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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.