Newspaper Page Text
TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS.
FER. IST ISTUIMI.
VOLUME XXXIX., NO. 37.
Original doctor.
THE SIGHT IS FAR SPENT, THE DAY
IS AT HAND.—Homans xiil, 12.
The night is far spent, and I wait
And watch, for th’ coming of day,
And I wait and watch, early and late,
For Him, who with morning’s first ray,
Will call to me, ‘‘up, and away!”
l'o the land, whereof I am the light,
Where no sun ever needeth the day.
No moonlight—no starlight, the night.”
Here, I feel, now, that short is my stay,
And thy summons, Lord, soon I’ll obey.
Oh! for that blest land, how I’ve yearned
And His presence, that maketh its day,
Ob! how olt have my waiting eyes turned
To its dawn’s early shimmering ray,
Driving shado. and darkness away.
Come quickly thou blessed day, come!
I see through the murky mists grey.
The dawn-otreaks—ah, from the night’s
gloom
Soon, soon I’ll be summoned away,
To where it i- day, ever day.
It springeth e’en now, its soft ray
1 feel on my brow and my cheek,
l a freshening breezes now p'ay
Around me, aud to me they speak,
Of the land, where ne'er endeth the day.
For Christ’s presence is there, ever there,
if h st Saviour! oh, grant that I may
1 u that glorious clime bright and fair,
In that land, where ’tis evermore day,
Live with Thee, forever and aje.
Contributions.
MAMMOTH CAVE-A VISIT AND ITS
INCIDENTS.
Mtt. Editor: I wasoneofa “Centennial
party” who have lately returned, after a ro
mantic ami somewhat perilous adventure in
Mammoth Cave ; and as the experience was
rare, as well as romantic, I will, with your
permission, give your readers the benefit of
its recital.
The party consisted of Miss T. and Miss
R. of Atlanta, a German traveler who had
joined us at Cave City, and the writer. Hav
ing become accomplished walkists by our
experience on the Centennial grounds, we
did not hesitate, on reaching the cave, to
undertake what isjcalled the “long route.”
This involves a walk under ground of eigh
teen miles, but it well repays the visitor for
the time and toil necessary to accomplish
it Indeed, it is the only way to “do” Mam
moth Cave.
As our facetious old guide put it, you have
there “a cave” and “the mammothit
takes both to make “Mammoth Cave.” We
went to see “Mammoth Cave” and we say
it —a little more of it than we bargained for.
About midway the long route is Echo
river, which is crossed in a boat under a
long, low arch of stone, which in some
places is not more than three feet above the
surface of the water when the river is low.
Accordingly it requires only a littlo rise in
~,,, r ivnr to close the avenue and make re
turn impossible. Perilous as this seems, to
think of or write about, yet we were so im
pressed with the novelty of the experience,
and so strangely inspired by the wonderful
echoes which accompany every sound, that
we crossed without a thought of danger. Be
yond this crossing, we proceeded four or
five miles, passing through “The Infernal
Region,” where a number of lost soles are
to be seen; over “The Hill of Fatigue,”
along “The Pass of El Ghors,” amid the
bowers of “Martha’s Vineyard,” and into
“Washington Hall.” This last is a spacious
chamber sixty feet wide, twenty high, and
one hundred in length. Here we spread our
lunch, and a hearty, happy meal, we made of
it.
After dinner we entered Snowball room,
and passed on to Cleveland’s Cabinet, and
were so charmed with the indescribable
beauty and infinite variety of the crystalline
formations which adorned the walls and
ceilings of these immense avenues and al
coves, that we lingered until it was about
time to return. Learning too from our guide
that there was nothing beyond, save the Dis
mal Hollow and the Maelstrom, we prefer
red not to disfigure the beautiful picture which
we now had framed for our memories by so
gloomy a hack-ground; so, turning our hacks
on Dismal Hollow, we started ou our return
trip.
We were pursuing our way leisurely along,
gathering specimens and inspecting the
beautiful formations more closely than we
had done on our inbound trip, when sud
denly a messenger met us with the startling
intelligence that the river was rising rapidly,
and unless we made the utmost baste the
revnue would be entirely closed before we
could reach it. There had been, he stated,
a most terrific rain storm without, the sever
est they had had there for years, and that he
had never known the river to rise so sud
denly and so rapidly before. He seemed
excited and somewhat alarmed, stating that
having been sent to warn us, he succeeded
in crossing under the arch only by lying fiat
down in the boat, and that as the river was
rising every moment, to recross, the boat
would have to be sunk and forced through
under water.
With this very comforting information,
he turned and left us in great haste, hurry
ing back to the river, as we supposed, to
save himself at least. Fortunately for us,
we had an old, experienced guide, who did
not seem at all excited or alarmed by the
intelligence, and so the party did not be
come the least demoralized. We trusted
our guide and felt confident of his ability
to take us out. The ladies particularly,
were calm and confident, even cheerful,
evincing no signs whatever of alarm. I sup
pose this was partly because they trusted in
us as well as in the guide. Our German
friend became suddenly very thoughtful,
and when Miss T. proposed a song or Miss
R. made the cavern walls echo with a ring
ing laugh, he seemed to grow impatient and
said, very much to the amusement of the
ladies, “dish ish no time for de song or de
laugh.” As for myself, I confess to some
rather serious reflections occasioned by the
situation. When the messenger who had
been sent to warn us reached us, we were
between two and three miles beyond the
river, and had been walking very leisurely.
Now, however, by force of natural sugges
tion, we quickened our pace, and I think it
likely we made the best time on record
through El-Ghor pass and the other gorges
which lay between us and the river.
When we reached the crossing, we found
quite a body of water between us and the
landing and were informed by the messen
ger, whom we overtook there in great per
plexity, that it was impossible to get the
boat round to us. There was no chance
but to take the water, and into it we plunged,
wading carefully so as not to miss our foot
ing on the submerged rocks.
This first feat, the ladies accomplished
with remarkable coolness. Arrived at the
fhmflww Chri.slhiM AdiiHiilc.
landing where the boat was, the guide decid
ed after careful inspection, that the river
was closed so that it was impossible to pass
through it. And there we were, standing
on the rock-bound banks of a roaring, mad
dened, under ground river—shut in on every
side by impenetrable walls whose solid arch
es lay upon the very face of the water before
us—in more than Egyptian darkness, save
as our little lamps sent forth a feeble glim
mer, only sufficient to make the enveloping
darkness the more terrific —while the angry
wa’ers were rushing through an hundred
crevices around us, with a roar which the
echoes made louder than Niagara’s thunder.
“What shall we do ?” we inquire of the guide.
“Into the boat,” was his laconic reply; and
into it we marched in somewhat solemn si
lence. Hardly a word was spoken as we
moved slowly along on the dark, turbid
stream. Even our guide was silent, and he
had not given us a word of encouragement
or information as to where he was taking us
or how we were to escape. After rowing
thus in silpnee for a few hundred yards, he
suddenly ran the prow of the boat against
what seemed in the glimmer of our lamps to
be an inaccessible cliff", and proceeded to
make it fast.
“What is this?” we ask. “Purgatory,”
he replies. “Must we climb that ledge?”
“No other chance,” he answers; and up
we scramble with incredible labor, held to
the slippery rocks by the reflection, that a
fall would literally be like Lucifer's. When
we reached the top, we saw the glimmer of
other lights and heard voices, and were thus
encouraged with the thought that assistance
was at haud. We had flanked the arch, but
were not yet over the waters, for “the great
walk” extending from Lake Lethe to Echo
river, a distance of five hundred yards, and
which we had passed dry-shod that morning,
was now a roaring torrent through its entire
length. Down this, however, the party who
had been sent from the hotel to our rescue
had brought a boat, and with six men on
each side holding and pulling the boat as
they waded the water, we began to ascend
the stream: but as the current was ex
ceedingly swift and strong, the progress was
slow and for a time it seemed that we
would go backward instead of forward in
spite of all that could be done. Finally
they said to us, “you men must get out,
it as much as we can do to get the boat
up with the ladies in it,” and out we step
ped, my German friend and I, right into the
water, and for five hundred yards we split
the middle of the stream.
The scene was grandly picturesque, and
as all real danger was now passed, the trip
to dry land was accomplished with many a
loud shout and hearty laugh.
It is due to the ladies to say that from
first to last of this rare adventure they
proved themselves equal to any emergency.
They held on through it all lo the specimens
they had gathered, and never at any time
betrayed Ihe least sign of anxiety or alarm.
Escaped from the waters, an experience
almost as hazardous, and equally as roman
tic, still awaited us before we reached the
entrance. This consisted of an almost per
pendicular ascent of nearly three hundred
feet, up what is called the“ Corkscrew”. And
a corkscrew it was. The ascent was like
climbing up out of a winding well, with a
turn at every half length of the body. Here
the ladies were put upon their muscle as
well as their nerve, but up they mounted
without halt or hesitation, as heroic and
happy in climbing the Corkscrew as they
were in wading the river.
When we came in sight of the entrance,
the sun was just setting, (for it bad come
out again after the storm) and the gleam of
its oblique rays upon the moistened rocks
outside made a picture as grandly beautiful
as that which imagination has painted of the
gates of heaven. W. F. C.
CHURCH MUSIC.
“ Sing unto the Lord a-new song,” “Let
all the people praise Him,” is Bible lan
guage and has a meaning, and in order that
these admonitions may be obeyed, God has
given us voices which, when cultivated and
united, produce harmony only equalled by
the music of angels. He has given us a mu
sical science which is the same all over the
world, and all nations, kindred and tongues,
speak the same language of song. By poets,
inspired and uninspired, He has clothed
every phase of Christian character in verse
as faultless, true, and sublime, as language
can make it. Therefore, we conclude that
it is clearly the design of the Almighty that
all the people, and especially Christian peo
ple, should know how to sing, and that the
most perfect music of earth should be heard
in the temple of the Lord. David and Solo
mon so understood it in their day. Does
God change ? Why is it then that we hear
discord and confusion in the singing of Chris
tian congregations instead of perfect harmo
ny ? Why is it that our Church music is no
better than it was a century ago ? Why is it
that so many preachers are sent out in per
fect ignorance of this delightful part of the
worship of God ? Why is it that the effect
of so many otherwise good meetings is lost
by failures in the singing? It is because we
have neglected to encourage, learn, or culti
vate vocal music. We have not only failed
to improve our talent, but have buried it; and
Satan has found it and utilized it to the great
detriment of the Church. Where do we find
the best music now ? Not in the Church,
where it should be, but in the opera, the
theatre, the saloon, the parlors, anywhere,
everywhere, but in a congregation of Chris
tians. Even our own daughters, for whom
hundreds of dollars have been paid that they
might be educated in the science of music,
return to disappoint aud astonish us by not
having learned to sing the simplest air with
out the aid of a piano or other instrument.
They delight us with their singing and play
ing in the parlor, but when we take them to
church, and even give them a tune book
expecting to hear the same sweet voice
we heard in the parlor, mingling in the
songs of Zion, alas 1 alas 1 they are silent,
and you would hear as sweet music from
Lot’s pillar of salt, unless, perchance, the
congregation should sing some old tune they
had learned in childhood. But, they should
be pitied, not blamed, for they have been
imposed upon by their music teachers, who
have neglected the most important part of
their education, and have been shielded
from censure only by the ignorance or indif
ference of their patrons. But these reflec
tions are unpleasant. We are glad to know
that the necessity of vocal culture is being
felt and acted upon; it has been incorporated
among the studies of some of our best insti
tutions of learning; our daughters are taught
vocal music in the Wesleyan Female Col
lege ; and it will be taught to our sons in fhture
in old Emory, by Prof. Mclntosh, where his
services have long been needed to add the
softening and refining influence of his grand
calling to the many champions of the Gospel
with whom she has blessed our country.
PUBLISHED BY J. W. BURKE & COMPANY, FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH.
This is truly encouraging, so far as it goes.
We would have it in every school in the land,
and that importance attached to it that it de
serves. We are sorry to learn that in some
colleges the study of vocal music is left op
tional with the student, and no tuition charged
for instruction. This is unfortunate, and
ends in disappointing the parent and spoil
ing the child. Let this course be corrected
at once ; let competent teachers be employ
ed ; let the study be obligatory and thor
ough ; then, ere long, anew charm will be
added to the house of God, and such a change
made in the form and spirit of worship, and
in the character of the social meetings of the
youth of our country, as shall delight and
cheer our hearts. J. M. T.
Monroe, Ga.
A PLEA FOR COMMON SCHOOLS.
Mr. Editor: I was surprised to see in a
late number of the Southern Christian Ad
vocate, the declaration from our beloved
Bishop Pierce, that he is no friend to the
common school system of education, and
thinks the State should support the higher
institutions of learning, and leave primary
education to parental responsibility. He says:
“ Let the State support the higher institu
tions of learning, and provide through them
a sufficient number of well qualified teachers,
and the people will take care of the common
schools without her intermeddling. lam no
friend to the common Bchool system. Some
thing is due to parental responsibility in
primary education, and the only duty of the
State, in my judgment, is to provide for her
own population (by endowment of her uni
versity, and its branches, and by extension
of their privileges to deserving young men,)
the needful teachers.”
I also noticed sometime last year, an edi
torial of yours, in which, I believe, you li
kened the operation of the common school
system to the taking of money out of one
man’s pocket and putting it into that of an
other. Now I differ widely with you both ;
but for me to enter into a controversy with
yourself, or with Bishop Pierce, would be
folly supreme. lam unworthy of your steel,
and have neither time nor talent, for any
thing of the kind. A plain, plodding old
farmer, I have ever left controversy to those,
who like it better. But hoping that neither
yourself nor Bishop Pierce, will object to a
few words on the other side of the question,
by even so humble an individual as myself,
I ask a small space in the Advocate for the
defense of what I believe to be the only hope
of the common people. I believe that Bish
op Pierce is a good, as well as a great man,
and that his heart is always right; but even
he must draw wrong conclusions, from wrong
premises. Occupying the position he does,
his influence is great, and it is a matter of no
little importance for him to advocate, or con
demn, any measure desigred for the public
good. He travels all over the land, loved
and honored wherever he goes, and it might
be reasonably inferred that he is acquainted
with the condition, wants, and desires of the
people ; but I have been surprised before, to
notice how little we know of those we see
collectively, and only occasionally, and brief
ly. He does not stop long enough at a place
to find out the real condition of the people.
He sees only the bright side, and when he
speaks of leaving primary education to pa
rental responsibility, he is not aware of the
fact, that in many of our best rural districts,
more than half the parents are unable to af
ford their children a common school educa
tion. With many of them, it is only possi
ble to spare their sons, a few weeks after
the crops are laid by, for attendance at
school, and then these children of toil must
return to their fathers’ fields. Now these
parents all contribute by State taxation,
and many of them by voluntary contri
butions, to help build up these higher institu
tions of learning, when they well know that
they will never be able to send a son or
daughter to one of them. I believe I live in
a community unexcelled by any rural dis
trict in the State, for morality, education,
and refinement. The good Bishop paid us a
flying visit last year, presented his dollar
proposition for Emory, and I risk nothing in
saying, received a willing dollar from more
than one man who is not able to afford a
common school education to his own child
dren. And there are numbers within my
knowledge, not able to send their children
(tuition free,) to school, long enough to ob
tain a sufficient knowledge of English Gram
mar and Arithmetic, for the humblest avoca
tions of life. And just here is the good Bish
op's mistake, and the mistake of every good
man, who opposes a common school system
of education. He does not realize the real
condition of the toiling thousands of our good
old State, and perhaps will not believe it,
nor be convinced, that a common school ed
ucation is a difficult attainment for any one.
“We only know what we have lived,” and
neither Bishop Pierce, nor yourself perhaps,
ever delved the soil for subsistence for your
selves and family, or lacked means to edu
cate your children, at the best institutions
the State affords. If such had been your
lot, you would have been found in sympathy
with such people, aud not opposed to the
State furnishing the miserable pittance of fif
ty or seventy-five cents per month, for three
months annually, to help enlighten her more
needy, hut not less deserving, sons and
daughters, while she is spending her thou
sands to help those much better able to help
themselves. Will a true parent pet and feed
one child on dainties, while the rest are cry
ing for bread ? and are humble enough to ask
for bread only. In this case, we ask only
for a little substantial bread. Our appetites
may call for a little more refined food some
times, but never mind, give us only a little
bread.
And now a word about that editorial. I
will not deal with the question in the ab
stract; whether or not the operation of the
common school system is like taking money
out of one man’s pocket, and putting it into
that of another; nor defend the right of the
State to do so. But I ask, if it is robbery for
the State to furnish money for common school
purposes, is it anything different to make
appropriations for her University, and other
institutions of learning, out of the same trea
sury ? or how can you ask a brother to help
build up Emory, or any other college, when
you know that his children will never derive
any benefit therefrom. I am not hostile to
our State or denominational colleges, and
have more than once, contributed my mite
to help build up and endow Emory. We
need learned divines, statesmen, and schol
ars. Therefore, let the State continue to
foster her university, but let her also do
something for the mass of the common peo
ple. If it be true, as statesmen say, “that
governments should legislate for the greatest
good of the greatest number, (always admit
ting that minorities have rights to be consid
ered,) then it cannot be denied, that the
State has contributed coo much of her trea
sure already to her higher institutions of
learning, aud too little to her common
schools. There may be, and doubtless are,
imperfections in the system as now existing,
MACON, GEORGIA. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1876.
but there is surely wisdom enough in the
State to correct its errors, and make it effec
tive. As to the duty of the State to furnish
treasure, without stint, to her university and
its branches, to furnish teachers for her pop
ulation, I answer, teachers are abundant, and
good ones too. But only those who have ob
tained situations, in some mercantile or other
favored locations, are able to live by the cal''
ling ; while others, equally as skillful, are
trying to make a living at some other occu
pation. It is not worth while to advocate
any more for that purpose. Let the State
furnish the means to put these men to work,.
They are plentiful, competent, and willing.
In conclusion, I feel that I ought to say in
justice to myself, that if I live a few yeats
longer, by God’s blessing, I hope and expect
to see the last one of my children blessed
with a common school business education.
Not at the expense of the State, (although 1 ‘
do not see but that I have as much right to
aid from that quarter as any one else,) but by
my own personal exertions. Toiling with
them for food and clothing, and cultivating
their minds, to the best of my ability, at such
times as I can afford.
1 write for truth, right, and justice. I shall
not attempt to champion the cause ; I am
conscious of my inability to do so, but would
gladly wake up someone, capable of stand
ing in the place of the lamented Cobb. I
hope some day to see our beloved Bishop
leading the van. Jdstitia. _
Oglethorpe county, August 22, 1876.
[The editorial to which our correspondent
refers, it is but justice to say, was written by
Dr. J. W. Hinton, while in temporary occu
pancy of the chair during our absence i
June of last year. If “Justitia” will refer
to it, he will find that it is wholly outside of
the line of discussion which he pursues in the
above article. The dominant thought of that
article, so far as the Common School ques
tion is concerned, is that the legitimate func
tions of government terminate with the pro
tection of life, liberty, and property, and that
making provision for the education of the
people is no more its rightful province than
providing them with a religion. This fea
ture of the Common School question, out
correspondent does not discuss. — Editor.]
EDITORS AND BISHOPS.
The above constitute an important, and
indeed, an essential class in certain ecclesi
astical organizations. For the most part
they are men of the first intellectual, social,
and religious attainments. This is just as it
should be. But, after all, they are but mem
wise and good it is true, and therefore not
quite as liable to err in judgment as some
others. Yet, they are not always infallible,
especially in matters of which they have had
but little experience. Yet, it is expected iif
them, as occasion may suggest, that they
ventilate fully, even extensively, views and
opinions upon all subjects whatsoever; an-#,
whether willing or unwilling, they must of
necessity comply with all demands of this
kind. Now and then they may intrude their
thoughts unsolicited. Very well; they have
such a right. All this they must do or be
esteemed unworthy of their high trust.-i-
Hence 'hey are sometimes forced to exp!oj^ (
in fancy at least, regions of experience on
which their feet have never trod. Now,
occasionally it is somewhat interesting, as
well as amusing, to see how their great wis
doin (we do not say their goodness), forsakes
them. For instance, one suggests, let the
preacher live on bread and water rather than
put confidence in the promises of his goqfl
and Christian stewards—those on whom he
is dependent—and if bread and water fail,
why then quit the field altogether. Would
this he in accordance with apostolic practice ?
Another says, rather than risk anything,
“clothe in patches seven deep, and then
starve to death.” Well, this might do, al
though a little uncomfortable. Some may
have passed off this way. But the first inti
mates further, that if the preacher should
ever venture confidence enough in his good
stewards to provide bread and water only,
and after all should be so unfortunate—not
to say wretched —as to fall a little into debt,
why let him be Anathema Maranatha —let
him perish from the list of acceptable and
worthy ministers. Do men who have never
traversed the regions of bread and water only,
and where nothing hut patches " seven deep”
are worn, know how to advise in such a case ?
Might not the unfortunate still be accounted
worthy and acceptable so long as he endeav
ors to pay what he legally owes, whether
others pay him what they owe or not?
W. M. H.
DEBTS TO CHRIST.
Mr. Editor: Let me write down a few
sentences which f have just been reading in
Dr. Holland’s “ Gold Foil.” Perhaps they
may serve your readers as they served me —
give them pain and make them think. Should
this be so, I shall feel that this Sunday after
noon has not been altogether used for naught.
It is no unkindness that prompts me to state
a painful truth. It is only fealty to Christ.
But, here is the extract:
“ I mean no irreverence when I say that
the Church has not treated Jesus Christ with
anything like the business punctilio which it
exercises towards and exacts of its neigh
bors, and that if Jesus Christ were the mana
ger of a bank, every obligation the members
have given would have passed to protest long
ago. Ido not pretend to canvass moral ob
ligations, and I will only add, that when the
Christian enterprise shall receive all the men
and all the money pledged to it by contract;
when Christians shall discharge their plain
business obligations, voluntarily assumed,
and long overdue, there will be no lack of
agents or of means for carrying the Christian
enterprise to the grand consummation which
awaits it.”
How often have we sung —with burdened
hearts deeply sensitive to the great truth we
were uttering—
“ Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small ;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.”
Who can realize—howsoever poorly—
what the Lord Jesus Christ has done and suf
fered for us, and how and to what effect He
pleads for us now, without realizing a sense
of gratitude and of personal indebtedness to
Him? Under the proper impulse of such
sentiments as these, many of us have under
taken obligations to Him, never more than
He deserved or we owed, and have dishon
ored Him and ourselves in the loose manner
we have considered them or in the reckless
way we have canceled or evaded them. Pay
the merchant, pay the doctor, pay the sheriff,
and then, if entirely convenient, pay the
Lord. Pay for material necessaries and lux
uries, pay for tobacco and opium and alco
hol, and then, if every thing suits exactly,
pay for the Gospel. This order of the per
sonal expenditure of the average Church
member, is not meant for a caricature for the
purpose of fun. It is meant to be a painful
exhibit of a shameful truth. God, who is
first in the order of just claims upon us, ah 1
how frequently is it that He is degraded in
order to the very last of the list, and that He
is paid not with our first fruits, but with our
leavings.
“ Will a man rob God?” We leave this
question, which is not one of our own devi
sing, for this one, which we do well to consid
er, “ Have we robbed God?” Perhaps this
next question will help us with our answer,
“ Have we voluntarily pledged a portion of
our property to the promotion of the cause
of Christ, and declined to fulfill the obliga
tion?” Ananias and Sapphira did. But
we have nothing to do with them, except
to ponder well the solemn truth of their
sad example. The question for us is,
“Have we done so?” That we, having
done so, do not “ fall down and give up the
ghost,” is no evidence that God has ceased
to be just, or hates such a sin any less. No,
no. In mercy He spares us ; but not to the
neglect of a single attribute of His character.
Our condemnation at the last, if we persis
tently go condemned culprits into His pres
ence, will be all the more severe in the fact
of its merciful delay.
Let me close, quoting the words of one
who is, perhaps, the greatest character the
Methodist Church has yet developed in this
country. “The highest morality is the truest,
and surely Christ will never recognize as a
true disciple of His any man who perseveres
in regarding pecuniary obligations incurred
on His account as somewhat less binding
and sacred than the claims of the market
man or merchant. For myself, I have re
solved to look over my past life, and see if
any unpaid pledges or unredeemed subscrip
tions are outstanding against me, with a full
determination to pay ‘to the uttermost far
thing.’ ” I dare notabide thefinal issue with
this burden on my conscience, for I must
meet it before a tribunal where nothing will
stand the test but truth in the inward
parts.” S. A. W.
Williamston, S. C.
COLUMBUS DISTRICT CONFERENCE.
REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE CHURCH.
The Committee appointed to consider and
report upon the various interests of the
Churches within the Columbus District, re
spectfully state : That they have heard and
examined the representations made to the
Conference, and referred to them, from the
several charges within the District, and that
it affords them great pleasure to say, that
the state of the work is most satisfactory.
The preachers have been engaged in their
great work diligently ; they have labored
faithfully, and cheerfully, and they bring up
good accounts from the whole field. The
outlook for the future, in all the departments
of the service, is encouraging.
The financial condition of the country has,
of course, hindered some of the enterprises
of the Church, hut there is reason to hope
for improvement in that department. The
crops of all kinds are generally good, and the
yield of grain is abundant. We believe that
our people are mitering upon a brighter and
more prosperous period than they have en
joyed for some years. We have peace with
in our borders. We are pleased too, to ob
serve the hopeful spirit of the preachers,
engaged in the work. They exhibit energy ;
their tone is cheerful and courageous, and
they are ready with the true spirit of evan
gelists to enter upon more extended labors.
We believe that they will display in all
parts of the work, the aggressive power of
men who feel that they serve a conquering
Lord.
The reports made from the several charges
are so elaborate and full, that we do not un
dertake to present each statement; but we
give in general terms the estimate that we
have made of the state of the work.
The spiritual condition of the Church
is good. Public service is well attended.
There has been an increase in the number of
our members, which indicates that, while no
great and general revival power has been
displayed, there is progress.
Prayer-metings are generally maintained,
and an increasing interest is felt in them.
Family prayer is observed by a large pro
portion of the members of our Church.
A most gratifying statement is made from
all the Churches as to our Sabbath-schools.
Not only are they largely attended, but the
melliods of conducting them are judicious.
Never at any time has this important insti
tution been in a more satisfaciory state than
it is at present.
The publications of our Church are gener
ally found among our people, and we hope
to see a great improvement in their circula
tion, wiili the increasing prosperity of the
country. The Southern Christian Advo
cate is always welcomed, and the paper is
growing in public favor.
Tf e collections for the support of preach
ers, for missions, and for the other interests
of the Church, have not been made as fully
as they should he, but the assessments have
been cheerfully acquiesced in, and it is be
lieved that they will be fully met. We learu
from Rev. L. B. Payne, the efficient agent of
the Orphans’ Home, that some liberal con
tributions have been made for that object, in
several parts of the District.
Very interesting statements were made re
specting the Wesleyan Female College, and
Emory College. Prof. Howard W. Key
represented the College for Young Ladies,
and speaking in the most encouraging terms
of its condition, has been heard by us with
great interest.
Rev. A. G. Haygood, D. D., President of
Emory College, in his full and interesting
report of its state, appealed powerfully to
the friends of the institution, to give it their
vigorous support.
The Church is a living Church ; the ani
mating spectacle of an advancing people is
seen all along our lines; and light rests
upon the future. Within twelve months,
some eight hundred members have been
added to the Church, within the territory
embraced in this District. We thank God
and take courage.
But we must urge upon our people in
creased energy. We should be more ag
gressive. Striving ourselves for higher at
tainments in spiritual life, we should bear
into the ranks of men that confront us, the
conquering standard of Christ. There are
many men whom we meet in the daily pur
suits of life who seem to ignore the great
truths of the Gospel, and who are passing
on to the retributions of eternity, without
once turning a look of faith to the cross
upon which the Lord of Glory died. Let us
all rise to a more powerful effort than we
have ever yet made, to save men by bringing
them to Jesus.
Henry W. Hilliard, Chairman.
The First Stain. —Did any one ever
think how little it takes to stain their char
acter? A single drop of ink is a very small
thing, yet dropped into a tumbler of clear
water, it blackens the whole. And so the
first oath, the first lie, the first glass, they
seem very trivial, yet they leave a dark stain
upon your character. Look out for the first
stain.
Selettm
WORK.
“The work of men”—and what is that?
Well, we may know it very quickly, on the
condition of being wholly ready to do it.
But many of us are for the most part think
ing not of what we are to do, but of what we
are to get; and the best of us are sunk into
the sin of Ananias, and it is a mortal one —
we want to keep back part of the price; and
we continually talk of taking up our cross,
as if the only mischief in a cross was the
weight of it; as if it was only a thing to be
carried instead of to be crucified upon.
“They that are His have crucified the flesh
with the affections and lusts.” Does that
mean, think you, that in time of national
distress, of religious trial, of crisis for every
interest aud hope of humanity, none of us
will cease jesting, none cease idling, none
put themselves to any wholesome work, none
take so much as a tag of lace off their foot
man’s coats to save the world? Or does it
rather mean that they are ready to leave
houses, lands and kindred —yes, and life, if
need be? Life I—some'1 —some' of us are ready
enough to throw that away, joyless as we
have made it. But “station in life”—how
many of us are ready to quit that? Is it not
always the great objection where there is
question of finding something useful to do,
“We can not leave our stations in life”?
Now those of us who really can not —that is
to say, who can only maintain themselves
by continuing in some business or salaried
office, have already something to do; and all
that they have to see to, is, that they do it
honestly and with all their might. But with
most people who use that apology, “remain
ing in the station of life to which Providence
has called them,” means keeping all the
carriages and all the footmen and large
houses they can possibly pay for; and, once
for all, I say, that if ever Providence put
them into stations of that sort —which is not
at all a matter of certainty—Providence is
just now very distinctly calling them out
again. Levi’s station in life was the receipt
of custom, and Peter’s the shore of Galilee,
and Paul’s the antechambers of the high
priest, which “station in life” each had to
leave with brief uotice.
And whatever our “station in life” may
be at this crisis, those of us who mean to
fulfil our duty ought, first, to live on as little
as we can; and secondly, to do all the whole
some work for it we can, and to spend all
we can spare in doing alt the sure good we
can.
And sure good is, first, in feeding people,
then in dressing people, then in lodging
people, and lastly, in rightly pleasing peo
ple, with arts or sciences, or any other sub
ject of thought. These are the three needs
of civilized life; and the law for every Chris
tian man and woman is, that they shall be
in direct service towards one of these three
needs, as tar aa is consistent with their own
special occupation, and if they have no spe
cial business, then wholly in one of these
services.
And out of such exertion in plain duty, all
other good will come; for in this direct con
tention with material evil, you will find out
the real nature of all evil, you will discern
by the various kinds of resistance what is
really the fault and main antagonism to
good; also, you will find the most unexpect
ed helps and profound lessons given, and
truths will come thus down to which the
speculation of all our lives would never have
raised us up to.
On such holy and simple practice will be
founded, indeed, at last, an infallible reli
gion. The greatest of all the mysteries of
life the most terrible, is the corruption
of even the sincerest religion, which is not
founded on rational, effective, humble, and
helpful action. Helpful action, observe 1
for there is just one law, which obeyed,
keeps all religions pure—forgotten, makes
them all false. Whenever in any religious
faith, dark or bright, we allow our minds
to dwell upon the points in which we differ
from other people, we are wrong and in the
devil’s power. That is the essence of the
Pharisee's thanksgiving—“ Lord, I thank
thee that lam not as other men are.” “At
every moment of our lives we should be try
ing to find out, not in what we differ with
other people, but in what we agree with
them; and the moment we find we can agree
as to anything that should be done, kind or
good, then do it; push at it together; you
can’t quarrel in a side by side push; but the
moment that even the best men stop push
ing, and begin talking, they mistake their
pugnacity for piety, and it’s all over.” —
Buskin.
AM I DOING MY DUTY AS A CHRIS
TIAN.
In our present condition of partial sancti
fication and imperfect knowledge, there are
times when we may have great difficulty in
determining what duty is, and again as to the
best mode of accomplishing it.
We need continually to keep before us the
teachings of God’s word, to understand what
we ought to and should be our highest
aim, in every day life, and in view of the
relations that we sustain to God and to our
fellow creatures, and we need also to look
up continually to God to give us wisdom,
that in aiming to do what is right, we may
adopt the best way of doing it, and thus
avoid doing harm. Especially is this im
portant in our efforts to bring our fellow men
under the influence of the truth. But to un
derstand what duty is and how to perform it,
is not all that is necessary. Thus far, every
thing may be perfectly plain, and very often
is, and yet the duty is not performed, nor is
there any effort made to perform it. And
why? Because the inclination is wanting.
Men and women professing to be Chris
tians, and who have solemnly promised sub
mission to Christ as King, habitually refuse
to obey Him; for, to refuse to perform duty
is so far to refuse to obey Christ.
How often, when the matter of family wor
ship is pressed upon the consideration of
parents professing to be Christians, or the
matter of home Christian instruction, is the
answer made, “Well, I know what is duty
but —.” Then follow the excuses, such as
have been employed by negligent professors
of religion to quiet conscience, from getter
ation to generation.
Talk to the Church member who never
occupied a place in the prayermeetings—who
hears the bell that calls the people together
for prayer ring from week to week, and
from year to year, but never heeds it—who
refuses to regard it as the call of God to him
or to her—talk to that Church member, and
most likely the reply will be, “Yes, I know
it is my duty.” Then excuses are made.
Excuses for the neglect of what is admitted
to be a duty—and if a duty, then, that
which implies moral obligation to perform.
Strange that professing Christians should be
so slow to learn that duty admits of no ex
cuses. To neglect it is to siu. To neglect
known duty is knowingly to sin. To neglect
what is acknowledged to be duty, is, for him
who does so, to stand self convicted before
God and His people. Should God say,
“According to thy statement, so shall thy
judgment be,” how wretched would be the
condition of the person described!
The great need is the inclination to do
duty. For this every one should pray..
May God graciously teach us what we ought
to do, enlightening the understanding; and
may He also graciously incliue us to walk in
the way of His commandments, and to de
light in His testimonies. Thus may we be
prepared for the better country and for the
services of the upper sanctuary.— Transyl
vania Presbyterian.
AFTER THE STORM.
After the storm, a calm;
After the bruise, a bat m;
For the 111 brings good, in the Lord’s own time,
Aud the sigh becomes a psalm.
After the drought, the dew;
After the cloud, the blue;
For the sky will smile In the sun’s good time
And the earth grow glad and new.
Bloom is the heir of blight.
Dawn is the child of night;
And the rolling change of the busy world
Bids the wrong yield back the right.
Under the fount of ill,
Many a cup doth till.
And the patient lip. though it drinketh oft,
Finds only the bitter still.
Truth seemeth oft. to sleep,
Blessings so slow to reap.
Till the hours of waiting ate weary to bear,
And the courage is liaid to keep!
Nevertheless, I know
Out of the dark must grow,
Sooner or later whatever is fair,
Siuee the heavens have willed it so.
HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE.
I find one of the best ways to study the
Scriptures is to study them topically. I
used, at one time, to read so many chapters
a day, and if I did not, I thought I was get
ting cold and backsliding; but, mind you, if
a man had asked me two hours afterwards
what I had read, I could not tell him. I had
forgotten it nearly all. When I was a hoy, I
used among other tilings, to have to hoe
turnip3 on a farm, and I used to hoe them so
badly, to get over so much ground, that at
night I had to put down a stick in the ground
so as to know next morning where I had left
off. That was somewhat in the same fashion
as running through so many chapters every
day. A man will say, “Wife, did I read that
chapter?” “Well,” says she, “I don’t re
member,” and neither of them can recollect,
and, perhaps, he reads the same chapter
over and over again; and they call that
studying the Bible. I don’t think there is a
book in the world we neglect so much as the
Bible. Merely reading the Bible is no use
at all without we study it thoroughly, aud
hunt it through as it were for some great
truth. If a friend were to see me searching
about this building and were to come up and
say, “Moody, what are you looking for? have
you lost something?” and I were to say,
“No, I haven’t lost anything, I’m not look
ing for anything particular,” I fancy he
would let me go on by myself and think me
very foolish. But, if I were to say, “Yes, I
have lost a sovereign,” why, then I might
expect him to help me to find it. Read the
Bible, my friends, as if you were seeking for
something of value. It is a good deal better
to take a single chapter and spend a month
on it, than to read the Bible at random fora
month.
I find some people, now and then, who
boast that they have read the Bible through
in so many months. Others read the Bible
chapter by chapter, and get through in a
year. If I were going into a court of jus
tice, and wanted to carry the jury with me,
and would get every witness I could to tes
tify to the one point on which I wanted to
convince the jury, I would not get them to
testify everything, but just on that one thing
—and so it should be with the Scriptures. I
took up that word “ love,” and I don’t know
how many weeks I spent in studying the
passages in which it occurs, till at last 1
couldn’t help loving people. I had been
feeding so long on love that I was anxious
to do everybody good that I came in contact
with. Take up grace, take up faith, take
up assurance.
Some people say, “I don’t believe in as
surance.” I never knew anybody read their
Bible but believed in assurance. This book
teaches nothing else. Paul says, “I know
in whom I have believed.” lob says, “I
know that my Redeemer liveth.” It is not,
“I hope,” “I trust.” The best hook on as
surance was written by one called “John,”
at the back part of the Bible. He wrote an
epistle on assurance. Sometimes you just
get a word that will be a sort of key to the
epistle, and which unfolds it. Now, if you
turn to John xx: 31, you will find it says.
“These are written, that ye might believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ;
and that believing, ye might have life
through His name.” Then, if you turn to
1 John v; 13, you will read thus: “These
things have I written unto you that believe
on the name of the Son of God ; that ye may
know that, ye have eternal life, that ye may
believe on the Son of God.” That whole
epistle is written on assurance. I have no
doubt John had found some people who
doubted about assurance ; and doubted
whether they were saved or not, and he takes
up his pee and sats, “I will settle the ques
tion ; and he writes that last verse in the
twentieth chapter of his Gospel. I have
heard some people say that, it was not their
privilege to know that they were saved ;
they had heard the minister say that no one
eonld know whether they were saved or not,
and they took what the minister said in
stead of what the word of God said.
Others read the Bible to make it fit in and
prove their fivorite creed or notions, and if
it did not do so, (hey would not read it. It
has been well said, that they must not read
the Bible hy the blue light of Presbyterian
ism, nor the red light of Methodism, nor by
the violet light of Epis -opalism, but by the
light of the Spirit of God. Nov, if you will
just take up your Bible and study assurance
for a week, you will soon find it is your
privilege to know that you are a child of
God — l>. L. Moody.
The Common Law. —The fundamental law
of England is the so-called common law—
common, that is, to all parts of the kingdom,
in distinction from the local usages, which,
in former times, were very numerous, usages
peculiar to one or another district of the
country. This common law is, in the main,
an unwritten law ; that is, the most of it
never appeared in written statutory form, as
enactments of a legislative authority, a legis
lator, or a legislature. It is in the main a
customary law, a body of traditional usages,
some of them handed down from Anglo-
Saxon times, some introduced by the Nor
mans, but most of them evolved spontane
ously, as it were, in the practice of the courts,
without legislative interference or action.
To the Justinian books it concedes no bind
ing authority, even as auxiliary or supple
menting law. — Hadley.
F. M. KENNEDY, D. D., Editor
J„ W. BURKE, Assistant Editor
A. G. HAYGOOD, 1). D., Editorial Correspondent
WHOLE NUMBER 2012.
“I MADE HIM WHAT HE WAS.”
A while ago a saloon keeper in Delaware,
who patronized his own bar very liberally,
stepped into a back-room where some men
were at work about a pump in a well. The
covering had been removed, and he ap
proached to look down, but being very drunk
he pitched in headforemost. He had become
so much of a bloat by the use of strong
drink that it was impossible to extricate him
in time to save his life.
There was great excitement in the town.
Men and women who had never been inside
of his saloon before, were the first to rush
to the rescue, and to offer sympathy to
the bereaved family. As he was being
dragged from the well and stretched out dead
upon the saloon floor, a wholesale liquor
dealer from Philadelphia stepped in. After
the first shock at thus finding one of his good
customers dead, he turned to a prominent
lady, a Crusader, and said, pointing to the
wrecked victim, “I made that man what he
was. I lent him his first dollar aud set him
up with his first stock of liquors, and he’s
now worth ten or fifteen thousand dollars.”
Looking him full in the face, she respond
ed :
“You made that man what he was —a
drunkard, a bloat, a stench in the nostrils of
society, and sent him headlong into eternity.
What is $16,000 weighed against a lost soul,
a wasted life, a wife a widow, aDd children
orphans?”
He turned deadly pale, and without a
word left the house.
And so we ask, What is all the business
and all the revenue, to the millions whose
homes are despoiled, whose children are
beggared, and whose loved ones are sent
headlong to a drunkard's doom. Put your
self in the place of that mother whose son is
pursued day and night by this demon till the
hairs of his head become serpents, and live
coals burn into his flesh, to the very bone,
and fighting devils he leaps into his grave,
and then ask: Are my hands clean? Do I
love my neighbor as myself? Am I doing
all I can to stay the tide that is bearing so
many down, and may yet bear me down?—
Christian Woman.
STANDING FIRE.
Some time ago, in one of our great ships
of war, there was a solitary sailor who was
not ashamed to own himself a follower of
Christ. For a long time he was alone: no
other sailor joined him. His place of prayer
was amid the noise and din of the sailors.
One evening he perceived a shadow by the
side of the gun. Another Jack Tar was
creeping along, and said, “May I come ?”
Oh, the joy of the young sailor to have a
comrade with him 1 They met for many
nights behind the gun, reading and praying.
They became the butt of the men in two or
three mtsses, but still continued, bearing
and forbearing. It came to the ears of the
commander, who was a Roman Catholic —
but I mention this to his honor.
The moment he heard that two of his sail
ors were meeting for reading and prayer be
hind one of the guns, he sent for one o them,
and instantly ordered a portion of the lower
deck to be curtained off, and gave orders that
no one should molest them. For some tiigkts
they were the only occupants, but by and by
the curtain was opened, and a blue jacket
said, “May I come in?” He was welcomed.
Another came, and another, and the last ac
count I heard from that ship was this, that
every night thirty-two were meeting for pray
er, thirty of them believed to be converted
characters. And there, by “standing fire,”
by standing firm, true to what was his duty,
Gad had blessed that solitary sailor, aud
made him a spiritual father to at least thirty
of the men on board the ship.
MISCELLANEA.
In an old record book of a Connecticut
church, dated 1707, is this item: “ For
making a noise in Church, Ann Bolton,
spinster, is to sit three days in the poor
pew, and pay a fine of five shillings.”
A Mrs. Brown has given the Ohio Wesley
an University a farm near Bellefontaiue,
Ohio, valued at twenty thousand dollars.
The gift is the beginni -g of the endowment
of a professorship to be called the “ Brown
Professorship.
The missions to the Chinese in California
seem to prosper far beyond many more ex
pensive ones in other lands. The mission
schools have a fair attendance, and about
forty Chinese have been admitted to church
membership within a year. The peculiar
service of these missions will be apparent
when it is remembered th#t most Chinamen
go back to their native country.
A correspondent of the Evening Post, wri
ting from Asia upon foreign missions, says:
“When a man speaks ill of missionaries it is
prudent, before accepting the dictum, to
examine the critic’s life to see if there be
anything there which the missionary and
his religion condemn.” The application of
this rule would effectually dispose of most
of the travelers who sneer at foreign mis
sions.
Catholic Convents. —A general suppres
of the Catholic convents and monasteries
throughout Switzerland, is gradually taking
place, and as recent law forbids the forma
tion of any new institution, in very short time
not one will be left in the country Two were
closed last week in Arzorie, the property con
fiscated, and the inmates turned adrift, with
annuities ranging from £23 to £3O each, by
way of compensation for the seizure of their
estates.
The Old Catholics of Germany have sixty
ordained priests, nine students of theology, a
faculty of theology in Bonn, a Bishop, and
15,709 male members of mature age, who,
with their families, represent a body com
prising 49,351 souls. The Old Catholics of
Switz Hand number 73,380 souls. The or
dained priests are not fewer than sixty-six.
In Berne they have a theological faculty, and
their Bishop, Professor Herzog, elected June
7, was ordained August2o.
When Dorn Pedro visited Whittier, the
poet, at his home in Amesbury, one of the
first questions he asked was in reference to
the valley of the Merrimac and Whitefield
Church. The Church is called the First
Presbyterian Church in Newburyport, and
was formed by Whitefield one hundred and
thirty years ago. The building contains a
handsome marble monument of the great
revivalist, and the present pastor, Rev. W.
W. Newell, Jr., is a worthy successor in
point of ability, zeal, and success.
The synagogue of a seceding body of
Jews was dedicated in Baltimore, Satur
day, the 18th of August. They severed
their connection with the Floyd Street socie
ty on account of the dissatis action caused
by some innovations decided upon by the
majority of the congregation. Among other
causes for the withdrawal of some of the
oldest members, was the action of the con
gregation in deciding upon a choir of hired
male and female singers, the purchase of an
organ, etc.