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TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS. PER ISTTsTITIMI. VOLUME XL., NO. 39 Sttlttfimts. THE UNCHANGING. Friends I love m y die or leave me, Friends 1 . mi may TTifaihe rout i-rove; J3 -i Thou never wilt deceive me, Oh uiy Saviour! in thy love. Change can ne'er this union sever, i earn ite link- may never part, Yesterday, to-d < y. for ever. Thou tho same Redeemer art. On the cross love made Thee bearer. Of tra -Ficressions not Thine own, A . i that love still m *kcs Thee sharer fn our sorrows on the throne. From Thy k!<t thou art hen ling Still o earth a piryii if eye ; And 'mid angel songe ascending, ilearcit every mourntr’e cry. In the 1 ■ * of worldly gladness Cold and t rood our heirt may be, Uur t w horn in te ir or -adness Oar, we tro hut unto The-.? Fr on that depth * f doom and sorrow \Y ere I'hy love to man was shown, Kv* ry hie- . riff hea. l may oorr<-w Hope and strength to ita own. Th'-uffh the rap I drink be bifte\ Y Th u hast, m .de it mine. This Thy ! v* w 11 - aVe it sweeter Than r ** n-i- ,d'< be-t .singled wine. I) .rk■ r d.iv may yet betide me. } ,rf.. r < rrow- I may prove: ]*.it the wnr-r will ne’er divide me. Oh my Saviour! from thy love I — Sunday at Home. From the Nashville Chrsiian Advocate. LETTKIt I ROM IIISIIOP MARVIN. NO. XXXIV. HAAIRW, ZAHI.KH, BEYROOT. Three days from Damascus brings you to Baaiben bv easy stages. There ii a consid erabie country village here, but ihe only real intere t of the ( lace is in its ruins. These have mode it famous throughout the world. There are scia-cely ary architectural remains anywhere, coining from the old time 3 , so well preserved as these. But they are not so old as many others—Karnak, (or instance —nor so extensive as those at Karnak; yet they are so massive as to be the wonder of architecture in all modern eyes. They are wha* survives of two temples—one very large, th * Temple of Jupiter—and one small one, the Temple of the Sun. I say small, but that is only because it is put in comparison with the other. If it were off somewhere by itself it would be a huge affair. The wails of the smaller temple are stand ing, and at their full height, but the arched roof is all cone. The ornamentation of the walls on the inside was very elaborate and very rich, consisting of moldings, projec tions, and figures, cut in the stone in great variety. At the end opposite the entrance there was a space partitioned off by a series ot arches, used, I suppose, for religious solemnities. In after-years, at least, it was so, when the building was used as a church, as it was for a time, in the age of Constan tine, and later. The ends of the broken arches still appear, and the stump of one o* the supporting columns still stands; hut the other is prostrate. Within th s space the designs and carving are different, and per haps more abundant. The front entrance is very large, but much injured now. many of the stones in the arches having fallen. It has been propped in one place to prevent a great keystone from com ing down. Around the entrance, above and on both sidrs, there is much and elegant chisel-work in the stone. Before it was a portico, supported by fluted columns, with ornamented capitals, only two of which are BtiSHim® no*. This portico was ntr ..>, .. magnificent and elegant structure, but -nothing remains of it except the two columns yh’ ve already meritVr.etf. 1 doubt not that, it presented a gable, and perhaps arches, of rich design and delicate tracery. Besides this front portico there were towb of columns along both sides and the rear end, on the outside, standing about ten or fifteen from the wall. These columns were the full height of the wall, from the top of which arched slabs, curving upwards, covered the space between the wall and the columns. These immense slabs were ornamentally car ved on ti e under surface, and in the center of each is a mythological figure of nearly life size. On one which has fa'len is the figure of Ceres. On some, perhaps, are busts of emperors instead of gods, but the greater number are of gods or goddesses. Very near this, and in the same inclosure, is the great Temple of Jupiter. It is a singu lar structure, and covers many acres of ground. The buildings in front of the prin cipal ;emple were larger than the temple it self. The walls were very thick and very high. In some parts they are much broken, in others quite perfect. I can attempt no description, At the rear of this wonderful front structure, and considerably narrower, was an area surrounded only by columns on three sides, and the wall of the front build ing on the other. The columns were sur' mounted by a cornice, but there was neither wall nor roc f—just these rows of columns find the cornice joining them on the top. All but six of these columns have (alien, and those that still stand are much injured on one side by the weather. Until 1769 there were nine standing, but the earthquake of that year prostrated three of them. The columns of the smaller temple are 461 fee* lrgh, and those of the larger 60 feet Those of the smaller building stand around the walls, and are connected with them. The look of the whole is very grand. But tire six of the other stand out by themselves, having the moun ains in some directions, in other directions the sky, for a back ground. If we were disappointed in the size of the stor-.s in the Pyramids, so we were here — only that the stones there were smaller, and these as much larger than we expected. Take the columns, for instance. Most of them are in three pieces. At the base they are 71 feet in diameter, and taper but very little toward the top. Think of a stone 20 or SO feet long, and 71 across, hard limestone, or granite, separated from the solid mass in ti e qnariy, trimmed perfectly round, brought to a high polish, moved several miles, lifted forty fee' into the air, raised on end, poised and set on a column of two similar pieces, already raised 1 It makes my head swim to think of it. Then some of the single stones in the outer wall are thirty, forty, fifty, or more, feet long, the other two dimensions correspond ing. The question of questions with all modern mechanicians is, How were these stones handled? What sort of machinery was used? What adjustment of levers, screws, wedges, was it by which such stupen dous forces w-re delivered and directed, so as not only to move and elevate these im mense blocks, but to lay them exactly in their places in the wall or set them on end on the top of a column already forty feet high? The necessary fixtures for this ele tion and placement must themselves have cost millions of money. We entered the great inclosnre on horse back, through an arched vault, which must be a hundred yards long. This is now pro perly underground, but I could not deter mine whether it was always so, or whether the earth that covers it is not merely a mass of ruins. Before proceeding with our ex. plorations we took our lunch in the peristyle of the Temple of the San, ander the deco- fioalhcrit Christian jMunrak rated ceiling, from which all sorts of gods and goddesses looked down noon us. When our train came up the tents of both parties were pitched in the Entrance Court of the great temple, where we found room for 9 tents, 25 persons, and 48 horses, mules, and donkeys, with space for as many more. This court is 147 yards long from east to west, and 123 yards wide. But those who desire an elaborate descrip tion of these wonderful remains must seek it iq books. The buildings were the work of the Romanß. Two Latin inscriptions on the bases of columns which stood in front of the great temple set forth that it was erected and dedicated by Antoninus Pius and Julia Domna. In the village, at a distance of a quarter of a mile, are the remains of a very small circular temple, well preserved, which is by some considered a gem of art, and which has, at least, the merit of being entirely uni que in in iis whole design. Scarcely less interesting than the ruins are the quarries from which the stone was ob tained. Many great blocks, already quarried and shaped for their place in the wail, lie still in the vast excavation, having never been removed. Others were partially pre pared only, as if work had been suddenly ar rested. Two immense square columns sepa rated from each other try a space of four inches, fifteen or twenty feet high, stand rooted in the living rock below, having never been separated from it. They were hewed as they stand from the solid bed in which they were once contained. But the lord of the quarry is a block 71 feet long by 17 wide, and about the same in thickness. It is perfectly dressed on three sides to ita full length, and was cut under, so that perhaps half the work of detaching it was done. Some have supposed that it was abandoned for the reason that the architect faund it bo large as to be unwieldly. But there is abundant sign, both in the quarry and in the outer wail of the building, that all work came to a sudden stand still before the structure was finished. Possibly the death of an Emperor, or the outbreak of war, or some such event, brought it to an end. After the miracles of stone lifting which had al readv been performed, it scarcely admits of a question that this might a’so have been done. At least they would have separated it from its bed and made the attempt. llow much the idolatrous religions of the ancients cost them 1 Is it not true that the devotees of false religions bestow their money and labor more freely than the followers of Christ ? Surely nine-tenths of us are not more than half converted. Leaving Baalbec we descend the valley of the Litany, which is well cultivated, and quite thickly populated. This valley divides the Lebanon from the anti-Lebanon range, and is the scope of country formerly called Coeie Syria. Some forty miles south of Baal bee the river forsakes the valley, turns ab rubtly to the west, and plunges through a gorge of the Lebanon on its way to the sea. This valley is called by the natives B.kaa. After lunch at a way side khan we turned from the main road to visit the village of Kerak Nvh, just at the edge of the valley on the Lebanon side. Here is the tomb ot “the Uuvkiit Kki."- nigd two o* three, piasters to see it > worth seeing? Let. de describe it. We entered a ricKe y "winc'd was'unlocked for us, ascended a flight of stone steps to a low stone roof fifty yaids long. On this again we found a long, low, narrow structure, to which we were admit ted. In this we found a sort of rude sarcop hagus, made of plaster, I should say, meas uring three or four feet across at the largest part, and—now as to the length of it: My pencil hesitates, but—it is 44 yards—l 32 feet. If any conscientious or cautious reader doubts, he must make a visit to Kerak Nub, and see for himself. A half hour farther brought us to the Christian village of Zahleh. This is a flourishing town of 15,000 inhabitants, lying on the slope of the mountain, on both sides of the brook El Berduni. a copious mountain torrent which flows into the Litany. As we approached this village our eyes were de lighted with the fresh, white aspect of its houses, many of which are of good size, and actually have glass windows. This goes to establish the truth of the statement several times made to us, that the most vigorous and enterprising people of this country are the Chr-slians. They are decidedly superior to both Mussulmans and Druses. The Christians of Syria are more numer ous than I had supposed, and are divided into three classes —the Maronites, who are Roman Catholics; the Catholic Greeks, who acknowledge the supremacy of the pope of Rome; and the Orthodox Greeks, who ad here to the Patriarch of Constantinople. The Maronites are a Syrian sect which sub mitted to the See of Rone some centuries ago, on condition of being permitted to use the Syriac as their sacred language, and to re aiu the privilege of marriage for their priests. At a later day a large body of the Greeks of Syria, having a quarrel with the Patriarch, were courted by Rome, giving heir adhesion to the pope, but reserviugthe use of the Greek ritual, and the privilege of marriage for the priests, with some other special rights, conceded at the time, but no w being gradually taken away. These Christians are scarcely less super stitious than the Moslems; yet the universal testimony is that they are a shade more ele vated in morals and intelligence, and that they are greatly in advance in industry and enterprise, being decidedly the most pros perous class in the country. Their progres sive character and evident increase, it is sup posed, provoked iu part the massacre of 1860. Since that event the Turks have been com pelled by the European Powers to allow a special government of the District of the Lebanon, the Governor being a Christian, and under a species of Protectorate of the Christian Powers. Under this government anew era of prosperity has dawned upon the country, which is strikingly in contrast both with its past condition and the present con dition of other parts of it. The taxes, when collected, are faithfully returned. Property is held by a more secure tenure, and life is protected with some efficiency. Yet. religion among them is a mere form. A man is a Christian, not on the ground of repentance and faith, but because he has been baptized and confirmed. Faith he has, in a certain sense —a faith that is very in tense and bigoted—but of that faith which is a vital grasp of the atoning merits of Christ he knows nothing. The Church exercises no moral discipline, a const quence of which is that the most profane and profligate are in the Church, and reckoned Christians all the same. It is ritualism gone to seed—Roman ism in full flower. Religion is in the ritual, not resting on any spiritual, nor even moral, basis. Never was a reformation more needed. We were glad to find here in Zaleh two Ame ricans of the Presbyterian Board—Messrs. PUBLISHED BY J. W. BURKE k COMPANY, FOR SHE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. Dale and March. They have been at work here less than four years, but with marked success. They have organized a Church, had a number of instances of most remark able conversion, established several schools, built a house of worship, and extended the work abroad in many neighboring villages. They are men of large intelligence and great energy, and seem to be devoted to their work with single minded consecration. They have encountered strenuous opposition from the native clergy. The Jesuits are opening op position schools. In fact, the presence ot the missionaries creates an opportunity for the Jesuits, who are distrusted and hated by the native priests, especially as they are not under the control of the resident Bishops But on the plea that their work is necessary to counteract the influence of the missiona ries, they are allowed to come in with their convents and schools. Whereupon the mis sionaries rejoice ; for the people are learning to read, and will be able to read the Bible as it becomes more and more disseminated. The Jesuits are driven to the extremity of even making a translation of the Bible for their people into the vernacular language. At Zahleh we met Mr. Dale, who accom panied us to our camp. As we passed over the spur of the mountain he pointed out to us, across the valley of the Litany, the ruins of Chalcis, which we had not time to visit. On the way we met Mr, March, com ing from a visit to some of the neighboring villages, who also turned back and accom panied us. At Shtora we came again into the diligence road. Half an hour farther on was our camp, where our missionary friends dined with us, and spent the evening. We invited Dr. Schaff, and the three or four min isters who were of his party, to meet them. They were full of information, which they gave us freely, varying thus the monotouy of Camp life for us in a most delightful way. The occasion was as pleasant to them as to us, for in their inland station they rarely see fiieuds from America. They are not with out some solicitude about the war, which, as we have just learned, is now imminent, though they have no fears as to their own safety. At ten o’clock we sang “ All bail the power of Jesus’ name 1” Dr. Schaff led us in prayer, and our friends returned to Zahleh to devote their lives to the work of (iod in Syria. Our hearts went with them, and we did most earnestly commit them to the care of Him whom they serve The next morning we crossed the great Lebanon range by the diligence road, the only improved road in all Syria. It is owned by a French company, and there is scarcely a better road in the world. The diligence runs each way between Damascus and Bey rout twice a day; making the distance, sev enty miles, in fourteen hours. The road is macadamized, being kept smooth and hard from one end to the other. From the summit of the range Bey rout and the Mediterranean were descried, but we had a descent of 5,000 feet to make. Three or four miles from town we took our lunch. A Nubian had come out in a hack, in hopes of getting a job. He offered to take us in cheap, but we could not think of endiug our tour of Palestine and Syria in so tame a fashion. So we mounted our faithful steeds again, and ai.id., our last rd“ ♦ twiirisW "ace. bringing „ toe nrw Arrrenmt HOtef, on me with the waves dashing against the rocks immediately beneath our window. For my part I enjoyed the saddle, and was not at all over-fatigued. It was going back to old habits, and proved to me that I was not yet disqualified for circuit work. I had hecome quite attached to my little bay horse. He was the best walker I met with anywhere on the road. He was “ tough as a pine knot,” though it must be confessed that he was both lazy and hard-headed ; albeit a good stout hickory always brought him to a sense of his duty. He had but to know it was there and would be used— the actual use of it being seldom necessary. Under such cir cumstauces he was a most exemplary quad ruped, and when I remember what roads he carried me over without ever making a seri ous misstep, I do most freely forgive him everything I considered wrong at the time, and part from him with a feeling of gratitude and regret. Beyroot is a city of 80.000 inhabitants, having grown to this importance from a pop ulation of 20 000 in less than thirty years. What the causeof this sudden and surprising start into prosperity is, I scarcely know. — Several causes have been at work. The Christian Government of the Lebanon has brought a large district of country immedi ately tributary to it into anew life. The French road to Dimascus has made traffic' with the interior practicable and easy. It is also the headquarters of Protestant Missions in Syria. One English company has brought the water of Dog river to the city, conveying it to every part, while another has lighted it with gas. Be it noted that all this stir in the imme morial stagnation of the place is due to for eigners. This despot ridden country has not life enough to make a road, or construct water or gas works, nor, indeed, to do any thing else. It would be difficult to invent a worse government than this. It seems to have no idea of government, except as an engine for collecting taxes; nor has it the sagacity to collect the tax on principles t-ljftt will enable the people to pay more ano'h-r' year. To squeeze out of them the blood that happens to be in their veins now, is the ulti mate wisdom of the Turk. The American Board of C. F. M. estab lished Missions here more than fifty years ago. The work is now in the hands of the Presbyterian Board, and a great work it is. The actual communicants do not number over one thousand, but the American reader will get no idea from that fact of the extent and importance of the results already secur ed. The Bible haß been translated into the vernacular, schools have been opened in many towns and villages, a large printing es tablishment is in operation, and a flourishing college, with a medical department, is well launched. In this Missiou there are: Central stations, 5 ; out-stations, 44 ; ordained missionaries, 11 ; female missionaries (unmarried), 6 ; na tive pastors, 3; native licensed preachers, 12; school teachers, 60; other helpers, 14; preaching-places, 38 ; girls in boarding schools, 125: pupils in day-schools, 2 107. The number of volumes printed at the Mis sion Press, 30,000; tracts, 15,000; pages printed during the year, 14 317,290; pages of Bibles, 8 410 000. Besides the translation of the Bible, a number of valuable text books, scientific and historical, have been prepared for schools in Arabic —a great work; for many of them will be used In native schools. In addition to these Missions, the United and Reformed Presbyterian Churches have occupied several points, and established a good many schools. 1 ought to have said that the statistics given MACON, GEORGIA, TUFA&XY. SEPTEMBER 25, 1877. above are four years old. The statistics of this date would show a large increase in several item-, and steady advance in all, for the work was never more prosperous than now. There are, then, “The British Syrian Schools and Bible Mission,” carried on by Church of Englaud people, with schools at Beyroot, Damascus, Tyre, and other places, and 2 652 pupils enrolled. The Free Church of Scotland, also, has quite a large number of schools. All taken together there is a vol ume of Protestant and Evangelical agencies and influence active here, that has already quickened the country to a perceptible de gree, and promises to produce a moral, in teilectual, and religious revolution. The College, which I have already men tioned, doss not belong to the Mission prop er, nor to any Church; yet it is founded on strictly Evangelical principles; the Bible is a text book, and the faith of the gospel is earnestly inculcated by all proper means. It has been built, and partially endowed by Christian men in England and America, the property being held hv trustees in Amer ca. incorporated under a general law of State of New York, in 1868 The corpo rators were, Wm. A. Booth, Win. E, Dodge, Divid Hoadley, S. B Chittenden, of New York, and Abner Kingman and Jos. S. Rop°s, of Boston. A special act of the Legislature, in 1864. invested them with im portant special privileges. The immediate management of the Institution is in the hands of a local Board of Trustees, most of whom reside at Beyroot. Already it has done a great work, and stands head and shoulders above any educational institution in Syria. For the extent of its curriculum and the thoroughness of its instructions it has no rival. The graduates of the Medical Department, already number twenty, who are the only thoroughly educated native physicians in the country. We received very cordial retentions from Mr. Edgar, the American Consul at Bey root. He is the son of Dr. Edgar, one of the former Presbyterian pastors of Nashville, a man largely known in the South. Our visit to Syria has been very suggestive. Here, where there was a high state of civili zation, while yet the greater part of Europe was still in a savage condition, society is now in a semi barbarous state. How is this? Why is it? Is Moslemism responsible for it? Did these countries, in rejecting Christ, recoil into stagna'ion and render progress au impossible thing ? A mere glance at the country is sufficient to show that it is not due to physical conditions, for there is every thing here to constitute the basis of the high est,pro=perity. Enterprise, intelligence, and moral power, are all that is needed to make this what it once was, one of the most mag nificent countries on the face of the earth. The Turk and the False Prophet have shed a blight upon it. In proof, see the prosperity already brought about, in less than twenty years, under the Christian Government of Mount Lebanon. Ou the last day ot osrr stay in Beyroot, our Consul invited us to ride wi'h him to the Prussian Cemetery. There we saw a granite shaft, of good size. On one side we read, “Rv. Calvin Kingsley, D.D , Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Born in the I *tats of New York, United S'ateS Ot A™*- 1 cl, Tfept. rn .V4,U CLLad in Syria. April 6. trUO, while making for bis Church me first Episcopal tour of the globe.'” On the oppo Site face are these wor Is: “May his tomb unite more closely Asia and America.” The Consul gives attention to the monument, and it is in good condition. The grounds around it are neat, and very well ker>t. In the rear of the Mission Press is a sma'l cemetery in which I read the following epi taph on a small and modest slab, which serves as a horizontal covering of a grave: “Rev. Pliny Fisk. Died Oct. 23, 1825, JE 33 yrs.” That was all. It is enough. If I am not mistaken, Pliny Fisk was the first man sent by the American Board to Syria, the forerunner of all that followed, and al that is lo follow. Protestant Missions are not a failure, but a great success. We have had large obser vation of them now, from Yokohama to Bey root. The men engaged in the work are generally of a high order of intelligence and personal force. They are the representalives of the Son of God among the heathen —and among the half heathen found in di generate Churches. They are charged with his word, which is quick and powerful, and is proving itself to be so by incipient victories already achieved. This divine word is the sword having two edges that proceeds out of his mouth, and pierces to the dividing asunder of the joints and marrow, of the soul and spirit, being a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The nineteenth century ii anew point of departure in the history of the Church. It opens the missionary epoch, and is itself the outgrowth of the great revi vals of the eighteenth century. Those revi vals are again the fruit of the Reformation, which expended itself in controversy for two hundred tears, until its ideas became crys tallized and its forms defined and animated with their proper spirit. The forces that are potential in the Eter nal Word are coming into full expression, and he is going forth conquering the nations. Surely he will never stay his hand until the last enemy is prostrate under his feet. . E. M. Marvin. Steamer Esp.ro, off the Dardanelles, May, 7, 1877. LIGHT LITERATURE. Sensational ana highly seasoned mental food brings on mental dyspepsia just as eure'y as epicurean sauces and highly seasoned dishes disorder the stomach and make it di - fieult to convert food inlo proper nutriment. It ia to he regretted that the lasbion of the day is gross exaggeration and without it nothing is palatable. Everything, from a news item to a theological dogma, must be mixed and kneaded with the pepper aid spice of fiction, and then dressed in grotesque garb, challenging incredulity and arousing speculation, or it will not meet the popular fancy. This fact can be noticed in the strange combinations which ingenious news editors display in the headings of the otherwise tame columns of daily papers; in the startling titles invented for books; in the strange and unseemly themes frequently advertised by popular preachers. While we deprecate the disposition of tie age to fritter away its intellect and time in such reading as is the fashion, we must say that there ought not to be an indiscriminate and wholesale denunciation of everything that is given to us in the garb of fiction. All food is not bad because it is made palatable by the skill of the cook, nor does medicine lose its effect because of its sugar coating. Let us discriminate between fiction and novels. The cue is a genus, the other a species. Fiction is thought dealing with the ideal; it is idealism in liierature, as painting is idealism in colors, or as sculpture is ideal ism in form. The novel is a book through which a love affair runs, and is usually the of m-eative work, full of stir- <fnd denouements. For instancflo give our idea form, we refer to BunySi Pilgrim's Progress, Robinson Crusoe Don Q ixote, as among the noblest irks of fiction. The parables of re for the most part fiction, illus trating! iths in sue i a way as to bring them to the o ids of his hea r ers. This being ti e general aqth, the value of any particular work w\v|n the great class of fiction, wili depend ’lolly upon the value of the thing idealized If great religious or social or philoa<ijlte_flneßti o nß are grasped, and great characus are created to make ideas stand then we have a book not to be c-judem fed because it is fiction ; but to be classed j&h Pdgritn’s Progress, or Paradise Lost, or *h the idealizations ot Shakspeare. —PacijiMethod ist. NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ■ FRFEDjiS'S AID SOCIETY OF THE METHO ■>l>r Er SCO PAL CIIIIKCH. rvTHE REV. R. K. HARGROVE. [This ,'ticle was sent for publication in April luf"* 'ha Christian Advocate, of New V i -<*Vial organ of the Methodist INpu-o; ’ C .urch. Being a remonstrance agains* * flifimal utterance of that Church as nufrt, , o ul, by a representative of the Southey e lurch in the Cape May Commis sion, it i hoped that it would he admitted into thehper After nearly four months of delay, w U repea ed excuses therefor, and promise-' from time to lime that it shou'd tipp-a 3 ry soon, sometimes in the next issne. th ‘writer was forced to the conclu sion that i.-re was a settled purpose that its facta *h and not come before the readers of the AJccate, and therefore, as the best means-is*, attain his object, sent it to the Method:..:' from which we copy.] This -iport, the Corresponding Secreta ry, the lv. R. S. Rust. D. D., has courte ously sei to the writer. It sets lorth as the aim .nd purpose of the Society, to pro vide for ie freedmen from their own race cultivate Christian teachers both for the school ud the pulpit—an object heanil/ ap proved !/ me, and, I believe, by So them Metho-I'ftsin general. To u 4 as far as practicable, represent tives frY the masses to be reach- and, as t e be<£j]|kfh for reaching them, was clea-ly o'tr Saviour, and lias ever been a cok lßuous and efficient method o! M> th- principle, now generally ao cepted-*(d employed in missionary work, has a s*!-‘cial fitness in this particular case. Every ;j-thodist, therefore, of whatever sec tion, to do wha’ he may to forward the aiir, of this well conceived and worthy enterpr je. Whi! I ask God’s blessing on this good cause, here are features of the Report deep ly to b ,deplored. They are the more tin fortunde and damaging at this time, since the Freediten' Aid Society is now a part of the raarhitfry, and its report, therefore, an offi cial uterance, of the Methodist Episcopal Church bet men which and the Methodist Episi A1 Church, South, there have recent ly bee'* established “formal” fraternal re lations. My record having already been made fir peace, as a member of the Joint Fraterad Commission, may I not, as a South* Methodist, for the good of the causeXvolved, and iu ths interest of fra ternitwwi'h kindness and yet with can dor. M' Ct attention to some features of of the audreijiefNof the ijtgb offijjMß^FitripaVyilig'h,-n-Wch are ennaid, yrecf uNl'ist to the Southern people, and es peoia# to Southern Methodists? Allow me to us>lai nne3B °f speech, seeing a sense of injustice, renewed from year to year by these docun'ents, has engendered in us toward the work of the Society a degree of reserve which some have mistaken for actual oppo sition,, Our complaint it twofo'd: at what has been said, and at what has not been sab’. We have been wronged both positively and negatively. On the one hand, y/e have be--n represented; on the other ignored. Is" nit the field of the long, earnest, and sue cessfrf labors of Southern Methodism repre sented'and treated of as if it were the very heart of heathendom ? Wiien oir presence and vork have not, been utterly ignored, have they been recognized in terras suited to the fotsand our mutual relations? Are we not virtually set forth as a scourge and calam ity to the colored race? A fsw quotations, breathing the general spii<i*of the Report, will in ficate my mean ing: - Bi-hop Bowman represents this Society as an rtfent of the Methodist Episcopal Church for ihe evangelization an 1 elevation of :he Soil Ji, and especially of the colored peo pie.” p. 39. Paje 40 he speaks of the colored people as “partakingof ihecommon weaknestot the Souti;” as “in the miist of communities who have made them what they an- and who have neither the ability nor the di p sition to itfieve them.” “The same interests whicu held them in bondage will keep them in servitude and degradilion unless Chris tian people of the North come to their re lief.’’ He say=, p. 41: “It is well known that there is a large white population as ig norant. degraded, and vicious as the lowest of tt* blacks.” Bishop Wiley says, p. 44: “ TvJ hundred years ot this system of deg radalion resulted in this country in a race o f four or five millions of ignorant, demoral izedipeople.” On pag-8 the Report says: “Ascertain wha> slavery was, and you may learn its ter rihl influence upon this people. It t.rans forilj'td immortal men made in Gods image into Chattels, and bought aud soid them like beat!.’ in the market; it broke dow i all dig lincigLns of right and wrong in their minds ; <iv i ft j_ to them alt meaus of improvement; for oSe ot them to have been found with ever, a New Testament in his possession would have subjected him to most fearlul pun'.shment.” It says, p. 9 : •* With un wavering confidence in the right, we antici pate ail over this land, at no distant day, the triumph of freedom over slavery.” This last sentence suggests Rip Van Win kle. But wa not this sentence written with the fact distinctly in mind that years ago, “all over this land,” a complete and final “triumph of freedom over slavery” was an accomplished fact ? Who, “with unwavering confidence in the right,” doubts it? Some thing must be wrong when men “auiicipae” backwards. Why continue to exhume a corpse known to be laden with noxious odors? Why should Christians desire to agitate a dead issne after the nation has grown sick of strife? Surely the Church and lhe country ha e long enough confronted and struggled wiiu the difficulties of an institution which both inherited without their choice. Is not Dr: Bidwell’s manly utterance true? “ Tbe Church, the rsalion, the South even, are no nvVre to blame for the euslavement of the African race than they are for the destruc tion of the world by the flood, or the murder of the Son of God by the Jews.” At any ralte, it is ceitain that no Methodist of this generation, of any sec ion, could have had any part in this action; nor was it iu the pHwer of any of us to prevent, the existence of! slavery in this country ; and, I suppose, feV, if auy, desire or would conseent to its restoration. While it existed, good men in Church and State, viewing the institution frt.m different standpoints and under differ- ent aspects, reached conclusions widely at variance. The wisest on both sides faded in a practical solution of the perplexities in volved. Let us thank God for an end of the controversy, and, forgetiing the old acerbity, address ourselves to the removal of present difficulties and the performance of present duties. Prejudice and passion, vituperation and sectional hate, have done mischief enough, both to the white and colored race, and will not forward the Christian aims and enterprises of to day. Surely a continuance of the agitation cannot be necessary. The merits of the Freedtnen’s Aid Society ought to appeal sufficiently to Methodists without the need of adventitious excitants. Reproaches, when just, are not always wise; and when felt to be undeserved, are likely to enkindle resentment, if not defi ance. Of the great names which have made this coun'rv illustrious impartial history accred its the South with an honorable proportion. The glory of the North forbids disparage rnent of the Sou h. The most signal proof of ii.s power is seen in the result of the late war. It required the resources of the United States and tour years of bloody, heroic struggle to triumph over the South. It may be questioned whether any other existing na tiou was capable of the achievement. And it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find of another nationality an equal number who, in the circumstances, could have made the issue prolonged and even doubtful against the mightiest government on earth. No mat'er what views may be held abiutthr causes and ihe policy of the war. to class the Southern people as weak and ignorant, and to speak of them as helpless and degra ded heathen, is not merely to do them in justice, but to grossly stigmatize and dishon or tne nat'on. The attention of some of your readers may never have been directed to the follow ing fuels, indicating the relative material aud moral status of the late slave holding Slates, even since the devastation of war, and du ring the disorganization incident to the inau guration of a tew industrial system. On page 568 of the “ Ninth Census of the Uni tpd Stut s” is a table showing the paupers supported and iho criminals actually in prison in each State on June 1, 1870. The figures show ibis comparative lesult: In the late efave- Informer tioidinu Stott*, free Stateh Total paupers to total popula tion lin 703 lin 428 Native whiie |lvui>-is uauvo white population lin 758 lin 580 Colored piuper-i tocolorotl pop- ulution tin 6>5 lin 13J Total criminal o t0t..1 popula tion lin 1,227 1 n1.137 Native while criminals to native white population lin 2,158 lin 1,596 Colored cri iuals to coioreu population lin 716 lin 200 Thus the official report of Lhe Government shows that pauperism and crime are less prevalent, both in fact, and in proportion to population, at the Sou h than at the North with all classes of native citizens. Respect ing native whites, the figures show a decided advantage in favor of the late slave holding States; while among the colored race, ac cording to numbers, the Northern States have nearly four times as many criminals, and nearly five times as many paupers, as do the Southern States. In other words, the official report shows the native whites South to ').■ i —<”•'* ■ morqlfchar octet, about u&hty five py cc% jn aWmSe or the * w4Ue.*h4N;qDiiitiCt> of the negro !N trih,'.s more deplorable, four or five fold, than of lhe same class in the Southern States. An inquiry iuto the causes and the remedy might prove interesting and salutary. 'Would Bishop Bowman think me consid erate atid kind to represent these colored p-y pie of the North as “in lhe midstof com munities who have made them what they are, and who have neither the ability nor the disposition to relieve them,” arid that interest “ will keep them in servi ude and degradation unless Chri tiau people of the” South “ rorne to th lr relief”? And should I i.ttirm of the North that “it is well kuown hat there ia a large white population as ig norant, degraded, and vicious as the lowest of the blacks,” leaving out of view taste and truth, would he not suspect me of an intention to be invidious and offensive? That such representations of us are un warranted and needless is fur l her shown by the C-nsus, page 500, In the late slave holding States, far a population of 13,877,- 015 there are 29,385 church organizations and 7 801,485 church sittings; while in the rest of the country 'here is a population of 24 0-°0 756 with 43 074 church organizations, and 13,803,577 church sittings—a result slightly in our favor. Thus, whether the comparison be made with reference to physical comfort and moral character, or to ecclesiastical organizations and church accommodations, the inexorable facts vindicate us, and rebuke the assump tion of suprrioriiy by our accusers. Iu that famous paragraph of the Sermon on the Mount, about judging and being judged, measuring and being measured, shout motes and beams, our Saviour, with a solemn warning, discloses the real human heart, and lays down and emphasizes the order of both policy and duty for all ages and for all sections. We are not willing to believe that our brethren intend to do ns injustice, and yet I must be permitted to say that some of their statements are lacking in historic accuracy, and are fitted, if not intended, to wound. We dare not assume that the authors of this Report and of the accompanying addresses are ignorant of the condition of the native tribes in Africa, as disclosed by modern ex plorers and travelers Then they miist know that the low intellectual, social, and moral grade of the poor negro antedates his en slavement on this continent. His deficien cies an 1 needs may not have b- en removed as they should have been, but they were not caused by his abode in this country. ’• Naked Truths of Naked People” heads the title page ol Col. Long s recent treatise on the native African. From a letter just published by the Rev. J. T. Gracey 1 quote a few sentences: “Tde kings of Dahomey and Ashantee are allowed three thousand three hundred and thirty three wives. On the death of the king the women express their grief by cutting themselves or each other with knives. In some cases they are immolated.” “ Un chastity among unmarried people is scarcely considered a vice, and a state of morals ob tains which I cannot wiihout gross indelica cy so much as name.” But I cannot, a-k your space to quote from other sources the abundaut recorits of their fearlul aebasement. All travelers report the universal belief iu witchcraft and fetishism and lhe prevalence of devil worship, and in some tribes of human sacrifices aud canni baliam. Whatever tbe real grievances of the negro, it is certain the Southern people did not make him a heathen. Bishop Wiley ought not to have said that the ignorance and im morality of the race “resulted” from the system of slavery practiced in this country. Results which prece3e3T their enslavement here could not have been produced by it. In the light of modern explorations, and with a knowledge of the meaning of lan guage, the colored people are declared in the Report to have been “degraded,” “demor alized,” “robbed of the elements of Chris tian manhood,” and to have suffered the loss of all moral distinctions by their recent subordinate relation to us of the South. From what grade of the scale intellectual, social, ethical, have they been “degraded” 7 We are not told from what moral elevation their demoralization has proceeded. B irth and Burton and Anderson and Cumming and Wilson and Taylor and Livingstone, in all their accounts of the native African, have failed to mention those “elements of Chris tian manhood” of which we are said to have ‘robbed them,” and those nice ethical dis criminations which Southern slavery “broke down.” One special touch in the ardent recital of the Report would almost leave the impression that they were an unfallen race at the time of their transfer to this contineut. For expressions so loose and offensive, so gratuitous and damaging, it is hard to excuse intelligent Christian teachers. The immediate enfranchisement of the freedmen by the Government, the prompt recognition of their Christian stetus by ec clesiastical bodies of the North, and espe cially the eager reception of multitudes of them into the Methodist Episcopal Church from the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, arentterly incompatible with these charges; on the contrary, they assume both civil re ligious progress and improvement during the peri id of their subordination. While Dr. Bidwell in his admirable ad dress disavows all fellowship with slavery, for which we esteem him none the less, he has the candor to declare his belief “that these freedmen are belter off than they would have been if they had never been slaves.” He finds with George Whitefield a providential “explanation o° the Africa on this Western Continent in the evangeliza tion of Old Africa across the seas." His consistency consists not in the concealment of facts, but in harmoniziug them bv a broad and sound philosophy. Because brethren disapprove slavery, they are not under a necessity to deny the Chris tian benefits, direct and indirect, conferred upon the poor negro by the churches of the South. Had the Freedmen’s Aid Society recognize and promptly and cordially the Chris tian labors and achievements of the Me'hod ist Episcopal Church, South, for the colored race, both before and since their liberation, it would long ago have filled up the chasm of reserve between us in reference to this par ticular enterprise, about which we agree in principle. It is to bo rpgretted that this Report, scarcely more than it,B predecessors, can al low nny good to come out of this Nazareth Bishop Bowman says flatly that we lack “the disposition to relieve them.” The managers say that slavery “denied to them all means ofimprovement; for one of them to have been found with even a New Testament in his possession wmild have subjected him to most fearful punishment.” It is true that in self protection against in cendiary publications many of the Southern improperly it mav.be. exacted statutes against the of the ffir %Miefgfsowc' at a distance that “for one of them to naW 1 been found with even a New Testament in his possession would have subjected him to most fearful punishment”; and yet we of the South, and others well informed, know that many negroes had New Testaments, and lhat some of them read and expounded there from, publicly and by authority, the Gospel, and none of us ever knew of any punishment therefor, ‘ most fearful’’ or otherwise. Many families, too, taught their servants to read, and no case of prosecution on that account is believed ever to have occurred. If the gospel be a “means of improve ment,” then these managers affirm even that to have been “denied to them ” This is a grave charge. Allow me once more to refer to facts and figures. The “Fifty eighth Annual R port of the Missionary Society of the Me'hodist Episcopal Church” places, for the year 1877, the entire missionary appropriations for English speaking missions within the limits of the late slave holding States at SBS, 300; and the apportionment for collection within the same limits at $66,100, making an actual proposed contribution by the orig inal free States of sl9 200 to the great Southern work. The “Sixteenth Annual Report of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episco pal Church, South,” shows an actual collec tion in the year 1860, the last before the war, of $220,532 76, all of which, except sl3 000. was expended on missions within their lim its, and mainly to the colored people. There were 248 missions exclusively to the blacks, and 215 others to them in part. The same Report shows that these 463 missions includ ed only 77 912 colored members; whereas, the actual colored membership of the Meth odist Episcopal Church, South, at that time was 207,766 Nearly two-thirds of our col ored members, and a large proportion of our colored congregations, then, must, have been served o herwise than through the Mission ary Society, which is known to have been the fact. Our stationed and circuit preachers, sup ported by the whites, supplied the gospel to both races together, or at services conducted at different hours. The writer and many of uis brethren throughout that period of their ministry, without additional compensation, emploved nearly every Sunday afternoon in Sabbath-school and pulpit instruciion of this people. Their congregations being largest about centres of wealth, they received main ly the services ot the very first men in the Church, who devoted a large part of their time and sireugth to this fruitful field, thus securing to them au order of ministerial tal eut not usually enjoysd by the humbler class es of society any where else. Not to find fault, but to be understood, do we refer to these facts. I ask pardon for this unpleasant compari son, rendered necessary by the circumstances, and which is made as an humble coutri bution to the cause of e genuine and lasting fraternity. Nashville, Venn. “ I could write down twenty cases,” say a good man, “ when I wished God had done otherwise thau he did, and which i now see, had I had my own will, would have led to extensive mischief. The life of a Christian is a life of paradoxes. He must lay hold on God, he must follow hard after Him; he must determine not to let Him go. And yet you must learn to let God alone. Quietness before God is one of the most difficult of all Christian graces; to sit where He pleases, to be what He would have us be, and this as long as He pleases.” F. M. KENNEDY, D. P., Editor J. W. BURKE, -.Assistant Editor A. G. HAYGOOI), D. 1).,-...Editorial Correspondent WHOLE NUMBER 2069 PASTORAL VISITATION. No part of the pastoral work is more gen erally or more justly esteemed than that which is performed by means of personal in tercourse. And yet it is safe to say, that while not a few instances exist in which this part of the work is faithfully performed and gratefully enjoyed on the whole, there is less satisfaction felt by both parties with regard to it, than with regard to any other. You can scarcely go into a congregation without hearing the complaint that the pastor does not visit enough. And as seldom can you go into a pastor's study and introduce this subject, without drawing from him the pain ful statement that, with all his efforts he can satisfy neither his people nor himself in this matter; that he cannot visit them as often as he would, or conduct his visits with any rea sonable degree of success or profit. We have long been convinced that many of the chronic complaints of too little pastoral visitiDg proceed not from any desire for close and faithful dealing of the pastor with their souls. 1 but from a worldly and selfish desire for meresocial recognition and social enjoy ment, and would be suddenly and effectually silenced by one or two really spiritual, devo tional, and faithful interviews. It is not a real pastoral visit which such persons de maud, but frequent visi’s by their pastor as a man of position, culture, and influence, and perhaps of pleasing manners and enter taining conversation. Happy is that pastor who does not yield to this perversion. How many an hour of precious time, how many au opportunity for the highest profit has been lost and worse thau lost by mere gossip or literary chat, or, what is little better, the free interchange of statements and opinions about the mere “ outward basiness of the house of God,” about tbe secularises of the personnel of the Church, not to speak of mere idle j -eting. We are not to be understood by this that we would exclude the social element from pastoral visitation. Herein lies its specific difference from formal services iu the pu'pit and in the prayer meeting, and herein lies the channel of its power. The old idea that the p <stor is to be a man of such gravity and sternness of spirit, aud such solemnity and awfulness of demeanor and appearance, as tha f his coming is the signal for the children to flee and the adults to put on long faces, is as false to the scriptural model as it is in stinc ively repulsive to every human heart. He should come to their homes as their friend, warm with love and sympathy, cheer ful in spirit, as the messenger from .the Good Shepherd to his beloved <1 words of love and joy and consolation. He should be and act and talk as one with them and one of them —for this is one reason why God made pastors out of men iustead of angels—so that his coming should be wel comed by all the household and his visit en joyed as an occasion of real pleasure. This is the true epiritofthe relation, and it is this which gives the pastor such peculiar power to train the lambs of the flock, to comfort his people and also to teach them, even in the way of correcting errors and removing prejudices against the truth, and also to ad monish and rebuke them when occasion re quires. He has their hearts and their con fidence. , N<ow what we wish most to sug uebt is. ih u. the people can give immense coir jjaat-vs in this matter of visita Vio.lmt%fc;Xi*s*j' had promote mu tual satisfaction. They should seek his vis its for the holy and spiritual aims for which this relation was created, and should open the way for his approach to their hearts as their religious guide and helper. One rea son why many pastors make their visits in frequent and repeat them with reluctance, is, that in such cases they are kept at arms leugih by those whom they would benefit; they are baffled in every attempt to reach the heart and often in their efforts even to intro duce the subject of personal religion. Some ministers have no facili y in leading conver sation, and are easily kept from any topic by the freer tongues of those to whom that topic is unwelcome. Some have so much timidity and reserve that they can scarcely introduce topics on which their people desire conver sation and are only waiting to have the ice broken. Here is an occasion for their help. Open the way ; ask his advice, or instruction; tell him your wants, your troubles and per plexities; show him that you would welcome and prize his services. No'hiug gives the true pastor more pleasure than to be thus sought and thus used. He values it more than the richest intellectual treat, more than compliments, especially more than any pos sible gossip. He would give any amount of time and thought your case would require, and give them most cheerfully. Aud we venture to add that if you use him thus, you will have far more visits from him. He will feel that he has a tangible object in coming and that he is doing important service thereby. But “pastoral visitation” is a phrase that may also fitly describe what we regard as an important part of the duty involved and of the privilege too. —and that is visitation of the pastor by the people Physicians and lawyers regard their office-work as a valuable part of their practice. It is even more valu able a part of pastoral practice. It may be abused to the thoughtless and criminal waste of his time ; but this is not likely to be the case, if these visits are truly made for the sake of instruction, counsel, or any form of spiritual treatment. The busiest pastor will welcome such visits, unless they come while he is in the glow of composition or thought in his preparations for the pulpit: but this can easily be avoided. The advantages of such intercourse are obvious. It saves the time of the pastor. It is more private and less liable to interruption. It has a definite object, which, being presented by the visitor, is promptly met. It occurs at the right time the time when it is needed—and is therefore more likely to do good. The pastor may make his rounds very often and yet fail to sirike the appropriate occasion. Then it makes up for all the lack of visits by the pas tor which is so frequently complained of. If you need to see him, you can always go to his study. And the object is spiritual con tact, irrespective of place, and uotthe mere showing you attention. Why should any ob ject to this me'hod? You have no objection to going to your lawyer and your doctor when you need their services; aid if you need them at once and cannot go to them, >ou never hesitate to scud for them. We see no reason why a similar course should not be adopted iu the case of the pa.-tor. He does not generally know when you need him m is'. Sometimes he does not know you are sick, and the first he hears is the complaint that he has neglected you. Certainly in such cases it is Better to be sure he is ap prised ot your condition, before complain ing. Better still, send for him ; aud we ven ture to say he will c ime as promptly aud and cheerfully as your family physician would. The capabilities of the pas oral re lation are immense; and if only partially de veloped, the fault is not wholly with the pas tor.— Southern Presbyterian.