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TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTY (ENTS. PER VOLUME XXXIX., NO. 47. Ipoctrjr. STEPHEN OLIN AS A POET. Dr. William Capers, soon after his return from England in 182 s, visited Columbia, S. C , and was the truest of the la f e Robert Bryce. The Doctor was looking through a file of “ The Wesleyan Journal,” and called attention to an anonymous piece of poetry, which, he t>aid,was from the pen of Stephen Olin ; adding, ‘‘When in London I met C'ark, Watson, and many great and good men, but I did not meet a Sec ond Stephen Olin.” Some readers of the Ad vocate will be glad to see these verses, which are copied from the “Journal” of December 3, 1825. C. BE NOT ANXIOUS FOR YOUR LIFE. Say, will the Lord refuse to bless. Men, who to him their prayers address, While flowers f earth *nd fow!r> of air Are made the objects of Ins care "i Theee thoughtless grow, or thankless fly, Or ia th*- f elds or through the rky ; Their music hear, their b au'y K * e To-morrow they snail to be ? And vet the Lord who reigns above, lia- made them objects of His iove; He nerves the wing o*< which hey soir, His dew drops cheer the glistei ing flower. ’Tis He who w ikes the sparrow’s muse, And give- th t li y ail its hues; Sustains in life, and when they die, Behoids them witu regardful eye. Piy, faithless man, of nobler birth, Can many sparrows vi- in worn, With heirs of bfe--to h aven abed, For whom the Lord of g ory oied ? The hand wlueh feeds the bi'(D of heaven, And clothes the gris* that’s burnt at even, Mu -h more will all your wants supply, Heirs of immortal destiny. The ear that hears the ravens cry. The strength by which they munt on high, Wi I ai w.i * heir Vie Uhnstiaa p ay. Will be sufllcient for his day. Tlif Holy Ghost, a purer light. Will make Ills pilgrim pa:hway bright, A- sunbeams make the lily fair. And guide the sparrows through the air. Sr. k tir-t, the world of < ndless joy, L -t lighteons wo ks your hands e i ploy ; 'then, toil and gri f aid loss and pain, Will hut enhance your liual gain. —Asaph. Contributions. PASTORAL FIDELITY. In 1872 and 187:1 I w is a traveling preach er (as the itinerant is styled), and during that time endeavored, to the best, of my abil ity, to follow the foot-pr nts of the Saviour. In the providenee of God I am no v in the local ranks, casting a cram no* and then on the waters, trusting that it will be gathered up when the final end shall come; and sim ply mention the fact of my connection with the itineracy to show my brethren that noth ing but the purest motive could prompt me to write this article. Recently I visited a camp meeting, and during my stay at the camp ground one of the brethren spoke to me on ihe subject ol pastoral visiting, alleging that they had a preacher who could preach a line doctrinal sermon, but that one of the brethren in the Church had been sick several months in about one mile ot the church, and the pas tor had been to all his appointments, but had never visited the sick brother. Since that time I have visited another work, and heard similar complaints against the good brother, the pastor in charge, both he and the other being able and acceptable preach ers, so far as their pulpit ministiations ot the word extends. I hear these same com plaints from other quarters, and feel moved by the Spirit to throw out. a note of warning to our noble brethren ot the ministry, both itinerant and local. 1 know there is great power in the pulpit, but the Saviour did not confine his preaching to the synagogues, to the temple, nor to the mountains ; but by the wayside, on the sea shore, and in the family circle. Yea, lie says it shall not be necessary to go up to Je rusalem, nor to this or that mountain to wor ship, but that the acceptable worshiper is he who worships in spirit and in truth. And in another place it is said every heart shall be a fit temple for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and every house a house of prayer. And on still another occasion He gave a passport at the very gate of heaven, and said, “ I was naked and ye clothed me, hun gry and ye fid me, thirsty and ye gave me drink, sick and in prison and ye vis ited me.” And in response to the inquiry, “ When did we do these things? ’ He said, “ Inasmuch as ye did it unto one ot the least of these, my brethren, ye did it unto me; come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you at ilie same time pronouncing the awful curse upon those who failed to do their duty in this line, “He part into everlasting fire prepared tor the Devil and his angels.” Now, are noi our brethren who neglect this solemn, yet often delightful duty, running a fearful risk? for no other sin was charged upon those who were banished forever from the gates ot heaven but neglect of this duty. I will mention a little incident that oc currei in the early ministry of one ot our ablest and purest preachers. 1 heard him relate it in the pulpit in one of the finest discourses I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. After services he siid he was ap proached by tvo little children who asked him to visit their blind parents ; a steward suggesting to him that he had belter wait until after dinner, as they woul 1 not be able to give him an' thing to eat. But in the true spirit of his work he remarked, that he was not hungry, and would go with the children, which he did. Af er an hour’s sweet con verse on the Scriptures with the two blind disciples of the Master, he partook of the scanty fare, consisting of a f-w b iked ap pies and a cup of sweet milk, remarking that it was the sweetest repast he had en joyed in many days, stating further that a profounder insight into the eternal truths of the Gospel he rarely witne-sed, the Spirit seeming to lend His light and influence—and while their natural eyes were sightless, the eye of faith was all ablaze with the glorious light of heaven. Now, while these two old people were not sick in the ordinary acceptation of the term, still they were poor, and in deep affliction, and needed the sweet consolation that alone flows from the word of God. This vi-it from a servant of the Master awakened in their minds and hearts the consoling truths of the Gospel, and no doubt shed a vivid ra diance on the deep vale of affliction through which they were passing. Many pleasing incidents of this character have occurred in my own short ministry, and I have heard others related, all illu>trating the same great truth set forth in the Scriptures. If there is one truth more prominently brought to view in the ministry of our Saviour than any oth er, it is the one I am trying to enforce in this short article, as he taught it on many impor tant occasions, both by precept and exam ple. Now, my dear brethren, a word in conclusion as to the object of this hasty ar ticle penned by me in the midst of the hur ry and bustle of our stirring city. I wish for Southern Chtisiiaii Atltocalc. every brother who reads this article to make this solemn inquiry, Have I done my duty ? Let us all invoke divine aid, and like our great and good brother Myers, if need be, lay down our lives treading in the footsteps of Jesus. A Pn-GRIM. A SUGGESTIVE EXTRACT. The following passage is taken from the second volume of The History Of The Jew ish Church, by Dean Stanley: “Such an epoch of perplexity, of transi tion. of change, as that which witnessed the passage from the first age of the Jewish Church, to the second, has been rarelv ex perienced. in any age of the Church since. Yet. there have been times more or leas sim’lar: the passage from every generation to the one that succeeds, has difficulties more or loss corresnonding. In every such passage, there mav he. or there ought to he, charac ers more or less like S-mus!, if the transition is to be safely eff>cted. Of all the charac'ers in the old dispen-ation, Samuel basin later times, both by friends and on ponents, been the most often misrepresented and misunderstood. Of all in later times, those who undertake the diffi cult task of Samuel. are the most likely to he misunderstood or misrepresented still They are attacked from bo*h sides : they are charged with not going far enough, or with going too far; they are charged with saying too much or with paying too little ; they are regarded from either partial point of view, and not from one which takes in the whole They cannot he comprehend and at a glance, like Moses, or Elijah, or Isaiah, an 1 there fore they a r e thrust aside. The-e have ben those, who have trod thp same thankless ■ a*h in former times of the Christian Church. Athanasius, in the moderate counsels of hi old age, in his atteran's to reconcile the con tending factions of Christians in the Conn oil of Alexandria, was for this reason, fitly regarded by Btail as the Samuel of the Church of his days In later times, even in our own, many names spring to our recol lection, of those who h ave trodden, or (in different degrees; same known, and somr uaaknowaa) are treading the same thankless path iaa the Chuacn of Germany in the Church of France, in the Church of Russia, in the Church of England. Wherever they are, and whosoever they maybe, and how.-o ever they may be neglected or assailed, or despised; they, like their great prototype and likeness, in the Jewish Church, are the silent healers who hind up the wounds of their age, in spite of itself; they are the good physicians who knit together the dislo cated hones of a dipj.dried time; they ere the reconcilers who turn the hearts of the children to the fathers, or of the fathers to tlae children. They have but I't ie praise and reward from ttae partisans who ate loud in indiscriminate censure and applause. But, like Samuel, they have a far higher reward, in the Davids who are silently strengthened and nurtured by them, in Naioth ol Hamah —in the glories of anew age, which shall he ushered in peacefully and happily, after they have been laid in the grave." This fine extract, we hope, will move some readers to reflection. And reflection, we hope, will move them to earnest prayers for a Samuel, or for many Samuels to arise. The boldest rhetoric, (unless it should be of the satiric kind) can scarcely venture to speak of the “Church in America.” If a speaker refers to a single branch of the Church in America, he must do it with great caution. A thousand alarmed ears are wide open, and in a thousand minds is instantly sugg- sted the thought, “ Take care 1 that man is hinting towards organic union; you may depend on it!” Let us then use only the phrases, which may be safely used, with out offending the generation of the righteous in our day—the Southern Presbyterian Church, or the Southern Methodist Church. What work have these for Samuel to do ? Much every way. Perhaps no finer field can be found in Chriiteudom. in this current year of grace, wherein to earn the blessings promised to peace makers. It is to be dis tinctly understood, however, that human praise, or popularity, is not always found— perhaps is not usually found, as an element in that promised reward. A religious newspaper this morning, fur nishes this short extract from a notice of the lamented Durbin : “ We are glad that he sometimes stood alone. Some characters need to be set over against armies to show their breadth. We rejoice in the sweetness and patience that kept him at his post in the midst of a host. The power to stand in small minorities —to be at need, a minority of one —is also a grace given.” That is a noble record. How different will be the record which truth will write as a part of the epitaph on many a conspicuous name 1 “He never found it necessary to stand alone. He lived, moved, spoke,wrote, acted, all his life in the same crowd. He never saw it to be his duty or privilege to restrain or rebuke his crowd, or to turn their impulses in any other direction, than the one in which those vehement impulses natu rally and spontaneously flowed. He was al ways on the popular side of every question which came up in his eventful life. He lived in a stormy period of history, but he never said to the angry elements around him, ‘Peace!’ He never saw the moment when his contemporaries wanted him to speak thus, and he was unwilling to hurt their feelings, by doing so prematurely.” Perhaps we may not want a Samuel, hut we surely need him. Jay. RELIGION AT HOME. During a recent visit to a Rev. Brother, the writer was much impressed with the air of true religion that pervaded his lovely home. Everywhere he seemed to breathe an atmosphere of piety. It was night when he reached this home. He had traveled a long distance, and felt himself in a strange land ; but when this gcod man had read a chapter from that dear, familiar Book, and kneeling, devoutly prayed our common Father to pro tect and guard us during the defenseless hours of sleep, he felt on retiring to rest, that angels guarded his conch. Prayer in this family circle was not a cold, formal address to the Deity, but a loving, gushing committal of our souls and bodies, to the keeping of our heavenly Father Heaven seemed very near, and that peace of God which passeth all understanding, filled evt-ry heart. This beautiful exercise ot faith gave such a reality to religion, that the lov ing arms of our dear Saviour seemed around and about U3 all. Under the influence ot this hallowed calm, a sweet slumber stole upon your correspondent. When the rising sun proclaimed God’s gracious extension of his life to another day, and he rejoined the family circle, again was the beautiful scene of the previous even ing enacted ; again did that man of God lead his household to the throne of grace and pour out his heart in thanksgiving. Through an open window near which he knelt were visible, a number of majestic pines, whose green summits, always beauti iul, were now peculiarly so as moistened by ihe dew they sparkled with additional lus tre beneath the ascending sun. And so it was with our hearts, yielding as they always do to the influence of the early morn, and are made bright. So, on this occasion— they were peculiarly so —as the Spirit of God seemed to shine on them and make them more lovely. After family prayers our host, turning to your correspondent, said with a genuine PUBLISHED BY J. W. BURKE & COMPANY, FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. smile of pleasure, that it was a custom in their house for each to repeat at breakfast table a verse from the Bible, aud that he ex pected all to conform. On repairing to the table, after an earnest blessing, he repeated a Scripture text. All followed in the order of their positions, even the youngest child participating. The effect of this beautiful custom can readily be imagined. It was very evident Christ was the central object of this happy household. Nor is it to be wondered at that the Christian graces, love, gentleness, and meekness, should bloom in so congenial a clime. Would that religion was more interwoven into the every day life of each family in this broad land. It is not alone attendance at church or prayer meet ing, that constitutes religion. What is want ed is, Christ a constant guest in our homes. The happiness of our long home consists in communion with Him ; and if here on earth Christ be ever present with us, we have a glorious foretaste of that more glorious eter nity. CL LAMBS IN THE UPPER FOLD. During these autumnal days, when the muffled wail of the sere foliage, as it drops fluttering to the ground, reminds us that “we all do fade as the leaf,” there will come thoughts of the past, and not unfrequently tears of sadness. What p .rent has not con tributed to the number of “ Lambs of the upper fold ”? Amid the deepest shades of sorrow, when the bereaved heart has been seeking, like Noah’s dove, something upon which to rest, how often there comes a voice, seemingly at least, from the departed love 1 one —“ Come this way, father; this way.” And thus the ministry of children even after death, is often blessed in turning the hearts of the parents to the true source of rest —to heaven —to God. There is no less a purpose in the death of a child than in the removal of an aged person. The lesson if we could only divine it,would be as important. But alts! we too often dismiss the occurrence as an unimportant affair—of mo practical avail. There are two reasons for the act, which have impressed themselves upon tny mind, and from which I have drawn great comfort: First, children are lent of God—they come into the world to take the impress—to be in carnate of the earthly—then, as living im ages of the earthly, they are transplanted to adorn the heavenly mansions. Again, com ing into the world, they receive the impress of our image as parents —and in this re turn to the upper fold. They represent our image before the Father's face —so that, if we will not suffer Him to save us, He will have nevertheless a representative of us. In the second place, it is a noteworthy fact, that children who die, always remain in the memory of the parents as children. Other children may grow old—oar departed one never does. Ten, twenty years may go by, but the child remains in memory a bright, happy child—as it was; we look upon it as a child. Certainly next to seeing an angel, is seeing, with a parent’s heart, such a cher ished form—and under the providence of God, such a remembrance is a means of sub duing and keeping pure the heart. “ Sor row, subdued, becomes a friend, and sacred joy is mingled with the tears of holy recol lection.” The sight thus becomes sweeter than the song. I can say to-day from the depths of my heart, that I thank God that I am represent ed in the “ upper fold.” I would not be be reft, for any consideration, of the sweet re membrance of my departed little ones, as they now exist in memory. These thoughts have been awakened by the death of two of my little friends recently —little Bessie White, who died in Savan nah last month of yellow fever, and little Ei.moiik Pekky, who died such a triumphant death in this city on the 19th of October. Their lives, short though they were, were not without their influence and profit. They have not lived in vain—the one only font — the other only five vears old. That there was a purpose in taking these little buds of promise I cannot for a moment doubt. The one so gentle, so sweetly passed away from the arms of its earthly parent to that of its heavenly Father, that she is a golden link, binding the household to heaven. The oth er, little Elmore, demonstrated the truth, that the Gospel is within the comprehension of a child. For if there is a clearer compre hension of it anywhere I have failed to see it. He was only five y ears old. He was sick, at:d as he believed, unto death. He desired the pastor to pray for him. He asked his father to pray for him ; and expressions like these fell from his lips: “God bless me “ God bless all the people here “ Let my little sister take care of all my little play things; my bank and my money give to God." As life was ebbing away, he turned to his father and exclaimed—“ I am going fast.” And folding his little hands as in prayer, he said slowly as the spirit left him, “ I will soon be home.” And he was then in the upper fold. The worldling may Bcoff, but there is pow er in such lives as these, however short they may be. S. S. Sweet. Selections. POETRY OF THE BIBLE. Another characteristic of great poetry is shared in a remarkable degree by the poetry of the Bible. It is at once intensely nation al and universal. As in reading Shakespeare we are divided between admiration at the glow of his patriotism, and wonder at his worldwide sympathies and almost infinite knowledge of the human heart: as when we descend wiih Dante into Hell, or climb the steep of his Purgatory, we seem to have left all the transitory distinctions of the world b“hind, and yet at every step are reminded of I'aly and Florence ; so the Bible general ly but more especially in its poetry, impress es us at once with its twofold character of fidelity to local truth, and adaptation to the wants of the farthest time and widest cir cumstances. When we come to the examination of the materials which supply the Hebrew bards with their copious imagery, we shall see how accurately this verse reflects the natural fea tures of Palestine and the surrounding coun tries ; how rich it is in allusions to the Is raelite's daily life as he watched his sheep on the lonely bills, tended his vineyard, or plowed his fields ; and how it is penetrated by the recollection of the past, which afford ed images in which to dress present feelings and future hopes. “ Tbe writers were He brews of the Hebrews, drawing their inspi ration from the mountains and rivers of Pal estine, whichjhey have immortalized in their poetic figures, and even while uttering the sublimest and most universal truths, never forgetting their own nationality in its nar rowest and intensest form.” Israel, as a peo ple, have shown a strange capacity lor adapt MACON, GEORGIA, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1876. ing themselves to foreign life without sur rendering their own peculiarities of habit and feeling, and their literature is equally cosmopolitan and equally faithful to its na tive East. Where is there any collection of songs so widely known, so deeply loved, as the Psalms, those “ hymns read, meditated, sung, in every hour of the day and night, in every winding ot the vale of tears?” They are at home everywhere, and yet, in a mos touching and beautiful way, they reflect every slightest feature of the country that gave them birth, and every phase of the life from which they sprang. Hebrew poetry, while it retains its ancient tone, always seems alive with a fresh and modern spirit. It never seems to get out of date, like so much other literature in many ways great aud no ble. If new worlds could be discovered with their unworked mines of new ideas, the coming race would, there cannot he a doubt, turn to the Psalms and prophets, and to the gospels, with the same deep love, and the same sense of perceiving in them an iuex haustible wealth of moral truth and strength, which had been felt in turn by Asia, Eu rope, aud America. This comprehensive power of Biblical poetry shows itself in another way. It is the privilege of poetry to pervade human life and influence it in every direction. While it cannot rise to its noblest height unless it becomes the interpreter of the most exalted truths, it must not disdain the lowly interests of common life. It can only achieve its moral conquests by throwing a glory over what would else be common place, and trans fusing with its own light the prose of exis tence. One of the longest and mostartis'ic of the Hebrew poetic works, and some of the shorter lyrics, are full of graceful but faith ful pictures of homely scenes and humble oc cupations. (Canticles, Psalms 104 : 120, etc.) The parables of our Lord seldom travel aay from this region. The corn fields, the vine yard, the market-place, the cottage home, furnish him with his most beautiful and pow erful symbols of spiritual truth. It is tilts fa miliarity with their life which helps to make the Bible so interesting to the poor. Until literature became cheap, the Scriptures, it may be truly said, supplied the only food for the imagination of the working man. They not only furnished him with the divine con solations of religion, but, formed his stock of poetry and romance, and gave him a bright color to the monotony ot his life. —Bible Educator. CREMATION. One of our missionaries, returning home from Burmah, came through the country of Siam, and was present at the burning of a body, which is thus described : The king and all his nobility were present at the ceremony, for it was the burning of the body of the king's aunt. The king him self lighted up the pyre, carrying a good sized candle, lighting it, and putting it under the golden urn. In this act, he was follow ed by each member of the royal family, and of the nobility, who also returned after him to a large open hall, where he took his sea', and the nobles gathered about him in their respective positions, all crouching on all fours. The king then proceeded to throw about him in all directions small green limes, of which a great quantity had been prepared by inserting a bit of money in each. Of course there was a great scramble, especial ly among the lower officers, to get these. An imposing paper and cloth structure had been erected over the pyre for the occasion, and on the opposite side of it from the men were the women of the royal and noble house holds. There was no loud wailing, but some were sobbing, and others showed traces of tears upon their faces. The king had been carried to the place of burning in a heavily-gilded seat, borne on men’s shoulders, and escorted by soldiers and native bands, which had been trained by a European master, and played very well The odor from the burning wis not very of fensive, for the Siamese habit, with the no bility, is to keep the body a number of months (the higher the rank the longer the time), and, in this case, scarcely more than the skin and bones remained to be burnt- The body, when first dead, is bent into the posture they take in sitting (upon the heel,) aud bound tightly around with many yards of cloth. Hence, when quite dry it can be put into a moderate-sized urn, say three feet high by two in diameter. After the ceremony of burning, fireworks followed in the evening. The next day the ashes were gathered into a small urn, taken in a royal boat, accompanied by three others, and with mournful music, slowly carried down the river, below the town, and there scattered upon the water. On this occasion there was as much disolay as is ever made, except for the king himself. Members of the common nobility are burned with far less ceremony ; still more common people, with none at all; and the poorest classes are not burned, but simply laid in an inclosure for the vultures to eat. — Mace donian. RE-UNION IN HEAVEN. Heaven is no,t a solitude ; it is a peopled city—a city in which there are no Btrangers, no homeless, no poor, where one does not pass another in the streets without greeting, where no one is envions of another’s supe rior minstrelsy, or of another's more brill iant crown. When God said in the ancient Eden, “It is not good for man to be alone,” there was a deeper signification in the words than could be exhausted or explained by the family tie. It was the declaration of an es sential want which the Creator in His high est wisdom, ha impressed upon the noblest of his works. That is not life -yon don’t call that life —where the hermit in some moorland glade, drags out a solitary exist ence, or where the captive, in solne cell of bondage, frets and pines unseen ? That man does not understand solitude. Life, all kinds of'life, tend to companionship, and re joice in it. from the fecund larvat and buz zing insect cloud up to the kingly lion and the kinglier man. It is a social state into which we are to be introduced, as well as a state of consciousness. Not only, therefore, does the Saviour pray for his disciples “ Father, I will that those whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they behold my glory but those who are in that heavenly recompense are said to have come “ to the general assembly and Church of the first-born written in heaven.” A>, and better than that, and dearer to some of üß,“to the spirits ot just men made perfect.” This question of the recognition of departed friends in heaven, and special and intimate re-union with them, Scripture and reason enable us to infer, with almost absolute cer tainty. It is implied in the fact that the re surrection is a resurrection of individuals, that it is this mortal that shall put on im mortality. It is implied in the fact that heaven is a vast and happy society ; and it is implied in the fact that there is no uncloth ing of nature that we possess, only the clothing upon it of the garments of a bright er and more glorious immortality. Take comfort, then, those of you in whose history the dearest charities of life have been sev ered by the rude hand of death —those whom you have thought about as lost, are not lost, except to present sight. Perhaps even now tnere are angel watchers, screened by a kiud ly Providence from everything about you that would give them pain; but if you and they are alike in Jesus, and remain faithful to the end, doubt not that you shall know them again It were strange, don’t you think, if amid the multitudes of heavenly hosts, the multitudes of earth's ransomed ones that ?e are to see in heaven, weshotild see all but those we most fondly and fer vently long to see? Strange, if in some of our walks along the golden streets, we never happen to light upon them ! Strange if we did not hear some heaven song, learned on earth, thri lsd by some clear-ringing voice that we have often heard before 1 And al though in heaven, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, yet dearer than all others will be the wi'e tothe husband, and the husband tothe wife, and the friend to the friend who have toiled and suffered on earth together. Oh, what heart is not thrilled by the glorious prospect ? —lter. W. M Punslion. D. J). THE FIRST BEATITUDE. “ 81-seit are Hie po >r in gpi it: for th irs is tin kiugdom of heaven.”—Matt. 5: 3 A ladder, if it. is to be of any use, must have its fii.>t round near the ground, or fee ble climbe-s will never be able to mount. It woii’d have been a grievouß discourage ment to struggling f .ith if the first blessing had been p.'ven to the pure in heart, for to that excellence the young beginner makes no claim, while to poverty of spirit he can reach without going beyond his line. Had the Saviour sai 1, “ Blessed are the rich in grare,” very few of us could have derived consolation therefrom. Our divine Instructor begins at the beginning, with the very ABC of experience, and so enables the b ibes in grace to learn of Him ; had He commence I with higher attainments, He would have left the little ones behind. A gigantic step at the bottom of these sacred stairs would have effectually prevented many from essay ing to ascend, but tempted by the lowly step, whicli bears the inscription, “ Blessed are the poor in spirit,” thousands are encour aged to attempt the heavenly way. To be spiritually poor is the condition of all men ; to he poor in spirit, or to know our spiritual poverty, ih an attainment specially granted to the called and chosen. The kines among mankind, the happiest, and most powerful, the most honored, will one day be seen to be, not the Alexanders, Otesars, end Napoleons, but the men akin to Him who washed the disciples’ feet, those who in quietness lived for God and their fel low men, unostentatious because conscious of their failures ; unselfish because self was held in low esteem ; humble and de vout because their own spiritual poverty drove them out of themselves, and led them to rest alone upon the Lord. The time shall come when glitter and gew-gaw will go for what they are worth, and then shall the poor in spirit be seen to have the kingdom. The dominion awarded by this beatitude to the poor in spirit is no common one ; it is the kingdom of heaven, a heavenly domin ion, far excelling anything which can be ob tained this side the stars. An ungodly world may reckon the poor in spirit contemptible, but God writes them down among peers and princes, and His judgment is true, and far more to be esteemed than the opinions of men or angels. “ Poor in spirit!” The words sound as if they described the owners of nothing, and yet they describe the inheritors of all things. Happy poverty ! Millionaires sink into in significance, the treasures of the Indies evap orate in smoke, while to the poor in spirit remains a boundless, endless, faultless king dom, which renders them blessed in the es teem of Him who is God over all, blessed forever. And what must be their blessed ness when they shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father, and in them shall be fulfilled the promise of their Master and Lord, —“ To him that overeometh wi 1 I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne?”— Christian Weekly. THE GIFT OF THE SPIRIT. This is emphatically the dispensation of the Spirit. He is in the world working among men, and in men, fr their salvation. No mau is left without His influence. He is the light which enlighteneth ever man that cometh into the world. “The manifesta tion of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” In this respect we are as high ly favored as those in the earlier times. We are apt to exaggerate the blessings of the past, to dwell upon the faith, the fervor, the heavenly-mindedness of the early Church, until we feel that it is useless for us to hope for as high a degree of spiritual enlighten ment and attainment as they possessed. It is true, we do not now have the gifts of heal ing, of pr iphecy, of working miracles, be cause we do not need them. But every spir itual gift that we need is within our reach, and if vje do not constantly enjoy a con sciousness of the presence and inspiration of the Spirit, it is our own fault. There is inspiration now a-days —not, of course, to give a Bible, or to foretell future events— but to love and duty, to self-sacrificing, pa tient, faithful, holy living. And if, in some respects, we cannot compare ourselves with the first Oh.istians, in others we have advan tages of our own equal to theirs. But many, very many, fail to understand this, or to appreciate their privileges under this latter dispensation. There are theories of the Spirit, and a terminology used in ser mons and prayers, sadly at variance with the teaching ot Scripture. We are apt to think of the Spirit as some subordinate divine agency, which is for the most part far away from us, and only visits us at intervals, in answer to special entreaty that He may be sent upon us. We forget that the Spirit is God, who is omnipresent, whose presence pervades the whole universe, who is constantly with us and in us, and also with every other human being, and that every good thought, emo tion, desire, and purpose, is by His inspira tion. We lorget that this blessed Spirit is always brooding over us, and striving wtth us, and working in us, and that it is written, “ Say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven ? (that is, to bring Christ down from above); or, who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring Christ again from the dead). * * * The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart.” Hence, we pray for Him to come to us as though He were far away on a journey, and had forgot ten us. We pray for the influence of the Spirit, when we already have the Spirit, God Himself, doing all He can for us and in us. ! We need to change our modes of thinking aud speaking of the Holy Spirit. We need to remember that He is ours, nowand al ways, either consciously, or unconsciously, and that we have not to call Him from a dis tance, or do certain things to make ourselves better to secure Ilis presence and help. He is “not tar from every one of us,” but always tear, wooing and entreating, or comforting and inspiring us. It is in the person of the Holy Spirit that Christ is perpetually seek ing us. saving, “ Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anv man hear my voice and open the door I will come unto him.” He is represented as standing all night until His locks are wet with the dew of morning ask ing to be admitted to otir hearts. How erroneous, then, must he the impres sion, that God must be entreated to send His Spirit to us, when He is already with us, entreating us to receive Him ? We seem to need to remind ourselves again of God's willingness to bless us, tint He is more wil ling than we are to be blessed, and that if we are not enriched with His presence and love, the hindrances are wholly in ourselves. All that we have to do in order to be conscious of the presence aud ministrations of the Ho ly Spirit is to put away these hindrances wi ll all the evil of our doing, and open the door of our heart to receive Ilim.— Methodist. FORGIVENESS. <> (lot. furtive the years ami years Of oildlv pd !e and nones and ft-ars ; Furtive, and I• I 't. them from tiiv book, Tli ■ sms on which I mourn to look. Forgive the lack of service done For tore, thro’ tile, from li e begun; Forgive tile vai i derire to be ■Ail eire but that desitvd by thee. Forgive the love of human praise. The nr t. false step in c ■ oked wavs. The vuiee of evil a id Hie me lit. Tile heart dose shu against die light. Forgive Ihe love that could endure No cost to bless the sad and poor; F rgive, and give ire g ace to see The life tail down in love for me Transcript. INTEGRITY OF CHARACTER. Young men should be deeply impressed with the vast importance of cherishing those principles and of cultivating those habits which will secure the confidence and the es teem of the wise and good. A young man may be unfortunate, he may he poor and penniless, but if he possesses unbending integrity, and unwavering pur pose to do what is honest and just, he will have friends and patrons, whatever may be the emb irrassments and exigencies into which he is thrown. The young man may thus possess a capital ot which none of the misfortunes and calamities of life cun de prive him We have known men who have suddenly been reduced from affl lence to penury by some overwhelming misfortune, which they could neither foresee nor prevent. Yester day, they were prosperous; today, every earthly prospect is blighted, and everything in their future aspect of life is dark and dis mal. Their business is gone their prosperi ty gone, and they feel that all is gone ; hut they have a rich treasure that nothing can lake away. They have integrity of charac ter, and this gives them influence, raises up friends, furnishes them with pecuniary aid, with which to commence life once more un der auspicious circumstances. We cannot too strongly impress upon our young men the importance of abstaining from everything which shocks their moral sensibilities, wounds their conscience, and has a tendency to weaken that nice sense of honor and integrity so indispensable to a good character. “ Integrity of character !” Who ever possessed it, that did not derive untold advantage from it? It is better than riches, it is of more value than “ diamonds and all precious stones and yet every man may post .ss it. The poorest may have it, and no power on earth can wrest it from them. Young men, prize integrity of char acter above all earihly gifts. “ JESUS, LOVER OF MY SOUL.” The brothers John and Charles Wesley, wiih Richard Pilmore, were one evening holding a twilight meeting on the common, when they were attteked by a mob, and lied from its fury for their lives. The first place of refuge that they found, alter having been for sometime separated, was a hedge row near at hand, behind which they hid a few minutes, protecting themselves from serious injury by the missiles that fell like hail about them, by clasping their hands above their heads as they lay with their face-sin liiedust. As night drew on, the darkness enabled them to leave their temporary retreat for a safer one at some distance. They found their way at last to a spring-house, where, in com parative security, they waited for their pur suers to weary of seeking them. “Here they struck a light with a flint stor.e,” dus’ed their soiled and tattered garment*, and afier quenching their thirst, bathed their hands and faces in the water that bubbled fiom the spring and fi >wed away in a sparkling stream let. Then it was that Charles Wesley was inspired to write “Jesus, lover of my sou',” with a bit of lead which he had hammered into a pencil. These circumstances beautifully illustrate the hymn, giving to almost every line areali ty that makes it peculiarly significant to every loving Christian heart. They had fl -d be fore their enemies, and found shelter from danger. He sang: “Jesus, lover of my soul, Let me to Thy bisom fly.” —Christian Guardian. “IF I JOIN THE CHURCH MAY I dance r “If I join the Church, have you any ob jeetion to my dancing ?” Such was the question of Mary W ad dressed to her pastor as he was speaking to her about her making a public profession o! religion. She was about eighteen years of gt, of high social standing, intelligent, cul tivated, thoroughly a lady in feeling and manner, and surrounded by all that makes life attractive and pleasant. Having been hopefully converted, after much thought and prayer she had decided to unite with the Church, of which Mr. A was the pastor. But before so doing, she asked him in the conversation alluded to : “If 1 jo n the Church, Mr- A , have you any objection to my dancing? I am very fond of it, and feel very unwilling to give it up. What do you think ot it ?” “ 1 will answer your question by another,” said her pastor. “ Supp tee there was a large and fashionable party, or a public ball in town, and you were invited to it. And sup pose you had accepted the invitation, and that going at a rather late hour, as you en tered the room, you found all engaged in the dance, and that you saw me, your pas tor, taking part in it, and leading it, what would you think ?” ; A look of surprise, almost astonishment, passed over her face as she frankly said : “ I should think it very strange, and great- ' ly inconsistent.” “ Well,” replied Mr. A-, “if dancing is right and a good thing, why should not I enjoy it as well as you ? And if in its influ ence and tendencies it is wrong and evil,why should you engage in it, or wish it more than I ? A minister is but a good man, try ing to do good to men. And there are not two standards—one fir him, and another for the members of his Church; not two rules of Christian living—one for you and another for him. If he is to be spiritual, and set a holy example, and to come out from the world and be separate, and shun worldly amuse ments, why are not you ? And if such amusements are right and proper for you as a follower of the Saviour, why are they not tor him? And why should you, or any member of the Church, wish to be or to do what you" wouldnot like to see him be or do?” She thought a moment seriously, and then said: “It is plain to me now. I will never dance again." And she never did.— Phila delphia Presbyterian. THE GATES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. “ Open to me the gates of righteousness ; I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, which Ihe righteous shall enter. — Psalms cxviii: Iff, 20. This wa3 the language of one whom the Lord had chastened sorely, hut had not given over to death. He had called upon the Lord in distress, and had learned that it was better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. And now, chastened afflicted, and delivered, he desires the open ing of “ the gates of righteousness” that he may go in aud praise the Lord. There are many gates open before the sons of men. The gates of pleasure, the gates of business, the gates of honor, the gates of wealth, the gates of worldlitiess. the gates of sin, the gates of death, the gates of hell, all stand open or ajar, and invite the footsteps of the wayfaring to enter in.— Though these portals may seem fair and beautiful, yet many who enter therein re turn no more, but go down the path to dark ness and death. “The gates of righteous ness” may have ltde of pomp or pretension about them ; the eye of the ambitious may overlook them, the thoughts of the gain seeking and godless may disregard them ; but the children of the Lord Most High, pray that “ the gates of righteousness” may be open before them, and that they may “go into them and praise the Lord.” God’s mercy has opened the gates of right eousness to "us. We who had been lost in the wilderness of sin and sorrow; we whe had no right to tread a holy path or enter a hallowed gate ; yet through the abundance of divine mercy, the blood of the everlasting covenant, and the death of Him who pur chased eiertial redemption for sinful men, there is opened “anew and living way” by which we may enter “ the gates of righteous ness.” Biossed are they whose feet take hold upon this heavenly path. Blessed are they, who weary of a life of sin, and sorrow, mid temptation, and way ward n ss. are knocking at “ the gates of righteousness” and seeking to go in “ and praiae the Lord.” And they who enter there shall find their ways the ways of pleasantness, their paths full of peace, and shall reach at last the house of the Lord, the City of the Great, King, the home of all the blest. The Common People. THE CHEERFUL VOICE. The comfort and happiness of home and home intercourse depend very much on the kindly and affectionate training of the voice. Trouble, and care, and vexation will aud must, of course, come; but let them not creep into our voices. Let only our kindly and happier feelings be voc .1 in our homes. I.e 1 them be so. if for no other reason, for the little children’s sake. These sensitive little beings are exceedingly susceptible to the tones. They hear so much that we have forgotten to hear : for as we advance in years our lives become more interior. We are abstracted from outward see tea and sounds. We think we reflect, we begin gradually fo deal with the past as we have formerly vividly lived in the present. Our ears grow dull to external sound ; they are turned inward, and listen chiefly to the echoes of past voices. We catch no more the merry laughter of children. We hear no more the note of the morning bird. The brook that used to prat tie so giyly t,o us, rushes by unheeded ; we have forgo ten to hear such things. But lit tle children, remember, sensitively bear them all Mark how, at every sound, the young child starts, and turns, and listens! And thus, with equal sensitiveness, does it catch the tones of human voices. How were it possible that the sharp and hasty word the fretful and complaining tone, should not startle and pain, even depress the sensitive little being whose harp of life is so newly and delicately strung, vibrating even to the gentle breeze, and ever thrilling sen sitively to the tones of such voices as sweep across it ? Let us then be kind and cheerful spoken in our homes. MILL HE SUCCEED? In nine cases out of ten, man’s life will not be a success if he does not bear burdens in his c ildhood. If the fondness or the vanity of father or mother have kept him from hard work; if another always helped him out at the end of his row : if instead of taking his turn at pitching off. he stowed away all the time—in short, if what was light always fell to him, and what was heavy about the same work to someone else ; if he has been permitted to shirk until shirking has become a habit, unless a miracle has been wrought, his life will be a failure, and the blame will not be half so much his as that of his weak and foolish parents. On the other hand, if a boy has been brought up to do his part, never allowed to shi k any legitimate responsibility, or to dodge work, whether or not it made his head ache, or soiled his hands, until bearing bur dens has become a matter of pride, the heavy end of the wood his choice, parents as they bid him good bye may dismiss their fear. The elements of success are his, and at some time and in some way the world will recognize his capacity. RESTITUTION. Yon have defrauded your neighbor. You have done him an injury, not accidentally, but on purpose. You have sought your own profit by inflicting a loss upon him. You have taken what belongs, not to you, hut to him. You muSt proceed theu to make resti tution. Go at once. Go to-day, if you can. State the facts frankly and honestly. Ac knowledge your wrong doing, and repair the harm as fully a3 you can. It will cost you a struggle to do this. When, however, you have male up your miud to the struggle, you will pr< bably find it easier than you expect. But whatever you do, don’t keep this burden upon your conscience. It will stand between you and God. It is an obstacle which you cannot get over. You may forget that it is there; but there it is; and you are on one side, and Almighty God is oa the other.— Dean ilowson. I F. M. KENNEDY, I). I>., Editor J. IV. ISURKE, Assistant Editor A. G. HAYGOOD, D. D., Editorial Correspondent WHOLE NUMBER 2022 MISCELLANEA. The Moslem pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina was larger this year than ever before. Six hundred millions of the people of the world are yet in Pagan and Mohammedan darkness. The American Baptist Missionary Union reports three hundred and fifty mission churches planted in Europe, with a mem bership of more than 31,000. A movement has been commenced to erect a church at Oxford, England, where .Metho dism began about a century and a half atro, under the sanction of Dr. William Arthur and other influential Wesleyan ministers. Some one answers the question, “What have missions done?” by showing that over 500,000 church members are the living re sult: 130,000 in Africa. 120.000 in Asia, 53,000 in Europe, 22 000 in America, 70 - 000 in Polynesia, and 150,000 in the West Indies A Western* -professor of theology says a sermon is “a rhetorical organism, evolved by a generic process from a text, and stand ing in vital and obvious rein. ion to it.” The students who get instruction in language so scholarly ought to make inscrutable preachers. The Maharajah Dhuleep Singh, of India, who got his wite from the United Presbyte rian Mission iu Egypt,, is in the habit of commemorating his wedding anniversary by contributing large sums of money to the mission. He has just, made a donation of s2x7 000 to the mission. An Episcopal Bishop, *whose diocese in cludes Manitoba, speaking of a v sit to that far-off country, said he was surprised to find that the Wesleyan Methodists ol Canada had been in the country for eighteen or twenty years, and were counting their converts by the thousand among Indians and half breeds. The Missionary Herald reports that about ten thousand students are in attendance up on the Moslem University at Cairo. The subjects of study are the Mohammedan reli gion, jurisprudence, astronomy, his'ory, med icine, aud poetry. The students are from China, lartary, India, Arabia, Morocco, Central Africa, European aud Asiatic 'Tur key, and Egypt. After giving a list of twelve P otestant, Churches and six schools, under the control of the city of Rome, the Voce della Veri.ta comments sadly on these “ painful statistics.” They very plainly indicate the fact that the dark days of priestly domination over the consciences of men belong to the past, and a tree Gospel and an intelligent laity will mark the future of Italy. According to official statistics, 5 tl-ot; bonks were issued in Russia during the years 1873 and 1871. Of these, (179 were theological, 322 legal, 113 agricultural. 217 historical, 247 geographical and ethnographical, 195 math ematical. 135 military, 84 scientific, 224 medical, 438 philological, 94 artistic, while 1,851 treated of lighter literature, and 447 were translations of foreign belles lettres. Ten years ago there was but one Young Women’s Christian Associa’ion in the Uni ted States. To day there are forty-seven ; sixteen of this number are the possessors of property valued at $1 000,000 Christian men and women who have money to spend for the cause, always have the opportunity to examine the work of these self-denying laborers, and encourage them by their means as well as by their prayers. In a late review of the missionary labors among the North American Indians, it ap pears that in the space of two hundred years the Churches of this country had not ex pended more than $2 000,000 for the Chris tianization of that people, resulting in about 13,090 conversions, and in contrast to this the United States Governm -lit, during the last fifty years, has expended $300,009,000 in efforts to destroy the red men of the forest. The statue of Religious Liberty, which the Jews of the United States intend to present to the National Government, has been c mi pleted. America, in the design, stands with her right arm extended over a youth who typifies religion ; her left hand rests upon the laws of the country. Around her brow is a circlet of thirteen stars, and at her feet an eagle holds in his talon3 the serpent of intolerance. The presentation of the statue will shortly be made in Washington. Bishop Becker urges on the Roman Ca lf olic Cnireh the establishment of a Cath olic University in this country. He gives a far from eulogistic account of the present Catholic schools and seminaries ; practically concedes that the highest education cannot be secured at any ot them ; lays out the plan of a university which, by elevating the standard of education, would elevate ail the subordinate institutions ; and estimates that 8500,000 would afford a sufficient founda tion, As yet no subscribers to the necessary fund are reported. Mr. David Pclsifer, in the office of the Massachusetts Secretary of S ate, has in his possession a well-preserved, b it very arcient Hebrew roll, k town to be at least more than one thousand years old. It contains the four books of Moses written upon a soft, brown skin about n'nety feet long and two w de. The pages of the roll are seven bv twenty four inches, and contain forty-two lines. The characters are large and jet black, age hav ing had no apparent wearing effect upon them. There are no colored embellish ments, but the letters are ornamented with fine line projections. In the collection of Bibles in the Centen nial Exhibition is a cony of Cromwell's Bible, so called because he published an edi tion of suc-h size that each soldier could car ry it in his knapsack. A soldier was iound dead at Naseby in whose knapsa- k a copy was found ppnetrated by a bull-t. which reached that verse in Ecclesiastes, “ Remem ber now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.” Ttie book is five inches long, two and a half wide, one and three-quarters thick, weighs only eight and a half ounces, and is the property of the American Bible Society. It belonged to John Milton, and was printed in 1653 by John Field, printer to Parliament. There are but three other copies in the country. The report of the Waldensian Church shows that in Italy it has 40 regular congre gations, 10 missionary stations, besides 50 localities visited more or less frequently by evangelists. The number of ordained minis ters is 20, licentiates 10, and of schoolmas ter evangelists, 14. The Commission of Evan gelization has also under its charge 53 teach ers and 5 colporteurs. Tbe regular attend ants at church amount to 3,850; the occa sional hearers to 15,000. The number of communicauts last year was 2,140; mem bers newly admitted, 125; and catechumens, 389. There are 59 day-schools, with an at tendance of 2,000 pupils ; and 39 Sabbath schools, with an attendance of 1,440 pupils. There is also, at Florence, a Theological College, established for the training of min isters and evangelist*