Newspaper Page Text
TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS.
per A.isnsr xjivr.
VOLUME XL., NO. 21.
|Wfrn.
S2A A' D SKY.
Along the seadfast shore the leaping waves
D&SwkJi and d;ive in, in «vild, tumultuous sweep,
The cur v« of prater cooped to rugged graves.
Or roared in frowning walla up-torn and steep.
The foim along the tortured breakers’ crest
Toß>es its pallid hands towards the sky,
That, fair and placid o'er this fierce unrest,
Arches its silent dome, remote and high.
Below, the resis less tide lhat ebbs and flows,
The restless billows nnd t e unquiet sea;
Above, the eternal light comes and goes,
, The solemn Heavens remote and conflict free.
Forever the wild waves rushing up the shore,
Forever the slow tide drawing aw.iv ;
Forever the twilight fading »o return no raoro.
Forever the pale dawn rising to another day.
Oh Wrange, fierce Sea! that types the world’s
fts in an v voice' and its restless da.«-h ;
The wild contention ol a useless quest, #
The mind's stern confl ct and the passions’ lash.
Jielow, earth’s crowding millions torn and tossed,
Wearing lives ou \ warring each with each ;
Ab >ve, the e eri.al Heaven, mysterious, lost,
In the lar distance that we cannot reach.
Forever the ru«hing wnirl of useless strife.
Forever the filling ebb of failing -ower ;
Forever fhc do wning of a com ng life,
- Forever the. falling of its little hour.
Oh Pea! Oh Sky ! Answer the >*A bonrt’s groan !
#” m ; . >m«.v ;<»a f< r ti*ia woel
The waters to swim articulate mono,
The Sky looks dumbly on the strife below.
Woman* s Words.
■nrr w MggaaaMMaßßHa—i
Cmttributioits.
OUR CHILDREN.
In the Advocate, o lasi week, I noticed
the following significant statement by a cor
respondent in reference to the Catholics of
Savannah,:
“ Here they (the Catholics) have erected
in the very heart of the city a free school,
where between three and lour hundred chil
dren are annually educated in all the forms
and doctrine) of Romanism, as well as Eng
lish and the rudimentary bran hes of sci
ence. Many of these are Protestant chil
dren.”
And, if the Catholics continue to work in
the next twenty five years a) they have in
the last twenty-five, they will have free
schools in the heart of every city and town
and village in the United States. Fearscon
cerniog Catholic .supremacy in the United
States are said to be groundless. And so,
there have always been more men ready to
cry, “ Peace, peace, when thereisnopeace,”
than there have been those with wisdom
enough to look fac;s square in the face, and
act, with reference to tnem. While the Pro
testants, many of them, have been looking
after the fore-knowledge of God, baptism by
immersion, and other questions, positively
useless, the Catholics have been building
school-houses, training their children, and
gaining wealth, influence and numbers, and
now they claim in the United States apopu
lation of nearly nine m llions, or one-fift hos
the whole. The Catholics boast of electing
their own President, in 1,900. As to whether
they have any ground) for boasting thus or
.not. the following figures collected by Fran
cis E Abbott, in the Fortnightly Review,
will show first, the growth in wealth of the
Roman Catholic Church as compared with
that of the whole country and of the leading
• ote’.'.u.-iw'.oi.K :
In 1850, according to the census of that
year, all the property in the United States
was valued at $7,13-5 780 228; in 1860 it was
116,159 616,068; in 1870 it was $30,068,-
518 507. The whole wealth of the country,
then, increased about 125 percent, from 1850
to 1860, and about 86 per cent, from 1860 to
1870.
The whole property of the Roman Catholic
Church in the United States in 1850, was val
ued at $9,256,768 ; in 1860 it was $26,774,-
119: in 1870 it was S6O 985,565. The wealth
of the Catholic Church increas-d about 189
percent. from 1850 to 1860, and about 128
from 1860 td 1870.
In the first of these decades the wealth of
the whole country increased 125 per cent.,
and that of the Catholic Church 189 per cent.;
in the second the wealth of the whole coun
try gained 86 per cent., aud that of the Cath
olic Church 128 per cent.
In 1850, when the Catholics had $9,256,-
758 of Church property, the Baptists had
$11,020,855; the Episcopalians, $11,375,-
010 ; the Methodists, $14,822 870; the Pres
bylerians, $14,543,789. In 1870, when the
Catholics had $60,98-5,566, the Baptists had
$39,229;221,the Episcopalians, $36,514 449;
the Methodists, $69,854,121; the Presbyte
rians, $47,828,732 The Catholic Church,
in 1870, had distanced all her competitors in
the race for wealth except the Methodists.
And, at no distant and ly, she will leave the
Methodists also. In the twenty years, from
1850 to 1870, the Methodist Church property
gained 371 per cent. ; that of the Catholic
Church, however, gained 558 per cent.
As to the increase in members it has
been as rapid as in wealth. The Catho
lic rule is to aiiow 2,000 people (men, women
and children,) to each parish priest—a rule
which experience ha3 proven correct. There
are over 4 500 priests in the United States ;
allowing 2 000 people to each priest, we have
amongst us a Catholic population of 9,000,-
000. In 1776 the Catholics numbered about
25 000 ; iu 1789 they were 30 000 in a popu
lation of about 3,000,000, or one-hundredth
of the wnole ; in 1808 'hey were 100,000, in
a population of 6,500,000, or of
the whole; in 1830 they were 450,000 in a
total of 13,000.000, or one twenty-ninth of
the whole; in 1840 ihey were 960,000, in a
total of 17,070,000, or one-eighteenth of the
whole; in 1850 they were 2,150,000. in a to
tal of 23.191,000, or one-eleventh of the
whole ; in 1860 they were 4,400,000, in a to
tal of 31 000,000, or one-seventh of the
whole; in 1870, they were 8.500,000. inato
tal of some 40,000.000, or over one sis h of
the whole. For forty years, from 1830 to
1870, Catholics more than doubled their
number every ten years, while the general
population of the country iucreased at the
rate of about 35 per cent.
In his Lenten Pastoral, of 1873, Bishop
Gilmour, of Cleveland, Ohio, said :
“ At present we nothing to hopefrom
the Slate. not, therefore, cease
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’V. fe-9 church ami
school house, let them build the school homie
anc! wait Cor the ehr.r -K There is lit’le
danger o: the old losing their faith, but there
is every danger that the young will. On the
school question there can be, there must be
no division. Either we are Catholics or we
are not. If wu are Catholics, we must leave
after us a Catholic youth. And experience
has taught that this cannot be done, unless
the children are early taught, and daily taught,
that they are Catholics. Wesolemnly charge,
and most positively require, every Catholic
ia the diocese to send las children to a Cath
olic school.”
This shows how they are looking after
their children. They absolutely refuse the
Sacrament to those members who will not
send their children to £ri:ho!ic schools when
the ate io reach. ™
We may learn front these plain words of
Bishop Gilmour why the Catholics have so
far outstripped the Protestants iu this coun
try. They are taking care of their chil
dren. They look after the young and let the
old take care Ot themselves. We have been
t ikir.g care of the old and letting the young
’ taka care of themselves. We mast reverse
our policy. The Catholics say, “ Let its
have the forming of the first seven years of
the child's life, and you may have the rest.”
We have been slow to believe that children
had sense enough to learn anything before
they are seven years old, hence the devil
and the Catholics have heretofore had about
six years the start of us, even with the chil
dren of our own Churches. If we do not
reverse our plans and pay more attention to
our children, the Catholics, and the Huxleys,
and the Darwins, will take them. Spurgeon
said that out of a membership of twenty
seven hundred he never had to expel a sin
gle one who had joined the Chnrch while yet
a child. We must train the children to love
the Church from infancy. In order to suc
ceed here we must have Sunday-schools in
every Church, in town and country, which
shall last through summer's sun and winter's
buow. The teachers inthe»e Sunday schools
ought to be persons of piety, so as to teach
the children to love the Lord Jesus Christ, 8)
well as the fact that he Jived a little over
eighteen hundred years ago. Then shall the
Protestant Church be in the future what it
has been in the past —a light-house on the
coast of Time disclosing beyond the true ha
ven of rest. T.
Cedartown, Ga.
Selections.
From the Nashville Chris ian Advocate.
LETTER FROM BISHOP MARVIN.
NO. XVI
CEYLON, MADRAS. AND CALCUTTA.
I said in my last that Protestant missiona
ry work, in Ceylon, dated back only some
sixty years. It is true that in the time of
the Dutch occupancy a great many of the
natives were baptized. But they were not
converted in any proper sense of the word.
The Government offered its employments
only to such as had been bap ized, and
under this stimulus the work went on brave
ly. Hat when tue Tinglieh came in they of
sered no such advantages to converts, and
the baptized relapsed almost to a man. It
is true, therefore, that the work of evangel
ization did not really begin until within this
century.
One significant fact I learned, is this: The
missionaries do not now have as many heath
en hearers in their congregations as formerly.
When the gospel was first preached the
Buddhists were very friendly, and many of
them seemed to give a certain credeuce to
the word. It. soon became evident that they
looked upon the new religion introduced by
Europeans as probably true, and thought
it might, be well to take it in addition to the
faith they already held. For one man to
hold two or three forms of religion is no
new thing in heathenism. But when the
missionaries begun to attack Buddhism, and
they came to understand that Christ coaid
admit no participant, of his throne, an aclive
hostility was aroused, so that now the priests
do all in their power to prevent their follow
ers from attending upon any place of Chris
tian worship. The lines are drawn —the an •
tagonisin is defined. Christ brings to Budd
hism not peace, but the sword, and the
priest finds that he must measure weapous
with the preacher. So, the priests have
gone to preaching Buddhism, and are ac
tually producitig a controversial literature.
It was told me that they have translated
Bishop Colenso’s work on the Pentateuch
into Singhalese and published it, for the sole
purpose of discrediting the Christian faith.
I met with an instance yesterday of the
disposition sometimes found among the
heathen to tolerate Christianity. Visiting
a Brahman temple, at Madras, quite a crowd
of natives collected about us, many of whom
spoke English very well. I overheard one,
iu a group near me, say : ”0 yes, Chris'ini
ty is very good—Christ was probably one of
the incarnations of Vishnu.”
But I must not get away from Ceylon so
suddenly.
The work of ihe Wesleyans there is ar
ranged under two Dis'riots, one in the north,
among the Tamils, and one in the south,
among the Singhalese, chiefly. The Singha
lese are the aboriginal inhabitants of the
Island, but the northern part of it was taken
possession ot by Tamil emigrants, or rather
invaders, from the continent, some centuries
ago. About half the country is still popu
lated chiefly by them. There is little or no
intermarriage between the two peoples.
Wherever there is a demand for labor, at
living wages, the Tamil coolies may be
found. In all the cities of Ceylon and of the
Straits they abound. Just at this time the
famine on the continent has caused anew
flood of them to go abroad. In the Madras
Presidency there are about 15,000,000 of
them.
It is evident that the eradication of heath
enism from Ceylon is not the work of a day.
But the work is going on. Christian schools
have a large patronage, and
the infiltration of Christian thought into the
popular mind is beginning to saturate it,
while scientific truth, obtaining more and
more, puts to shame the silly superstitions
which are the very ground work of Budd
histic belief. lam told that it is not an un
usual thing for a man to say, “We cannot
embraceyour religion, butourchildren will."
Many of ihem seem to feel the power of
Christ’s coining. They see that the advance
of Christian ideas is irresistible. Their
minds are adjusted to the triumph of Christ
as to a destiny, and this feeling facilitates
Christian work, aud must hasten the result.
From Colombo we returned to Galle by
stage, seventy-two miles. Our horses were
miserably poor, but wicked fellows, and
were changed every six mile3. One had
bitten two men to death, some played the
wild with their heels, and one or two did
their best to run away ; but, fortunately, they
PUBLISHED BY J. W. BURKE & COMPANY, FOP /■ HE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH.
Were nothing buts kin and hone. A -m ; noon
ou-JVuir. axle broke. and dev n we came, but
fortunately we were within a quarter of a mile
ot the breakfast-station, where another coach
could be had. The breakfast house was a very
pleasant one, and the fare good. On the wall
were suspended Scripture-quotations in large
type. When we started again, we found that
our new coach was an old one, with a very in
firm wheel. All predicted a collapse, ex
cept, me. Some of our passengers killed a
snake, and gave cha3e to two cobielLi goyas.
They are of the lizard species, about six
leet in length, most of which is tail. Their
speed, under chase, amused us. This, and
the excitement about the loose jointed wheel,
rendered the journey sufficiently spicy. But
we got in on time, having made the trip iu
eleven hours, including one hour for break
fast—seventy-two measured miles in ten
hours of actual traveling time.
Europeans here take every percaution
against the scorching rays of the sun, wear
ing pith hats, and never venturing out with
out an umbrella ; but the natives go naked,
excev-t a strip about the i 11 ,.T-nri ren-rs
to the coolies. But all classes go barehead
ed, except that a good many wear turbans.
I have seen these naked men all day in their
boats- harvesting rice, standingin the water,
fishing, or wading in shallow pools hour af
ter hour to get up the little moliusca found
at the bottom, for food. Skin and brain,
they seem to be absolutely sun proof.
Our steamer was a little late, so that we
had three days at Galle. Having already
seen the country around, and the native
shops, the jugglers and the snake-charmers,
the time passed a little heavily. By the way,
the cobra in the hands of a charmer is an
interesting object. His (atigs are extracted,
and he seems to be in fear of his keeper, but
when he becomes angry and elevates his
crest and spreads his neck, he does look
superb. But all serpents, in their native
state, fly from the face of man, and instanc
es of a latal bite are very rare indeed. The
cobra never attacks, unless he finds himself
in close quarters.
Sunday morning I preached in the Pres
byterian Church. The house was bulk by
t ie Dutch, and is a venerable pile in the
form of a cross. The little octagonal pul
pit, high up toward the ceiling, with just
room for one man, stands against one ai gle
of the cross. The preacher takes the eon
gregation corner-wise, having, also, a sound
ing-board over his head. I met the pastor
in the vestry. He offered me a gown. I
begged to be excused. When I entered th•
auditorium and saw the pulpit, my heart
misgave me. To stand in a barrel, eight
feet above the floor, aud preach diagonally
at the people, 6eemed odd enough. But I
ascended to my perch and and id the best I
could, having, indeed, better liberty than I
expected. But let my friends fancy me in
such a situation. I
After service we went aboard the Austral
ia, bound for Calcutta. Mr. Baugh and his
family are our traveling companions.
Early Wednesday morning w« came to
anchor off Madras. Ido not say in the har
bor of Madras, for there is no harbor. 1
suppose there is not to be found » worst- I
lauding for any large city in the word. Even
in the quietest weather the surf is ugly, and
when the sea is rough it is f.-arful. Ape
culiarboatis made here to meet the emer
gency. It is of the length of a large skiff,
but broader and much deeper. There is not
a nail in it, but the thin planks of which it is
made are sewed together—yes, literally sew
ed together—with very Btroug twine. Hav
ing a day to visit the city, we struck a bar
gain with the owner of a massoola —such is
the name of the boat. He first i-sked us
seven rupees each, but w.is glad, at, last, to
take one. There were ten naked rowers.
Coming near the shore, they waited for a
big wave, and then pulled wi h all their
might. We were beached near high-breaker
mark. Two meu instantly presented them
selves before me. I stood on the edge ol
the boat, as high as their shoulders, dropped
myself into their arms, and was borne to
the dry land. No boat having its timbers
fastened together with nails would stand this
beaching, in a heavy surf, balsa-dozen
times. It would go to pieces directly. But
there is a measure of flexibility iu the seams
of the massoola which enables it to bear the
strain.
There is another little craft here called the
catamaran, used by the natives for fishing
and other purposes, which is the rudest
structure we have seen anywhere. It is
made simply of four logs fasten id together.
The two on the outside are half their diame
ter higher than the two central ones. The
front end has something of a boat like shape.
The rower sits down, bolding his oar by
both hands in the center, and uses it with a
stroke, first with one end on one side, and
then with the other end on the other side.
The spray dashes upon him ; sometimes the
surf breaks over him ; but what cares he?
The Catamaran still floats—nothing can sink
it. It, will live in any sea. As for a welting,
this naked boatmau, in this topical climate,
rather enjoys it.
In company with Mr. and Mrs. Baugh we
drove to the Wesleyan Mission-house. Mr.
Stephenson, the Chairman of the District,
received us most cordially. He showed us
a girls’-school in which Ihe children are alt
of low caste families, and another in which
they are all high-caste. In addition to the
jewels in the ears and on the outside of the
nostrils, as in Ceylon, and the Straits, they
had them suspended also from the cartilage
that divides the nostrils. Three pieces ot
jewelry vibrating at the end of the nose,
with every movement of the head, did look
odd enough. But generally those on the
outside of the nostrils are shaped like a but
ton, and lie against the side of the nose,
while the middle one is a ring, dangling upon
the upper lip. Come to ludia, my country
women, and learn how to wear jewelry I
Yuu ought to be ashamed of yourselves to
have only one hole bored in each ear. When
you pretend to do anything, do it. I have
seen a woman with thirty two in the ears
and nose.
In the boys’-school individuals of all castes
are mingled together. A few years ago this
could not be done. But the missionories
would never consent to exclude low caste
boys, and at last the Brahmans began to
come and occupy separate forms; in which
case they would go right away, in the even
ing, aud wash th *ir clothes —no great job,
by the way. But now they come ireriy, sit
in the same foi ms, and the boys of the high
est caste touch those of the lowest with ini
punity. Yet the idea of caste is nor. eradi
cated Individuals of different castes never
intermarry uow any more than formerly.
I was invited to address the boys of the
highest class. They were well grown, and
most of them fine looking fellows. They
knew very well the geography of the United
States of America, in a general way—and
some ol them were evidently gratified to let
me know that they knew where St. Louia
MACON, GEORGIA, TUESDAY, MAY 22, 1877.
was, n; the is-st-e- t-f -MhlSbUli,' off she ri-.nks
of the great Mississippi River. I find a great
many intelligent men wanting.in an accurate
knowledge of geography, Several of the
English preachers have introduced us as
ministers of the M. E. Church, from South
America. But we do not, venture to put on
airs, inasmuch as we find that we ourselves
do not know everything.
In this highest class, in which there were
some twenty-five young men, five were Chris
tians, five Brahmans, some Mohammedans,
and the rest—-I know not what. The Scrip
ture-lesson of the day was the temptation of
Christ. Every class has one hour a day de
voted to the study of Holy Scripture. Yet
only a very few of them all are Christians,
and, up to this date, only a few who have
gone through the school have been convert
ed. Many of the teachers are heathen, it
being impossible to find a sufficient numbfcr
of educated Christian natives to fill the places.
In this respect Ceylon has a gt etp advantage,
all the native teachers in the Mission-schools
being Christians.
Many ol the patrons oi these Mission
schools are bitterly opposed to Christianity.
They send their sons only on account of the
superior educational advantages which they
aresupposed to afford. If they supposed
their boys were in danger of being converted
they would withdraw them at once. In fact,
the school was entirely broken up at one
time by the conversion of several of the pu
pils. Still they do not object to the study of
the Bible as a text book. It is the Sacred
Book of the Western people, and to know
what it teaches is very well a necessary part,
indeed, of a complete education.
The English language is taught in all these
schools, and the advanced classes under
stand it very well. This opens all the treas
ures of Christian knowledge, stored in that
language, to them. There is a great advan
tage in this, but also, sometimes, a disad
vantage. A young man, who was ju3t ready
to be baptized, got hold of Channiug’s
Works, the reading of which loosened him
from all his moorings. What became of
him I know not, bat he drifted away from
Christ.
There is an institution here of the high
est grade known in the country, under the
immediate control of the Free Church of
Scotland, but supported aud contributed to
by all the Missions in Madras. It is called
the Christian College. Our visit to it was
hasty, but we saw enough to show a very vig
orous management. There is a very large
school of lower grade in the same building.
The Free Church has a grand piece of prop
erty in the heart of the city. On the corner
is a large church, where the preaching is to
the heathen exclusively. Next to that is the
church where Europeansand native converts
assemble. Next to that again is the very
spacious school and college building. The
matriculates in both departments are over
1,000. The actual attendance the day we
were there was 979.
But the suits of missionary labor in Mad
ras have been small. Fruits, I mean, as
they appear iu actual conversions. In some
respects, no doubt, results have been very
.treat, Ott this point 1 may have more tq_
•ay after seeing more of India.
In the course of the day we visited a Brah
matt temple, having been forewarned that
we could see only a small one, there being
no large temple in Madras But, really,
after our observation of Buddhist, Tauist,
and Sintoo temples, in China and Japan, we
should have called this a very large one. It
is built of stone, and over the gate ways is a
tower of symmetrical design, very elaborate
ly ornamented wijh carvings. In front is a
leng portico, extending out at right angles
from the main building, the roof resting on
monolith pillars, about twenty five feet high,
I should say. These pillars seem to b 8 of
granite, and each one has several images
carved upon it in rather bold relief. In front
of this is a square, arfifieal lake of stagnant
water, about, say, one hundred yards in di
ameter. A stone wall, in the form of steps,
descending to the water’s elge, incloses it
on all sides. In the centreis a circular strut;
ture —a roof resting on columns. Ail this is
a part of the temple grounds. Around the
edges of the lake was a lively scene of clothes ■
washing, after 'he universal oriental style,
the washerwoman, or man, standing in the
water into which he dips the garment, and,
elevating high into the air, threshes it upon
the rock. Buttons stand a poor chance—
and so does lint, for that matter. We saw
one new thing here—a woman standing iu
the water ashing the loose garment she had
on, keeping one part about her person while
she scoured the other.
People here indicate their faith by wear
ing a mark in the forehead. It is put on in
chalk dust, generally white, but sometimes
colored. We saw the pigment exposed for
sale in the temple portico. Sometimes it is
a broad band across the forehead, sometimes
a spot just above the base of the nose, some
times a trident extending upward from the
base of the nose, the outer Hues white and
the central one brown.
This trident is worn by Brahmans, and
there are two forms of it. In one form the
lower extremity of the figure makes a regular
curve, like a horseshoe ; in the other a little
point extends downward from the extramity.
These different forms represent differences
of doctrine —slight, very slight, differences, a
venerable wearer of the horseshoe told us ;
but. when the two meet in the temple they
sometimes make the walls resound with the
vigor of their angry reproaches and recrimi
nations.
Under a shed, near by, was a huge car,
brought out twice a year in the processions,
and drawn by men. I asked our venerable
friend of the orthodox trident how many men
were required to draw it. He replied that it
had to be sarted by powerful levers, but,
once started, five or six hundred men could
keep it moving on a horizontal surface. It
is surmounted by a tower, ornamented with
much barbaric carving. The wheels are of
wood, solid, fife feet high, and, at least, 8 or
10 inches thick.
Nearby stood the sacred elephant,belong
ing to the temple, for use in the great pro
cessions. He is of a different species from
any I ever saw in a menagerie—taller, but
not. so heavy, the forehead, also, retreating
more. He seemed to be thin in flesh. But.
he is a high-caste elephant, as the chalk-dust,
daub on his forehead attests. A young
fellow mounted him for our delectation.
The great, docile creature, at command,
lifted his rider on his fore leg, which he
drew up to a right angle with his body, or
nearly so, and from which the boy scram
bled up somehow. Seated on the neck of
the monster, he commanded him to salute
us —“ salaam.” This was uttered in a loud
voice. His elepbantship looked at us as il
he knew who was meant, elevated his
trunk above his head, and gave a great,
goodmatured grunt, with which we were
perfectly satisfied.
In the absence of the proper functionary
us to the interior of the tempie,
w. were unable to enter. But, doubtless,
v. enjoy many opportunities of the
sort.
There is a great famine in the Madras
Pr sidency. Two partial failures of the
r,.io crop are followed by a drouth now,
wjich threatens a total failure, perhaps, of
the third. Already the distress is very
isn.'i t. Under British rule, the country
tie or being devastated by petty wars, has
b oome over-populous. There is only one
-ial produced, and when that fails the
r .wded millions must suffer. Government
is tfjing all it can to meet the emergency,
by importing rice from Burmah and Siam,
e'.’tVl believe, from Cochin China. Ships
hri; g it faster than the railroads can carry
it to the interior. It lies in sacks on the beach,
in immense banks. But, after all, with so
maty millions on the brink of starvation, the
Ru; ,'ly is inadequate, and, if this crop does
f> F utterly, many mustperish. Choleraand
sm; H pox are abroad, adding their terrors to
calamity, so that the people are in
)• uLj'le case.
'the famine extends over the whole of the
lower Carnatic and Mysore. Bengal and the
northern provinces have had good crops,
and are having abundant rains again this
sea-on.
T o ere is a populous Chinese cemetery
here, whii-h indicates a period of Chinese
imrv'gration and residence in large numbers.
But,, latterly the have abandoned the place,
1 know not why. It may be pleasant to our
California friends to know that they do uot
stay-forever in every place to which they
may swarm.
F om Madras to Calcutta we had a per
fectly smooth ssa, which was to be expected
at this season of the year ; but about two
weeks before there had been a cyclone out
of season. We accepted our exemption as
a continued manifestation of the goodness of
God. It can never be amis3 to realize our
dependence, and to respond to the tokens of
his l^ve.
'V t had indulged the hope of spending
Sut in Calcutta, but our steamer was de
layed "o long, both at Galle and Madras,
discharging an unusually heavy cargo, that
it, was five o’clock Sunday evening before we
cast “nchor iu the Hoogly river, so that the
Lore's-day was spent at sea again. The Rev.
Geo. Baugh read the English Church ser
vice, yafter which I preached a rather long
sermon, on the parable of the prodigal son,
and brother Hendrix closed. We felt that
the irh.y was not wasted.
C, utta is situated on the east bank of the
Hoo<ry river, which is tie westernmost of
the hannels through which the Ganges
reacts the Bay of B?ngal. There are two
of th se ptincipal channels, and the vast al
luvii’ region at Jhe head of the Bay is
chec ed with smaller ones. These lowlands
slightly elevated above the sea-level.
In M >vember last, a strong north wind,
whiel continued for several days, drove the
wat< of the Bay seaward, when suddenly a
ie, of unusual violence, coming from
the .nth, massedlhe waters so that, as they
sw *pt| ,p along the narrowing Bay, they rose
.o^*.-h- -Vt ?.to f.-r many
railesJ These lowlands are very productive,
and tlhickly inhabited, and the estimated loss
of lifts i) over 200,000. A similar storm oc
currell about half a century ago, and the loss
of lifq at that time was estimated at 300,000.
Jnsi before sunset we went ashore in a na
tive boat, landing at the Princeps Ghat,
whichlis an ornamental gate, with Corinthi
an columns,"rather an imposing structure,
erected in honor of some great Englishman.
Either at this or another Ghat, I am not sure
which, the Viceroys, the distinguished mili
tary nlen, aud Lord Bishops, always land,
being received by a graud salute from the
guns cif Fort William.
We landed on a shelving bank and had to
be carried to the dry land by two coolies,
who offered us a sort of haudbarrow to sit
on. We had a ride of about two miles to
the Great Kar'ern Hotel. The greater part
of the drive was by the Strand Road, with
the river and shipping on our left, and Fort
William and open grounds on our
right. The street is a beautiful one, and as
wedrojve along we saw it sprinkled after a
novel fashion. A number of men were etn
ployed, each one having a dressed sheep’s
skin, sewed up except at the neck. These,
filled with water, showed the outlines of the
sheep, and were suspended from the bear
er’s neck by a strap just long enough to let
it rest on the left hip, while the neck was
grasped by his right hand. Giving a jerk
by a movement of his whole body he allowed
the water to spurt through his fingers, and
the jet thus produced was sprinkled over a
considerable surface. Human muscle here,
as in China, costs but little, and I suppose
this is as cheap a mode of watering the
streets as any other.
We found the Great Eastern Hotel crowd
ed, but got very good quarters at the Hotel
de France. After dinner, at 7 p. m., we
walked out., and seeing a church well lighted
determined to go in. We instautly discov
ered by thehymu book that we were among
our brethren ot the M. E. Church. This
was the closiug one of a series of special
services. The pastor is evidently an earnest
man. j The house is a spacious structure,
very neat, and the congregation was a good
one. The next morning we called on Dr.
Thoburn, but he had just left town. We
hear him very highly spoken of.
The English part of the city is filled with
imposing edifices. The public buildings are
on a grand scale. The Viceroy’s palace,
though the design is considered faulty, is
very large, and, upon the whole, a beau
tiful building. The zoological gardens are
large, and contain several species ot beasts
and birds which I never Baw before;
among them the tapir, the spotted-deer,
the barking-deer, the hog-deer, several
species of bovine animals, a species of seal
with a perfect quadrupedal form, but with
the head and neck, and all the habits and
instincts of the seal; and many others that
I cannot take space even to name
We visited, too —not the garden of Eden
exactly, but —“The Edeu Garden.” These
fine grounds were given to the city by the
Misses Eden, sisters of Lord Auckland, who
was once the Governor general of India.
As to the condition of the natives, and the
work cf God in this vast city, I must defer
that li'l I write again. One thing [ will say
now. I have the conviction that China is in
fact a better Mission-field than India. I
must add that my observation is not suffi
cient to justify me in settling down upon
any conclusion, and if I see cause to change
my mind I shall be careful to say so.
By the way, we find the Chinaman here
again E. M; Marvin.
Calcutta, Bengal, Feb. 19, 1877.
ThU world is indeed a scene of suffering;
and it ought, in some measure, to reconcile
ustoourvot, that in feeling distress we strike
chords iu unison with the whole universe.
THERE IS LIGHT BEYOND.
Beyond the eta.s that slime in go'den glory.
Beyond the erim, sweet moon.
Up the bright ladder sffnts have trod before
thee,
Boul, ttiou shalt venture soon.
Secure a i ti Him who sees thy heart-sick yearn
ing,
Safe in His arms of love.
Thou shalt exchange the midnight for the
morning
And thy fair home above.
Oh ’ it is sweet to watch the world’s night
w, aring.
The Babhath morn come on,
And sweet it were the viueyatd labor sharing—
Sweiter the labor done.
All tinishet ! all the conflict and the sorrow,
Earth’s dreams of anguish o’er,
Deathless tbete dawns for thee a nightless mor
row
Oo Eden’s blissful shore.
Patience 1 then, patience! Soon the pang of
dying
Shall a 1 forgotten be,
And thou through rolling spheres rejoicing,
fly mg
Btyond the wuveless sea,
Shalt knov herea ter where thy Lord doth lead
thee,
His darkest dealings trace,
And by loose fountains where his love will feed
thee,
Behold him face to face.
Then how thine head, aud God shall give thee
me» kness
Bravely to < o His will;
So shall arise His glory in thy meekness—
O struggling soul, be still!
Dark clouds are His pavi lion shining o’er thee ;
Thine heart must recognize
Shtkiaah moving on before thee,
Too bright to meet thine eyes.
Behold the wheel that straightly moves, and
fleetly
Performs the Sovereign's word;
Thou knowest His suffering love, then suffer
ing meekly,
Follow thy lovit g Lord!
Watch on thy tower and listen hy the gateway.
Nor weep to wait alone;
Take ihou thy spices, and some angel straight
way
Shall roll away the stone.
Then shalt thou tell thy living Lord hath risen,
Audrisen bat to save.
Tell of ~tliu night that breaks the captive’s
prison,
And l,fe beyond the grave;
Tell how he met thee, all his radiance shrouded;
How iu thy sorrow came
Ills pitying voice breathing, when faith was
cloud and,
Thine own familiar name.
So a ( thi- grave’sdark portal thou may’stlinger
And hum some happy strain;
The passing world may ntock the feeble singer,
Heed not, but singag.iu.
Thus wait, thus watch, till lie thelast link sever,
Aud changt less re 6 be won ;
T ben iu His gi try thou shalt ba6k forever.
Fear not tue clouds—press on !
From "Changed Cross.”
WHY I AM A METHODIST.
NO. I.
I have been frequently asked why I am a
Methodist. I cannot say with some, Because
my parents were Methodists. lam not “my
birth’s blind bigot.” Those who had charge
of my education never dreamed thatl should
ever be a Methodist—in my early life I never
thought of becoming one—and yet I am a
Methodist, “ to the backbone”—as decided
a Methodist as if I were “to the manner
born.”
I have a warm regard for several other
Churches, and in particular for that in which
I was born, baptized, and bred. I never had
any quarrel vith it —yet I am not a Con
gregationalist, but a Methodist.
Why am Ia Methodist? Perhaps for the
same reasons that thousands besides are
hat they? They “are
these three:
I. It is my plain duty to be a member op
THE VISIBLE CHURCH.
It is obligatory upon every one to whom
the gospel is sent to believe it, and to profess
it before the world.
The profession is made in baptism. Bap
tism is a iministered by the Church, and it is
the door ol admission into the Church. If
received in infancy it must be ratified in ri
per years. The ratification confirms my
membership in the particular Church in which
I was baptized, or any other which I may
prefer.
It is my duty to profess Christ in theordi
nance which he instituted, and commanded
his followers to celebrate, in commemora
tion of his death. This is a Church ordi
nance —it is found nowhere else but in the
Church—l must go to the Church for it
It is my duty to meet with the disciples
of Christ in their assemblies, to unite with
them in the acts an 1 exercises of religious
worship, to join my inflience and exertions
with theirs for the defense and propagation
ol the gospel, and the conversion of the
world. This connotes Church membership.
I cannot discharge those obligations unless
I am a member of the Church.
I need the sympathy, support, encourage
ment, instruction, and discipline of the
Church. I am thus to be trained in the
Church militant for membership in the
Church triumphant. Whatever exceptions
there may be, on account of peculiar circum
stances, they do not bear upon my case. I
know that the gospel is committed to the
Church, that Christ loves the Church, that
He has promised the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it; and I know that those who
slight the Church slight its Divine Founder,
Pro prietor, Saviour, and Lord. The case is
clear—the Church claims me, aud I must
claim the Church ; the Church needs me,
and I need the Church. I want to get to
heaven, and the way thither—“ The King’s
highway of holiness” —goes directly through
the Church. “The holy to the holiest
leads.”
I must therefore belong to the Church of
Christ—’he visible Church as well as the in
visible —and there is no way of belonging to
“the holy Catholic Church, the Communion
of Saints,” except by oonnectiou with some
one of the particular Churches of which it is
constituted. —Nashville Advocate.
SUPPOSE.
Suppose you knew that fifty persons were
watching you, daily, in order to imitate your
conduct, would you comport yourself exact
ly as you do now? Is there nothing which
you would need to amend? Di you think,
in your honest heart, that the world would be
benefited by more of your like, taking your
good and bad qualities just as they stand in
your character? Aud yet, you know that
there are numbers of persons who are being
influenced by you each day, consciously or
unconsciously to themselves, and are thus
becoming more and more like you.
Suppose your remarks about your neigh
bors —complimentary and otherwise —were
all being overheard by them ; would you say
just what yuu have said to-day, or yesterday,
or last week? And still they do hear many
of them in the end. and in worse terms, too,
than you employed in talking about them.
Suppose all the secret motives and thoughts
of your soul were photographed before the
eyes of the world ; could you hold your head
up as you do now, and talk proudly of other
people’s faults ? Yet they are coming out,
little by little, in your most trivial actions
where you have not thought worth while to
place a guard.
If you could draw aside the veil of the Fu
ture, and see the green mound swelling over
some precious member of the home circle ;
would your words have the sting and the ice
about them which now so often wound that
heart ? Could you then think calmly of your
impatience, your coldness, and your bitter
neglect? Yet many have seen such a mound,
and have wept a life away to recall the words
and acts of unkindness, but in vain.
If it were known certainly by you that in a
year from this time you would be called away
from earthly toil, what would your life be?
How does your present zeal look in face of
such a fact ? Are you willing to go into the
presence of God with such sheaves of your
labor as you have now to bear ? Can you
think of the recording angel’s score to your
account and be confident ? Do you realize
just now, as you will then, what it is to have
a Saviour, a Redeemer ? And yet you may
be called hence any hour ; you may not have
another day to work for the Master; you may
know that the record in the angel’s book is
being kept daily just as surely as if you looked
upon it; and you may now have all the peace
and confidence of a Jaith in the world’s great
Substitute for sin.
Time is bearing all forward to the age of
eternal verities. There will then be no mere
supposition, but the Truth will flash along
the universe, and show every soul in its real
state. Let this forecasting of the coming
time makeyou vigilant, active, and prayerful.
—Methodist Recorder.
PRAISE.
“ Praise is comely for the upright.” It is
the natural language of the renewed heart. It
is the expression of our thankful love to Him
who hath bought us with His blood, who
bath redeemed us from our sins, and who
hath blessed us with His presence and His
peace. There are probably more exhorta
tions to praiae than to prayer within the
compass of the Scriptures. Sorrows, ne
cessities, and even selfishness, drive us to
prayer; but praise should rise spontaneously
from our hearts. We repine when we Bhould
rejoice ; we murmur when we should give
thanks ; we complain when we should praise
the Lord. “Itis a good thing to give thanks
unto God,” to show His praise in the mot;,
iug, and taik of His love at even tide. And
if we could by some means rise from this
state of perpetual murmuring, and longing,
and complaining; if we could remember
what God has done for ns, and “ Bless the
Lord, and forget not all his benefits,” surely
our thanksgiving and our praise would great
ly commend the service of Him we love.
If a servant employed by a master was
continually complaining and groaning and
speaking forlornly, what other servant would
like to seek employment at that master’s
hands? But if a servant was continually
telling of the goodness of his employer, the
kindness of his heart, the pleasantness of
the labor he required, and the cheering pros
pects that he heid out before him ; the re
sult would be to make other servants dis
contented with less pleasant places, and dis
posed to seek occupation under those more
agreeable circumstances. And if Christians
would cease their godless murmuring and
complaining, and live in the face and light
and joy and blessing of God ; if they would
praise the Lord for all His goodness, and
sing to Him in songs of joy, there are mul-.
’’.fades of striving, wretchtroubled, wep
ry souls, who would See from the bondage
of sin and the bitter yoke of Satan, and come
to hide themselves beneath the Bhadow of a
Saviour’s wings.
“If we could be thoroughly persuaded
that we are indebted to Christ for our life,
and its preservation from a thousand dan
gers every day, all the rest of our sojourn
here would be a seng of praise to Him ;
every thought would be the waking of a
sweet melody to the name of Jesus ; and
every step would be the starting of a stately
psalm to our exalted Head, who made us,
and who has given His angels charge over
us in all our ways, to bear us up in their
arms, lest at any time we dash our foot
against a stone.”
“ Let the children of Zion be joyful in
their King ;” and, as when the shades o(
night depart and the glory of the morning
gilds the eastern sky, the silent birds awake
within the thickets and burst forth in carols
of melodious song, so let Christians, called
out of darkness into marvellous light, and
waked from death and silence by the voice
of God, lift up their praises from joyful
hearts, and tell to an admiring world the
glories ot their God and King.
“ Praise waits in Zion, Lord, for thee,
Thy saints adore Thy holy name,
Thy creatures bend the obedient knee,
And humbly Thy protection claim.
“ Eternal source of truth and light,
To Thee we look, on Thee we call.
Lord, we are nothing in Thy sicht,
But Thou to us art all in all."
SPEAK TO THE STRANGER.
BY MRS. M. A HOLT.
“Who was that quiet appearing girl that
came into Church quite late, last Sabbath?”
I asked a friend of mine who was an active
member in the Church to which I belonged.
“Did she have on a striped shawl and dark
dress?” inquired my friend, “If so, it was
Anne Linton a girl who is a seamstress in
Brown’s shop.”
“I did not notice her clothes in partieu
lar,” I answered, “but I think that she did
wear a striped shawl. Her face attracted
me, and I should know it among a thousand
faces.”
“You are always discovering something
very unusual about the appearance of some
body that we know nothing about,” laughed
my friend.
“I would rather be guilty of this, than to
pass by a stranger as iudifferentlyasyoudid,
by this young lady. I expected that you
were going to ask her to remain at Sabbath
school and go into your Bible class, but you
never once looked at her” I answered my
good natured yet careless friend.
“I did not once think of it, and if I had I
believe that she would not have accepted the
invitation, as she is a stranger in town, and
undoubtedly will not remain here long,” my
friend replied quickly, in the way of defense
I did not say anything more, for Mrs.
G was really an excellent Christian wo
man, with this one little fault —carelessness
which sometimes caused her to make grave
mistakes.
But I could not help thinking abont the
stranger girl, although I did not say anything
more about her. Her jarge dark eyes and
finely formed face revealed more than ordi
nary intelligence, and then in some way 1
gained the impression that she was deeply
impressed with religious conviction—if not a
Christian already. It seemed to me that she
left the Church very reluctantly, and was
half waiting tor an invitation to the Bible
class.
The next Sabbath she came again and oc
cupied the same seat —just in front of my
own. She bowed her head very reverently
during prayer, and once during the sermon I
saw her lips quiver with emotion, and a tear
came into her eye. The services closed, and
the stranger girl lingered as before. My
friend, good Mrs. G., bustled aloug, but
F. M. KENNEDY, D. D., Editor
J. W. HUIIKE,.. -.Assistant, Editor
A. G. HAYGOOD, D. D.,—Editorial Correspondent
WHOLE NUMBER 2048
again forgot to speak to the friendless girl.
She passed out of the Church slowly and did
not come again. I thought that she must
have left town, as I had not seen her for
several weeks, but one Sabbath as I attended
another Church I saw her again. She seem
ed a little more at ease I thought, and there
was a quiet smile upon her face. After the
services were concluded I saw many a pleas
ant smile and bow given to the stranger girl,
and I understood the secret of the changed
look upon her face. I made some inquiries
and learned that she had joined this Church,
and was earnest and active in all its work.
I also learned that she had just made a pro
fession of religion before coming to our vil
lage, and had had an unusually clear experi
ence. How much the indifference of my
own Church people had to do with her find
ing a home in another Church, I know not.
Several years have passed since this oc
curred, but I have never forgotten it. Many
a stranger's hand I have clasped, as I thought
of Annie Linton’s sweet face. I was young
in Christian experience then, and that lesson
was a profitable one to me.
Speak to the stranger, Christian friend,
with the assurance that no evil will ever
grow out of it. It is better sometimes to
step over the rules of etiquette than to chill
some warm stream of God's new-given love
by coldness and indifference.
PASTORAL VISITS.
Comparative small value do we attach to
these, as a mere parish formality. The “go
ing from house to house,” unless it results
in a true acquaintanceship and unveiling of
the heart, is but wasted time and effort. A
pastor cannot afford mere gossiping calls.
He had better be in his study, or even off
troiiting. But the calls that are valuable,
both to himself and to his people, which will
enable him to preach better, both in the pul
pit and out of it, are calls in which the truest
and deepest emotions of the soul come to
the surface. Therefore be frank with ycur
minister. Tell him your religious thoughts
and feelings plainly, clearly, honestly.
Through such a call he will knowyou better,
understandyonr needs, spiritually; be bet
ter able, and far more likely, to speak the
“word in season” for your advantage. Such
a coming together, too, is just as valuable
if it take place on the sidewalk or in the
cars. Some of the most valuable “miuiste
rial” calls ever made have had for witnesses
only the jolting seat of a 4-agon load, or the
dusty beams of an old barn, or the steaming
kettles of the kitchen stove, and apologized
for “looks” of the unswept room, or the old
wood pile where we caught the man with his
“trock” on, and in a twinkle got onr hearts
together, for the moment thought only of the
one fact of our being travelers to
together, who might help each other. Such
pastoral calls can never lose the gold out of
them. Their memory will make heaven it
self the sweeter. Would that we could make
more of them. Ahl it takes two to make
such calls as those. You must call on the
pastor the same time he calls on you. — The
Churchman.
MISCELLANEA,
—The disestablish'aient ot the Scolds
Church is strongly urged in that country.
—ln 45 years the Universalist Church has
increased as follows: From 600 societies
and congregations, 100 church edifices, 300
preachers, to 880 parishes, 756 fedifices, 706
prea-hers, including licentiates and super
annuates.
l ,;t Protestant work among the French
Canadians in Montreal is represented by five
or six churches composed of converts. In
Lower Canada there are five French Protes
tant colleges and upward of thirty mission
stations.
—Methodist growth in Ohio in the past
ninety years has been very nearly in propor
tion to that ot the State itself. In 1788 there
were 357 members; in 1820, 34,178; and in
1876 167,628, with 1,964 churches and 168,-
222 Sunday-school scholars.
—The average length of the pastorates in
the Congregational Church is from four to
five years. The longest is that of Dr. Leo
nard Withington, which was6l years; there
are 60 of over 25 years ; 41 over 30; 28 over
35 ; 17 over 40; 7 over 45, and 6 of 50 and
over.
—Dr. Rigg, in the International Review,
estimates the Church attachment of the
people of England and Wales as follows:
Eatablished Church, 13 000,000; Methodists,
4,200,000; Congregationalism 2,000 000;
Baptists, 1,500 000; Presbyterians, 250,000;
other denominations, 250,000—tola! 24 000,
000.
— The strong argument for the truth of
Christianity is the true Christian; the man
filled with the Spirit of Christ. The best
proof of Christ’s resurrection is a living
Church, which itself is walking in anew life,
and drawing life from Him who hath over
come death. Before such argumen's, ancient
Rome herself, the mightiest empire of the
world, and the most hostile to Christianity,
could not stand — Christlieb.
—There are 3,509 Congregational church
es, with 350,658 members, in the United
Slates, and 3,333 ministers. In 1876, 20,-
884 were added on profession of faith, and
12 400 by letter. The benevolent contribu
tions were $1,278,252, and the expenditures
were $2,584,166. There was again of 71
churches, and a large increase in member
ship. The increase in ministers was not ia
proportion to the increase in churches.
—According to Mr. Dawson Burns, in
England, Ireland, and Scotland, in 1876,
there were purchased more than 29 000 000
gallons of British spirits, more than 11,500,-
000 gallons of foreign and colonial spirits,
more than 18,000 000 gallons of foreign
wine, and about 31,000,000 gallons of beer,
and 11,000,000 gallons of British wine,
cider, etc., making a total of intoxicants for
the year of 102,732,898 gallons for 1876.
The original cost of all this is $668,160,105;
add to this the increase in retail prices, and
it makes a total of $735,000,000.
—High Church ideas break out in con
spicuous place now and then in
notwithstanding the overwhelming
ance of political events. The latest story
that the Bishop of Loudon refused to
secrate St. Agues Church, Kensington
last January, unless a certain figure in t JSI
large stained glass window above the
cel was removed. The figure was a
length representation of the Virgin,
moun’ed by a crown of glory, and
ed by a h-tlo, priced side by side w
ligure of the S iviour, also surround W
halo. The objection was tit it in
as shown in the window the same
shown to the Virgin Mary as to the
The objectionable figure was removed, the
space was filled in with plain glass, and the
church was consecrated. During the first
week of April the figure was replaced in the
wiudow with the Bishop’s consent. The
crown about the Virgin’s head had disap
peared, but the halo remained.