her attitude to Rome,)
“about the nature of the very essence of the
medicine whereby Christ euretii our disease. ”
And our difference with our brethren of tlie
churchly school is on this point scarcely loss
wide and vital. With them baptism is the
sole instrument of justification; with us it, is
faith alone. That saintly Evangelical man,
Dr. William Marsh, in the early stages of
the Tractarian controversy, sent to one of
the leaders of that movement at Oxford this
summary of his belief on this great point:
That we are justified—
Freely by grace (Romans 3: 2.)
Meritoriously by Christ (Ramans 5: 19.)
Insp-umentaUy by -faith (Romans 5: 1.)
Evidentially by good works (James 2: 2(5.)
The paper was returned to him with the
third sentence struck out, and tlie following
substantiated: “Inslrumentally by the sacra
ment of holy baptism."
It would be difficult to find tlie contrast
between the two schools more definitely
stated. Hence the earnestness of the strug
gle around the baptismal office. To tlie one
side baptism is the instrument of justifica
tion, and conveys to adult and infant alike
the pardon of sin, tlie new birth. To the
other baptism is the sigii and seal of the
great blessing received through faith alone.
A .Ministerial Error.
It is, I think, an error into which many
of our modern ministers, whose education
lias been carried to a high pitch, have fallen,
that everything is to be done by the head
rather than heart. We know very well that
the true method is to reach the heart through
the head, anil men must be made to feci by
being shown why they should feci, and what
is to make them feel. But in many eases,
especially in the least educated, the head is
to be reached by appeals to the heart. We
often hear the remark : “Yes, it was a smart
sermon but wanted heart. It sparkled like
the stars or shone like the moon on a wintry
night, but it wanned no one.” I have been
sometimes struck, as every one must have
been, with the varying effect produced by
different speakers at a public meeting ; and
how much more power over an audience,
and how much more the object of the meet
ing has been accomplished by a few gushes
of simple eloquence from the heart of some
earnest and ardent advocate, than by the
elaborate, but passionless pleader. The latter
was coldly admired, and admitted to be an
eloquent speaker; but the former melted and
moved his audience by the depth and inten
sity of his own feeling.— fames.
The Lord’s Prayer. —How many millions
and millions of times lias that prayer been
proffered by Christians of all denominations!
So wide, indeed, is the sound thereof gone
forth, that daily, and almost without inter
mission, from the ends of the earth, and
afar off upon the sea, it is ascending to
heaven like incense and a pure offering.
Nor needs it the gift of prophecy to foretell
that, though “heaven and earth shall pass
away,” these words of our blessed Lord
“shall not pass away” till every petition in
it has been ■ answered —till the kingdom of
God shall come, and his will be done on
earth as it is in heaven.— Montgomery.
Tlie Old lJiown Silk Dress.
“Mrs. Smith at such a grand wedding and
in her old brown silk dress! She has hud it
for the last six years.”
“I know it. ' The idea of a person as well
oil' as she is keeping a dress that length of
time! But she looked well. The dress was
altered to suit the present fashion.”
“But such meanness! I do not call it
economy, but meanness. lam tired of see
ing her wear that, dress. If she were not
able to get anew dress, it would be different.
I wish I had the money she has, I would
show people how to dress.”
“ Girls,” said grandma, “I am afraid that
you are not cultivating very charitable dis
positions. As the brown silk dress seems
to interest you, let me tell you a little affair
connected with it.
“ About two weeks ago, Mrs. Smith called
on me. I had just prepared to go out to do
some shopping. Site proposed to accom
pany me. On our way home she informed
me that she intended to purchase anew
dress. While we were in the shop examin
ing some rich silks, Mrs. Winslow came in.
Seeing Mrs. Smith, she informed her of the
destitute condition of a family she had just
visited. The father had been sick and tilla
ble to work. The mother had been toiling
to support her family. She was now sick,
and three of her children. One was lying
dead in the house. " They were so poor that
they had uot a sufficiency of fuel or food.—
Their rent should have been paid in advance,
but on account of sickness the father had
been unable to do so. The landlord had
consented to wait until tlie end of the month.
Tlie father was still unable to jmy, and the
family were threatened with being turned
into the street tliat very day.
“ Mrs. Smith asked if they were worthy
people. Mrs. Winslow assured hex’ they
were, and giving their address, she urged
Mi's. Smith to visit them. Mrs. Smith had
just decided to purchase a dress pattern from
a costly piece of silk. ‘I will not purchase
the dress now,’ she said to the clerk. And
turning to mo she remarked: ‘I feel it my
duty to visit these poor people and supply
their necessities before purchasing anything
for myself. Will you accompany me?'
“ I did so. We found the family in great
distress. They were Christian people and
had been praying to God to send them help.
Mrs. Smith immediately paid the rent then
due, and. another month in advance, besides
ordering fuel and food. She has since sent
them many little articles of comfort. ‘I
l'eel better,’she said, ‘ than if I had bought
tt itew dress. I will make over my old one
and trill wear it at the wedding.’
“And this is why Mrs, Smith wore ‘ that
old brown silk dress.’ She is not. mean, but
a noble, self-denying Christian woman. And
1 can safely say there is no one I am ac
quainted with tvho gives so freely as she
does.”
“ I had never heard of her being benevo
lent before.”
“ She gives quietly not noising it abroad.
There are many families who owe the neces
saries and comforts of life to her bounty.”
“I am glad you told us, grandma. The
old brown silk dress will look beautiful to
me hereafter. .And it will preach me a lesson
of charity—charity in judgment, and char
ity which is love toward the poor. —American
Messenger.
Jiflipus Jltkdhm
(’aOiolic Intolerance.
Mr. W. H. Hurllmt, being on his way
through Eastern Europe to the Suez cele
bration, writes from Hungary to The World,
under date of Pestli, October 20th, as fol
lows :
“In Prague, I came upon a popular elec
tion marked by the antagonism of races. Iu
Pesth, I have come upon a popular riot ori
ginating in the antagonism of religions. I
say in Pesth, because Ofeu, where the riot
took place, is quite as much a part of Pesth
as Brooklyn is of New York. It is divided
from Pestli by the Danube, and has a mayor
of its own : the official who now occupies
that post being a naturalized American citi
zen—Mr. Hasmann, who lived for fourteen
years in New York. He is a member, too,
of the Hungarian Parliament, where I met
him, and found him not only u most intelli
gent and pleasant man, but full of kindly
and cordial recollections of his New York
life and his New York friends. He was in
nowise responsible for the Ofen riot, which
came about in this wise: Tlie Austro-
Hungarian Government, as you know, Last
year adopted a system for. the secularization
of the schools. This greatly needed re
form has been violently opposed by the
Catholic clergy, or at least by the ultramon
tanes among them. Bishop Rudigier, of
Linz, you will remember, got himself into
hot water some months ago by flying iu the
face of it. It, has just been carried into ef
fect, in Ofen. Now, in Ofen, are many Jews;
and these Jews are disorderly and indecent
enough to have, a great many children. The
Jewish children being sent, under the new
system, to the public school, the Catholic
pastor of Ofen hist Sunday got up in his
pulpit and called upon his lioek not to suffer
their offspring to be contaminatod by con
tact in the school with a horde of Jewish
brats—‘Juden-buben,’ as his reverence was
kind enough to call the same. The good
man’s seed fell upon fertile soil. On Mon
day, a great mob, mostly composed of what
St. Charles Borromeo called the ‘devout fe
male sex,’ marched upon the’sehool-house,
stoned it, walloped .the teachers, and drove
forth the ‘Jewish brats’ howling into the
streets. It Ls a pleasing peculiarity of hu
man nature always to hunt whatever is hunt
ed. Sir from all the highways aud byways
of Ofen the lieges sallied out and joined iu
the chasse awe Juifs. Tlie parents of the
sorely-belabored ‘brats,’ being as savage as
the sea-wolves of whom the companions of
Vasco <le Gama relates that ‘they are horri
bly ferocious animals, aud when they are at
tacked defend themselves , ’ came to the rescue
of their little ones, and a general fight ensu
ed. The Jews got the worst of it, and things
went so far that the authorities had to send
for the ‘Honveds,’ or National Guards, be
fore order could be fully restored. On
Wednesday, the PrinctvPrimato of Hungary,
the Archbishop of Gran, came out and
praised the Ofen priest for his zeal in the as
sertion of the principles of true religion 1
This is the shadow which the coming (lieu
men ieal Council casts before it in Hungary.
An ominous shadow surely, and in many
ways to be regretted. The Catholic Church
in Hungary, through the great property
which it possesses, and through the gallant
ry aud patriotism with which the vast ma
jority of its clergy in 1849 identified them
selves with the national cause, has a better
chance than almost anywhere else in Europe
of establishing an enduring and independ
ent position for itself. Its ablest and most
unselfish leaders see this, and are laboring
hard even now (they have just been holding
a Catholic Convention here) to organize an
ecclesiastical autonomy which should lead to
this result. If now, in obedience to the poli
cy of an ultramontane Camarilla, the Church
as a body here is to be throwu athwart the
way of the reforms which Hungary demands
and may achieve, I cannot but think that
the upshot will he the alienation of all the
intelligence of the realm. Whither such a
change of things would lead, we have only
to look at Mexico, at Spain, and at Italy, to
sec. But then, unfortunately, the people
who have the most interest in looking at
•sneli warnings and examples are commonly
the last to think of looking at them. ”
Mom: Protests aoainst Home. — The ex
ample of Father Hyacinthe is being followad
in Hungary. A correspondent of the Vienne
Presse writes from Pesth that at the first sit
ting of the Catholic Congress the Abbe
Martin Ivuti made a remarkable speech.
Amongst other things he had the courage to
say, in the presence of the Primate of Hun--
gary and eleven other bishops : “The Catho
lic world is on the eve of great, important
events, on which will depend whether Catho
licism shall regain its place as a teacher of
mankind, a privilege which it has for a long
period forfeited, or whether, continuing its
fatal and suicidal opposition to liberal ideas
and the requirements of the age, it will, as
the implacable enemy of liberty, equality,
and fraternity, pursue the fatal course which
can only conduct it to the brink of destruc
tion. Let us be honest, I say, and openly
confess that which all the world fcpows—viz;
E. H. MYERS, D. D., EDITOR
Whole dumber 1780
that the Catholics are at present divided
into two great parties—the Liberals, who
wish to advance and act harmoniously with
the State, and the Ultramontane Reactiona
ries, to whom the very name of liberal ideas
is odious. Let us now, who sit here as rep
resentatives from the eight million Catho
lics of Hungary, decide whether we shall
take the upward or the downward path; and
I feel sure that the assembly, whose mem
bers combine with their religious convic
tions. an ardent love for their country,
whose decisions affect equally the future of
both Church and State, and will be judged
one day by the verdict of history, will eager
ly accept the path of progress, of intelli
gence, and of liberty.”
Exoluihnh the Burnt!.—The Board of Ed
ucation in Cincinnati have decided by a vote
of 22 to 15, to exclude the Bible from the
public schools of that city. For the purpose
of securing the requisite vote the resolution
was so worded as to include in the prohibi
tion all “religious books, and the singing of
religions songs.” Os the votes in favor of
excluding the Bible, 10 were Republicans
and 12 Democrats ; nominal religion—Pro
testants, 3; Catholics, 10: Free Thinkers, 3;
Jew 1. Os the votes against the measure,
12 were Republicans and Democrats; nominal
religion—Protestants, 13; Free Thinkers 1;
Jew 1. Tlie leading person prompting tmd
supporting the onset against the Bible was
Rev. Thomas H. \ inkers, a free-thinking
Unitarian preacher of the Theodore Parker
sc! tool. lie openly teaches that even the
morals of the New Testament should be re
pudiated. Soon after the action of the
Board was announced, the friends of Chris
tian morals applied to Judge Storer, of the
Supreme Court, who immediately granted
an injunction restraining the Board from
carrying out their decision. This was done
on the ground that the State Constitution
recognizes the Christian religion. Tlie ef
fect of tlie resolution prohibiting the use of
religious books and the singing of sacred
songs in the schools was seen, when one day
shortly afterwards, a company of little girls
in one of the schools were singing.
“Shall we gather at the river,”
when the Principal appeared and chiding
the teacher of the room, at once stopped the
singing. As there is a large amount of good
moral aud religious reading matter in the
Eclectic and other series of Readers used,
the work of dissection and expurgation, wo
presume, must go on till only heathen skele
tons remain. The expulsion of the Bible
is only the beginning of the letting out of
waters.
An Exciting Question in the English
Church. — For some weeks past the whole
English Church has been greatly agitated
with regard to the nomination by Mr. Glad
stone, the English Premier, of Ren Mr.
Temple, Head Master of Rugby School, to
tlie vacant Bishopric of Exeter. Mr. Tem
ple is one of the authors of “Essays and
Review’s,” an unscriptural and semi-infidel
book, and almost universally anathematized
by the religions people of England. The
appointment is the most unpopular one
which could he made. Churchmen and Dis
senters alike condemn it. It scorns that
Mr. Temple had ingratiated himself into
the friendship of Mr. Gladstone by aiding
him in tin' work of disestablishing the Irish
Church. Hence the nomination. Even the
notable Dr. Pusey has published in t he Lon
don papers a protest against it. The latest
cable telegrams indicate t hat, the excitement
of the public on the question is increasing.
The (Ecumenical Council. —The official
programme for the (Ecumenical Council
states that the opening will take, place ou
December 8, the anniversary of tin l Immacu
late Conception. Nine hundred Bishops,
Archbishops, and Patriarchs, each accom
panied by a theologian, will form part of
the assembly, together with a hundred theo
logians of tln> Pope, almost all laymen, fifty
Cardinals, and eighteen generals of religions
orders, the latter escorted respectively by
two theologians. A musical mass will be
celebrated on the first day at St. Peter’s, in
which the most celebrated singers of Italy
will take part. The communion service will
he administered by the Pope in person, with
the singing of Veni. Creator Spirit ns and of
Suh Tuum Presidium.
The Papal Fair. —We hear that there
will be at Rome, during the Council, an ex
position of all articles used for worship or
having any connection with it, There will
be not only statues, pulpits, organs, etc.,
but the miraculous water of la Sallette,
which will lie sold ten cents the vial, medals
of Notre Dame, beads, scapularies, hair
cloths, (instead of undershirts,) whip of dis
cipline, etc., etc. Wo are informed, also,
that, there will be a glass case devoted to
sticks, canes and crutches of persons miracu
lously healed ! A Paris paper queries wheth
er the manuscripts of the last discourses of
Pere Hyacinthe will have a place in this ex
position.
Earnestness. —What is to compare with
earnestness ? There is a true l ing about it,
which cannot bo simulated or counterfeited.
Wlmt Christian ministry, what Christian life
so powerful as.au earnest one? It is not
the charm of intellect, not the subtlety of
reasoning, not the sorcery of eloquence,
that will commend the Gospel to others. It
is the living words welling up from the be
lieving soul, the lips uttering and proclaim
ing what has been experimentally felt and
tested : “I .believed, therefore have I spo
ken. ” Unsanctificd intellect has often preach
ed an unknown Saviour. And strange as it
may seem, unsanctificd intellect has even at
times not delivered its message in vain. But
the ministry and the mission most signally
owned and blessed by the great Master is
not the wisdom of human words, of the
grandeur of flowing periods, but where there
is the irresistible cogency of living fervor.
Mi'll of the world arc quicksighted enough to
penetrate the flimsy veil of unreality and
pretension. But where there is unction,
other deficiencies will be overlooked and
palliated. Even intellectual superiority wil
lingly stoops to bear the heartfelt tale,
though it, may be delivered with unlettered
and stammering tongue. Hence, in the
Gospels, the two most honored of preachers,
with the exception of tlie Baptist, just be
cause their tongues were touched with burn
ing earnestness, were the converted demoni
ac of Gadara aud the converted woman of
Samaria. Oh! for an earnest Church and
an earnest ministry! the baptism “with the
Holy Ghost and with fire!”— Dr. Macduff.
Longing for the Promised Rest.—“ Are
you not wearying for our heavenly rest?”
said Whitefield one day to an old clergyman.
“No, certainly not,” lie replied. “Why
not?” was the surprised rejoinder, “Wh v, my
good friend,” said the old minister, “if you
were to send your servant into the fields to
do a certain portion of work for you, and
promised to give him rest and refreshment
in the evening, what would you say if you
found him languid and discontented in the
the middle of the day, and murmuring
‘Would God it were evening!’ Would yoti
not bid him be up and doing, and finish his
work, and then go home and get the pro
mised rest? Just so does God say to you
and me.”
One Thing and Another. —Compute your
artificial wants —the number of things which
you fancy come under the list of must hares,
merely because other people possess them,
and not because you would not bo quite as
well off aud as happy in their absence. Try
it, for one week, whenever your fingers are
tempted to dally with your purse strings.
Record iu your memorandum book what, iu
view of this you sensibly resolve not to buy,
and see what a nice little sum will bo left you
for real necessities. Remember that we are
stewards for God, and this not in matters
great only, but in those also that are small.
— Economy.
Ready for Action.—When God has fully
prepared the heart for religions action we
need not fear that He will fail to find for us
our appropriate work. He knows the work
which is to be done, and the time of its
being done, as well as the disposition which
are fitted for doing it. Be watchful, there
fore, but wait also. A good soldipr in the
spirit of watchfulness is always ready for ac
tion; but ho never anticipates, by a restless
and unwise hurry of spirits, the orders of
his commander.