GENESEE EVANGELIST.—WhoIe No. 782. fotivg. WATCHMAN, WHAT Or THE EIGHTI AN ALLEUORY. Spoke the Nightingale to the Rose, Once, so early in the morning, Not a creature in all the glen, Weary and dull with a night of rain, Had perceived a warning. "Yet," he said, "'tie morning," Night of rain, night of gloom; Ah, how ead tier the birds a-btt ,ding, -Soaking nests and blossoms torn, And in all the East no eign of morn The weepin g woodlands " Yet, " he sang, "'tie morning!' "Waken," he dried "ye creatures all! Violets, ft your tearful faces; Finch and robin, arise and sing; Choral larks, announce your king; Thrushes, choose your places; For I am sure 'tie morning." "Nay, he raves!" sighed the draggled rose; "Sure, he ravesl" croaked the birds together, Back to their dripping boughs they went, Bagged and bunched with discontent At such unheard.of weather. Still be sang, "'Tie morning." Darkness all; along the east, Hill on bill, lay the awful thunder: All in a bash-0 wondrous eight! Those dreadful gates of gloom and night Burst and rolled asunder. Lo, the sun! 'Twas morning. Back and back from their King they rolled; Grand he ruse, and smiled around him; Each small creature of hill and glen, Blackbird, throstle, and tiny wren, Broke the epell that bound him. "Joy!" they rang, "'tie morning!" Triumph and music everywhere, All the air a golden glory; Louder praises crowd the vale— But really 'twas the nightingale 'Who Ora told the story. Now all cry, "'Tie morning!" foovvsimitiloitrs, Par the American Presbyterian. LETTER PROM MOUNT LEBANON. NO. XL Bhamdun, Mount Lebanon, March 26th, 1861. MY DEAR EDITORS :—The adjournment of the European Congress at Paris, to the first of Nay, as well as all their action upon the Syrian ques tion; is perhaps already known to your readers. The anticipated light for the future peace and go vernment of this unhappy country has not ,yet dawned. it is reported that the French expedi tion must retire, or there must be'var between England and France. I hope that they will retire in peace, and the time come when the nations shall learn war no more. The Drum Sheikhs are yet under confinement and, condemned to death. Bat for this sentence no reason has been assigned, and I am gratified to learn that England will not allow their execution under such circumstances. Sheikh Ynsif was condemned to banishment from'Syria, and sent on board of a war steamer, with nearly 200 Druse peasants. But this order to exile was counter manded the same day* and he was returned to the barracks. Two or three other sheikhs have been sent, it is said, to Cyprus, for five or six months. All the European commissioners at Beirut disap proved of the deoision of the Turkish tribunal, that the Drum sheikhs should be executed, and the Turkish pashas exiled, .and insisted that no greater punishment should be inflicted upon the former than upon the latter. For the Druses are regarded as less guilty than the local government, and among the least guilty of the Drums, are those noble Sheikhs at Beirut, who voluntarily pre sented themselves for this trial, and some of whom protected thousands of Christians during the ter rible events of last summer.. 'Under their e ffi cient protection and uniform courtesy to strangers, have not our American missionaries entered and occu pied our stations in this goodly mountain for twenty-five years? Certainly, I regard these Sheikhs as among the noblest heathen princes, whom it would be a disgrace for all Christendom for the Turks to execute in the presence of Chris tian Commissioners, 'without the proof of any crime. Other persons have committed crimes; therefore, these princes must be arrested, impri soned, deprived of their government, property and life. I thank God that England has more regard for justice, however suspected and misrepresented inisome countries, and hope and pray that all the Druses'oo i be rewarded for their kindness and friendatihreatifested towards * the first Protestant missiOnSAWn Mount Lebanon. And is it no punishment to these noble men that their feudal government of a thousand years has all passed away? Shall the Turk, more guilty than any Drum, punish his own servant, and take possession of his property, and mis-govern as before? Dr. Dwight, from Constantinople, and Rev. J. G. Bliss, Agent of the American Bible Society, with his family, have just visited Syria. Dr. Dwight is making an apostolical tour throtigb the Syrian, Southern Armenian, Assyrian and Nesto rian Missions, to confirm the missionary brethren and sisters, strengthen the native churches, and in other ways promote the great work of evange lizing this unenlightened part of the world. Mr. Bliss has visited Egypt and Syria, prosecuting his important mission to give the bread of life to the perishing nations in theliiikish and persist' em pires. Ho left us, on Friday last,. (or Beirut * , on his return to ConstantinopleY el At the several stations of the Syria mission, one of the first results of the late war has been to increase the number of hearers, air Well its to over: come much prejudice, and open a wider and more effectual door for the proclamation of the blessed gospel in all the cities of Syria. This outypest,ofl the mountains—has perhaps suffered the least change, while all the advantages of the late war come to us, tut well as ` ib the brethren at other mations. But no form of goverement has yet ap- , peared for the tranquillization of Syria. The scheme of the Commissioners did not obtain the acceptnnce of the Sultan. As missionaries of the gospel, however, we have nothing to do with this or that kind of Governmental policy. Under any form, our official duty is the same, to testa, preach and exemplify the truth of God, and to save men. Thursday, Mardi 28th,—H. E. Fund Pasha. Passed Ilhamdun yesterday, on hithway to Damas cus. Col. Fraser and Consul White, and the Cor respondent. of one of the. London papers, spent the last night with us. The former is going to rejoin 1 ' 'aid Pasha at Damascus. He remarked that, in accordance with our non-intervention principle of American policy, the Turk must continue to go- veto Syria in concert with the Five Powers, and if the Christians, or others, did not approve or wish to continue under the Turkish Government, they could retire from Syria. I have noted down, for the information of your readers, the present state and aspects of affairs in Syria. Myriads of people—Druses, Christians, and others—are in much distress, and in appre- hension of worse things to come. But there is no indication of repentance toward God, and of the gracious visitation of the Holy Spirit , and the immediate conversion of sinners among all . the mixed races of Mount Lebanon. Brethren, pray for them, and for our miss* to this sacred land, and believe me in. Christian hove.: , Ever your brother, WILLIAM A. BENTON. R S.-1 an happy, with this, to transmit the, Seventh Patriot for the Ameriecfn, Presbyterian., No. 10 of this series has ,already appeared. . *e *,.:11. MR. EDITOR S-Art essay of 25 pages, by Rev. Griffith John, of the London Mission at Shanghai, has recently apOared. in the Joiirithl of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. It is a very valuable contribution to our knowledge. Of the Ethics of the Chinese with special reference to the doctrines of Human Nature And Sin." It would well repay an insertion in some of the theological journals in America. But . as I have 'heard of no intention or probability of its being thus published, I venture to send for your readers, a very brief ab stract. What I send you, will, be principally whole sentences taken from the essay, giving, as near as I can, in the precise language of Mr. John, the theories of several ancient Chinese writers: Ido not use quotation marks, for so many would dis figure the page. Confucius described virtue as consisting in a happy mean.between two vicious extreme& He maintained that there is. a due medium between the vice of excess on the one hand,.and the vice of defeot oti the other.. On the question of sin he is not explicit. He does not 04 distinctly that the nature of man is originally good , neither does he say that it is originally bad. ,In one passage he distinctly states that there is &mature differ ence between men, only that the difference which arises from nature is not to be compared with that which arises from education. He seems to have believed that men radically differ from each other, and. that some are born with-a virtuous nature, and some with a vicious nature.-- —A on. Tsisi like his grandfather, Confucius, makes the path of virtue to lie in a mean between two ex tremes. The law of the Invariable Medium is universal; it applies to all things and dream. stances, and true virtue consists in observing it at all times and in all places, without regard to`con sequences, But Tsisi goes beyond Confucius, and, maintains that human-nature is in perfect har mony lvith this law. He teaches not only that virtue' consists in the mean between two extremes, but also that virtue consists, in living according to nature. Nature is that which,Heaven has decreed • to be in man, and the true path of life lies in fol lowing it Jle would i define vice as that which is unnatural, and virtue 4itho, which is natural to man. nisi seems to have 'been the first to pro pound the doctrine that all men at their birth are endowed with.• a nature that is perfectly good, and that virtue consists in following it implicitly. Mencius agreed mainly with Tsisi. , He does not only deny that there is in man a poefifue, prin ciple of evil, but also maintains that man r is rico turally perfect,• and may simply, 'by following his nature, be as perfect as Heaven itself. He is mend tally and physically born to virtue, to which he is as naturally inclined as water is to flow downwards. But if man is radically good and 'perfect, what is the source of sinful actions? How is it that men are continually doing that which is evil ? Mencius traces the whole to two sources: the negligence of the individual, and the influence of external cir cumstances. He said that human nature is not only not bad, but positive& good. He believed in the innate goodness of in nature. This theory is the popular one in China at the present day. Kautsi seems to have been the champion of a school of philosophers in the time of Mencius, who denied to the mind any decided bent either to wards the good or towards the bad. The motto of Kautsi was that human nature is neither good nor bad, but indifferent to both. It is like clay in the hands of the potter, ready to be moulded into any shape or form he may choose. Accerding to him, it - is education or the circumstances in which men are brought up, that determine this charac ter. The nature of man, says he, is like a rush ing stream; make an aperture on the east side, and it will flow eastward; make an aperture on the west, and it will flow westward ; as water has no choice between east and west, so human nature has no preference between virtue and‘vice. Seuntsi, who lived-in the third century before Christ, maintained the doctrine that man's nature is radically, and entirely vicious. He opens his discussion of the subject with—the positive and broad assertion that the nature of'man is bad; and that its goodness is artificial. According to hitn, this natural depravity is as universal as man. The ,aage, is,,nothing .better in point , of nature, than other men. The holiest and the most vicious of mem-meet Imre; He contended that all the evils which exist in •the world, proceed from certain Linunte principles of human nature. Tsisi' and Mencius, as we have seen) Placed virtue in follow ing nature: Seuntsi placed it in' acting directly contrary to nature in every particular. As a proof of the total, viciousness of human nature, he ad duces the fact that much .personal exertion is ne cessary to become virtuous. Spontaniety is an in fallible criterion of the natural. What is not spon taneous is not natural. It is natural for the eye to see, and for the ear to hear, and both organs perform their respective functions without instruc tion or exertion. Such would necessarily be the ease with respect to man, if man were endowed with a virtuous nature. The fact that men seek virtue is another proof that they do not naturally possess it. Men do not go out of themselves to seek for that which they have within. Seuntsi maintains that all men may become morally per fect, and that the reason why they are not so, is that they will not. All men, says he, may become holy, but all rnep cannot be induced to become h01y., : The immoral man .may become virtuous, Arnim American Presbyterian. LETTER FROM CHINA. NATURE AND SIN. but he will not, and the virtuous man may become depraved, but he will not. Yangtsi lived about the commencement of the Christian era. He advocated the doctrine that human nature is hoth o gaod and bad, and that both dements are mixecl in it. .There is something in every man that is radically good, and something that is radically bad, and the difference between men consists in this, namely, that some cultivate the'geed - part of their'nature, and others the bad. He who cultivates the good side of his nature will make a good mit, and he 'Who' cultivates: the vi cious side of his nature, will become a vicious man. He seems to haVe sustained 'the character of an eclectic, adapting the positive, and rejecting the negative, side,of each of the theories advocated by Mencius .and by Seuntsi. , , Han Nyurslintig, of the Tang Dynasty about the' ,commeneentent of, the ninth ,century, after Christ, was not ; satisfied with any of the pre. ceding theories. He advanced a theory of his own, by which he proposed to account for all the phe nomena of human nature. He says that human nature may be divided into three grades or orders, namely, the upper,- the middle, and the lower. The upper is good without the least • mixture of evil; the lower is entirely depraved, without the least mixture of good; and the middle partakes of both, and is • capable of becoming exclusively either. It would seem that he believed in the li 'hated application of the doctrines of Mencius, Seuntsi, and Yangtsi, and only denied the univer sal application of either. Each is true of a certain class of men, and each, false of universal man. The philosophers who flourished between A. D. 1034, an 4 A. D. 1200, often spoken of as the philosophers of •the Sung Dynasty," only remain to be noticed. But of their views it will be im possible to give a very intelligible account, with out occupying too much space. Their theory of human nature, in relation to the doctrine of sin, according to Mr. John, is very different from any thing that had been propounded by their predeces sors. He characterizes it as a "clearer attempt to harmonize all the conflicting views of the pre ceding orthodox and heterodox writers." This they endeavor to do by discoursing and discrimi nating in regard to what they choose to call the material and the immaterial principles. Nature is the immaterial principle, and the immaterial principle is 'nature. The immaterial principle is declared to be good; and the nature of man being identified with it, must be so too. In the mate rial principle, there is the obscure and the bright, the thick and the thin; and the character of the being, whether vegetable, animal, or man, depends on the quality of the material principle which he receives. The pure part of the material principle is obtained by men, and for this reason they may become perfect in wisdom and goodness; the coarse part is perverse, and those that obtain it are dull, such as birds and beasts. It is because men re ceive the purer part of it that they differ from the brute creation`; as to the immaterial-principle, it is the same in both. Among men, some receive the pure and the thick part of the material prin ciple; and some the' coarse and the thin. This will' account for all the diversity observable in them. Those who obtain the thick and bright quality, are born intelligent and virtuous, and those who receive the thin and coarse quality, are born dull and vicious. Those who obtain the bright but not the thick, will be intelligent but not virtuous; and those who receive the thickbut not the bright, will be virtuous but not intelligent. Though these philosophers professed to hold the doctrine of the innate goodness of human nature, they were in reality nearly as far from the views of Meneius as from the views of Seuntsi. • Such, then, are the views whi eh have been held by the Chinese, of human nature and sin. At present they believe that human nature is radi cally good, and that there is no principle of evil in man, or that whilst the immaterial principle is radically and wholly good, the • material may be bad, and become the cause of vice. They believe that the nature of man is not bad, though man may become bad through the influence of the ma terial principle. SINIM. Fuhehau, Dec., 1860. SCHLETERXACHER AS A PREACILER. It has been doubted by many whether the in fluence of Schleiermacher on Geiman theology has been, on the whole, beneficial. His views of doctrine were in some respects vitally wrong, but his spirit , was eminently reverential and devout,• and some of the most eminent evan gelical leaders have confessed their obligations to his teachings. The following description of his appearance as a preacher, we find in the Methodist: He was a great preacher, even in the judg ment of such a man as William Von Humboldt, who was not likely to do, more than justice to any preacher. Yet his preparations were even of the slightest, and this, though he preached to the most intellectual of audiences. It is re lated that he wrote nothing beforehand, except a beading Or subject, and the divisions into which be proposed to treat it; and this, which he called "writing ' his slip," was often, accord ing to'one of his most intimate friends, the fruit of a quarter of an hones quiet meditation in the corner,of, a crowded drawing-room on a Satur day, evening. For. he, "seldom refused an.invi tation, and saw besides a great deal of company at his own house." With his slip in his band, be entered the pul pit. "Here," says his biographer, "the sermon - Wok a definite, form e the mode•of•representation and the detailed execution being the living pro duct not only of his preceding reflection, but also of the animating impression produced by the assembled congregation, and of the never failing powers of his mind over the order of his thoughts, and his equally unfailing command of language. Those who knew the secret could follow the growth of the artistic structure of his discourse. They perceived how at first he spoke slowly and deliberately, somewhat in the ordinary tone of conversation, as if gathering and marshalling his thoughts; then, after awhile, when he had, as it were, spread out and again drawn together the entire net of his thoughts, his words flowed faster, the discourse became more animated, and the nearer he drew towards the encouraging or admonishing peroration, the fuller and richer flowed the strain. He was ever the same, and always equally attractive by the original manner in which he treated his text, by the novelty and freshness of his thoughts, by the order and clearness of his mode of represen tation, and, the fluency of his delivery. When your attention was not too much occupied with the thoughts, you might often have an opportu nity of admiring how, though giving way to that liking for complicated periods which rendered his style so peculiar, he, even in the midst of the most complicated, ever found the most ap propriate terms, and never lost the clue Which led him with certainty to the conclusion." PHILADELPHIA, : .fituitsp.ws,Ay..,..s.t.:.l.s4t,i.",,,, THECONFLICT.-- O" PRINCIPLES AND i t ; e CO 1101% , .. 1. BY J. B UTLER. Browoß TkIE -- ./ 'Vit. n. 17. Stupendous, sublime; ompntous as are som ot the events which signAl e the Records of the Past, the events whichtranipiring around us; the scenes through whin, we nre:ipas.sing the his tory we are now living, nvolving the destiny of our country and of man ind in the question of self-gevernment now to;be decided, have yet, in the scale of their, erations, 'immeasurably grander proportions, p sess,:in' the breadth and magnitude of their effee , Unspeakably greater so lemnity and moment. 'he 'still,"deep, intense ex citement which, with g thering resistless stream, is sweeping steadily over, he loyal States of our be loved country, has ben 'th it, for its just, solid foundation and impellin" force; elements of high and holy principle, sue so many and so Wide reaching as have never dusted communities or nations in all previods t%, ;e , In justifiention of - thiii ntense agitation, not to increase its outtiarcr supe cial manifestation, but to deepen and strengthen tAniire.rdly in our hearts, to elevate, ennoble and hallow it in our thoughts and feelings, so as to imOterCto it a living, perma nent power, I desire, in words of truth and sober ness, to exhibit those 'principles which, -by.a just application to existing facts, before Heaven 'in voke, sustain, and demasq the fearful ,eonflict into which we have entered: \ God in History,-is thtdtimate, comprehensive, fundamental principle (*closed by the entire re:. cords of the race. And, derived of necessity from this principle because, of he separation of the race into tribes communities , aid nations, God in Hu man Government,---is the particular truth affirmed by reason, and confirmerAby Inspiration from first to last. While Nero reigned ; the Holy Ghost by Paul declared, "There 'is no - power but of God; the powers that be are'; ordained of God." Fur thermore, as the explanation and sole justification. of all - changes in kuma4 - /vern9neizt, appears dis tinctly traceable in all nltional history, the benign blessed popose of God I ,introduce, augment and more and more widely dffuse the varied elements of human blessing. ' ' These are'the ultimate fundamental principles clearly diselosed4n-theretifire Providence of God, as' manifest in the 1314toey of nations—prineiples confirmed as plainly by his ReVelation i theimme dia.te presence, the direct controlling agency of God in all human governments ordering every change in national rule or boundary, and this su premely, only, to 'augment and diffuse over the whole earth the essential elements of personal, so cial, spiritual blessing to man. Slowly and gra dually as this benign purpose has found its actual fulfilment in the centuries before and after the. appearing of the Son of 'God, yet, to the careful student of history, it appears none the less discerni ble and sure. In the present age, assuredly all may discern it. .For the past half century, the tokens of this blessed purpose have,been rapidly multiplying, until they are now more or less visible among all the nations of mankind. Foremost and chiefly are they seen among the confessedly 2 Chr stian peoples, in the one great outstanding fact of the substitution of Constitutional for despotic rule, of Constitutional Government with its out..flowing, distinctive, lofti est blessings of protected liberty, both civil and religious. God has done' this. ' In the fulfilment of his purposed blessing to Man it is that the na tions of the whole world; fast' its they become im bued with the ittflir.enciss'fikricing from -his en.. lightening, quickening. word, ,are seeking and at taining, more and more completely, the inestima ble advantages of a constitutional government, ,a government which secures the highest 'measure of personal liberty to act, to acquire, to enjoy, consis tent with the preservation of authority needful for the COWMOII protection and prosperity of all. And now Igo further and assert, what none I believe will deny, that in fulfilment of his one grand aim, God, by the means of his Word and Pro vidence, has established' here, on this newest conti nent, a government based upon the same principle of combined liberty and protection to every indivi dual well-doer, a government such, in the number; extent, and greatness of its _blessings, as exists nowhere on the face of the earth. I utter this, not in that poor, ignoble spirit ofvain-glory, with which, alas! it has been so often cherished and uttered -in years gone by, over all the length and breadth of our now distracted land. But as a so lemn truth to be engraven upon the inmost con victions of our souls, I assert that God has given us in the Constitution, the Government, the In stitutions under which we dwell, a' heritage as ours by birthright or adoption, such as has been bestowed on no nationi under heaven; . not even excepting His own. ancient people in the period of their greatest glory;—a.heritage which, faithfully cherished, justly, beneficently used, is adapted to secure to ourselves, and extend to all the world, the largest attainable measure of every real, good. It needs not to expand this assertion, or attempt its proof. I utter it simply to express, in a. succinct, defi nite form of thought, the ground of holy prin. eiple upon which our excited feeling rests, the ultimate foundation of our solemn appeal •to the God of Battles! For it is against this wisest, best, ay, and we' believe the issue will prove, strongest government that God has ever esta blished; against the very lift of this nation which Under 'God and through His Gospel, has already achieved an incomparable amountof blessing to the race; and whose will and power for good by agencies the most effective, have been, steadily augmenting with exertion; it is for the utter destruction of this national fabric which stands before the world con fessedly the grandest, because the most successful experiment in self-government ever undertaken; it is for the overthrow and extinction of such a In crovernmentagovernmentalstructurei with all the inestimable blessings connected. therewith, that some of the men who formerly occupied places of eminence in the nation, combined; ith the'mUltitudes deceived by patiently woven arts and. multiplied falsehoods, have raised the hand i of traitorous violence. 'I deny not that there are those who are sincere and informed, conscientiously engaged in the de , structive work; but this, at, least, may he affirmed, that while our national, charter stands unchanged, all the causes assigned by such in ex cuse o f re bellion, though a hundred fold multiplied, would ; never, never justify the thought, much less the ef fort, to uproot and destroy such stupendous, world involving interests.. I repeat and impress the truth, that it is to defend against this treasonable attack,—it is to preserve, augment, and perpette this national existence and these sublitnest into ( rests, and thus .subserve the purposes of Jeliova.h, this is the single determined, purpose of Rulers and People alike in. the conflict, now begun. And how, I ask you to consider and remember, how has the execution. of this purpose been initi ' ated? Has it been inconsiderately, hastily, and under the impulsive prompting of hot passion and vengeful feeling? Let the sublime spectacle of the past six months answer; ; _ Since,,time began, such another manifestation, hail never been wit nessed, of a great government, a consciously power- I ful people standing motionless, week after week, I month after month, before armed . rebellion—its I authority contemned, its property appropriated, I its fortresses beleaguered, its flag, the, world4hu nored symbol of its beneficent power, dishonored. Never had patience, forbearance, such an illustra tion on earth before. No proof so convincing could be given, that the- highest form of Chris: thin civilization has been Divinely planted in this land. In spite of benumbed industry, of para lyzed trade, of deranged currency; of deprecia tions, reverses, bankruptcies in every form of business; in spite of the misapprehension, the questioning, well nigh the vented contempt and ridicule of European nations by reason of appa rent imbecility and cowardice, the long-suffering of a patient loyal people, to whom their national ex istence is endeared byevery sentiment and interest that.can affect the heart,.the long-suffering of a peo ple conscious of invincible strength, has waited, al most submissively waited in the hope, ay, in the be lief that the fratricidal strife Might be stayed. No! no! not inconsiderately; not in the haste of passion and vengeful feeling, though hundreds of thousands of hearts have been all the while beating with manly shame! No! I thank God, no! not at the instigation of sudden passion, but the call of prin eiple high and holy, with an energy and force vastly augmented by the long forbearance, has the arm of might at length been raised to subvert treason and overthrow the traitors. When at length forbearance could no further go; when, by a single act,of ex tremest outrage, there swept, as with electric thrill, over the whole North; through every soul the deep; overwhelming conviction that these banded con spirators were possessed with the fixed, fell pur pose to•everturn and destroy the fabric which had beeureared by the wise= and sacrificing toils of our'fathers and cemented by' their blond; to intro: duce anarehy, and disorder, and every element of human misery, and to prostrate the rising hopes of the world; then instantly heart the answering feeling from every loyal heart that duty, duty to God and man, duty to the country and the world, demanded the putting forth of the strong arm in defence of the issue; and then, as instantly, uprose in every loyal soul, the answering purpose, solemn, fixed, stern, irrevocable,.to meet` the duty. And now, what do we behold f A scene such- as earth never sawbefore! In response to no passionate burning call--for wcirds have scarcely been uttered —but inn answer to that silent appeal coming from the depths of every soul, the appeal to every en deared interest, every noble sentiment, eVery just and sacred principle, every generous, manly im pulse, and eveiyeherished association, the people, as with one mind and soul, utterly' discarding all party divisions, all political differences and preju dices, laying aside all regrets and reproaches• as out of season, the people, the whole people, accept ing the high and holy demand of the present solemn crisis, have resolved, before God, to do battle for law against laWlessness; for government against rebellion • for order against anarchy; for faith, and truth, and honor against treason, and falsehood, and dishonor. And instantly attendant upon this determined resolve has-beep enacted kind and measure of self-sacrifice, such, in its scale, as the world never saw, a sacrifice on the part of an in ordinately self-seeking people, so universal, that onrselves, as well as those without, yet stand amazed in beholding. Men, by,hundreds of thou sands, representing, every nationality and creed, from every class, Condition, station, and occupation; from the workshop, the store, the office; from the bar, the bench; the Senate, and even the pulpit, have willingly offered up their bodies to the terri ble issues of mortal combat. This they do vaL luing fully, justly, the saerednessef human iife;feel ing war to be a dreadful thing; yet under the con viction that there are things still worse than war; believing that in the hands s of faithful men, charged with the sanction of a righteous cause; the very implements of battle may be consecrated, in their use. And what is far less than the men, means, in amount almost inconceivable, are freely, earnestly proffered by those whose hearts seemed heretofore to have been clinging to their wealth as the supreme object of life. Yes, my friends, my fellow-countrymen, blessed, blessed be Goilfor.thiszeiiilt and. itts_untecedents, for the double spectacle so unparalleled and glo rious, of patient forbearance and of unanimous-pur pose. Blessed be God that he has imbued the peo ple, the whole people, with sentiments so. just, so righteous; that He has put into every breast the • feeling that counts no sacrifice too great in defence of interests so immeasurable and sublime—the feeling that looks backward, forward, upward, as it utters anew, with a thrill and energy never felt before, the solemn pledge of fealty to our one undi vided native land! Fathers! have ye bled in vain? Ages, must ye droop again? Maker, God! shall we disdain Blessings sent from Thee? No! receive our solemn vow, While before thy throne we bow, "Ever to maintain, * EtS now, Union—Liberty 1 My friends, I have sought to setforth succinctly the great principles and facts which justify and characterize the solemn entrance upon a conflict of which none can foretell the termination. I have meant to deal in no extravagances of ex pression, in no exciting language. The theme itself needs naught but.the, simplest utterance to reach and sway the deepest feelings. Every Christian, every true patriot, must from henceforth bear a new burden—a burden far weightier than any we have hitherto borne—the, burden of a heart-sickening sadness because of a fratricidal strife upon a scale of such unheard 'of breadth and fearfulness. And now suffer me to urge upon your most frequent, serious, prayerful reflection, as Christians, some truths•and facts which have a mighty moral bearing upon the solemn issue now joined with our former brethren of the South. First of all, let us recognise, in this issue the providence of the Almighty Ruler of nations, and strive, as far as we may, to discern His purposes. Well do we. know that we have sinned, as well as they whom we oppose. I attempt no catalogue of our iniquities or theirs. But, obviously to all, our one chief sin has been a God-forgetting selfishness in the grasping greed for wealth, a siu already powerfully rebuked and, thank God, already in a measure acknowledged. As obviously, too, their one chief sin has been an overweening pride, a haughty sense of superiority„ which the infinite God will assuredly rebuke. .Here are Divine pur poses which we think may be discerned, and in their accomplishment, even through means so fear ful, the true Christian may anticipate' effects which, in the endovill‘provezreatitioral , ble.ssings. ,And while we recognise such •purposes in the Providence of God.- let us devoutly remember that God himself will preside over all the succes sive developments of the conflict.' Let then Our reliance be wholly upon Elim, our appeal be hum bly, only addressed to Him. Let us implore His interposition in behalf of all who espouse our holy cause, ofall who take part in it; whether in the cabinet; the various spheres and offices of pre paration and supply; in the consultation,the plans, and the conflicts upon the field. Unto all, supe riors and subordinates, let us fervently ask that there may he imparted.such a spirit of wisdom, such a principled purpose, such freedom from all vengeful and malevolent feeling, that the conflict may be conducted - wisely, righteously, to a success ful and speedy issue.. Ohl that we and the entire people, with us may be delivered from the pride of conscious strength. This temptation is now our chief peril, for we have the credit r the men, the food, the government, the sympathies of the world, ' and above all a righteous cause. But let us re member that all must be used righteously, else the battle may not be to the strong. Not then in numbers or means, in the multitude of zur imple ments, or actors in the warfare, but in God let us trust reverently, humbly, penitently, prayerfully! And let us remember before God all who shall be engaged on either side. Such a strife has never, never taken place on earth before; for literally bro ther will he opposed to 'brother, kindred and friends, the Closest and dearest, will stand in the conflicting ranks.. Let us remember all. With tenderest, most prayerful sympathy, let us follow those who havugone.and , are going forth from us, ealn3ly„ determinedly yielding up their lives4o the: Divinely ordered issues of the deadly strife. And leaving vengeance to God, let us' . ask.for a true righttnind and , a loyal heart to be)given those , who , , oppomuspthose especially who have been.artfully or unreflectingly deceived as to the real issues at stake. With'steadfast, intense fervor of impor tunity, let us not cease to entreat God in his mercy that be trill take away blindness and infatuation from every Southern heart, so that the designs and efforts of rebellious leaders may be overturned and a righteous determination may be speedily accom plished! And now— God's blessing be upon Our own, our native land! The land our fathers won By, the strong heart. and hand. Still the trusting spirit of our sires Each rfwerent patriot bosom fires; And the deep strong faith inspires, That the flag our fathers gave, O'er our children's children's heads shall wave, For in Thee toilrustio gave, God of our native land! CITY CHURCHES All city churches do not .number the congre • gation of a thousand; or if they do, all do not embody wealth, or learnina Or position. And there are Churches which are new, and small; chnrches which represent principally the labor and industry of the town; churches where the poor are plenty. All these latter are together the most nutherous. Please take notice, brother Rusticus, that of fifty churches in the metropolis, all supplied .with pastors, you never heard of more than four or five. You read in the newspaper— religious of course,—of Dr. A's. church, and B's., and C's., and D's. All these are doctors—but you never read of Mr. X's., nor of Mr. re., nor of Mr. Z's.. So you may talk with the last twenty men, or women, who, have visited the great town from your region, and not one of them spent the Satibath at either of these last places of worship. All their interest centres about the first letters in the alphabet. As to the others ' they positively ,‘ never heard Of them; supposed:there were but four ehurchesin the place.". A city pastorate therelere does not, as a matter of course, imply a marble . church, with steeple, two hundred, feet high, Mir a salary of seven thousand dollars. It may be a place for which you are obliged to look into the Assembly's Minutes for knowledge. Therefore, brother Rusticus, suf fer e. word of information and advice. Should you succeed in the expectation, which it is said you are :now cherishing, of receiving a call from the church on Rattlesnake Alley, in the metropolis, and remove thither, you may look for an experi ence like this. The salary; seems large to you; being four times that you now receive at Pod unk Station—and larger even in comparison with that offered you in the village of Rosebery, whose call you now have in your hands, although it is aint one-fourth larger. But you find the people on Rattlesnake Alley to be poor, and with no very competent men to manage their affairs. The salary will not be paid at the time when due, and not more than two thirds at all. You'will find some good, pious, praying people—chiefly women; but your prayer meetings will be chillingly thin; and, what is more, will devolve chiefly on yourself to be carried on- 1 ---the brethren who attend it being, all but three or four, averse, and fanciedly unfitted, to praying in public. When you meet your breth ren in the ministry, they will be very cordial, in deed, and will be greatly pleased to have-, you come to the city; and will ask you, one by one, to preach in" their large' churehea;—(yours you know, is but a wood edifice, not large, old, badly seated, without.stained glass, with no organ—only a -melodeon) And you will so preach once an each church. 'or awhile you will think of your self as in the city, and be happy. And, if you are a man of grace, and of developing talent, as it is hoped you are, and your church is in a place to grow, after a lon g ,;hard tug, you may come out with an established and firm church. But you may not. You are liable to twenty failures. After you have got over the first round of polite' attentions, you are liable gradually to the perception, that you are falling behind; in i fact are •behind already. You will come to see ! that there are grades in the city ministry, and that you are not in the first one. No sem:bazars are yours. You are not invited to lecture before the Oyclopmdia Society. When the anniversary comes off, you have -no part assigned to you. At the installation you are solicited to hold the can dle, while Dr. D. preaches, and Drs. K. and 0. give the charges—on the score of personal friend ship to the parties concerned, of course. Now, do not get red in the face, and hasten to say: "If I have ability and character, who shall hinder me from their recognition ?" Softly; it is not talent nor character that settles such things. Men in this world are judged of by their position. Do you not know that the man from London is thought to be the greater for that; the supposi tion being, that something of the greatness of that city attaches to his person? Have you not seen, that the dweller is a fine house is presumptively finer than he of the shanty? Does not the world estimate the man somewhat by the style of his clothes? And do you think all the human na ture already eliminated from the Church? The minister is what his church is; and you may have more of talent and weight of character than any of your peers, and yet stand behind them all. And as your standing is at home, so will it be abroad. The Presbytery, or the Synod, will not want you for moderator. If you are sent to the General Assembly, you will be an unknown quan tity there. You will not be in the papers: you will not be consulted on creneral interests. And, if you are a man of real worth and grace, We are aware that you will not care much for any of these things. Nor will all this be without advan tage to you. You will be delivered from .a .bur den of trouble•frora outside interests, which will press on your more prominent brother, and be as . , heavy to him, at tunes, as even h is own church duties. If a minister, anywhere abroad,is in dif ficulty, and wants advice; or a church is in debt, and wants help; or an educational interest de mands to be boosted upward, these.will all skip you, and demand payment of the tax due from, prominence. For all this you may be in a man ner thankful. True is it, that sometimes these abilities and disabilities will balance themselves with a leaning against you. If good and .great Dr. elerieus comes to the city, to stay a Sabbath, he will not seek you, at least till he is engaged to preach at . the church on the square or up town. If a missionary visits the country froin Turkey, he is not the man to talk in your pulpit. If, how ever, one returns, after thirty years, from Minimus Island, it will be quite convenient that he address the people in your church. Of course, your pee ple will be very glad to hear him, because none others wish to. To tell,.you the truth, the con gregation en Rattlesnake Alley,will not have fre quent opportunities to listen to, celebrities from abroad; and this fact, when once understood, will not increase the congregation there. • Now, we do not say these things, brother Rus tins, to=:discourage you. • We would only give you to •see .beforehand- : what will very likely hap pen, if you think best to reject- the call to Rose berg, and take the place-in town.' And, if a word would be'acceptable •in the present state of the ease, it would be of advice to the end, that Rose-. berg' s far the - better place, if you are looking, as it is suspected you are, for comfort and considera tion in the ministry. But if you are content to be a missionary, and to accept the conditions of that way of life, go by allomeans, to the Rattle snake Alley Church; .for ;a ~good man is needed there. But keep sharp watch that, in after time, neither ambition nor. envy Ifind a• way to your heart. . Presbyterian Quarterly Review. VOL. V.—NO. 37.—Whole No. 254. Few that have not made the matter a sub ject of special inquiry, are aware what a great revolution has taken place in the course of the present generation, in regard to the employment of women as teachers. The "dame" school has been indeed an "institution," time out of mind. But the employment of women as they are now employed, in doing three-fourths, if not four fifths of all the teaching in our public schools, and for boys as well as girls, is mainly the work of the last thirty years, and the first decided impulse in this direction was given in the city of Philadelphia. Circumstances seem to indicate that "a similar revolution is now begun in regard to missionary labors among the heathen. It is no new thing indeed for ladies to go on foreign missions. But those who have thus gone heretofore, have gone as wines. The present movement is to send out single women as missionaries, to act mainly as Bible readers and teachers. When this project was broached once.before, it was-objected that the contempt in which the heathen generally bold the female sex, would render it impossible for women to operate among them with success. Mrs. _Mason, in Burmah, has demonstrated that this prejudice may be overcome. The followhig incident, told by a son of Mrs. Mason, shows the strength of this heathen pre judice: ' "Well, I have seen - a great many; and one day, when we were away off in Tounghoo, the Karens brought down a great elephant for mamma to ride on. She was going up to Kan nee after timber for the school house. The ele phant's name was 8010. So they said : "Men long, Bolo!" and 8010 knelt right down, sup posing that some men or boys were going to get on, but as soon as be saw mamma coming near, he got up very quick, and shook his broad ears, which looked like great fans. Then the Karens brought a ladder for mamma to get on, and made him stand still, but just as soon as she stepped on to the rounds he began to shake and rock his great sides like a small mountain rocking. So he shook the ladder off, and wouldn't let ma get on at all—and all because he was a heathen elephant, and wouldn't be seen carrying a woman!" To show how a little womanly tact and per severance may overcome this prejudice, Mrs. Mason relates the following incident: A large band of Karen chiefs from the moun tains came to her school one day, imploring her to send a teacher back with them, to instruct their people: As the only male assistant was then absent, she offered them a young woman in his place. -- "A girl !" they exclaimed in contempt, as they towered to their full height in scorn. "A girl, indeed !" To which Mrs. Mason gently replied : "Oh, never mind, you need not take her, but come and hear the school recite." This they consented to do, and soon became deeply inte rested in the examinations of one of the bright est girls, which, while drawing forth the ready replies of the scholars, also elicited commenda tions of her own attainments. Soon they stepped hurriedly forward, saying with eagerness, "We'll have her!" pointing to the monitress. Then ensued a struggle as to who should be .the bearer of her slate, books, or bag, which very - ant - proved EL triumph over barbarism, it being considered a great degradation in India for a man to touch, much less carry, any article belonging to a woman. After proper guaran tees had been given as to the protection of the young girl, they turned their faces homeward in great joy, although even on the way, neigh boring clans honored the successful teacher by quarrelling about which of them possessed the I better right over her services. _ . A WORK FOR SINGLE WOMEN. "Did you ever see an elephant ?" "Yes, I have." A POPULAR MISTAKE There is no one thing in regard to which great er misapprehensions prevail than in relation to the pulpit labors of a faithful minister. We can recollect the time when we had the idea that the minister had quite an easy time of it. We thought he was a sort of speaking machine—that all that was necessary for him to do, was to go into the pulpit and open his mouth, and the words would flow out as a matter of course,—that it was the design of colleges and theological seminaries to make preachers, and that when made they would be able to get up before a congregation, and throw off a sermon with the same facility, and with as little forethought as a mechanic would accomplish a piece' of - ha - ndieraft.. This is, doubtless, the gene ral impression among the masses, even of profess ing Christians. It is somewhat amusing, some times, to hear persons expressing themselves in relation to this matter. They will speak of such and such ministers as being able to preach with out-any preparation. We would take occasion here to remind our readers who may have allowed themselves to be deceived in regard to this matter, that no man can preach to edification without diligent and careful premeditation and study.; and that those professed ministers of the gospel who seek to create the im pression on the minds of their hearers, that they are ready at any moment to preach a sermon with out having made previous preparation, are either grossly deceiving their hearers, or should be re garded as no better than clerical quacks. We freely admit that there is great diversity of talent:in this, as well as in all other professions; but no amount of talent, and no gift of utterance will supersede the necessity of constant and dili gent study on- the part of a preacher. The word of' God must be closely and sedulously investi gated, if we would exhibit the mind of the Spirit, and draw from it those rich stores of truth which it contains. 'Now it takes time to do this, and much more time than persons of inexperience with such matters would suppose. There is, perhaps, no profession in which there is less - opportunity to exhibit the fruits of study in such a . way, as that they will be seen and appre ciated thin that of the Ministry. How often does the preacher spend hours in the perusal ef critical works on the precise import of a word in the ori ginal, or the true grammatical construction of a sentence, and after he has ascertained it,- a single sentence will perhaps exhibit the result of all these protracted and laborious researches: Ah ! Yes! hearers of the word- little know the mental toil which the thought that his minister may be expressing, especially iu the way of exposition, may have occasioned him. We have called attention to this matter, not with a view of eliciting sympathy in behalf of the profession ; but simply to let our readers know that the most incorrect ideas are prevalent, espe cially among 'the less informed classes of hearers, in relation to the amount of labour which the du ties of the pulpit require. We refer here not to physical, but mental labor. The former is some times appreciated when the latter is wholly over looked.-.We hive often heard persons expressing sympathy in behalf of preachers, in consequence of having had to stand so long and speak so. much. Perhaps the preparation of these discourses pro duced, owing to the influence of the mind on the body, a far greater degree of physical exhaustion, than was caused by the bodily exercise required in the delivery. The one, however, is seen, whereas the other is k.nOwn only to the•individual himself. Christian Instructor. ENGLISH. HYMNS. It is estimated that Eng lish hymnology numbers upwards of thirty thou sand distinct hydrts. Yet few hymn books con tain more.than one thousand of these lyrics. S. S. Times
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