glir ~iiirrit 'II. T'...05,11 initu New Series, VOL VI, No. 3 Johnxweir 15ju1y69 Strictly in Advance s2.4so, , Otherwise $3. 1 Postage 20cts, to be paid where delivered. f A GREAT DROUGHT. The Atlantic slope of the Alleghenies has been suffering seriously from drought, at first accompanied with a temperature as low as 50°, and then with a,heat ,ranging for days together, in the hottest part of the day, at 100°. Crops of corn and potatoes are parching into nothing. About Richmond, Va., no heavy rain has fallen for nearly three months, and even forest .trees are dying. In some districts cattle have per ished from thirst. The Schuylkill river is kiwer than for thirty years before; navigation and and, manufactures dependent on,its water supply, have been suspended,.and, for the'flreetime in its history, our city, standing at the confluence of two great rivers, has been in i hourlY dread' of the' entire loss of those priimip4 supplies coming from Fairmount water works. Millions upon millions of man's wealth have wasted away under the Sun's unmitigated heat, r , while the ' abundance thus far promised in other regions of country, dePre elates the value of the small escaping , remnants here. Shall we complain of • this ?--Shall we not rather consider how much less, it' is than the Lord might justly render to us for our sins—per sonal and national ? Shall we not rather make what judgments we actually experience, the oa casion for marking more plainly, the very light ness of the judgments theMselves ?' How ten derly, at the worst, Cod deals " with a race which habitually forgets Him; which purposely and perversely shuts Him from its thoughts and plans; which said of His Son, on His errand of unspeakable mercy and forgiveness to the world: "This is the• Heir, come, let us kill Him," and then hung Him 'up in the midst of three Roman crosses ; a world which continues, in the spirit of His murderers, to reject and ae spise Him still. Murmuring reader 1 have you received ;Tens into your heart ; or; if you have, do' you so 'faith fully serve Him, that Yon can Wonder at any small degree of inconvenience or suffering laid upon you as if it w(ire s ; nittiV'ellously• unjust ? Does not God prove His 'faiffifulness . to you - ;ttid . to a sinful community, By` 'AA inflictions as these 7 May we not recognize the truly wise' and kind Parent, the more certainly tof the chaff) tisements which He mingles with His mare agreeable gifts ? - The useful purpose of such an infliction of natural evil is not indeed alWays clear ; but may we not suggest that it is calculated to tng the quality of our praying. Against such an evil as prolonged drought; it is as right for us to pray`, as for our daily bread. And we ought to pray against it specifiCally, and doubtleas, have d'Obe so. But do we not think it altogether an uncer tain, unpractical - question, whether our prayer's; shall have a specific answer'? 'tio 'we not'look somewhat askance upon those ' iv'ho dpect a ape cifie and favorable •answer, as ' dust a little fanatical ? Yet how can - we 'via& get over the illustration in Jaines v." 17 and 18, which • seems to have no meaning at all,•if' it cannot be applied to just such a ease as this? Why are we expressly told that •Elias, whose prayers for drought and for rain were so effectual, was "a man subject to like pasgions With oirselves," dti less to bring his case within the range• of our every day life and wants? Shall , we depreciate the specific value of prayer, or shall we not say that drought continues, in spite of our prayers, because the prayers are not what they should and' can be? Instead of lowering our;views of prayer, we are rather called upon to lower our views of our praying. It is not THE PRAYER or FAITH that is going up from our lips and hearts, und so answer is withheld. It is not the humble, united, believing, Christ-honoring, promise-graspin,g, Spirit-given prayer, which we have been offering. That scales the heavens and grasps,•• under ;God, the powers of the world. That is the mightiest of all instrumentalities. That is stronger than armies in war; more effectual than medicine in sickness; greater than enterprise, sagacity and, capital in business, or statesmanship in politics, or than all Martha's cares in housekeeping. Using and consecrating all right means, it sweeps them along with it to the throne of grace. There it finds a power whiCh can work above and with out and against means, and which is ready and pledged to act in response to its calls. The his tory of the Church, in the 'Bible' end out' of it, in ancient and modern times, Ur the life and obser vation of almost every pastor i and not a few pri vate Christians, warrants us. in declaring the Prayer of Faith forspeCific ends, and, with spe cific answers, a reality; and such a time of trial as the existing drou ht Is 'allowed to come Upon us, to test the quality of our prayers and lead us to a more diligent cultivatichrof the gift which Christ's people are so slow to value'and to exer • - oise aright. This absence of tLe pra-er 9f faith s pointß t° the fact that there is a drought in many a read er's soul, corresponding to that in the material world. The softening reviying, showers of grace, at• times so plenteous, have in 'many instances, as much disappeared as if they bad never been :en- joyed,at all. plants,of grace, bright profesOons of piety, once so, charming and promising„ now stand . withering,, since the Bunt is up ,and there,is no depth of earth.; Plans of,work are at a'stand - still. Great- schemes for, God and man,. once pur sued ,with.entlipsiasm, have nothing left but the bare and motionless machinery. • Dry and barren and dusty channels take the place of the fresh, 'swift streams, which once, made everything quiver with life and activity. , The fervent, frequent prayer has sunk to a hurried, formal • whisper. The glare of worldliness, ; And gayetyl as evaporated the tender early dew and morning clond.of piety. The fierce devouring heats of, covetousness ha'ye drank, up the shallows ofprinciple, made conscience as dry• and callous as ..a beaten high 'road,, and• in place of the pure, running stream of, an unstinted and generous liberality have• left nothing .but, a few pitiful pools that are drying up without, pros pect, of, replenishment. , It is time for the Holy Spirit tohe asain poured out. Let us seek the latter, as well as the early rains upon our famishing hearts, I NATIONAL DANGER. The London, Spectator, in a kindly but humor ous article on the Boston. Musical, Peace Jubilee, with its Chorus of 10,000 singers, its orchestra of, .cannon, bells • and anvils, its audience of 37,000 souls, touches on One of our national' weaknesses, if not our great national temptation; —the confounding.-of bulk with greatness. It suggestslhat the• tendency, of our thought and our admirations is to produce "a new sort of hu man nature, with sensoria of telescopic grasp, but with a losfrof microscopic •power." It sees in' it a recurrence,to that Asiatic'taste for, and wor ship of, the gigaiitesque which has•_",disappeared in the closely , compressed life of Western. Ea; rope.... There, was and is in Asiatics ; and there ;is in Americans, a' notable desire to ,reassure themselves against the menaces of nature,- >by gettiugivisible signs of humaii,unanimity and , cooperation on a grand scale.: We 'svispect, that `there is much more of4real psychological analbgy between the Asiatic !attempt to- build. a .tower that might scale the skies on - the. plains of Shi .nar, and the ,Atnerican Attempt to peal forth :.a kind of* musical thunder - of human. liberty and peacdat.that centre of the world, Beaton, Massa chusetts, than our Yankee friends would at-all, adthit." The criticism seems to us to have a good deal oftruth in it, if for Asiatic you substitute the more - emphaticiword pagan. For the tendency was not Universal in Asia. One Asiatic nation at least was free from it. . One Asiatic people, dwelling in a land , of no broad plains, no lofty, mountains,no mighty rivers, no rich mines, and ;lab vast .resources, , seem to have been it living protest against this :worship of bigness: Engrained, into the heart of this people, and reiterated in every possible shape by their teachers, was the belief that the weak things of this world had been chosen. to Confound the nfighty., and that they themselves were to be, by God's grace,. the channel of influences and forces which should mould all the peoples, as none of these-huge and gigantic kingdoms and forces around them ever did or could. And we' would trace the com parative freedom of Europe from this pagan worship of huge things, to an influence which proceeded from, a part of that Asiatic Jewish na tion—the influence of Christ and His Church. That the whole of that Jewish nation did not be come the means of disseminating that, influence was owing mainly to their having lost faith in the truth revealed to their fathers. Their hope be came a hope that God would , change their little things into such as were, gigantic,—would give to 'them an empire as great as that which , had .be longed,to the heathen. And so when One came who claimed to be Lord over all,.and to.be .the centre of the unity which had bound the na tion in the past, they asked of Him .pagan and gigantic signs of His power. He refused to be made a Sing on the same plane with Tiberius and Herod,;, He refused to establish a universal monarchy by His miraculous power, and they re jected Him. He had lived the life of a poor man ; they put Him to the death of a slave. The message of His life and death has been the saving -wird of life to Europe. European civilization has been largely built upon it. It was a message that" God had,chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the 7ise; and the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world,' and things which are despised, yea, and' things , which are not, to bring to nought, the things which are." All the permanent PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, AtieiliST 26, 1869. strength of Europe has come from faith in that . message, in the truth that God is the' Omnipotent Source of 'all power, and will prevail with the weakest weaponi against the mightiegi. All the' weaknes of Europe, of her nations aciitChurolkes,. has been throngh • forgetting that 'tind comiri down to the worldly level of the itgatitescpie, and of tiust in thb tnerely big as if it weYe,. o:ie r gi:•eaf. The " great apostacy" of the Church Of 11, - Orne4ss the seeking of.greatness on this outward' worldly plane'of. vastness:'' Protestailliint cvds'''a reassertion of the ipititual principle f4af-Christli kingdom was not of this world, and' is strength not to to be thus measured. '• ' . ..... And now" America stands as yet O' threshold' - of a 'national existence, wil h 'manifold' temptations around' her, and none ni 3 Oie`'dinger'-'! ons than the'verylidolatry. We know' ihaf' the" doom will. be - if- she-give' way to ts , . tempter.'' Nebuchadtkezdr's fate - Will' be -repeated in sub stance in . e l very imitator of his sin. 'Behold' this great-- Babylorrthat4 have made;" - and he was- sent to hrdwith ; the beapts of the field: But is America to fall.back on the godless pa ganism of Asia 7 What ,is to be the source of her national trust and confidence? ,Is it to be in her huge resource's and VUst area, her hound less plains and mighty rivers? What is to be her national boast and glory_? Is it tlie external advantages of, which she is, providentially pos sessed? The " American 'thirst for liig things," the "pride which Americans'have alWays shown in' the great scale' of their political iife, in the immense area`of their States, in the vast square- : mileage of their , laked, 'e'ven in the . enormous dimensions of their catastrophes," seems' to us not exempt' froth" the old'deicription pride goeth before - destruction!' At best theae things are not the - means to true nitionargreattieSs. Every nation that has' risen to world-historie greatness, has thrViren' through the Want of:these things; while of every people that - hdS posiessed theta it might be said : • " Their' history", was written on sand."' It may be—we trilst it, Is the casethat god' has a 'great; purpose to"Wdrk out this continent, the dpbuihridg nation vat: in cxtent; yet permeated by the Spirit of all righteousness: But to that end we 'must be rid 'of that Ahab-spirit which` hurried us into war with Mexico, and 'would . hurry us into: siteilat• wars •tibw "`to get all the land that joins nur farm." We !bust have .hetter teachers than 'our popular politieiana, who are debauching the na tional Coriadidice' by 'appeals to " martifest',des tiny," which: they 'have put' in the plan of the will of Him 'whe has fixed the bounds of the n a t. tions, and will take vengeinde Upon the mover df " the' ancient landmarks." fr:not, our will bring its own punishment. We shall gather and graspi:absorb and spread, until . the unity and homogeneity of the national life is destroyed; and' the nation's integrity and' honesty overthrown, when we will be the easy prey of any faction' that shall arise to demand disunion. .- ROMISH AND PROTESTANT WORSHIP 'IN PRAGUE. It was easy to see within a very short time af ter crossing, day before yesterday, the fronlier between Saxony and I3ohemia, at Bodenach, on our way from Dresden . by rail, that we were en tering, a country where the Catholicreligion pre dominates. By the way side—in the fields—on the coping of bridge' walls—on the hill-tops and in the valleys—in the open fields and on the fronts of of the houses—everywhere, we beheld' • the cross, the crucifix, or the Virgin and Child in wood, or rude sculpture, or painting. A n d , here in the capital of Bohemia, with thick-clus tering •associations of the bloody conflicts between Papacy and Protestantism, ending in the success of the former, when Frederick V.of the Palatine and the Bohemian Protestants were, defeated at the battle of White Hills by the Austrian Catho lics; all"through the city, in the crosses, the cru • cifixes, the images of the Vir'gin, painted or rude ly carved, on the sides of housei and stores and taverns, sometimes with lights burning before them day and night;—in the precessions t with crosses and banners, priests and swinging censers, passing along with songs to the Virgin;-in the 69 Catholic churches, with but three Protestant ones, tbe former open every day, , the entrance ways and the vestibules lined with beggars, male and female, telling their beads, andintersPersing the pious exercises with solicitatiens for alms; all these features, and many more which it is im possible to enumerate, force upon the traveller's observation the difference between this and a Protestant city, like Berlin. These are, however, but outward and material characteristics; of the More essential and vital differences the lives, habits and morals of the people, I am free to con fess that I cannot fairly judge from my F limited • and most cursory knowledge. Thiel turning, at 9,1 went to ; the Tein-churgh,, • on Old-squale, quite'surrotinded by houses built elose, up t vainst its walls, entering through yatiltect` passage ways, dark and close.' 'The original gtrubture was 'built about 1100 as a chapel f , t 'afid. j akiieeit'added' to, enlarged, daintwecl by fire, kiillightiii4 l and the ravages of nun-wr ong hwets; Nairecl.' and ye-constructed, till Arida as ireient,' the second - 'clinrcli in' the citY, in point Of interest,`'' not only 'froth 'its his toilet, as'sociat frbui ifs' aliellitedfure; its p:',ainiStiga; l i tWeil-Vizi& and 'stltiiei, tunnefous' tanbstiitlif clia l eek "ThelCalliedral scone iiithe: any cli;lichei of the city;'hBe 'richer at ir:tintions, di r e' exiensive pairs` present' ' orally with the indp - eatiOn . 'nf Hips preached in the '4lO trOli m , ;I o' i ite "date' of the 'of 'the Wliite''ills,"'it"was in possession of`th i e In' 1458` Geeiie" Po(libtad` was crowned king of tolielniEln thehey C a t el near the chi&feh, and' by l lthn i tke two' huildlngS' 'cotin.Oted; and:tw6 towers' added to: - the chureli,' 'between Whicii,'high On'the'pOiiited gable, he placed 'gildgd Oliali6e, embletii Of out of the great'plints' fer'Whiele Huss Coiitended—'-that the cup, in the ad i rainistration of the Lord'4 Supper; should ''be given in' 'the laity: In 1621, after the Catholics obtablit,d control of the church, this chalice was taken down, and replaced , by an image of the Virgin, which still remains' there. The 'service had already conii*nced when I entered. From the . or,gaii, - aceorripanied by an orchestra of stringed and wind in4truments, and many voices, maleand female, pealed out some . , , of the magnificent music of the RomiSh ritual, in response to the .utterances of the gorgeously robed priest, • 'who, at the other end of the church', with his attendants, in garments of black and yellow, scarlet and white, Wes engaged in the 'celebration of- the 'mass at the. high altar, amid the fumes of incense and the light of many tapers." - The church'as well filled, both nave and side' isles, while the transept and choir, as far up as the railing 'before the' high altar, was crowded with worshippers, itOibe*hod; lt ; ing, it the fail; were waiting to'receive the wafer. The nave' was occupied -throughbdt its- entire lefegth. with' slips or pews without dodis-, Of 'a'dirk colored wood, rendered still darkeithy the effects' of time and ithe wear of the successive generatiods sklio- had occupied them. The colutuds were adorned with- tombs and moddiments;'"paintings and crucif;ief,'hli' elaborate,'' but many 34them taWdit'and ="4XCeedinglrbad taste; haVing 'no merit `but that •11 -an iqu'l y. • . • inultitilde of reflections crowded upon the. Mind is itolid keijeCt thimigh service; while, at the of thells; Berne . viSible and others while. the sacred emblem's were being eleVated,thewhele mass' of wcirship pen3, 441'40ntheir itte'es, in pew and aisle,' be forsidesrf over the chureh; and crossed theinselveS. vows Upon their knees on' the barestode 'floor' of the nave, were . many Old Woinei, apparently devoutly reeking' prayers' following the' serVide out 'of thuub-marked dingy books; lookir;g even''older dud `mord toil.: ;stained' than' theniselvek! An old Woman 'had 'a sort of desk or stand in one corner, atAhe side• of the church, where she sold, candles, at a kreutzer, (half a cent): ap - leee, ti:o the worshippers,,tc,, ,burn to the Virgin, ,before one of her pictures. in the chapels. When the' trade slacked a little, she would leave her stand and wander through, the church, quietly offering them' for sale: The pur chaser would light it, and stick, it 'on; a, frame provided on the railing in front ,of the picture,, and let it burn out. And all the while the priest at the altar, with, hi&k t baco the People . , except .when occasionally .6k:turned round' and gave them his blessing,. in the words "Dbminui vobis, 'cum,"—pronouncing. the, last word ", come " was intoning . and Thanting, and bowing And :kneeling, and rising' up, again, and incensing the utensils and eleinedis, `and being'hirnself incensed by his attendants, as :the' censers swung to and 'fro. ' • - ' And I thought, as I stood, of the power of the Roman hierarchy, and erthc Appeal to the senses made by its gorgeous Ceremonial, and of the mix, titre in all' this temple, intended for the worship of the living and true God, of the. tawdry artifi cial 'flowers surrounding the altars; the glare and; (extravagance,of_the .gilded. work, appealing to the unrefined pind—miiigled ; with much that was 'rare and curious in`art to; attract We - refined and elegant; andciver 'all; and enveloping; as 'it were in winystic sense ,of•the eleVating and beautiful, irose the clouds of sweot;smellingincense, and the Nolumes of d9licious and raviShino• 'strains of 'mu sic, which filled the high arch of the nave, sixty feet'abeve'the'flOor 'of the church, and rolled in graceful and solemn, and swelling volume throuigh nave and aisle, , and chapel and choir; and arch and • transept and then I recalled .the Tres sure.hou.se of the ,Cathedral which I had, seen but yesterday, with its pricelesi robes ~of gold and'silver, and pdrple and fine linen work, the production of princesses and royal and noble ladies whO with 'fair lands'had hoped in;soine measure thus to work outtlac salyatiOn of their souls,: and with its rich utensils, for, the, altar, of .solid,silyer -and gold, adorned with diamonds, and, rubies and Genesee Evangelist, No. 1,214. Home & Foreign Miss. $2.00. Address:-1384 Chestnut Street emeralds and sapphires, and with its so-called relics, consisting of pieces Other wood of the true Cross, of the hankerchief of the,Virgin Mary, of the table-clqth• on which, the lasksupper was cele hrated, of two of the' thorns of the crown made by the soldiers 'for" Christ, of, a nail which pierced His feet, Of a piece of the sponge upon which He was handed vinegar to drink;• and then of the wag* awl bloody contiicAs which all this (falsely So-called) religion had given rise to; and then as I could not help thinking of the pbssibility, nay prohability, that in'olir ' own beloved and free conntry, there is yet to' arise a conflict, peaceable iindiwithout•blood lit •anay -be, but whether peace aldp tin: - blnpdy, ; tor) be met boldly, firmly, manfully. With all the spirit,of the old Protestant principle, nefailli and sturdy rigidity, and 'stern cletermi gliOn; there Wag'll, - comfort; a' strength, a peace, i-Atiiiisfalcti - on; a iestfulness in the feeling that Gott rilles.nveruill, and or,ders all the affairs of ine.p, and i maliesieien ,the wrath of man to praise tam; anti ,the i 'prayer, arose even there in that ' temple . 1 - '4" --- oi - that` the Christian o a orer,,, faith, peo ple Of Strieriea, blight be awake' and awakened to their -responsiliitities. • ~: . :, , . WhaVa r relief tostep, out'from- the dim, and . „ smoky and :pppressive church, into the open air upon the great square, and have right before me the spot where, on June 21, 1621, more than 200 Years 'ago; r 27'Protestant nobleinen were beheaded for themtattachment to ;their faith; and then to the chnroh where worship at this day the fol lowers of the Protestant religion in the simplicity Of the ,faith.in, Christ Jesus, who offered himself up, Once‘ai 'a - sacrifice for all sin: Turn down from the Josef PlatzintO Elisibet Strasse, which leade to 'the Tlplir Sugpension Bridge; and a short distance, reaching; the. Bridge, take Neu rniihle Strasse to the rioht, and a few steps bring you in sight of the church, surrt.unded by a wall. High 'up on" the gable appears a large gilt chalice. ,Entering an arched - gateway in the wall, close before you is the. church: itself, a plain brick, plastered, edifice-erected quite recently. It is divided into a nave and choir,—or chancel, per haps, as we understand it. In front of the chan eel stand's the altar covered with a plain linen cloth. At' one side where the nave joins the choir is an elevated pulpit. At the opposite end of the - nave its ; the:gallery, or organ loft, with a small, but very sweet toned organ. The number and verses of the hymn to be sung are displayed on one or 'two 'blackboards on the wall. Over the piripitf is a'sounding board, the front of which hears a - .narved-Bible, on - which stands.a gilded chalice ,The chalice also appears in relief on a blue panel in the front of a small gallery which is thrown across the back of the choir. The hour for SerVice '(11' o'clock)" having arrived, the min ister, Dr. Von Engel, enters from the vestry (at one side of •the chancel) accompanied by a Scotch i clergy,man„ Rev. 4. Moody Stuart. They take their seats, in an, ennlosed pew at the foot of the pulpit. The choir, accompanied by the organ, sing 'the'flise hYmia for the day, in which nearly the whole congyeition, consisting perhaps of 100 perSonaf join. „ ;film Dr.,Von Engel steps into thechancel behind the altar, or communion ta ble, and.offers prayer in 'Creintati, in which the whole service ie cOnducted.' Then follows an other. hymn, after'which - Dr. Von Engel ascends the pulpit and delivers a'sermon. , The people, all rise in,•their: place. during the reading , .of the Aext; remaining seated through the rest pf the service, except when the 'bene d i &SOU' is pronounced; vilieri they alsn'riie. After the. sermon, , Which • occupies' full half an hour, another hyrha is•sna„,“.; -and 'then wenajov a most excellent spiritual address from Mr. Stuart, which is delittere,d from thechancel,—Dr.Dr. Von Engel Standing ,by the side of 'Mk. Stuart, and' trans lating into Gerntan as he 'progress. ' The bene dibtiOn plbses the seivice. _, , - Dr: , Prime, in The N. Y. Observer, some months since,, gave a very full and interesting account of this church, and I : am indebted to him for the knowledge of its ekisience, Which led Me to seek it Out.' The simplicity of its service was far more inii)ressive and .grateful from the contrast with the :gorgeousness' Of the Romish service I had witnep§ t ed, just,previously. There is a deputation from the denominationto which this church is attached, at piCaetit in'AMerica, and Dr: Prime colaniends them to all evangelical' denominations. .A visit to the old Jewish Synagogue of an un certain fagiN,but at, least 600 or 100 years old in its newest part, and , the interior black with the dust' and smoke of centuries, presented another phrase of religious obs'ervance. An ancient roll of the Book of the Law, more'than 600 years old, the characters hardly legible through the effects of time; is, carefully preserved and cherished, though no longer used - in ,the service. Near by is the cemetery, the most recent grave in which was made :in 1784, and the oldest tombstone known, is• —l2OO years old; the whole ground, which is am -English mile in . cireuniMrence, crowded. as, thickly as a napery garden is, with young trees, with gravestones .covered with He brew inscriptions and the emblems of the several tribes and of the priestlibod, and dark with the effects of time and overgrown with' moss and weeds: What another. train of thought and emo tion was. awakened 1 And :then an hour spent most pleasantly with Xr.,Rloody Stuart, and two' English i c l ergYmen and the family of one cir them in' their roan ai the Hotel, in a so. cial , =religious servicej . singing - "Jesus and shall it ever "When I survey the wondrous Cross,'.' with p,rayers,arid reading of the Scrip. tare, and a warm, telling, Christ-full address,— a 'fleeting 'Of Cliristiana - from different lands, and all interested in . those who were here striving to Make His' narne , known in the midst of supersti tions' and' difficulties,--dosed a Sabbath, whose naemoriea,ehall linger long as among the pleas antest recollections of our foreign tour. - Preigu 1.'1869.. S. C. P.