GENESEE EVANGELIST—WhoIe No. 801 §«i*f. AFRICA, AND HER SONS. nr «M*s montooiiist. ttfh.™ the stupendous Mountains of the Moon hroail shadows o’er the realms of noon} l Caffraria, With stately heads among the forest boughs, To Atlas, where Nnmldian lions slow with torrid fire beneath eternal snow | From Nubian W>'»- Regktna 1m nt enacunsearchable, unknown, S in the sphm.ior of the solar zone) n f womters i where creation seems Co moro the works of nature, but her dreams: ", W H,|, and beautiful, beyond control, She reigns in all the freedom of her soul. In these romantic regions, man grows wild! Here dwells the negro, Net lure's outcast child , Scorned by his brethren} but his mother’s eye, That gazes on him from her warmest sky, sees in his flexile limbs untutored grace, Power on his forehead, beauty in his face } Sees in his breast, where lawless passions rove, The heart of friendship, and the home of love} Sees In his mind, where desolation reigM; Fierce as his clime, uncultured as his plains, A soil where virtue’s fairest flowers might shoot, And trees of science bend with glorious fruit } gees in hts soul, involved with thickest qjght, An emanation of eternal light, Ordained, ’midst sinking worlds his dust to fire, And shine forever when the stars expire. Is he not wan, though knowledge never shed Her quickening beams on his neglected head? is he not Mas, though sweet religion’s voice Ne’er bade the mourner in his God rejoice? is he not man, by sin and suffering tried? Is be not man, for whom the Saviour died f Belie the negro’s powers—ln headlong will* Christian, thy brother thou shalt prove him still t Belie his virtues—since his wroags,began, His follies and his crimes have stamped him man, THE BURIAL OF MOSES. "And He hurled him In the land of Moah, over against Betb-peor; but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this daylMtoi.xxxiv. 8. By Nebo’s lonely mountain, On this side Jordan’s wave, In a vale of the land of Moab, There lies a lonely grave; And no man dug the sepulchre, And no man saw it o'er— For the angels of God upturned the sod, And laid the dead man there. That was the grandest funeral That ever passed on earth} But no man saw the tramping, Or saw the train go forth. Noiselessly as the daylight Comes when the night Is done, And the crimßon streak on ocean’s cheek Grows into the great sun. Noiselessly as the spring-time Her crown of verdure weaves, And all the trees on all the hills Open their thousand leaves j So, without sound of music, Or voice of them that wept, Silently down from the mountain’s crown Thegrent procession swept. Perchance the hold old eagle, On gray Beth-peor’s height, Out from his rocky eyrie Looked on the wondrous sight; Perchance the lion, stalking, Still shuns that hallowed spot; For beast and bird have seen and heard That which man knoweth not. Atnid the noblest of the land, Men lay the sage to rest, And give the bard an honored place With costly marble dressed, In the great minster transept, Where lights like glories fall, And the choir sings, and tbe organ rings Along the emblazoned wall. This was the bravest warrior That ever buckled sword; This the most gifted poet That ever breathed a word; And never earth’s philosopher Traced with his golden pen, On the deathless page, truth half so sage As he wrote down for men. And bad he not high honor— The hill-side for his pall— To lie In state while angels watt, With stars for tapers tall; And the dark pines, like tossing plumes, Over his bier to wave, And God’s own hand, in that lonely land, To lay him lo the grave? In that deep grave without a name, Whence hie uncofflned elay Shall break again— most wondrous thought! Before the judgment day, And stand with glory wrapped around, Oo the bill he never trod, And speak of the strife that won our life, With the inoarnate Son of God. o,lonely tomb in Moah’s land! 0, dark Beth-peor’s hill! Speak to these curious hearts of ours, And teach them to bo still. God hath hie mysteries of grace, Ways that we cannot tell} Ho hides them deep, like the secret sleep Of him he loved so well. Dublin University Magazine, €amsjian&en«. [From the Banner of the Covenant.] AN INTERESTING LETTER FROM THE CAMP. 10th Company, 79th Regiment, N. V. 8. M, \ Washington, Aug. 29th, 1861. $ My Dear Friend I know not whether yon are aware that I am now in the army, ready to sacrifice life, if need be, as I have already sacri ficed every comfort, for the sake of preserving that "Union” whose Constitution has been the pride of Americans, and the envy of "foreign horn.” In the ranks of the Highland Guard, 09th N. Y. S. M.) I have the honor to be en rolled, and, under the command of the lamented Cameron, participated in the fearful doings at Ball Run, on the 18th, and at Stone Bridge, oo the 21st of July. I feel that it would be a waste of time for me to refer at length to the orents of those memorable days; and yet I can* act refrain from making one remark in regard to what has been called the "Politicians’ Bat tle.” REICCTANOB TO FIGHT ON THE SABBATH. "When the order was given for us to march °n Sabbath morning, yon have no idea how de pressing an influence it had on very many. We knew the enemy was near to ns, and that to ®Meh was to fight, and, though the order was received by many with enthusiasm, not a few felt that no good would result from such a wil fel, unnecessary aud 111-advised violation of the Holy Sabbath. And on that lovely Sabbath morning as we marched along to the field of bat lfe. even amid all the military enthusiasm natu tal to an army composed of at least two-thirds Dutchmen and North of Ireland brothers, ever at |d anon the wish would be expressed that we not fight that day, while not a few en tertained a hope that our march that morning w os only to take up our position and be in good trim for the next day. But when, as we entered tke woods on the right of the Warrentown H°ad, we heard a signal gnn of defiance firtpi rom our batteries, hope failed us, and while we were resolved as soldiers to obey our officers, and fight in oar country’s battles to the best of our ability, we felt that the battle was decided then, and that our army would again suffer de feat. When resting at the edge of the woods where we had a full view of the enemy’s posi tion, and where we could observe the efforts produced by the fire of our artillery, a colored boy, the servant of one of our Captains, came up to me and said, “Do you want a book to read ?” I replied, "I’m afraid there is no time for reading, but what have you got?” “Oh,” replied he, “something very good, I found it, I’m very lucky—good book—New Testament.” Handing it to me, he added in a low voice, for the Colonel and his master were close beside us, “Yon see we will have no luck to-day for fighting them. We would all have been better at Centreville to-day resting, reading that' good hook and going to service. You see we will' have no luck,” “ What makes yon think so ?” said I. “ Oh, don’t yon know what the good book says, and it does not tell any lies. It tells us that we must keep the Sabbath day holy, and fighting when we don’t heed to is not doing that, and now, if you live till you cam read your Bible again, you hunt for that place where it says that we ‘shall flee when none pursqetb,’ andi I rather expect you will find that that’s the punishment of them that don’t do as God tells them to do.” How many times daring that desecrated Sabbath these words rang in my ears, and, as we retreated that night to Washington, I felt that my colored friend was right. The passage he referiid to is, I suppose, Leviticus xxvi. 14 —l7. ■ A SABBATH VICTORY TURNED INTO DEFEAT. Well, my dear friends, we did fight—we did all we could to ensure victory, marching np to the very cannon’s month, and sacrificing our noblest officers and men upon this.holocaust in obedience to the orders of the Generals in com mand. It was my first experience upon a bat tle-field, and, I assure you, I will never, never forget it. Oh! the sight of those dead and dying men caused me to shudder, and almost to faint; while the groans of the wounded rose even above the roar of artillery, and struck ter ror to my very soul. How precious then the xci. and exxi. Psalms were to the soul, and I felt that, as I repeated the familiar lines: Thou th&n, my soul, in safety rest, Tby Guardian will not sleep; His watchful care that Israel guards, , Will thee in safety keep, At home, abroad, in peace, in war, Thy God Bhall thee defend, Conduct thee through life’s pilgrimage, Safe to thy journey's end. I felt strengthened and comforted even amid the horrors by which I was surrounded. We fotaght and conquered, but we khew It not. judicial ..blindness, sealed our eyes,. causeless fear took possession of onr armed hosts, and just when the prize was ours, when the greater portion of the field was oars, and when the ene my had already begun to retreat, we fell hack in disorder, and onr victory was turned into a ront disgraceful and complete. I trust, my dear friend; that the people of the North will demand that henceforth onr Generals shall not offer bat tle on the Sabbath. I know the army is op posed to it—even wicked men say they do not want to fight on that day. And conld yon only hear the testimony of the poor sufferers in the hospitals, you would feel that they meant all they said when they declare “that it was jnst what they expected from fighting on Sunday.” May God, in mercy, prevent onr leaders from incurring his displeasure by wantonly, cruelly seeking their own ends, forgetting him who is the great law-giver, and who will not suffer his statutes to be disobeyed with impnnity. THE SEVENTY-NINTH. Of my own regiment I can write little. Though my life has been spared, I am, and have since the battle, been unable to do anything, in consequence of a severe fall, causing a sprain of my right foot, and producing a weakness which I fear will be permanent. Still, I hope to be able to see our dear friend Watkins n Richmond. If there is one thing more than another that I long for in connexion with this war, it is that I may be permitted to meet him, and tell him why we fight against him and his brethren. God knows I love him with my whole heart, but I cannot, therefore, shut my eyes to his sin. O, that his eyes were opened to see that in this matter he is, indeed, judging ns unrighteously, and that we are only doing our duty to our country and our God, in resisting him. When our regiment waß mastered in, we had 100 t men, now we are less than 500. Few, if any regiments, suffered more in killed and wounded than we did. The shameful mutiny among a few of the bad men prodnced a very unhappy result, and yet I hope it is for the good of the Regiment. We are now rid of the worst men among ns, mostly drunken Catholics, and an effort will be made by the remaining boys to redeem the character of the regiment. We have a very excellent chaplain, Rev. Mr. Rizer, formerly of your State, a clergyman of the Evan gelical Lutheran Church, but adhering to the doctrines of the Westminster Confession. Onr services on Sabbath are very well attended, and every evening, at dress parade, we have a short service. Nearly 100 of the men are known as praying men of the regiment, and are claimed by the chaplain as the 11th Company. COME TO JESUS—THE SABBATH-SCHOOL DRUM- Since writing the above, Mr. Sterling of the De Kalb Regiment, has called upon me, and gave me the following fact: A few days ago, I gave him some German tracts and books for circulation among the members of his regiment, and also among the officers. On reaching the camp, he found the men eager to get the tracts, and great regret was expressed that there were not more. He handed the precious little vo lume, “Come to Jesus,’’ by Newman Hall, to one of the Lieutenants. He looked at the book, and said, " * Come to Jesus,’ eh, what come to hiin for ?” Mr. Stirling replied, “ Read, it will tell yon.” “Oh, no,” he replied, "I have no time for such stuff.” Mr. Sterling said no more at the time, but went to another part of the camp. On Kia return he looked into that Lieu. MER BOY. PHILADELPHIA, THORS tenant’s tent, and there saw him eagerly read ing those heaven-blessed pages, tears running l down his cheeks. Since then, he has lent the book to others, advising them to read it, and to-day sent a request for more such books. May this seed spring up, and bring forth fruit to God’s glory in the salvation of that Lieu tenant’s soul; and many more. Before I left New York I visited some of the regiments in the Park Barracks one Sabbath, distributing tracts, Testaments, and endeavoring to have personal conversation with all I could approach. Among others with whom I had a very pleasant chat, was a youth of about 14, who had been listening to some remarks I made to one who seemed utterly indifferent to the claims of the Saviour. Turning round to him, I said, “Well, my lad, I think that I can tell that yon are a Sabbath-school boy, is not that so ?” "Yes, sir,”be replied, “I’ve always been at Sunday-school till ' I left home, the last day I was at home was Sabbath, and I was at school, as usual.” “Well, then,” said I, “You have heard of the Saviour and his, love for you, now will you tell me what you will do for him ?” “ Oh, sir, I’ve given him my heart, I hope, a year ago, and I hope I am ready to work for him wherever I am.” I expressed my joy in finding in him a brother in Christ, and asked if he had come down to the Barracks to see any friends. He replied that he was on his way with the regiment to the seat of war as a drum mer boy. “But, oh,” said be, “it is hard to live among such people.” I tried to encourage | him in the discharge of his duty, reminding him that very soon onr labors might be closed in death. He replied, “Oh, yes, I know it. They wanted to frighten me from going to the war by telling me that a bullet might kill me ; but, I say, God will take care of me, and if he sends a cannon ball on the battle field—why, it will be the shortest road, home .” Poor boy, a cannon ball did strike him,'and to-day he ‘has reached his home on high! LETTER FROM THE SEAT OF WAR IN THE WEST. Hi. St. Louis, Missouri, September 13th, 1861 Messrs. Editors:— A visit to Pilot Knob, Ironton, and vicinity, has'occupied me a portion of the past week, and you shall have the benefit of it. For - twenty-five miles the railroad runs down the Mississippi from this place to Sulphur Spring, passing in succession, the Arsenal, Ca rondelet, and Jefferson Barracks; each of them now. points of interest, but which I will not Stop to describe. The country aU the toay*t% “broken,” no plains, no prairies; but everywhere are rugged hills, and precipitous valleys, spanned by lofty bridges. These are all protected by our men in arms, and the whole countryiTfHus ’tranquillized. Missouri’s own sons have done much of this work very effi ciently in this part of the state, aided to some extent by the men of lowa, and Nebraska, her neighbors. The region of the Iron Mountains, (for there are many of them,) is well worthy of a visit, and of study. Here nature has done her work on a grand scale, as she has in the Lakes, in Niagara, and in the gold and coal fields of this western continent. Internal fires have undoubtedly had to do with the' formation of this strange district of country. The beetling cliffs of Pilot Knob show this; and the nodules of chalcedony or agate "which appear to have oozed from the valleys, like gum Arabic from trees, testify perhaps to the same origin. I must describe the Knob. It is itself only about six hundred and fifty feet in height above the narrow valleys around it, and three miles in circuit, while it is surrounded by a sea-of moun tains, some of which are even higher, but broader. All of them too are wooded. So is the entire country'around, excepting the few "openings,” made by the hand of man. The rocks here ap pear to be stratified, and the iron seems to have been infiltrated through them, or to have perme ated them, like tallow through a candle-wick, or tar through cordage. At Iron Mountain, to the north, the ore is specular, or solid; and at Shep herd’s Mountain, to the south, it is fibrous and mag netic, yielding in both instances about sixty-five per cent. The Knob is castellated and large masses of it rise, up one hundred aud fifty feet above the “quarries,” which are near the sum mit; The rocks - are - cleft asunder, as if by some mighty convulsion, and many of them still stand on end, exhibiting the primary and compound forms of crystallization peculiar to ifdn. The hue of the rocks is slaty, and the lustre of metallic iron is often seen beneath the footsteps. Beautiful flowers unknown on the Atlantic coast, grow here everywhere among the rooks of this Alpine region. “And for stones iron” is con stantly in one’s mind, as he traverses this district of country. A good railroad, has now made it easy of aceess, and it will yet become a successful abode of industry and wealth. But our soldiers’ encampments around the basis of these mountains recall my thoughts to the “leaden rain and iron hail” of the “eruptive and chaotic era,” in which Providence has east our lot at present. Society here has had an upheaval, and is passing through a "cataclysm,” from its foundation stones. The era of slaves, and of gambling and drinking saloons, of fights, and blood and idleness, and violence is passing; and an era of sobriety, equality, law, and right is beginning. One already feels safe. The lions and tigers of society are hunted out in their lairs and fast nesses among these mountains, and “ brought in ” by dozens and scores surrounded by gleaming bayonets. , One old “counterfeiter,” sixty years of age and more, particularly attracted my attention as he was brought into the cars. He was tall and cadaverous, dressed in shaggy home-spun, ragged, bare-headed, and in his stocking-feet. As he “loped ” along, half-bent, and looked out of his gray, glassy old eyes, from midst his long and mottled locks, unkempt, I could only think of Giant Despair. No school had probably ever been within that poor wretch’s reach. “ A savage horde among the civilized, An exiled band among the lordly free.” To them this man had belonged. He was one of the “poor white trash,” such as we. meet every where in the South, the Pariahs of society, white and black. Mr heart was pained for him. “And this is s every, ’’ thought I. My soul was sick. “O,6>d of justice,” thought I, “shall thine anger slat ber forever ?’’ No ! by these volcanic rocks, I infer a better day! The people of this r gion are from the South for the most part. Ig: orant often, yet wonder fully shrewd in some bings, they are just be ginning to feel the puli itions of the great heart of liberty and law, a; d to perceive the first glimmerings of light i the Egyptian- darkness by which they have b sen surrounded. I pity them from my soul. 2 owhere in this land have I seen a better missic a ary field. No, school house, no church that me can recognise is to be seen. Our soldier fill the court-house, guarding prisoners, ati an unfinished building for a church has been',nsed as a hospital. It was there I found need qf Miss Dix’s labors. A poor soldier from lowS had been left to per ish, with no one to car*| for him. He was very feeble with disease, weiat out sick of the build ing where he remained! day and night, and then he was found dead when the attendant took him his breakfast in the morning! Many more will probably thus perish m out-of-the-way places, with “none to care for their souls” or lives. I have no fear, duringj'tkis war, of the neglected at hospitals in placesilike Washington, or St. Louis, or Cairo, where the best of sanitary re gulations exist; but I fear for the out-of-the way places, like Manassas, and Ironton, and Gauley River. I attempted to see Miss. Dix on this subject, while she was here, but failed. There is danger that while the great ones are songht out by the philanthropist—persons and places—the humbler may sometimes be over looked. I write thus,, hoping that Miss Dix may perhaps see how it is, and that'the remedy may be applied in season. Most of the regi ments have able and most excellent surgeons and nurses, I have,mo doubt. Let all have them. * ** NATIONAL FASTS IN AMERICA. rnoai mb,. duefield’«<sekmon, jan. 4th, 1861. “ Went to church and fasted.all.day." • Such is. the record in the private journal of the great “Father of his Country," under date of Wednes day, June Ist, A. D., 1774; a day solemnly ap pointed by the 5 Assembly of Virginia, on hearing of the passage of the: Boston-Port Bill, “as a day of fasting, humiliation*and prayer, to avert from us the evils of civil war, and to, inspire us with firmness in support of our rights." . A year later, just after the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, the Old Continental Congress appointeda day of General Fast. On May 17th, 1776/ “which was kept as a na tional fast, George Buffield, the minister of the Third Presbyterian Church in. Philadelphia, with John Adams for a listener,, drew a parallel be tween George the First and Pharaoh, and inferred that the same providence of‘God which had res cued the Israelites,i ?i&ended .to Ameri cans.” t;i *7 ■** Could it have been in remembrance of this day in Old Pine Street, that “unfashionable as the faith in an over-ruling Providence” then was, this same John Adams was not ashamed to proclaim another National Fast, May 6th, 1798? Was it an evidence of the value of such a day, that even though hostilities had actually commenced be tween the United States and France, and a vessel of each nation had suffered capture, that such a body of men as the French Directory, so speedily and unexpectedly made, overtures of peace, and that of their own accord ? In the fourth year of the second war with Great Britain, the example of John Adams was followed by President Madison, and January 12th, 1815, was recommended by him as 1 a National East Day. Even, while the people were yet speaking, He “in whose hand the king’s heart is as the rivers of water; and who turneth it whithersoever he will,” heard their prayer; and only one month after, February 18th, 1815, they received “an answer of peace,” literally, and had the privilege of celebrating a day of National Thanksgiving. , The last two days of this character are withiu the recollection of nearly all here present, viz.: May 14th, 1841, being the day of national fast recommended by Mr, Tyler on the decease of President Harrison; and August Bd, 1849, the fast day recommended) by President Taylor, that God in mercy would airest the further progress of the cholera. Once more, and it may he for the last time, a Proclamation comes from the President to the people of the United? States, designating this 4th day of January, 1861, as a day of fasting, humi liation and prayer, th oughout the Union, that God may “remember i s as he did our fathers.” As Presbyterians, w: arejin no doubt as to the propriety ,of observing this day. ‘‘lf at any time,” says our excellent Diiectory for worship, “the civil power should thihk it proper to appoint a fast, it is the duty of the ministers and people of onr communion, as we 'live under a Christian go vernment, to pay all |ue respect to the same." We are at no loss as td the manner of observing the day. “Tkere sball be public worship upon all such days,, and let thej prayers, psalms, portions of Scripture to be read and sermons, be all in a special manner adapted to the occasion.” As to the character of tho prayers and sermons, thehook is even more explicit still. “On fast-days let the minister point out" the authority and provi dential calling to the observation thereof; and let him spend a more tha A usual portion of time, in Bolemn prayer, particularly confession of sin, es pecially of the day and place, with their aggrava tions, which have bfttq ht down the judgments of Heaven. And let the uhole day be spent in deep humiliation and mourn ng before God.” Evidently in the mi ads of those who framed the Constitution pf tie American Presbyterian Church (adopted in the same year, and framed by some of the same men who framed our Na tional Constitution, nojw in such imminent dan ger,) the proper observance of such a day as this, both on the part of minister and people, was con sidered by them one of the most solemn and im portant duties that coiild possibly be discharged on earth. To say nothing of the Biblical, and Trans-atlan tie history of such days, they remembered the first fast-day i n New England, July, 1621. “ Though in the morning when we were assem bled together, the heavens were as clear and the drought as; like to continue as ever it was, yet (bur exercise continuing some eight or nine hours) before our .departure, the weather was overcast, the clouds gathered together on all sides, and on the next morning distilled such soft, sweet and moderate showers of rain, and mixed with such seasonable weather, as it was hard to say . whether our withered corn or drooping affections were most quickened or revived. Such was the bounty and goodness of our God.” Hobomok and the Indians were astonished to behold! [“ Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth’’ edited by Dr. Chee ver, New York, 1848, p. 284. J Also a similar day in 1681. “The last batch of bread was in the Governor’s oven. But God, who delights to ap pear in greatest straits, did work marvellously at this time; for before the very day appointed to seek the Lord by fasting and prayer, in comes Mr. Pearce (in a ship from Ireland,) laden with provisions. Upon which occasion the Fast Day AT, SEPTEMBER 26,1861. was changed, and ordered to be kept as a Iky of Thanksgiving.”:— Young's Chronicles of Massa chusetts, p. 385. ■ Doubtless they were well aware of the memo rable fast-day in 1746. “As an inhabitant of New England, I am bound solemnly to declare, that were there mo other instance to be found in any other country, the blessings communicated Io this would furnish ample satisfaction, concerning this subject, to every sober, much more to every pious man. Among these the destruction of the French Armament wider the Du7ee D'Anville, in the year 1746, ought to be remembered with gratitude and admiration; by every inhabitant of this country. This fleet consisted of forty ships of war ; was des tined for the destruction of New England; was of sufficient force, to render that destruction ;in the ordinary progress of things, certain; sailed from Cbebueto, in Nova Scotia, for this purpose; and was entirely destroyed, -on the night following a general fast throughout New England, by a terri ble tempest.”—See Dwight’s Theology, Vol. iv., p. 127, • RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHIL- BREN The application of Jeremiah’s prophecy, about Rachel bewailing her lost children, and refusing to be comforted on account of the apparently hope less deprivation she had sustained, to the slaughter of the children at Bethlehem, undoubtedly pro ceeds upon a certain connexion between the earlier and the later event, But from the very nature of things, and the terms of the passage cited, the con nexion could not be regarded as of such a close and organic kind, as that indicated in the last quota tion, [Matt. ii. 15; Hos. xi. I.] There, stress was laid,eyen on the external resemblance between what befell Christ, and what had anciently be fallen Israel; the connexion of both with Egypt formed the immediate and ostensible ground of the Word, spoken originally of the one, being ex-, tended to the other. Here, on the other hand, there is a palpable diversity as to the external cir cumstances; for the scene of action in the one ease was Rama, a city in the tribe of Benjamin, a few miles to the north qf Jerusalem, while in the other it was Bethlehem, a city about the same distance to the south, in the tribe of Judah; and, conse quently,! if respect were bad to literal .exactness,, Leah, the ancestral mother of Judah, should have been addressed as the chief mourner on the pre sent occasion, as Rachel had been on the former. In such circumstances of obvious and palpable dis agreement, the Evangelist could, not possibly mean, that the passage he quoted from Jeremiah had either been, directly uttered, of the scene at Bethlehem, or even that the original mourning at Rama! had a typical relation, in the stricter sense, to that at Bethlehem. And hence he does not say, as he usually does, that the circumstances took place in order that .the word might be fulfilled, but merely that then was fulfilled what had been spoken by Jeremiah. The hind of fulfilment in dicated must be determined by the points of agree ment in the two related transactions,, . Even in its Original application, the passage is highly poetical in form, and cannot be interpreted as a piece of prosaic .writing. It was at Rama, as wo learn from Jer. xl. 1, that the last band of captives was assembled by the captains (Sf Nebuchadnezzar, be fore they were sent into exile; and either in an ticipation of this sore calamity,, or in reference to it after it had taken place, the prophet represents Rachel, the ancestral mother of the tribe, where "EffiTTtipiess exiles were gathered,; bewailing ihe fate of her offspring, and giving way to aa incon solable grief, as if all were gone. The introduc tion of Rachel is, of course,.a mere cover, to bring out in vivid colors, the sadness of the occasion, and the apparently hopeless character of the calamity; to human eye, and especially to the passionate fondness of maternal affection, it seemed as if Is rael had utterly perished under.the stroke of, Ne buchadnezzar. Yet it was not so in reality; and the prophet presently goes on to assure the dis consolate mother, that her grief was inordinate, that her children, should- return again from the land of the enemy, and that there was hope in her end. Now, with all the circumstantial diversities that distinguish the original event at Rama, and the message it called forth, from the,slaughter of the infants in Bethlehem, there, still is a fundamental agreement in the more peculiar features of both. Herod was the new Nebuchadnezzar, who, by his cruel and crafty policy, sought to do what, after another fashion, tbe'Chaldeau conqueror thought he had done, viz., extinguish for ever the better hopes and aspirations of Israel. When the one, after having razed* the foundations of Jerusalem, bore away from Rama the shattered remnants of her people, he had struck, as he conceived, a fatal blow at their singular pretensions and distinctive glory. And, in like manner, when Herod smote the children at. Bethlehem, with the impious de sign of embracing in the slaughter the new-born “King of the, Jews,” he would,,had his aim been accomplished, have buried in the dust all that was to render Israel pre-eminent among the na tions. They might as well, thenceforth, have ceased to exist, gone to a hopeless exile, or a dis honored grave. So, that, looking upon matters with the eye of sense, the ancestral mother might, as of old, have raised anew the wail of sorrow, even sueh as might appear incapable of any true solace. Yet God, in His paternal faithfulness and over sight, had provided against the worst, and here again had taken the wise in his own craftiness. As regarded the main object in view, the stroke fell powerless to the ground;, the bird escaped from the snare of the fowler. But situated as matters how were— not only with a Herod in the seat of pbwer, but with a Herodian party, who thought that the best thing for the people was to maintain the Herodian interest, it was well to bring this memorable transaction to Gospel times into formal connexion with the ancient catastrophe — to show that Herod was virtually now what Nebu chadnezzar was then—and that, so far as concerned the real glory and salvation of Israel, to look for help from the existing representatives of the world ly power in Judea, was like going to Babylon for pity and succour. From such a quarter misery and despair, not life and-hope, were what might surely he looked for. THE WEARISOME RAIN. A tract of wet and stormy weather had set in, and continued so long that the people at last dis liked even to look out at the window. Many thereupon became impatient, and nothing was more common than to make and hear complaints of the bad weather. Says Gotthold: What do yom mean by bad weather? Can any thing he worse than ,we, bad and ungodly, men, who are born and bred in wickedness, have grown up in it, and, did not the Divine mercy prevent, would also die in it? Be assured, it is anything but a venial sin to censure God’s weather, and speak as if it were never good enough for us, or worthy of our gratitude. Did we but reflect who we are, and what we do, we would soon forget to murmur at the weather, and would rather be thankful to God for raining mere water upon ns, and not fire and brimstone. My God, I thank thee from the bottom of my heart for this forbearance. I thank thee also for having given me a home, beneath whose roof, despite the storm, I now sit safe and dry, and along with it a sufficiency of bodily nourish ment, so that I am under no necessity to seek for food in the heavy rain. O faithful God, if to thy ever wise and holy will it shall perchance seem fit to involve my soul in the storm, I know not whither I could fly for refuge but to thyself, and to the tent and tabernacle of thy grace and truth; for in the time of trouble thou shalt hide me in thy pavilion; in the secret of thy tabernacle shalt thou hide me.—Ps. xxvii. 5. In the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge till these cala mities be overpast.—Ps. lvii. 1. Gotthold’s Emblems. A writer in the Savannah (Georgia) Republi can asks the question; ‘*Hbw shall we dispose of the, prisoners?’' and answer it as follows: “Let the Quartermaster-General of the Confe derate States issue his proclamation, stating that the prisoners will be hired out to the highest bid der for some specified time, and in such number as the hirer may desire. I know of a gentleman of this city, a. rice planter, who would gladly take two hundred of the Yankees on his plantation to build up and mend the dams of his field. He is more desirous of doing this, he saysjas'the north ern gazettes have long asserted that we can do without negro labor, and he is anxious of testing the question. One good black driver to every forty Yankees would insure good order and lively work- among them.” Albert G-. Pike, who was commission e'4 to '“ treat with the Greek nation/’, makes the following re port: “Notwithstanding a heavy outside influence a treaty advantageous to both parties was made with the rulers of the Greek nation. Before entering upon the consideration of the it was voted by a unanimous vote of the council .to go with the South, treaty or no treaty. The principal men have been true as steel to the South from the be ginning of the negotiation, and the nation ratified their treaty by a unanimous vote in council, every town being represented. Their regiment will be ready in afeip days, and probably a half-dozen companies more,” The Helena (Arkansas) Shield mentions that a large body of Indian warriors are already in the -field, destined for Missouri. It says: “Prom the Hon. C. W. Adams, of this county, who arrived ; at home a few days since from the northern part of .this state, we learn that on last Monday week thirteen hundred Indian warriors —southern allies—crossed the Arkansas river, near Port Smith, on the way for McCulloch’s camp. These Indians were armed with rifle, butcher-knife and tomahawk , and had their faces painted one half red and the other black.” A recent number of the Richmond Dispatch (published at the seat of the Confederate Govern ment) furnishes the following additional particu lars relating to:the negotiations conducted by Mr. Albert G. Pike, commissioned to treat with the Indians on the south-western border, in order, if possible, to enlist their services in the present war. That paper says: “About sixty of the Reserve Camanches, (Pondah Ross,) Wichitas, Kiehas, &c. t have had a talk with the Commissioner. He expects to ef fect a treaty with the wild Camanches, who are coming into Wichita Agency to meet him for that purpose, (as well as the Kioways,) and to settle them all upon reserves. As soon as the Seminole treaty is signed, Commissioner Pike,, with Super intendent Rector, Agent Deeper, Wm, Quisen bury, the Secretary of the Commissioner, and the others of the party, accompanied by a delegation of the Creeks and Seminoles, and a strong escort of Indian troops, will go to the Wiehita Agency to meet the Reserve Indians and wild tribes. These is little doubt that at least five thousand Camanches will be present. “ffhe standard of the Commissioner is a signi ficant one. In its blue field are the efeven white stars in a circle, and inside the circle the Commis sioner has placed four small red stars, forming the four extremities of a -passion cross, for the four nations, the Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles, in token that these Christian tribes of red men are encircled by our protection, and are with us and.of us. When, if ever, we deem it fit to treat with the Cherokees, a fifth red star will form the centre of the cross. The Commissioner will not again seek to treat with Mr. Ross, nor with the Cherokees while he remains in power, hut the Government will not desert or leave un protected the friends of the South among the Cherokees.” We have no comment, says the National Intelli gencer, to offer on these proceedings. We leave them to be appropriately characterized by the civi lized world. And if, turning fron this revolting spectacle, we fix our gaze upon the kind of war which the secessionists themselves wage in Mis souri, (and, we may add, in a greater or less de gree wherever they have the power,) we shall be brought to adopt the conclusion that the presence of Indian savages cannot greatly intensify the hor rors of the internecine strife into which they will ingly,plunge every State or community that they cannot entirely control or possess. The condition into wliich they have brtraght Missouri is thus described by that leading Democratic organ, the St. Louis Republican, in its number of the Ist instant: “The Secessionists of Missouri have undertaken to make this State too hot for those who love the Union and the Constitution of our fathers. Pre tending to build-the edifice of disunion on the doctrine of State rights, they wage war upon the State as well as upon individuals. And their way of waging war 1 Shooting into passenger trains; ly ing in wait in ambush and behind stumps, to fire upon some defenceless traveller; placing kegs of powder upon railroad tracks; calling citizens out of their beds at night to tar and feather or hang them; robbing fields of their crops, orchards of their fruits, farms of their stock; burning bridges and depots; setting fire to barns and dwellings, and establishing sueh a reign of terror as is making women and children frantic, and driving peace loving inhabitants from their homes by scores and hundreds. What would be thought of a proposition made in one of our newspapers to “hire out" the south ern prisoners now in our hands to masters to be worked on our farms! What a burst of indigna tion would go up from the civilized world, if it were published that the North was employing In dians with tomahawks and scalping knives to wage war upon the South. In our war of the Revolution there were men in the British Parliament who were brave and hu mane enough to denounce their own government for hiring Indians to help them in their savage war. But the South is now willing to have such allies, and to bring them with their barbarous weapons into the field. •Fairbalrn. We do not desire to see, we earnestly hope that we shall not see the spirit of revenge awaken ed in the North, but now that we have a thousand prisoners in our hands, the fear of retaliation will rest oh the South, from resorting to any such out rages as the Savannah Republican proposes. The fortunes of war will throw thousands more into our hands, and we trust that they will always be treated with that humanity which becomes a brave Christian people. We have had a long conversation with a young gentleman who was ah active participant in the fight at Bull Run. He was a member of the Mi chigan 2d, and we have known him well for many years, and we have entire confidence ih his vera city. He confirms the statements that have been denied respecting the atrocities perpetrated by the rebels on our wounded : his own observation ena bled him to testify that our wounded were butch ered while they were lying helpless and pleading for merey. It is painful to repeat such statements, but when they come to us in a way to compel us to believe them, it is a duty to make them known to the shame of the men who do such deeds, even in the excitement of war. Hefee not repentance till another day. God has promised pardon upon your repentance, but he has not promised life till you repent. SPIRIT OF THE REBELLION. New York Observer. VOL. VI—NO. l. —Whole No. 273. ROMAN AND MODERN SLAVERY. There are two things in which modern Ameri can slavery differs, to its discredit, from the Ro man. It is more mercenary; it has more of caste. In this, we may say, it is almost exclusive, beyond any known slavery that ever existed upon earth. The Roman lawyers ever declared that slavery was against natural right, and it is the civil law, with that maxim, that has kept it out of Christian Europe. No Roman court ever made a decision so easting a man out of the state, and out of the pale of humanity, as the Dred Scott. Hence we are prepared to say that, though the Roman ser vitude gave a more despotic power to the master, it was not so debasing to the slave. It was more eruel, perhaps, but’less dehumanizing. It did not leave such a long taint behind it after eman cipation. The freed man was but little affected by the servile condition: his children rose up to the common level, and moved on, afterwards, without any degrading distinction in the common stream of social life. Horace’s father was a freed man ; Horace,, himself took rank with the noblest of his day. ’Teachers, artists, took their places in society," though homing from the servile ranks. From “ being servants of man,” others rose to be “freed men of Christ,” and even Christian bi shops. Roman slavery may have been more cruel, we say, but it was less degrading. In other words, though it hurt the individual more, it hurt huma nity less. - This'deep debasement has been re served for the Christian; slavery, and we have al ready given a reaspn for it in that trouble of con science, or-that troubled self-respect, which must cither make a man let go the ownership of his kind, or get a plea for casting it down among the lower and animal Tabes. We have divine autho rity for saying, that what Christianity does not ■make better, it makes worse. If it is not a sa vor of life to an institution, it is a savor of death. So the actors in the old Roman drama were a higher class of men than our' nominally Christian politicians. The reason is obvions enough. Where they are not true and hearty Christians, the hol lowness of the common profession has taken away the native manhood which appears so grand in these old heathen, while the counterfeit Christi anity has given ho compensating grace. As with men, so it is with institutions. Christianity healed the old slavery; the modern which has come up in defiance of it, may,bo left to die of its own mer cenary corruptions. This is doubly true of what may be called, not simply the modern, but the mod modern slavery, with the new features it has as sumed within the past thirty years. The Roman servitude was bitter enough; it was Pandora’s box of woes, buLstill with hope remaining at the bottom. Emancipation might speedily restore the dovlos, or his children, to the level of soeiety. It was, therefore, a better thing than this Cal ;houu,' Hamitic bondage, “ normal,” endless, hope less, to which no year of jubilee shall ever come. Tayler Lewis. Many a good clerical brother who takes a little ’daughter on his knee at home, and delights her With some simple story, cannot be persuaded to carry the same style and the same power into his : churcb, oreven his lecture-room. We believe there is not a pastor in New England who cannot, if he will give.himself to the work,, in earnest and in the love of souls, come down to the level, and win the delighted interest of every child of common in telligence in his congregation. And they who raise this complaint of incapacity are the very men who most need, for themselves and their people at large, the benefit of the work. It would infuse new life and freshness into the stiff propriety of their discourses. It would give flexibility and vivacity to their whole manner of address. It would increase the practice of illustration in ser monizing. It would, indirectly, greatly aid the Sabbath-school.. It would more deeply interest parents in the spiritual welfare of their children, and Suggest to them interesting modes of convey ing truth. Any pastor who will, by carefully col lecting facts and anecdotes from the newspapers and from his general reading, gather materials for this labor, will be surprised to find how little labor will enable him to interest an audience of children. The writer has as large an attendance at the Sab bath-evening service for children as at any other during the day; while with the aid of a well stocked scrap book, his, preparation for that service is often made in an hour. It is, moreover, the testimony of every pastor engaged in this work, that the most intelligent adults in his congrega tion are not I ’the less interested in these simple and fdlly illustrated addresses, than the children. It is note-worthy that our Lord, when discoursing to the scribes and learned doctors of the law, made hardly less use of parables than when instructing the common people. “ A good illustration is an argument;” and it is also a power to force the truth irresistibly fhcrane. If any pastor would, multiply the strong ties be tween himself and his people, if he would extend his influence over them, if he would win the grati tude of every parent ib his charge, and above all, fulfil the Master’s solemn injunction, “ Feed my lambs”—w.e should urge him to enter at once and in earnest on this most delightful and reward ing work. u THE VICARIOUS ATONEMENT ILLUS- ' In the year 1795 a serious disturbance had arisen in Glasgow among the Breadalbane Fenci bles. The soldiers being made sensible of the na ture of their misconduct; and the consequent pu nishment, four men voluntarily offered themselves to stand trial, and suffer the sentence of the law as an atonement for the whole. These men were accordingly marched to Edinburgh Castle for trial. Oh the march, one of the men stated to the offi cer commanding the party, Major Colin Camp bell, that he bad left business of the utmost im portance to. a friend in Glasgow, which he wished to transact before his death; that, as to. himself, he was fully prepared to meet his fate; but, with regard to liis friend, he could not die in peace un til the business was settled; and that, if the officer Would suffer him to return to Glasgow for a few hours, he would join him before he reached Edinburgh, and march as a prisoner with the party. The soldier added, ‘You have known me since I was a child; you know my country and kindred, and you may believe I shall never, •.bring you to any blame by a breach of the promise I now make, to be with you in full time to b‘e delivered up in the Castle/ This was a startling proposal to the officer; however, his confidence was sueh, that he complied with the request of the prisoner, who returned to Glasgow at night, settled his business, and left town before daylight, to redeem his pledge. He took a long circuit to avoid being seen and apprehended as a deserter, and sent back to Glasgow. In conse quence of this caution, there was no appearance of him at the appointed honr. The perplexity of the officer, when he reached the neighborhood of Edinburgh, may be easily imagined. He moved forward slowly, indeed, buCno soldier appeared; and, unable to delay any longer, be marched up to the Castle, and, as he was delivering over the prisoners, but before any report was given in, Macmartin, the absent soldier, rushed in among his fellow-prisoners, all pale with anxiety and fa tigue, and breathless with apprehension of the consequences in which his delay might have in volved his benefactor. The whole four were tried and condemned to be shot, but it was determined that only one should suffer, and they were ordered to draw lots- The fatal chance fell upon William Sutherland, who was executed aceordinglv. Quarterly Review. PREACHING TO CHILDREN. TRATED. Congregational ist.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers