GENESEE EVANGELIST.—WhoIe No. 794.
fottrg.
OOALA COELI.
De viiiis notin sr aealam nobis facinus si nitia ipsa calca
mm.—Augustin.
While admiring to the utmost the celebrated beauty
and stern morality of Longfellow’s poem on the above
passage, some Christian reader may, perchance, like the
writer of the following verseß, feel the soul’s wing left
to flutter painfully In Us flight towards the empyrean by
the entire absence of allusion to the “faith onoe de
llvered to the saints,” To such a one these stanzas are
Inscribed, It ia hoped they will not be found wholly
unadopted to our national columns.— Exchange.
Written on Time’s earliest pages,
Handed down by solemn ages.
Bead we there a wondrous story
Of a ladder framed in glory 1
Seen In dear recorded vision,
Beaohlng into heights elysian,
Thronged by seraph troops attending,
Lo! Stupendous steps ascending!
Mortal! in the legend hoary
Of that ladder framed in glory,
Thronged by angels sympathizing,
Bead a type of Heaven’s devising.
Thine, to realize the vision;
Thine, to scale the heights etysian;
Thine, the seraph guards attending;
Thine, the mighty stair ascending!
Plant thy foot on vain desirings,
Sordid alms and low aspirings,
Fnssions high and leanings bestial,
Soundings of the stair celestial!
Plant thy foot on specious seemlngs,
Licensed frauds and empty dreaming!,
Wronging! sad, revenglngs sadder,
Soundings of the heavenly ladderl
Talent fair in napkin hidden,
Ease supine in bower forbidden,
Poisoned chalice madly tasted,'
Prideless moments vainly wasted I
Higher yet! on selfish feeling,
Cold mistrust of Heaven’s, revealing,
Trampting Bcnle by Hell’s devices,
Baubles at eternal prices!
How the winged rush of legions
Bids thee hail to upper regions,-
Plant thy foot in heaven victorious,
Bow the knee to Christ, all glorious 1
LETTER FROM DR. BRAINERD.
A Trip to the West — Galesburgh—Knox College
—President Curtis, (fee,
The oconsion of my going West was an invita
tion to deliver an address at the commencement
of Knox College, at Galesburgh, Illinois, on the
27th of Jane. I have usually deolined ail such
invitations, but there were peculiar reasons for
accepting this. The Rev. <7. W. Gale, the pro
prietor and founder of the College, was my ac
quaintance in early life, baptized me on my in
troduction to the Church, and, had early dis
tinguished himself in my native state, as a Chris
tian and a philanthropist.
He had suffered the fate which usually attends
the promoters of new and great enterprises.
While the College was In embryo people shook
their heads, and thought the projeator visionary;
when he had succeeded in creating for the insti
tution, permanence, capital, credit and influence;
then sectarian zeal and selfish cupidity stepped
in to rob the projector of his well-earned success,
and the Presbyterian Church of the prestige of
the Institution.
At one time it seemed as if personal malice and
sectarian bigotry would banish Mr. Gale and all
Presbyterians from the control of the College.
Ministers of high reputation made it their busi
ness to go tip and down in Illinois solely to de
nounce the Rev. Mr. Gale and the Presbyterians
associated with him. For a time these measures
seemed to promise success, and, Mr. Gale was
likely to prove a martyr to his honest zeal for
education. But the good providence of God,
finally, rescued the institution from its usurpers
and gave it over, somewhat crippled, to the care
of its early friends.
Knowing this chapter in the history of Knox
College, I was willing to go out there and endea
vor to strengthen the hands of its founders and
true friends.
Galesburgh is now an incorporated city of
10,000 inhabitants. It is situated 50 miles east
of the Mississippi river, and 169 west of Chicago,
in the most fertile portion of Illinois.
About twenty-seven years ago, the Rev. Mr.
Oole, then of Northern New York, conceived a
plan of founding a Christian colony, and a Col
lege on this spot. 10.000 acres were bought and
sold out on such terms as to have a site for a Col
lege and capital to endow it. Some of the early
immigrants, noble Christian men with their fami
lies, were three months on their way by water.
Several died by disease contracted on the way and
in the poor huts in which they spent the first
winter.
But these sufferingsiare long past. Galesburgh
is now a city of rural mansions, covering a targe
space, embowered in trees, and distinguished for
tbe comfort, intelligence, taste and hospitality of
its inhabitants. The immigrants went to bene-,
fit the West} but in going they have securod a
temporal prosperity beyond their hopes.
The college has. a clear capital of 150.000 dol
lars. Its principal building is one of the most
imposing and beautiful I have ever seen, costing
40.000 dollars. The Female college building cost
15.000 dollars. The grounds are spacious, orna
mented and beautiful. The pupils attending the
last year in the various departments, reach 252.
All this has been accomplished under the prompt
>ngs of a single mind in the original plan, and in
the short space of about twenty-five years.
We see no reason why the college may not
reach enlarged prosperity and usefulness. Its
control is now firmly fixed in the hands of its ori
gioal projectors and friends, and they are large
hearted, intelligent, liberal-minded men.
I’resident Curtis ia a gentleman of great sin
verity and simplicity of purpose, a true friend of
his Church, amiable in manner, clear as a scholar,
aß d conscientious in the discharge of his duty.
1 heard but one opinion of the professors,, and
that was in their favor. I attended several soeial
gatherings in Galesburgh, and was'-Btruok with
l “e intelligence, good taste, and amiability of
these around me. Perhaps no city of the Union
of equal population has a society of higher tone.
t “o liquor is sold in the city, there seemed
°heno loafers nor drunkards. Young men or
could hardly be put in a place more ex
*®pt from temptation. Board is cheap, tuition
the climate healthy, and access easy
[ew the Mississippi and the Lakes. We hope
e tostitution has a noble future.
The illness of the President and other causes,
had prevented the drilling of the speakers for
commencement, so that they stumbled in memory
and tried the nerves of spectators, hut they all
discovered, practical good sense, earnestness and
good literary training. They will speak better
next year. ■ > ‘ ■
After leaving Galesburg, by ibe kindness of
M. B, Osborn, Esq., of Rock Island, I had a
buggy ride of fifty miles over the prairies to his
home. Such fields of wheat and corn, such'
stretches of luxuriant pasture, such roaming herds
of animals, such miles and niilea of fertile soil, I
had never before seen. It seemed as if Illinois
alone could almost feed the inhabitants of earth.
To a traveller from the East the country seems to
be not a quarter filled up. He looks around and
around for the people to eat up this abundance.
Though early in life I spent five years at Cin
cinnati, I had never until the present year seen
a prairie. I shall not soon forget these impres
sions. To my fancy, the land views seemed to be
land lakes, sleeping in sunshine. The rolling
prairies oflowa reminded me of a great sea, after
a long storm, its mighty swells with all their
graceful curves, and smooth surfaces, transformed
to earth and carpeted with verdure. But lam
becoming poetic and pause for this week.
For the American Presbyterian.
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
. NO. IV.-—EXODUS.
" And Ike Lord said unto Moses and unto
Aaron, ' Take to you handfuls of ashes of the
furnace, and let Moses sprinkle them, towards
the heaven, in the sight of Pharaoh.’”—Exodus
ix. 8.
There is, in classic history, mention made
more than once of the enstom of sprinkling or
scattering ashes of a sacrifice to the wind. I
am indebted to an'.old Writer (Bryant, on the
Plagues of Egypt, p. 116,) for important sug
gestions in the following remarks :
The “furnace” was the symbol of the afflic
tions of the Israelites. Thus in Dent. iv. 20:
they were told that the Lord had taken them
out of the furnace, after they had escaped from
Egypt. So Egypt was their “furnace.” This
appears more plainly in Jer. xi. 4: when Egypt
was called the iron furnace.
Again: it is said that in certain Egyptian
cities, styled Typhonian—such as Abarei. Brfei
ris, Idithya and Heliopolis, men of a certain de
scription, evidently foreigners, and probably Is
raelites, were sacrificed, as it was supposed, for
the good of the people, being horned alive upon
high altars. the sacrifice was complete,
the priests gathered the ashes and scattered
them abroad, throwing them up into the air,
that wherever they might fall a blessing might
descend.
Now the act of Moses and Aaron in scatter
ing the ashes after the manner of their priests,
was followed by a curse of blood, and the ter
rible contrast between the supposed efficacy of
the sprinkling by their priests, and the actual
curse which fell npon the land after the act of
Moses and Aaron, shonld have made the mira
cle more wonderful and terrific in the eyes of
Pharaoh, and it was additional evidence of the
hardness of his heart that he did not take alarm.
At the same time, it was a sign to the Israelites
that the ashes from the furnace of their affliction
shonld be to the Egyptians who tormented
them a canse of terror and death. H. S.
For the American Presbyterian.
THE GREAT CHOICE.
I have thought that the object of our life’s
discipline is not so mack to secure either oar
happiness or oar misery, as it is to furnish as the
requisite data, by which we may decide delibe
rately and intelligently between good and evil.
When this world arose in beauty at the fiat
of the Supreme, he saw that it was “very good.”
Each several arrangement of man’s primal
home was modelled to perfection. Words can
not tell how glad the rising, and how fair the
setting of that earliest sun; how balmy the
breezes that blew over Paradise, when in the
still evening the Holy Father himself descended
and walked the unsullied earth with his loyal,
| happy children.
But there came a Tempter; who said to Eve
that she learned but half the problem of exist
ence, while tasting of good alone—that her Cre
ator had purposely hidden from her an equal
knowledge—the knowledge of evil. So Eve put
forth her hand to taste the sweets of disobe
dience, and what could the Great Father, in his
loving wisdom do, but to show her, since she
would have it bo, what evil meant? In the
j deserted joys of their beloved Eden, In the
earth cursed with thorns and thistles for their
sake, in the fatal passion of their eldest born,
our first parents were but learning the lesson
they had willed to learn.
Indeed, it had been just, when they had
tamed from all the good their Heavenly Father
had been pleased to bestow, to seek the for
bidden and deadly knowledge of evil, had He
left them to the bitter consequences of their
woful choice. Such was Satan’s design; but
the Great Father bad other thoughts. Bought
back to pardon by a price beyond our finite
computation, and fully taught to refuse the evil
and choose the good, by an experience most
kindly, mingled of both, man should stand once
more not only restored to peace and favor, and
the unutterable blessing of unalloyed and lasting
good—-not only freed from the power of evil—but
crowned, under the Great Captain of his salva
tion, as victor over those very foes that sought to
drag him to the pit. - ■
And here commences bur life history. Learn
ing mush of suffering and penalty from our cradles,
we yet have sweet glimpses of love, of beauty, of
glory; all wooing us to choose them for our fu
ture portion.' And, lest in wilfulhess in shame,
or recklesness, we drift with the current of sin,
angel hands are beckoning us, and holy voices
entreat us at every step, “Turn ye, turn ye, for
why will ye die?” And then, in sorrowful pano
rama/the bitter consequences of evil pass before
us. Each day of pain is but a chapter of our les
son,; For our warning, each path of wrong has its
swift and terrible penalty. And when our eyes
are pained, and our hearts ache to see the ruin
sin has brought, we, must- thank God that the
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8,1861.
knowledge is permitted us here, that we may not
be learning it evermore. ’ ' s - '' ' ■
And thus, it seems to me a wrong excuse for
a worldly or sinful life, that we are surrounded
with so much evil. Is, this evil seen by daily
contact, to he so, lovely that one would retain its
companionship forever?
No ignorance ban excuse us from the responsi
bility of this momentous choice—no indifference
evade it. Before us is visibly set life and death
—the blessing and the curse—while we know,
our decision may be, its results will be
irrevocable, complete and eternal. * "*
Mossgiel, Pa.
THE' RELIGIOUS WORLD ABROAD!
There has been a general lull in Evangelical
inovements daring the past month or two. The
anniversary meetings of April and May consti
tute a kind of culminating point in the year’s
work of the Church, to which it is not uncom
mon or unnatural that a season of comparative
inaction should succeed. The leaven of infi
delity in the Church of England is manifesting
some new forms; and" the stanch churchmen
are still pushing to secure the discipline of
its abettors, through the painfully tedious ma
chinery of a church-organization, 1 which -evi
dently-was. not designed for drawing the lines
clearly, between true and false professors of the
faith. Revival movements are still observable
in Ireland. The recent death of Cavour, and
the succession of Bicasoli to his place, as Prime
Minister of Italy, is, perhaps, a change for the
better, so far as the interests of true religion In
the peninsula are concerned. The rebellion
in our country is attracting the attention of
Christian people everywhere, and the contrac
tion of our missionary enterprises, in conse
quence of financial embarrassments at home,
is a matter of general regret. Instances of
enlarged liberality among the converts at some
of our stations, particularly among the Nesto
rians, are, at this juncture,- especially cheering.
ENGLAND.
Convocation of Canterbury on the Essays
and Reviews. —ln the Lower House, Archdea
con Denisbn of Taunton, presented the report
of the committee appointed' to examine the
volume, which distinctly specifies the objection
able and anti-Scriptural traits of its teaching.
The gorrespondent of the Church Journal
says The discussion continued all through the
last day of the session, the opposition by a small
minority being very adroit and very perse
vering. There was not one person to defend
the-book, the best thing said of it being that it
was not quite so bad as some made it out. Bat
there were in the minds of many serious doubts
as to the policy of reviving the bid plan of
passing Synodical judgment on books, since in
their opinion it not only got up a long, prolific,
and imbittered .controversy about each particu
lar hook, producing the public impression that
Convocation was a body in which the clergy
chiefly devoted themselves to condemning an,d
denouncing one another, thns 'making them
selves a nuisance, besides advertising the book
condemned, and making it circulate Hen' times
as vigorously as before. Others were befogged
so that they could: not see the difference be
tween condemning a book and condemning the
man who wrote it. They thought, therefore,
that the writers ought to be heard in explana
tion or defence; and as one of them (Dr. Wil
liams) is to be brooght before the ecclesiastical
court for his share in the work, some thought
nothing ought to be done by Convocation for
fear of prejudicing him in his cause. But the
solid majority of two or three to one defeated
every one of the eight or nine amendments or
riders to the original proposition, and the bold
and unflinching Archdeacon Denison carried
through his motion, —which is a* strict and
prop'er response to the resolution of the Upper
Mouse—by a vote of 31 to 8. Now that the
Lower House has declared to the Upper that
there are grounds for a Synodical judgment, it
is for the Bishops to decide what they will do
next. And they take till next February to
think about it, until when no more business
will be done.
Preaching in Theatres.—Caring the last
season, 165 services have been held, attended
by 261,100 people—an average of about 1600
people at each service, v All the expenses, with
a trivial exception, have been met.
English and Hindoo Deists in .Communi
cation—The JVetos of the Churches contains
a cop/"of “a remarkable letter from the well
known Mr. Francis W. Newman, addressed to
the Brahma Samaj, an association of Vedantists
or Deists, who: profess to trace back Hinduism
to a pure deistic worship. -It is sufficiently bold
in describing the spread and prospects of infi
delity in England, and must, so far as credited,
throw contempt among secular-minded Hindus
on the cause of the gospel in Indian Mr. New
man represents that almost all active-minded
and highly-educated , men in England/have
thrown off all sharply-defined belief in Chris
tianity, and the most of them do not avow this
only from unwillingness to pain friends in their
own family, or to lose the friendship and society
of accomplished men-ri;he higher clergy and
others—or to damage their political prospects,
or because they, do sincerely reverence much in
Christianity; and/when not hard students, have
not thrown off all belief in the preternatural.”
BCOTI.ANU.
Open-air Preaching.-—lts Legality ter be _
Tested A very important question in. con
nexion with the revival and open-air preaching
movements has been raised in Glasgow. The
Rev. Dugald McColl of that city, well known
as an .earnest and successful evangelist, had a
church erected for him .in the Bridgegate, about
two years ago, with a stone pulpit affixed to the
outside of the wall. For eight Sundays of last
year, Mr. McColl preached from this elevation
to constantly increasing crowds of attentive and
peaceable listeners, including a considerable pro
portion of Roman Catholics, who form the bulk
of the population of the Bridgegate. This sea
son, when Mr. McColl announced his iutentiou
of resuming his out-door services by the use of
the stone pulpit, the Roman Catholics got up
a memorial to the Sheriff of the county, Sir
Archibald Alison, representing that the preach
ing was offensive to them; that it would pro
voke violence; that it was, moreover, an ob
struction of the thoroughfare, and must be put
down. The Sheriff at first desired, and then
commanded Mr. McColl to desist from this in
tention, The affair has excited a good deal of
indignation, and steps have been taken to try
the legality of the Sheriff ’s interdict. We be
lieve' it is the determination of the Protestant
friends who have taken up the case not to rest
satisfied with an adverse decision until they
have carried it, if necessary, from the Court of
Session to the highest court of appeal in the
kingdom.
Education of the Daughters of the Minis
try. —At the annual meeting of the College for
the Daughters of Ministers of the Church of
Scotland, it was,reported that £4484 had now
been subscribed to the capital fund, besides an
*nuftl subscriptions amounting-to JEI6O It is
expected that the -erectioijhof tho ! Go]iege'"will'
be proceeded with in pctoiet of nextyear.
ißELisn|. ; ""
Evangelists still ActiveX—M r. Raflelifle has
been addressing large ahdiiiieeb in the Metro
politan Hall, Dublin. • t'cnParis- has
Produced a deep impression in Dnblin; there
were persons here to whom'jthat visit has been
blessed in the conversion o|theirrelatives; and
the way was thus geuially prepared foir him.
Mr. Henry, (who was his companion in Paris,
and whose conversion • "last yeaiy drew
mnch?attention:to the'revival movement,) Ned
Usher, who, with John HOtAbledon, five years •
agp was a dock portbr 'ih : 'iyverpoBh and' Mr
Clarke, an excellent Christian gentleman from
Somersetshire, have also tikeh part 'in these
meetings. : In' some quartera'-theitnpressiohs Of
last year seem to be fading 4Way; in others, ac
quiring fresh vitality. 1 1 . L <::■ ■<;
Mr. Richard Weaver is cbndneting meetings
in Belfast, where a “monster” prayer-meeting
sas ohtlie' EiWs^^fjhiy: ‘Mrßad
cliffe also visits * the North, jan'd' then returns to
Dublin. ""L
FaANCE.->
The Revival in labors : 6ftwO
Englishmen; in Paris who donld not say more
than three words—tlioagh jthey were very sig r
niScant—“God is love,”/fn,, the French lan--
gnage, and whose addresses' had to be trans
lated to the French audiences, who, strange to
say, crowded to hear thenS,- remind ns of the
similar wort of the Scotch brothers Haldame,
who visited Geneva, perhaps 25 years ago, and
whose simple piety and z'eaj wrought such mar
vellous results among the cold and skeptical
students of Geneva, including the conversion of
that favoured and distinguished instrument in
the bands of God—D’Anbigne. The News of
the Churches, June 20th;ifays:—.
“ The English-.evangelists left Paris on June
3d, after having' stayed wi tiff us from April 18th,
during which time above 3fiffpersons of all ranks
and ages profess to have been saved. And no w
they hare left, the work has not stopped.. Plans
of usefulness, never before'tji ought of; are formed
—each takes up his or hhrjportion of the work,
instead of leaving it to thejpastor or evangelist,
always overdone for lack' of lay-assistance;
prayer-meetings, apd 'niedS'n'gs for singing or
reading the Scriptures .mingled with prayer,
are multiplying all ove”F 1 P t |fcris, and show consi
derable life. No perturiJt&jjyi in the churches
has been the result’,of\tif||e meetings, but in
crease of vigor both in paslbrs— all I mean, who
in any degree aided the work—and in
their congregations. *
Disastrous Effect.of ps.- Troubles' upon the
Work of. Noangeliialiom— The same corre
spondent says:—“Tlie;#bie little band of
Baptist Christians, oTwhagirl have before told
yon, as numbering five cfipches and about TOO
hearers, chiefly gathered opt of the Roman Ca
tholic mass, in the Aisnf|,|is now in the utmost
distress. The pastors .find" evangelists have
hitherto been supported by'the American Bap
tist Missionary tJnidn, whose se'at is at-Boston.
The present crisis in the iflnited States has so
far diminished its resources, that it must relin
quish its missions on the continent of Europe.”
The Paris Press on the Papacy. —From ah
article in the Presse we*make the following
extracts to show how boldly that once deli
cate subject is now handM.; It ia in response
to the following barefaeel 'assumption of the
Monde:— . .
“The Papacy,”says Use Monde, ‘-‘has always
lived in peace with Italy; and so long as Italy
remained Christian, she surrounded with respect
the sovereign pontiffs.” -
To which the iVesse answers:— '
“The Romans haye risen in insurrection one
hundred-and fifty times against the Papacy;
the Roman States, taken in a lftmp, one hun
dred and eleven times.. In no country have
the people evinced more obstinately the most
implacable hatred, the most persistent hatred of
their Government. Such is the fashion in which
the Papacy has always lived at peace with Italy.
“The whole of the Italian literature is noto
riously anti-papal. Dante scourges the popes;
Petrarch does not spare the lash; Boccaecia
treats them with contempt; all the Italian ro
mance writers, including. Monseigneur Matteo
Bandello, Bishop of Tortona, have .taken for
their plots the vices and excesses of the court
of Rome and Italian clergy. Doubtless we need
not speak of Macchiavel. All, or nearly all,
the Italian historians; jand, poets are “anti-pa
pists; Manzoni,. despite bis genius, has tried in
vain to stem the stream ;-and Cesare Canto, by
an attempt of the same description, lost his
popularity immediately!”
Death of Count Carnur. — Tuscany, June
liih, 1861. —Great has been the mourning
throughout Italy for the death of Count Ca
your. The unexpected news, as it flew along
the telegraphic wires, from,-province to pro
vince, produced consternation and sorrow. The
first painful impression seemed to be that, with
the death of the architect, the whole fabric of
national unity and independence must fall to
ruins; but that quickly yielded to the anxious
thought, who can ■ fill his place, and .carry to
perfection the difficult enterprise both in Rome
and Yenitia to which he has pledged the na
tion? Barbn Bettino Ricssoli has been called
by the voice of the nation to be Prime Minister,
instead of the great man whom Italy has lost;
and it is to be hoped that he may.carry.the
affairs of the Italian-kingdom to as happy V
termination as he did, the affairs of Tuscany,—
for to bis wisdom, courage, and indomitable
will, is mainly owing the annexation of this
Grand Duchy.— Mews of the Churches.'
liicaeoWs —One of Rieasoli’s first
acts; is in opposition to clerical oppression and
magisterial injustice, viz*, ordering the opening
of the new Waldensian church at Leghorn, which
since last the congregation has been
interdicted from using. By a singular coinci
dence, one of his last acts, as Governor General
of Tuscany, was an order to allow the Waldcnses
to worship in their own property in Leghorn,
an order which his successor in office,
and his subordinates, chose to d isobey, and now
one of his first acts as.Prime,Minister is to issue
instructions that his former order, as Governor-
General of Tuscany, about this church, shad be
obeyed. This order arrives just in time, as the
congregation had received warning that after
the 22d of this month it should no longer Bp
allowed the use pf the present locale.—lbid-
Thp Salviati Palace at Florence has been
purchased for the use bf the Waldensian Semi
nary lately removed to this city. Among the
contributors, we obse'rvVthe name of James
Lennox, of New York, for a subscription of
SSOOO. The Irish Presbyterian Church made
up an unpaid balance of half that amount.
OEKMANY.
The WArleniberg Concordat,—An interest
ing account of the debate on this measure, in
the Wiirtemberg Chamber of Deputies, is given
in the N. Euarig. Kirchenzeitung. The discus
sion was opened on the 12th, of March by, the
presentation of majority and minority reports
from the committee. The majority report was
to the'effect that the chamber’could not enter
upon the discussion"of the project, so long as
it was not understood Uv be open to alteration
by future ; legislation, Sjx ;Out ofnine of the
committee, which. was made up of S , Protest
ants and 4 Romanists,, agreed in , this, report.
The remaining; 3 ’members; jpportpd, a. resola-
| tidti; "Thit lfie ' Concordat formed with 1 the
F«|WI See, April 8j 1857,ris not binding; that
they protest, against its ; enforcement, and re
quest his majesty’s government to suspend the
operation of the agreement of December 21st,
1857, and arrange these delations according to
the constitution andlawsof the land.?’ These
dates refer to the agreements actually made
between the? king and the pope, which the depu
ties were now called to ratify. There-were 284
petitions against the Concordat, and bat one in
its favour,'before the chamber. On the 16th of
March, long before the list of 24 speakers, who
expected to discuss the'measure, had been ex
hausted, a, vote was taken, and the report of the
minority, was, adopted by 63 to.. 27 votes. The
Prime Minister Von Riimelin soon after re
signed. , '
The “ Essays and Reviews ” in Germany.
The Germans regard the storm which has been
raised this year in England over the Essays
and Reviews with interest and some, surprise.
Wp quote frob, an article in .the N- Evang,
KifchenzeUung of the 27th of April: ''.’ln' re
gard 'to- Dr. 'WiII iams’ admi ration of Bunsen,
ttoe : writer observes ‘'rather- sarcastically that
not’ have found so warm, an
admirer among German theologians as among
the English in Dr, Williams, who suffers himself
to toe carried away at the conclusion of his essay
so far as to frame’ a pathetical, bnt unsuccess
ful, poem to his praise.” He expresses his sur
prise. that Williams,..with the whole host of
Bunsen’s-English admirers, have “no suspicion
of the fact that all this mucli-latuleJ illumina
tion . appeared by no means first with Bunsen’s
Biblical investigations, but is the comprehen
sive result of uhe old Rationalism, the later
critical methods of introduction to the. Scrip
tures, and the more modern inquiries in natural
science.” .
The writer says 'somewhat despondingly:—
“Of course, our German theology is held ac
countable for all the 1 mischief. If it was diffi
cult enough before* to convince the English
clergy that the spread of Rationalism in Ger
many was checked, these developments will put
it beyond doubt in their minds that our whole
theology is corrupt, although Lord Shaftesbury
recently well remarked of the Essays that the
authors were adopting, the cast-off clothing of
the Germans.” The.cure of the evil he expects
will be found in this unjustly suspected German
Theology itself He thinks that a trial, &c.,
will but magnify the evil by giving to the
offenders the eclat martym? (The ideas of
church discipline among German Christians Tor
errors of doctrine or practice, it is well known,
are very, lax.) After the discussion resulting
from such proceedings has spread the evil far
and wide, he thinks “help will besought in the
positive ‘ and believing German Theology, and
the remedy-for the poisou now infeetiug the
English Church will;j?e procured from ;us;” As
to the points of doetrjne involved —on which he
says but little-—lie dismisses them in the con
cluding paragraph with the remark that the
real question at issue is that of inspiration. Hfe
maintains that-the prevalent idea on this topic
among the; English clergy is too mechanical to
stand at this day, and expresses the hope that,
as the result of the agitation, a deeper and
bore vital understanding of the truth of Scrip
ture may be gained in English theology; which
would not be bought too dear by such a strug
gle. Scientific attacks upon Scripture he says
cannot be put down by authority. True; but
the anthqrs. of them .cannot rightly claim a
place fn the Christian* Church wfi'dss founda
tions they undermine.
The Elberfeld Revival.— The Elberfeld
Synod met at the call of the .two Evangelical
churches in Elberfeld, on the 30th of April, to
consider the aspects of the remarkable religious
movement in the Orphan House, in that place,
particularly in view of the violent interference
of the authorities of the town to suppress the
movement. This Synod says the correspondent
of the'jVeio Evang. Kirchenzeitung, is, beyond
question, the most important of the twenty-five
composing the Rheuish Church, and made up
of men most, free from what it terms a Metho
distic tendency. This body passed the follow
ing resolution with bnt one dissenting voiced—
that of the Reformed pastor of Elberfeld:—
Synod expresses their deep regret at the
measures taken by the authorities of the town
towards a remarkable religious phenomenon
amoDg the children of the Orphan House, which
must be regarded as essentially an awakening,
the religious character of which they ignored
while they brought severe damage upon the
deepest religious interests of the Evangelical
churches of the place.
This important decision, says the correspond
ent, outweighs all the individual opinions which
have been expressed upon this topie.. A memo
rial upon the awakening, which had been drawn
up by seven Elberfeld pastors and addressed, to
the Synod,, and which, by its calm tone and the
testimonies it gave from the most competent
sources to the favourable changes wrought on
the subjecls-of the awakening, Undoubtedly con
tributed much to bring about the result.
Pour other reports regarding the deeply in
jured rights of the Church in this juncture
were committed to the moderator for exami
nation. "
MISSIONARY FIELDS.
Bemarkahle Liberality among the Nesfo
rians.—Rev. Mr. Breath writes froimOroomiah,
April 2d, to the Missionary Herald, as follows:
, f “At the monthly concert in Geog Tapa, last
Sabbath afternoon, John, the pastor, called for
a volunteer laborer for the mountains,' and ap
pealed to the people for his support. While he
was yet speaking,’ one of the audience arose,
and pledged about a. month’s support for the mis
sionary. This example was infectious. One and
another arose, contributing unwonted amounts,
and soon the whole congregation was in a blaze
of enthusiasm. Those who could command
money pledged money, and others contributed
wheat, various portions’of their vineyards, or
all or portions of, their produce, for the coming
'season. Women took off their ornaments, and
one gave money she had been gathering, by
slow accumulations,, for a dyess for a little
daughter.
Yesterday was monthly concert at the city.
Some, of the speakers narrated with earnest
language and manner, what they had seen the’
day before in Geog Tapa; and, God having un
doubtedly prepared the hearts of those present
by bis Spirit, they were speedily; aglow with
even a more, intense flame than that which pre
vailed in the village the day before. They were
frequently reminded that they were poor, and
urged to’be cautious and to give no more than
their cooler judgment would approve; but still
they gave; As in Geog Tapa, they gave money,
portions of their vineyards or their produce, or
oruameuts. One gave a small inheritance lie
had recently received from a.deceased sister,
bidding thereto something, as he said, from
himself; and another gave a sum which he had
been saving for a grave-stone for his wi-e.
The. correspondent of the News of the
Churches, yvriting from, Constantinople, refers
,id the same surprising movement. We quote
his letter : ' * r ’’ " •
■' In one of these meetings, the Chnrch of Christ,
for the extension of which the contributions
were : made, having been spoken of as “ the
bride, the Lamb’s wife,’' the imaginative people
caught up the word, and one offered- money for
“the bride's veil.”; Another, comparatively
rich; gave “thirty-tomans for a crown for"the
bride.” 1 Another; said; It is customary,^when
ilie bride is taken to her new Home, to fire a
gun 5?I will pay so much for' tbc gun.” Ano
tber, so much for “the bride’s;horse,”etc. The
movement originated among the people them
selves, and it fa to be hoped that it will be the
beginning of a new era among the Nest aria ns.
Mr. Breath says, there is noNestorian worth
over*two thousand dollars. The total amount
raised ;was five hundred dollars, -
■'r-i.! Mr.. Williams, the Converted Turk.— The
Statement has appeared in an English paper
.that Mr. Williams, the converted Turk, wiiose
history has awakened so much interest in Eng
land and America, has left the American mis
sionaries, with who'm he has been: hitherto con
nected, to enter the service of the Gospel Pro-,
pagfition Society. Those who see this statement
may be disposed to inquire whether this move
ment on the part of Mr. Williams indicates in
him a tendency to High Chnrchism. It is well
understood ;here.that; this is not the case, but
that the change of service is the result of long
continued solicitations on one side, and of a
restiveness on Mr. Williams’ part under .those
restraints to which every Helper in a system of
'missionary operations must be subjected. Mr.
Williams still professes uridiminisbed esteem
and affection for his former friends.. .Whether
be will find, the larger, liberty he seeks in his
rieyv; relations remains to be seen.— News of the
Churches. ,
Tinnevelly.— Rev. S. T. Tucker, of the
Church Missionary Society, (English) gives an
interesting, account of the progress of this mis
sion, the scene of recent great revivals. He
says: '
“The satisfactory state of the older congre
gations may be gathered from the fact that, in
thirty villages out of forty, there has been a
greater or smaller increase of Christians, and
this.effected, under God, by the zeal and teach
ing of the older Christians. This has been re
markably the case in the hamlets round, and in
’the neighborhood of Panneivilei. In seven of
these hamlets, in 1859, there were more than
foor hundred heathen, besides Christians; now,
with the exception of four families, all are pro
fessedly disciples of Christ, and appear deter
mined to remain Ho. The increase of so many
converts in our immediate : neighborhood lias
greatly helped to swell the; congregation every
Sabbath in the large church, so that there are
sometimes a thousand worshippers assembled at
the noon service in the Panneivilei church.
■ A spirit of liberality is shown here also. The
missionary says-Moreover, the fact that six
hundred'and eighteen rupees, six annas, and
nine pice have, been subscribed by tbe Christians
of the district for missionary purposes, during
the last year, is some indication of spiritual
life among the people. Is there any place in
England where so much Is collected in propor
tion to.the wealth of the people? Gnanapra
gasam, a palmyra-climber, brought, at a late'
missionary meeting, the sum of four rnpees, five
annas, and eight pice in a missionary box. His
average daily wages are about two annas, or
three pence. Calculating the daily laborer’s
wages iu England at two shillings per diem,
Gnanapragasam’s offering would be equal to
£3, 9s. Do we often find an English laborer
giving so mnch, or collecting so mach, for a re
ligions object ? .
The conversions, however, are mainly - to no
minal Christianity, with very hopeful indica
tions bf-further and more decided results. Mr.
Tucker says:
Thejtotal number, during the past year, of.
‘ new converts, amounts to about 1,100 people,
a much greater number than I have ever before
been permitted to receive in one year.
Of coarse I cannot look upon these 1,100
new people as all true Christians., On the con
trary, I fear that there are but few among them
that are true children of God- Yet the facts
that they have destroyed their idols, which they
once worshipped; that they willingly attend the
means of grace where the gospel is preached;
and live, so far as man can see, a consistent
life, is a source, to my own mind, of mnch joy
and thanksgiving to the God of all grace.
Private prayer ought to be regarded - as a plea
sure and privilege rather than a duty.. But public
prayer may fitly be spoken of as a duty, since it
is seldom that one would of choice pray publiely
for his own devotion, but only because it is his
duty to the brotherhood. No service needs more,
and none is susceptible of so little improvement
by means of instruction. This is tin exercise into
which men cannot be drilled. It is ungracious
even to criticise what purports to be an address
to God. Yet there are some suggestions which
we may venture to make.
We think it very important that the pastor, or
some leading officer should be faithful with the
younger members of the church in pointing out
blemishes and faults, which may easily be corrected
at first, but which, if suffered to go on, will become
ineradicable. One man falls into a whining tone,
another prays in an inaudible whisper, another
exalts his voiee;far beyond- the natural conversa
tional pitch, and'others lose their natural tones
entirely, and pray in a kind of sacred falsetto.
Some talk in tenor, but pray in bass; some con
verse in upper bass tones; but pray in tenor tones.
If a brother first speaks and then prays, a stranger
listening from the outside would think that two
men had been speaking. This habit becomes very
marked in the ministratious of ministers of some
branches of Christ’s ehuvcb, many of whom come,
at length,- to have a conversational voice, a praying
voice, a hymn.-voice, a reading voice, and a preach
ing .voice; ,
Men are seldom entirely true to themselves and
natural in their prayers'. There is a certain round
of topics supposed to be neebbary to symmetrical
prayer. These they punctiliously introduce, whe
ther their heart craves such utterauce or not. If,
When a Christian brother is in the full tide of such
a prayer, .uttering his regular succession of topics,
Christ would really appear before'him, how ex
tremely impertinent would most of his petitions
seem addressed to a living and visible Saviour!
- Thus a man’s real feeling is not expressed; and
matters quite good in themselves,- but almost
wholly indifferent to him, constitute the-bulk of
_petition. lleverential ’tones and' wcll-cohneeted
sen tences, expressing l very proper ideas do not con
stitute prayer. Tbe very essence of praying is
that it conveys the real desire or thoughts of, the
suppliant. When a man really reveres God, how
simple is the language of veneration! If a man’s
heart is breaking with sorrow,or depressed by care,
or fretted by ill-adjusted affairs, why should he
leave the - real straiu of feeling, and strike into a
false key? . -
It is .remarkable how skilfully men will con
. trive to avoid all real interests, and express almost
• wholly those'which are not real to them. A man
prays, for the glory of God, for the advancement
of his kingdom, for the evangelization of the world;
but .he does not allude to the specialities in which
his very life may stand, nor to the wants which
every day are working their impress upon his
character. The cares,'the petty annoyances; the
impatience of temper, pride;’selhindulgenee, sel
fishness, consciously and unconsciously, or on the
t other hand,.the gladness of daily life,, the blessings
of home, the felicities of friendship, the joys and
successes of life, in short, fill the things' which one
would talk of to a venerable parent, in an hour of
confidence, are excluded from prayer. Without
a doubt, reserve and delicacy must be often exer
cised.in the disclosure of one’s secret and private
experiences. But this is not to be carried so far
•as to strip prayer of all" its leaves and blossoms,
-and-leave it likeaTormaT’busli or tree in winter,
■j'ff vz;: -nth -tvh - i-:- -
VOL. V—NO. 49,—Whole No. 266.
r.-.-n -I
PUBLIC PRAYER.
with barren branches standing in oold outline
against a bleak sky. „
THE COIfNECTipW OF SLAVERY WITH
THE WAB—ITS DOOM.
I It has been said that the war has nothing to do
with43layery, but no one Will pretend that Slavery
has nothing, to dp with , the war. The war is not
made upon Slavery. The slaves have not been
proclaimed free, and ealled into the service of the
Government; although any foreign nation at war
with a slaveholding country Would avail itself of
so conspicuous an element of weakness. Slavery
still exists, with all its constitutional guarantees, in
i the Border States, and the citizens of these Stales
who are not open in' rebellion have repeatedly had
their runaway slaves returned to them. It is only
in those cases where slaves have run - away from
rebel masters, who freely lend them to the rebel
; Government for the construction of fortifications,
or for soldiers in the field, that the commanders of
our armies have refused to deliver them up. It
is, therefore, literally true that the war has nothing
to.do with ! Slavery, .while Slavery has everything
to do with; tlm w»rvV 4l Hut4)y 41ayery. the Souths
era States would be on as good terms with those
of the Worth'as Illinois with .Massachusetts, and
the idea of dissolvins the Union, or'a war between
the North and the South, would be.as preposterous
as that of a war between Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The most natural way to put an end to a contro
versy is to remove the cause of it, and since the
war has resulted from the refusal of the Slavery
propagandists to submit to the laws, the obvious
and certain cure for the political malady is the
abolition of Slavery. The Government will be
slow in adopting this radical mode of treatment,
but the public mind is rapidly ripening to the con
clusion that no other will prove effectual. If un
dertaken at all, it should be done-with a strong
hand. The Utmost care should be taken to prevent
and to punish violent outbreaks among the slaves,
as well as every tendency to rapacity, violence and
lawlessness, whether the enemies or friends of the
Union be the victims. In the Border States, where
the body of the people are for the Union, reason!
able compensation should be made to slave-holders,
exeept where they have taken an active part in be
half of the rebellion.
It is riot probable that*thi3 thorough treatment
of the case will be adopted at present, if at all.
To. put it into successful practice would require
a vast deal of moral courage and political sagacity:
aud regarding the matter from the stand point of
constitutional right, nothing short of a great pubr
lie necessity could justify it. That such a necessity
would warrant it, no intelligent thinker upon the
affairs of mankind will question, and that such a ne
cessity seems to berapidly pressing upon us, is an
opinion not confined to the school of Abolitionists.
It is to be remembered that the general aboli
tion of Slavery in the Southern States would not
be attended with the much and justly dreaded evil
of a large arid free negro population in juxtaposi
tion with the whites, except for a very brief period.
It-would be the natural order of things for the
negroes to go to the extreme South to supply the
demands for labor, while their places in the Border
and Middle States would he taken by white mou
from the North and from Europe. The laws which
g ivern the demand and supply of labor, taken in
connexion with the climatic adaptations of race,
would be almost sufficient of themselves to adjust
the populations to their appropriate latitudes; but
to these influences legal persuasives might be
added, and the result would be, in the course of
a few years, the. concentration of the great body
of the negroes in the Gulf and South Atlantic
States, with a free oullet to Mexico, the West In
dies, and other, tropical regions.
Slavery is a doomed institution. Its upholders
and propagandists have waged unholy war upon
the Genera) Government, for uo other reason than
that they have been turned out of power by the
result of a fair election, aud now they must take
the consequences of. their crimqs. Providence
seems to be using their ungovernable ambition to
bring about the overthrow'of the wicked and bar
barous system they would diffuse over the world;
and now that their necks, as well as their fortunes,
are staked upon the issue of the war they have
waged, it is not at all improbable that their neces
sities will forestall the action of the General Go
vernment, by compelling them to become its de
stroyers. Already we bear of black regiments
before the first campaign is over, and when the
fatigues of campaigning, the chances of battle,
and the ravages of disease, shall have destroyed
the flower of their youth, we shall hear of whole
armies of blacks, who will receive liberty on the con
dition of defending the lives of their late masters.
New York Times,
GODFREYED.
At the siege of Namur, “ while the conflict was
raging, William, who was giving his orders under
a shower of bullets, saw, with surprise and anger,
among the officers of his staff, Michael Godfrey,
the deputy-governor of the Bank of England,
This - gentleman had come to the king’s head
quarters, in order to make some arrangement for
the speedy and safe remittance of money from.
England to the army iu the Netherlands, and was
eurious to see real war. Such curiosity William
could not endure. ‘Mr. Godfrey,’ he said, ‘you
ought not to run such hazards; you are not a
soldier; you can bo of no use here.’ ‘Sir,’ an
swered Godfrey, ‘ I run no more hazard than your
Majesty,’ ‘Not so,’ said William, ‘I am where
it is my duty to be, and I may without hesitation
commit my life to God’s keeping. But you— ’
while they Were talking, a cannon ball from the
ramparts laid Godfrey dead at the king’s feet. It
was. not found, however, that the fear of being
Godfieyed—such was during some time the cant
phrase —sufficed to keep idle gazers from coming
to the trenches. Though William forbade liiS
coachman, footmen, find cooks to expose them
selves, he repeatedly saw them skulking near tho
most dangerous spots, and trying to get a peep at
fighting. He was sometimes,,it is said, provoked
into horse-whipping them out of the range of this
-French guns; aud the story, whether true or false,
is very characteristic.” :
The cnitH or Gop need never be lonki.t.
He-nced never be sick at heart for want of friends.
He may be far from home, —away from loved
ones,—sick and suffering,—with few comforts and
no human sympathy. But God is with him.
Let liim open his heart, and he will hear the Al
mighty saying, “I AS with thee; I will
strengthen thee; I will help thee; I will uphold
thee.’’ .Is;he tempted to' despoud? With David
let him say, “ I am poor and . needy; yet the Lord
thihketh upon me. Thou art my help and my
deliverer: make ho tarrying, O my God.” Jesus;
who hath barne-your griefs and carried your sor
rows, will not forgot you. He is near you now.
Be not lonely; for you are not alone. He is with
you. Hear him saying, “ Fear thou not, for lam
with tliee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God.”
The Day of Trouble comes to All.—
The snn'does not always shine. The skies
are not al way s bright. If so, when trouble comes,
what shall Ido ? “ Call upon me,” says God.
And shall I surely be heard f Is there no dan
ger of a repulse ? None at all. “I will deliver
thee.’’ Not always just in the way that yon
expect or prefer. But in the way that God sees
to be best for you
Christ and riches, Christ and honors, Christ
and liberty is the total of all we enjoy.
lomion Eclectic.
SoUiier’s Friend.