106
Thursday, march i, isoo.
B. C. HOUGHTON, 1
JOHN W-REARS, j
ASSOCIATED WITH
f A EBERT BARNES, I GEORGE .DOFFIEI.D, Jh.
THOMAS BRAINERD, JOHN JENKINS,
HENRY BARRING, I THOMAS J. SHEPHERD.
lIYIHQ 808 POSTERITY.
’Epm davovToc; yala nc%of/rw mpi.
Greek Proverb.
Life has a different object and aspect when
the main motive in living is considered as drawn
from the present or from the futHre; .whether
we live for ourselves, or for those who are to
come after ns. There is a common saying in
our own tongue, expressive of the views and
feelings which many have of lifer “What has
posterity done for me that I should labor for its
good F ” And the same idea substantially is ex
pressed in the Greek proverb which we have
placed at the head of this article: “ When lam
dead, let the earth be mingled with fire;” or,
“I do not care if, whlSk I am dead, a grand
conflagration .of the .whole world should take
place.”*
Both these modes of expression indicate sub
stantially the same state of mind —a purpose to
live for the present and for self, regardless of the
bearing of our conduct on the future, and with
no feeling of obligation to benefit coming ages.
The sentiment has its fulfilment, first, in the
case of him who lives solely for sensual indul
gences ; secondly, in the case of him who lives
only to amass wealth for himself; thirdly, in the
case of him who accumulates knowledge, or be
comes eminent in literature, science, or sesthetic
shiH, only to indulge the tastes which spring
from refined culture; and fourthly, in the case
of the religionist who withdraws from the world
that he may hold solitary communion with God,
and who makes the sole business of life a pre
paration for heaven. The three former of these
are found in the “world,” so termed; the lat
ter finds fulfilment of its purpose in the
"church,” and each and all, however they may
vary in dignity and purity, are based on the
same principle, and are illustrative of the sen
timent in the Greek proverb. Bach mode of
livihg is a departure from the great end of hu
man life as man is constituted by his Maker, and
each makes life narrow, cold, limited, low, self
ish. The whole monastic system—the fourth
form to which we have referred—of illustrating
the sentiment in the proverb, is as narrow, cold,
limited, and selfish as either of the others, and
is, equally with them, an illustration of the suc
cessful art, and the vast power of the great
Tempter, who has endeavored to turn life from
its true cdfirse, and to frustrate the purpose of
Him who made man. The purpose wholly to
withdraw from the world; to cultivate piety in
caves, cells, or deserts; to spend the day or the
night in mere acts of devotion; ’to count beads
or 4o sing praises; to study the biography of
sainted men, or even the Bible itself, as the
great and sole business of life, is as essentially
narrow, cold, and limited, in regard to the troe
purpose of living, as the purpose of the sensu
alist, the miser, or of the man who devotes him
self to the mere indulgence of refined literary
tastes.
There is another Greek phrase, of higher au
thority, indicating a higher purpose of life, and
making a distinction between the religion in re
lation to which it was uttered and that system
of things which prevailed extensively in the land
where the proverb to which we have referred
had its origin, which we cannot but quote here:
ObSet c vap fjptbv karat : —“For none of us
liveth to himself.” Tbe action of every one is
connected with the welfare of others; life does
not terminate in itself; its purpose is not ex
hausted in its own nnrtnre and development;
it affects all aronnd—it bears on all the future
—it enters into that which is nnseen and eternal.
There are two ways in which our lives may affect
the future for its good—involuntary, and volun
tary. The: one is the inevitable remit of the ten
dency of things when a valuable discovery is
made; when a new thought is suggested; when a
new region is explored; when a labor-saving ma
chine is invented; when the blow of the axe-man
rings in the forest; when a ploughis struck into a
virgin soil; when the keel of a Ship is laid de
signed to penetrate into far distant seas. The
other is, that where there is a distinct purpose to
wake life bear on the welfare of man, and to pro
mote the progress of the race. The former is the
result of immediate divine appointment, carrying
out the great purpose of God; the latter is the
result of a direct human purpose, making man
noble and great; the two combined constitute that
great agency under which the world makes pro
gress, and under which it is moving on to the
great consummation which God has purposed.
The former is the piling up of coral reefs by the
animaloules of the oeean to make future islands
and continents for men, or the hastening down of
little rivulets, without number, to make up the
volume of the great river/ the other is the action
of such men as Paul and Howard laboring de
finitely for the welfare of future times.
In either case, thfere is an accumulation of va
luable influences bearing on the condition of the
world from age to age. The present age inherits
all the past-; every future age will inherit not only
all this, bat all which may be struck out by thought
and discovery between the present and that future
age that shall tend to promote the progress of
human things. He who enters on life at the pre
sent time starts where other men left off, and he
is, at the beginning of his way,'reapiug the bene
fits of all former toils, discoveries, and inventions,
livery martyr has died for him; every patriot has
bled for him; every traveller who has gone to un
known lands has sought knowledge for him; every
bold adventurer who has penetrated distant seas,
and disclosed the existence of new continents
and islands, has braved the dangers of the deep
for him; every historian has chronicled passing
events to instruct him; every man endowed with
eminent genius has struck out new thoughts for
his guidance and 'direction, and he now inherits it
all. The toils of those who have gone before him
have made his condition different from what it
would otherwise have been: and he, in turn, if
perchance he shall bleed for his country or his
religion } if he shall penetrate distant regions, and
mike known to men new Bourees of wealth; if he
shall strike on some happy invention that will
abridge human labor, and facilitate the diffusion
* See Cicero I)s Finibus, I» UK 19.
of knowledge; if he shall disclose some law of na
ture not known before, or shall set an example of
eminent virtue, will swell the accumulations of
wisdom and knowledge for the race, and shall bless
future ages by his having lived.
What though the names of those who thus, vo
luntarily or involuntarily, contribute to the pro
gress of the race are forgotten by mankind.
They have accomplished their work, and theft
names will be registered, where it is most desirable
that they should be, in the book of God’s remem
brance. There nothing is forgotten. No name
fades from the memory of God. ,We are sad—we
cannot help it—in walking through a great library,
and in looking over the ponderous tomes, in formi
dable rows, and in deep alcoves, that are forgotten
by mankind, for we think of the toil expended in
producing them, and of the hope which those vo
lumes once excited in the bosom of their authors,
that they would themselves he; immortal. Such
men—such plodding, laborious, care-worn men— j
would themselves be sad if they could appear again,
and walk along those silent alcoves, and look on .
those neglected and forgotten tomes • but .nei
ther they nor we should he sad, for what they
did has accomplished its end, and the result is
seen in the progress of the world, and the general
improvement of mankind. Not in the sense that
they themselves would be remembered did tbey
live for posterity, but-ia a far higher , sense did
they thus live—in the feet that what they wrought
out with so much care has gone into the accu
mulated intellectual and moral treasure of this
world, and has mingled itself in a higher concep
tion of things far .beyond their own age and: times
—as the distant fountains and streams
mingle in the great volume that rolls on toward
the ocean.
A worldly young man entering on life may re-'
solve to live for himself—a mean, limited, low,
cold, isolated life:—for self in pleasure; for self in
the pursuit of gain; for self in the indulgence of
literary tastes and associations. A professedly re
ligions young man may, secretly, in his low views
of religion, resolve to live a life of piety that shall
aim only at self-cultivation, and mere spiritual en
joyment :—a mode of life, though under a different
form, scarcely less mean, limited, • low, cold, iso
lated, and selfish, than that of him who seeks for
himself pleasure, learning, or gain. But there is
a nobler view of life; a higher end of being; a
purpose more grand and elevated; a view under
which we feel that we are hound to the past gene
rations of men in the fact that we have received
the results of «dl theft toils, sacrifices and self-de
nials as an invaluable inheritance blessing us as
we pass along through the world, to be transmitted
undiminished and untarnished to coming ages,
and under which we feel that we are bound to all
coming times in the fact that the results of our
living shall pass on to ipect coming generations of
men making theft condition more blessed than
ours. At a time when so many in our land, under
the teachings of the Divine Spirit, and as the fruit
of the late Revivals, are forming their purposes of
living, it cannot be unimportant to suggest to them,
and to all, how narrow, and cold, and selfish is the
Greek Proverb which we have placed at the head
of this article, and which represents, alas, the
views of life practically entertained by so many;
how much more noble the sentiments wliieb we
have quoted from a Christian Apostle, as expressive
of the.essential nature of Christian piety, “No
man liveth unto himself.”
DAY OF PRAYER FOB COLLEGES,
INTERESTING SERVICES.
This annual seryice was observed at Dr.
Jenkins’ (Calvary) Church, on Thursday morn
ing last, February 23d. Prayers were offered
by a number of the clergy, and addresses
of an interesting character were delivered.
Rev. 1. E. Adams referred to the eloquent
remark of Pericles in regard to the loss of a
number of youth—the flower of Athens—ou j
the Samian expedition:. “It was as if Spring:
had been stricken out of the year.” He said
there are about 25,000 in our colleges and pro
fessional schools; 5,000 of them are regarded
as pious. If 20,000 are allowed to go forth
unconverted, will it not be, morally speaking,
as if Spring were stricken from the year ?
Rev.T. S. Baldwin, Secretary of the Society
for the Promotion of Collegiate Education, be
ing called on, remarked, that the golden age of
Hebrew poetry synchronizes with the era of the
schools of the prophets. David took refuge
from the persecution of Sanl, at one time, in
these schools. This led him to speak of the
importance of having our own institutions of
learning under proper religions influence..
Revivals of religion in our colleges, for which
we are wont to pray, raise the standard of piety
in the colleges, just as they do in the churches,
where they take place. During the past year
there have been many revivals in different parts
of the land, but the colleges have not been vi
sited as on many former occasions. A year
ago to-day, we were able to report as many as
1,000 students as having been converted during
the year. This year we have but imperfect re
turns, embracing but thirty-one colleges, and
from these we gather that the total number of
conversions, in all of our two hundred colleges,
has not been over one hundred, as near as we
can judge. Some years as many as four hun
dred or five hundred conversions are reported,
and it is not considered very extraordinary. It
is true, as far as heard from, there is an inte
resting state of feeling, and fully one-half of the
5,000 students in these thirty-one colleges, are
already professors of religion. This is encou
raging. One class in one of these colleges,
numbering seventeen students, has but two un
converted members; another class, numbering
thirty-seven, has but five. These pious classes
become Christian associations, in the most
blessed sense of the term. It most not be for
gotten that the proportion of pious persons in
many of our colleges is greater than that of
most of onr churches. In Yale College, two
thirds of all the students are professors of reli
gion. Harvard University, the oldest in the
land, founded by orthodox men, and for Christ
and his church, after one hundred and fifty years
of perversion, is gradually being recovered to
its original objects; more than half of the pre
sent number of students are from the families of
Trinitarians, and Professor Huntington, the Pro
fessor of Divinity there, has recently come out
and taken decided orthodox ground, insomuch
that he has felt constrained to resign his posi
tion. His resignation has not been accepted,
and it is hoped will not be.
Yale College has had no less than forty re
vivals in its history. Every three or four years
it has been blessed with a special revival. Over
one hundred yonng men were converted in the
last one. At "Princeton, the first revival oc
curred in 1?5I, under the presidency of Aaron
Burr. He mentions it ima letter to Dr. Davies
as the most blessed intelligence he had ever had
to communicate. There were sixty students in
the institution then, and almost all were affected
by it. The next revival occurred five years
later, under the presidency of Dr. Finlay. It
lasted one year, and one-balf of the students
were brought into the church.
I have taken from Dr. Sprague’s Annals a
list of some eighty or ninety names of great men
in the religions and literary history of our coun
try, who were converted while in college. Among
them were John Robifison; one of the puritan-fa
thers, President Edwards and his son-, Gordon
Hall and Samuel Newell, two of our country’s
first foreign missionaries, Aaron Burr, Sen., Geo.
Duffield, Dr. Nevin, President Dwight, Dr. Al
exander and others.
Rev. Albert Barnes also addressed the meet
ing. He said: We have met to-day to pray for
colleges and institutions of learning, rather than
for factories, or for farms, or for mechanical in
stitutions. Many of onr colleges were founded
expressly for the purpose of training men for
the ministry. There is not a college in the land
founded for the purpose of propagating infi
delity, »or any that is either sustained or pre
sided over by infidels. All are under direct
Christian influence, and connected with one or
other of our denominations of Christians. .The
influence of our colleges, then, upon the church
and community at large is -great. Onr main
hope for- the ministry is in them; but there are
other bearings besides this in which the weight
and* importance of theft influence is felt. * -
- • The influence of colleges upon those who go
into the other professions, is important beyond
calculation. Their influence upon the men now
students in. them, who are to go to Washing
ton,or to Harrisburgh, or Albany, M any of
our State Capitals, is certainly, of great impor
tance. It is important that the laws of the land
should be made to accord with the laws of God,
and scarcely less important that those who go
into the medical profession should be God-fear
ing men, religious men.
Princeton has sent forth more men to the
highest positions of our land than any other col
lege. What an influence has. Princeton, then,
exerted upon the formation of onr government 1
Allusion has been made to Aaron Burr. If
his son had become a converted man while at
college, who can tell what the effect would have
been upon the welfare of mankind ? I have
heard it said, but am not prepared to youch for
the accuracy of the statement, thatin the .course
of his college life he became seriously impressed
upon the subject of his soul's salvation, that
he sought advice, bnt was told to defer the
matter for the present, as he was then too anx
ious, apparently too much concerned upon the
subject. How terrible the thought of turning
back at such a time I What a different record
would the history of our country show, what a
different record in regard to Alexander Hamil
ton, if he had then been converted! Instead
of now lying at the feet of his honored father,
in a rather obscure part of the cemetery at-
Princeton, Burr might, in all probability, have
been buried by his father’s side, as one of the
presidents of that college, had he, at that
critical time of his life, while a student, not
turned back, but given his heart to God. I
once saw him in court pleading a cause. I
never saw such a man before, have never seen
one since, and never eifpect to see one again!
Such a brilliant, powerful eye I such fascinating
and attractive talents! There may be no more'
Aaron Burrs in our colleges now, bnt there are
brilliant men there,—men who are to exert a
great influence in the pnlpit of our land and in
Washington. If these men are converted, what
a great influence will be exerted in favor of
piety and religion, and against infidelity and
sin I If men could be found to enter our offices
of honor and public trust, who are not swayed
by ambition, but by the high principles that
swayed our puritan fathers and the Covenanters
of Scotland, what a different land would ours
be in its political influence, as well, as in its mo
ral and religions bearing, and if, upon the young
men now in onr colleges, God’s Spirit should be
freely poured out in answer to the prayers of
his day!
In the evening a second meeting was held in
the Rev. Mr. Barnes’ Church," when addresses
were made by the Rev. Dr. Jenkins, Rev. Mr.
Meara, and Rev. Mr. Wilder. Prayers were
offered for our Medicai Universities, the Girard
College, the High and other schools.
“ CLEAR AND POSITIVE.”
The New York Observer is entirely, mum on
the Independent’s new catechism. It may be that
it is mentally and silently practising its voice, like
the astounded parrot at the strange music of the
trumpeters, that it may astonish the more by a
dear and positive utterance. It may think that
slavery in its varied aspects, is not a question of
morals at all, but of geography alone, to be de
termined entirely bythe “circumstances” of lati
tude and longitude. It may have adopted the
standard of practical morals of Nassau street,
and repudiated the doctrine'that “all practical
immorality, prevailing in any and every part of
onr country is to be dealt with even-handedly and
impartially.” We know not what it* does think,
as it has failed thus far, to verify its promise in
giving to an expectant publio some-’
thing “clear and positive” on the subject Of
slavery, a question seemingly of more vital and
practical importance than the discovery of the
• occult and constructive indelicacy of sentiment in
a popular novel.
The Central Presbyterian, Richmond, Ya.,
comes, to the relief of the Observer, and answers
clearly and positively, and, we will add, satisfac
torily, the fifth question, which answer published
in the Observer will entitle - the American Board
to $25 of the proffered premium. We publish
the answer in full in order to correct, as far as we
are Concerned, the imputation which the question
seems to imply, and which our southern cotempo
rary manfully repudiates:
“Has a slave woman an absolute .right to her
chastity, and is the master who violates that
chastity guilty of crime ?” ■' (
To this interrogatory, in both its counts, our
answer is an unequivocal affirmative.— She has
the right, and any one who violates it is guilty—
guilty^not only in the sight of Heaven, but guilty'
bythe laws of this commonwealth. The penal
statute by which the white and the : free woman’s
chastity is protected, gives equal .protection to the
chastity of the slave woman; and its violation by
the master is not the slightest extenuation of the
crime.
Such is the law; and we presume it is the same
in every slave State of the Union. The right of
property in a slave gives no right to the virtue of
the slave, any more than it does to the life of the
slave. Tho slave too, when he becomes old and
deorepid has a‘claim for support which' is recog
nised bythe laws in preference to all the creditors
and heirs of an estate.
ietiatt Mil
For the American Presbyterian.
LAYING UP TBEASUBJES IN HELL.
Messrs. Editors. —The Chinese at Fuhchau
entertain very singular sentiments, and have many
singular customs relating to the condition of the
spirits of the dead in the future world. They be
lieve that they make u£e of clothing and of money
in much the'same way as when living, and that
it is a duty for f the surviving to provide for these
wants of 'Sotne'seein to think they
can provide .inßadvan|e for their own exigencies
after death, by making, while living,. deposits ; of
moneyand ofjclothing, according to certain estab
lished usages! in the. future world. The debts
which a deceased person may have okred to other
persons, also deceased, may be paid by surviving
relatives or friends Fy sending on remittances in
a certain way. The coffers of the gods and god
desses may be replenished by those on earth who
desire to do so. The spirits of beggars, lepers,
and those who have no surviving children or rela
tives, receive many contributions of money and of
clothing from the people generally.
The manner of laying up. treasures of money
and of clothing in hell for the use of deceased re
latives; andsfbrlone;s own future use, is very expe-
and withal very cheap. It consists simply
in ’burning paper prepared in different ways, ac
cording to thei object, which it is designed to re
present, and. which it . is believed to become.
Clothingj or the iiiaterial for making clothing, is
oC papeßf of' various oolorsj
each 7 .piece: beingffifteen inches long and eight or
ten wide. These-are done up in parcels, each
containitig'ten pieces, and they are supposed to
become cloth, kfik| &e., &e., by or after the action
of fire, owing to the pote'ncy of a certain, paper
and pill which is attached to each parcel. Some
times the paper is Actually cut Into shapes repre
senting different kinds of apparel. Out of this
material theydead-uiay manufacture their clothing
at their- leisure, or according to their needs.
Money is also'-represented by pieces of paper
varying from about two inches, (square, to more
than a foot square, -formed into various shapes.
On this paper more* or less of tin foil is pasted.
Sometimes this foil covers the whole surface, and
sometimes only, the’ centre of one side. When
this tin foil; is made yellow by a certain wash, it
represents gold, but when it is left ip its natural
color, it represents silver.
Immense “ quantities of -this mock-money are
consumed at this city in the course of a year, on
the first and fifteenth of each Chinese month, on
the anniversaCT of-the birth or' the dea,th of pa
rents, and as^!”regular~festival ■ ,
During the seventh month, between the Ist
and 15th days, this mock-money, and this mock
material.for clothing tire consumed together, in all
or nearly ail the heathen families of ; the place
The quantity of each which: each family consumes
is not fixed, but differs according to the standing
or particular plans of each family in relation to
this yearly celebration, or the observance of this
kind of festival. 1 .
.During 'certain meritorious ceremonies per
formed almost universally at Fuhchau, in' less
than fifty days after the decease of either head of
a family,- (except, perhaps, in the case of the
very poorest of the people,) tranks made *of slips
of bamboo,, .and filled with mock-money and mock
clothing, are burnt for the benefit of the. departed
spirit. The number of these trunks sometimes is
quite large. Qu'such occasions, friends or rela
tions embradw to sOnd remittances
or presents taiothcrimiembers of the family, pre-.
viously- deeeaseo.'-JSFhey do it by sending in to
the family siroila?. trunks filled with mock-money
and mock-clothing to be burned at the same time
and place with the other tranks. These extra
trunks are intrusted to the eare of the person re
cently deceased, who is expected, to deliver them
to the individuals for whom they are designed, as
soon as they arrive in Hades after being burnt.
How different are these customs from the
course recommended by the Saviour! Instead of
aying up treasures in heaven, they endeavor to
make remittances which shall he available in the
world of. wd! %They actually aim at laying up
treasures in hetU
Of course this native converts from heathenism
have not failed f to discern the vast difference be
tween the directions of Jesus to his disciples, and
the real practise. of their deluded countrymen.
It i#a very,oeiaion thbgi to heat them poin,t out
with great boldness and earnestness the sinfulness
of the custom? above partially described, while
addressing a congregation on the duties and doc
trines taught by Christ. I recollect hearing, more
than a year aud a-half ago, a young man, a mem
ber of the native church in connexion with the
mission of the American Board in this city, make
some very startling and affecting remarks in a
public assembly, while urging his hearers to lay
up treasures in heaven, in obedience to the
Saviour. He charged them with the sin, not only
of neglecting fd store up treasure in' heaven, hut
of actually striving to lay up treasure in hell, for
the use of themselves or of their friends after
death. Said he, in substance, “You not only do
not expect or try to enter heaven, but you really
expect to go to hell when you die. While living,
some of you, doubtless, if you have funds to spare,
will try to make.deposits of money and of clothing
in hell, ready % your use when you shall have
reached'that And. after, you have died,
your friends'and i j,elatiqns will take it for grunted
that in that wretched abode, ihas :
much, as they fill certainly prepare and burn
mock-money.- and -mock-clothing for your use
there.” • v-- J
- Another catechist, now deceased, while a mem
ber of-the same church, has been heard to remark
• j- ' • ' - ' •
that he assisted jjn burning, on a single occasion,
six or eight years ago, at a celebrated temple, lo
cated outside of the east gate of the city of Fuhchau,
a large quantity of paper clothing and paper
money. This paper belonged to an aunt, and
amounted in bulk, when arranged for burning, to
several tons of tranks. This temple is dedicated
to the god whom the Chinese believe to preside
over-the seventh department or ball of the infernal
regions, and he i believed that by burning this
paper thus prepared it would be changed into
real- or material for clothing, or -into
genuine gold and’silver, and would be held in the
treasury of this god, on deposit, subject to the
use of the owner on her arrival in the future
world. •; f.'; ,
What a viewim Aireefaote give of the lamenta
in regard, to, the'condition of the soul after the
death of the body! If simply to fasten the affec
tions on things earthly and sensual, not laying up
treasure in heaven, is unscriptural and sinful,
what shall be said; of the practices above described!
What language <fan adequately depict the moral
degradation of this population! How sad their
prospects, who, having no adequate knowledge of
the way to heaven, or the manner of laying up
their treasures t|iere, actually expect to • go to
heir when they are done with earth, and who,
either while living endeavor to make preparations
to supply their supposed wants in that place of
wo, or leave such preparations to be made after
their decease by surviving relatives and friends 1
How much do they need the light of the Bible
to illuminate their dark minds'! Verily the
leaders of this people are blind leaders of the
blind. How long shall it be before they shall
learn the way'to heaven, and strive to lay up their
treasures there! 7 ' Sinim. '
Fuhchau, China, Nov., 1859;
HOW ARE THE CHILDREN OF CHRISTIAN
HOMES TO BE CONVERTED?
In discoursing on this topic, Sabbath before
last, (Rev. Dr. Smith, of the Western Presby
terian Church of this city, made the following
remarks on
PROFITABLE READING.
The Spirit claims the Word as the chan
nel of his power, and will not act where
that agency is denied him. There must be
knowledge before there can be salvation, and
those who do not sow the seed, have no right
to look for the harvest. And so should our
children be taught to love the Bible, and to
read it; not now and then, but with the fre
quency of their daily rising and retiring to rest,
and with the earnestness of an awakened interest
and concern in its revelations. Why may not
a child be attracted by this book, as well as by
any other? The theory that it must necessarily
he distasteful to the young, or even the very
young, is as false as it can be. It is not to man
Rt any given the Bible commends it
self; but to human nature, at any and every
stage of its experience. The. child can-appre
ciate the Bible as well as the man, can under
stand it as well, can love it as well, can imbibe
into his moral being the comforting, expanding,
elevating, purifying influences that flow out of
it, far better—because the channels of approach
to his conscience: are not yet hardened and
closed. The Bible is the very book to be loved
by the child, while yet ingenuous, and curious,
and eager to learn, and fond of the wonderful
not the less, because it reveals God’s love to
his own soul.
In connection with this, there should be on
the part of the parent, a careful selection of
good and profitable literature, for his children.
And I speak of this here because it cannot be
too often dwelt upon, and because the young
are frequently and palpably diverted from profit
able trains of thought, by an early familiarity
with those that are corrupting to the mind. If
all their reading need not be strictly religious,
neither should it be decidedly, or even possibly,
irreligious. ' ‘ ,
There is a sad indifference to this matter.
There is a guilty unconcern. The literature of
our day, prolific as it is in evil, is also rich in
the-utterances of sanctified genius; and if your
children tnke no pleasure in these utterances, it
only shows that they have not been guided
aright—that they have been allowed companion
ships which have lowered degraded their
'tastes, when they might have been introduced
to those which would have given noble expan
sion to their minds, and saved their souls for-
' I have no doubt ttfat a single bad book has
often turned and fixed forever the destiny of the
individual who has been brought into commu
nion with it. I could point you to scores of
young persons, educated in what are called re
ligions families, whose Jives are frittered away
upon the most unsubstantial vanities, who think
only of dress and fashion and gayety; who have
no elevation of mind, no enlarged and true con
ceptions of responsibility, no great and lofty
purpose for which they are living—who, instead
of aiming to be useful, are satisfied with the
senseless admiration and flattery of those who
are as frivolous as themselves. I can have no
hope of an earnest, elevated Christianity in
such cases as these. Even if the Holy Spirit
should toucb'their hearts, his work would begin
at so low a point, and amid such positive dis
advantages, that we would expect, in this world,
no manly massive of Christian
strength. .And so we believe that much of the
frivolous, pleasure-seeking Christianity of our
day, is owing to the mistaken mental, habits
of early life. The word of God has not been read
and studied as it should have been, until the
mind and heart were made to glow with its
lofty themes; the elevating companionship of
sanctified talent, in the field of literature has
not been sought; and the reading of the young,
in by far too many instances, has been such as
to create a taste for worldliness and folly.
And this is one, and a primary reason, we be
lieve, why so many, who have been baptized in
their infancy, are not converted to Christ.
“ANNALS 03? THE BOOB.”
THE DYING CHRISTIAN.
It can never be known in this world how many
a Christian lives and dies in such obscurity, as
scarcely to be known at all ontside their own do
mestic circle. I have hut just returned from
visiting one who, with her husband and several
children, caraetp this country some years ago. It
took nearly all they had to get here. The children
have all hut one left home —this one, a daughter,
now herself a widow, occupies a room above. The
wife and mother, has the consumption, and it is
urging her rapidly, and with infallible certainty,
to the grave. , Of this, she is perfectly and joy
ously conscious. They were much more comfort
able in their native land, but she -rejoices greatly
that she came, because it was the occasion of her
being brought more fully into the light and liberty
of the Gospel. Their means of support are ex
ceedingly limited, but every thing looks neat, and
the idea of squalid poverty is not at all suggested
by a visit to them. The husband is a man of un
usual - seriousness and gravity of deportment, yet
there is an affecting simplicity and tenderness in all
their intercourse with each other. She needs all
his kindness, and returns it with touching affec
tion. Her daughter leaves her work daily, and
comes down to make her bed, and bestow such
other attentions upon her as filial affection may
suggest.
In speaking of the Mission, she asked with
much simplicity if there were any ladies connected
with it, and spoke of the pleasure it would give
her, if any of them would visit her in her passage
to the tomb. I promised to speak to them, and
take this occasion to do so. B.
The Prisoner for the Gospel in Spain.—Sen
tence of Escalante.— We deeply regret to learn from
a correspondent that Escalante hits been sentenced to
nine years’ penal servitude for circulating the Bible.
We hope that this intelligence will stimulate the
Christians of this country to more earnest prayer,
followed, up by vigorous and untiring effort until
this iniquitous sentence is reversed. We must add
that measures ought to he taken for the relief of Es
calante’s family, who are in a state of great du&tn.
tiov.—EnglishPaper.
EDITOR’S TASLE.
COMMERCE AND **
essay, by Rev. Hollis B j Seamen’s Friend
Rev. H. A. Boardman. Pennsyivan
Society. 12m0., 25_cents. • -tended
W, «. »»il. i» gi«*> ““ look l itht
. »oti«.. it tan* *“’ “P'f tlto i.-
we have experienced in its pernfial.
deed, »it n, OT4
of purer diction, or one more repletewiththo 0
investigation and sound argument.. ©ie w ■
shows conclusively the importance of co^
a means for the diffusion of gospel truth and
lightened civilisation, and the .impor
tance (when viewed in that light by the C ns a ,)
that our commerce should be conducted by a
marine, itself enlightened and Christianised.
This little book affords, material for the lpfonna
tion and serious contemplation, not alone of the
Christian, but of the political economist, who
would study and understand this prominent fea
ture of national welfare; while it also recommends
itself to the literary student, who; is regirdless of
the utilitarian feature of the question it. discusses,
by its clearness and beauty of style,
PRACTICAL SERMONS. Designed for vacant congre
gations and families. By Albert Barnes. Philade -
phia s : Lindsay& Blakiston* ■;*-
THE ATONEMENT, in it* Relations to Law and Moral
Government. By Albert Barnes. Philadelphia: Lind
say & Blakiston.
THE WAY OP SALVATION. Illustrated in a series of
Discourses. By, Albert Barnes. Philadelphia: Lind
say & Blakiston.
New and uniform editions of ’these well-known
works of Mr. Barnes, have been: just issued by
Lindsay & Blakiston of this city. The Practical
Sermons were first published in 1841, and have
been extensively circulated. They are purely
practical, and will be found equally acceptable and
appropriate in all evangelical congregations or fa
milies.
The work on the-Atonement is the latest pub
lished work of the distinguished author, and: is
destined to take very high rank in this country
and in Europe. It has received the maturest
thoughts of a ripe and well-developed mind. In
its literary character it will attain to the position
of a classic, and take rank with Butler’s Analogy
as authority on the important doctrine of : the
Atonement, it will be a standard for generations
to come. Itwill be known and appealed to in
Europe and America, ages after the voice of the
author shall be silenced in death.
The Way of Salvation is also a work of merit
and great practical value. It was published in
1855 in England and in this country, and has been
extensively circulated in both hemispheres. It
contains thirty-six discourses, so arranged as .to
develop, illustrate; arid defend the great plan of
salvation provided for men, and revealed*-in the
Gospel. _ Candid arid thoughtful men who would
know the truth and be established in the faith of
Christianity, will find no book better adapted' to
this purpose. These three volumes go well to
gether, and deserve a-place in every Christian man’s
library. '
CHRIST IN HISTORY. By Robekt Tukhbuli., i>.T>.,
author of “ Pulpit Orators of France and Switzer
land,” &c. Boston, 1860, Gould & Lincoln. 12010,
pip. 450. For sale by Smith, English & Co., Philda.
This is a new and revised edition of an impor
tant and valuable treatise. It is a work of .philo
sophical method, in which thought, taste, culture,-
and pure religion are combined. It makes all
history, and all forms of religion, to revolve around
the Incarnation as the central or taming point,
and attempts to show how all the forces of society
converge around it, and how all previous history
prepares for it, and all subsequent history resulis
from it. The subject is developed and illustrated
by facts and principles, and made plain and prac
tical, while its method is profoundly scientific
and philosophical. Christianity is exhibited not
merely as an historical reality; but as a divine
and supernatural power, originating, explaining,
and controlling all other realities, powers arid vital
energies, by which the hearts of men and society
are transformed and moulded into likeness and
symmetery to God and heaven. . The work is di
vided conveniently into chapters, of which the
following are the topics:—-“Christ in Ancient Re
ligion,” “Christ in Ancient Philosophy,” “Christ
among the Hebrews,” “The Fulness of Time,”
“The Advent,” “The Discipline,” “The Inaugu
ration, or John the Baptist,” “The Mythic The
ory,” “ The Teaching ofphrist,” “TieMiracles*”
“Christ in the Primitive Church,” “Christ in the
Middle Ages,” “ Christ in the Refonnation,”
“ Christ in Modern Society.”
AN ARCTIC BOAT JOURNEY, In the autumn of 1854.
By Isaac J. Hayes, Surgeon of the Second GrinneU
Expedition. Boston; Taggart & Chase. For sale
by Smith, English & Co., Philadelphia.
This is another volume of incidents and ob
servations of Arctic exploration. Dr. Hayes
was one of the party of Dr. Khne in the expe
dition of 1854. He was one of the party of
eight who separated the second winter from the
crew of the Advance, and made ah unsuccess
ful effort to reach the regions of civilized life
and returned to the brig after four months’ ad
venture. This volume is mostly taken np with
the details of these four months of hazard of
trial, and of endurame. The author is desirous
of making one other experiment at exploration
in the polar regions. He publishes this book
professedly to awaken interest in his plans and
purposes. He thinks that the obstacles and
hindrances of past experience may be avoided
by the knowledge already acquired, and that the
advantages of this northern exploration mky be
more hopefully attained. The concluding chap
ter'is a sanguine and confident description of
the utility and the prospective success of .ano
ther expedition, which he hopes that the publi
cation of this book, may contribute to render
practicable by aiding to furnish the needed out
fit.- "
A TRIP TO CUBA. By Mrs. Julia Ward Howe. Bos
ton: Ticknor & Fields. Philadelphia: J.-B. laiunln.
cott&Co.
There is a flippancy, and a genial and sprightly
vem of humor running through this narrative of
travel that makes it a very pleasant "arid enter
taining book. The incidents of the voyage, the
observations upon the country, institutions, habits
and customs, are pictured to the life, with a smile
of pleasantry bordering often on the ludicrous.-
The book is very neatly printed, .
T of E me?: RD ph S I S Vf f J™ 3 d ° in r ~'*-nce
of me. Philadelphia: ISenry B. Ashmead.
This unpretending little pamphlet fe'a collection
of Scripture passages, without note or comment
suitable to a communion season, and intended to
guide the'believer’s meditations on such an oc
casion. The object is excellent; and so far as the
work goes, it satisfactorily meets a felt want of
communicants.
EDGAR POE AND HIS CRITICS. Bt Sabah Helen
New York : Rudd A Carleton. Philadel
phia :;Lindsay & Blakiston. -
„ This is a neat little volume, written by an ad
mirer; in defence of,Poe againßthia.erlt.;* H j t in
L -eaKns amM^ 8 **® “W**™ * “ d
SaSpion; of one may well
be prond. r
' ON THE BOOK OF REVELATION. By
LECTURES O H Rector 0 f Trinity Church,
Seri 9: New Tort: Robt. Carter & Bros.,
Washington, • ' ; toIl . william Ballantyne.
630 Broadway- b y W- S. &A. Mar-
TTistorv fe the only interpreter of pro
aothenticity of lie Sonp»™
phecy- our faith- confirmed m the
***»■ .hr- —W
feTrf «d «!»««“■* »t »beh
time is daily as ’ *
Z, somites to nolae to the future, and
wOU Jd penetrate farther into « con-
decipher the nnintalhgtble mystene,
of the unrevealed. Cariosity prompts allmen to pry
into taewseerets of -Revelation, and henee the com
mentaries and interpretations of the Apocalypse
hunierpas thanpU otters, and iraug
6V S is the W°r of Trinity church,
Washington city, a man of reputation and learn
ing. Tie expository lectures that he o g.nal y
Spared fbfW P“ b '
Hshris to the world. That they should agree with
all others who have "recently written on the sub
ject is too much to ask or expect In many re
spects he favors the same generaP Aeory of Dr.
Cummingj in other respects he differs. In re
gard to the millennium and l&owmeisted events,
lis tows snbsianee,:these : that the papacy
mil he destroyed; the Jews restored and con
verted;' tire nations scourged; and the
righteous gathered together in a kmgS&n, at the
personal coming of' Christ. The &vionr will
manifest Himself to His people, and convey to
them His will, as distinctly as he did to the Jew
ish nation. The souls of the apostles and martyrs
and confessbrs-shall enjoy the blessed privilege of
being with Christ in his administration of his
kingdom previous to the resurrection. After the
continuance of this kingdom, for a jjipriod desig
nated as a thousand years—daring which Satan
shall be bound—Satan, loosed again, shall go out
to deceive the nations, and js|all .gather together
the enemies of God, who shall do battle against
the saints and- shall be consumed. Then shall
coriie the resurrection, and the final judgment,
and the separation to different t worlds of the
righteous and the wicked'. , .
THE EDINBURGH REVIEW. No. CCXXV. Jaau
ary, 1860. New York : -Leonard ScOtt'& Co. Phila
delphia : W. B’i Zieber, No; 106, South'-Third Street
The table of contents comprises ten articles, viz.:
“Mortality in Trades and Professions; —Rawlin-
son’s Herodotus,— Rogers on the Coal Fields of
North America and- Great Britian,—Lord Elgin’s
Mission to China and japari,—Alison’s'History of
Europe,—Acclimatization of Animals, —Progress
of Legal Reform,—Souvenirs and .Correspondenc:
of Madame Recamier,—British Taxtation,”—anl
a brief Sketch of the life of Lord Macaulay, one af
the Reviewers of the Edinburgh.
THE ATLANTIC MONTHLT for. March ls promptly
at hand. Its contents are as follows The French
Character;; TliePursuitof Knowledge wider Difficul
ties; Implore. Pace; The Progress of the'Electric
Telegraph; Love and Self-Lore; To the Muse; Screw-
Propulsion ; White Mice ; For Christie’s: Sake; The
jfursery Blsumey Stone ;" The; Profeßsor’aSlory; Is the
’ Religious 1 Want ol the Age Metl Seviews and Lit
erary Nohces; 'Recent American Publications: r
Under the management and -supervision of
Tickner.and -Fiehjsy this monthly maintains its
literary repnfatiotf|twhHe it gives inweasedFsads
faction by tlie omission of those' incidental ni.it
ters -which-were objeetionible-to a’ihrgeclaßii of
cessive numbers for this year with interest and
satisfaction. The Professor- ; is; spragMy and
amusing, and; awakens fresh interest- as'be un
winds the bobbin, and follows .the student, the
young pedagogue, in his career. He breaka the
thread this time-in an anxious place, jnst as we
expected to be led into an important secret. The
Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties, promises
well -is the Keligtous Want of the Age Met?
contains very valuable suggestions, and is worthy
of consideration.
The Eclectic Magazine, for March, has s
fine portrait of Alexander 1., Emperor of Russia,
with a beautiful steel engraving, “ Peter the Great,
saved by his mother.” The leading article is from
the London Review, on the Inspiration of Scrip
ture, and another on the Reeent Religions Revivals,
is from the same source. Oar Earth Past and
Presen ‘i Historic Phenomena of Human Races;
The Czar arid the. Skeptic; Phenomena of Paper,
Pen and Ink, with a variety of other articles, fit
np the number, and afford a volume of valuable
and entertaining, reading for all classes.
Harper’s Magazine for March is now issued.
The following is the list of articles and contrilu
toa: Eotge, a poem, by It.
H, Stoddard; Life among thriJiggers, by Mr.
Charles Hallock; Peep at the Elephant, by Mr.
Charles Nordhoff; Lost on the Prairie, a poe m , ly
Rose Terry; Coin in America, by Wm. U Prime
Disappeared, 11 A
Fish Story, by Mr. Edwards;. Part Second of FiU
Hugh Ludlow’s Story ofXittle Brother; The Pint
Colonists of Florida;" Our Christmas Tree, by Fits
( A Night in a Snowstorm, bj
E. Bradley; Lovell, the Widower, by
rhaokerty; Tithonius, by Alfred Tennyson- The
search feaNorth-westPassage ; NilNisißonum
—a Tribute to Hying *nd Mapajftlgy^ffyJlhiicke-
THE WATIOITAI CONVEirTlbir
, 9 f the friends of Union Prayer Meetings will
|e held m Sansom Street church, above Eighth
lo e av C ®“^ encin S Tuesday, March 6th, at
if, ■ , TJi e delegates are requested to report
themselves immediately on their arrival at the
s°°™°a f Men’s Christian Association,
No. WOg & 1011 Chestnut Street
f US ' &r^°th& circular, warrant
us ju the belief that this will be one of the most
frosting and important meetings of the kind
that few ever been held in our country.
Resides the pleasnre of meeting in devotional
a pW rethren frotn all parly of the land,
a great amount of valuable information will be pre
eented m the form of prepaid papers, reports,
P«? Shes, &c., that we. trust will abundantly repay
%sq who may attend the sessions of the conven
t on either from qbroad or from our own city.
.Then they that feared the Lord, spake often one
a r, hearkened and heard it,
iii. 16 b °° k ° f remembra P ce was written.”—Mai.
is stated that the Empe
lions ofdollara an a PP ro Priation of five mU
the Snnrt. * ™° roaprovement of the canals in
TheVai-n of Marseilles to Bordeaux,
deenpnoa - Wl| dened to twenty-six yards, and
tL* 0 Blxte ® n and a half feet. When cora
,of Gibraltar, and. which takes
ten days^ 8 ’ be acoom Pb B bed by this routed
larch 1.