VoL VI, 10. 6.—Whole No. 275 i
fiwtrg..
A PRAYER.
Tnot; who dost dwell alone —
Thou who doat know thine own—
Thou to whom all are known,
From the cradle to the grave—
Save, 0 save 1
From the world’s temptations,
From tribulations, - ■
From that fierce anguish
Wherein we languish,
From that torpor deep
Wherein we lie asleep.
Heavy os death, cold as the grave—
Save, 0 save 1
Whea th« soul, growing clearer,
Sees God no nearer;
When the soul, mounting higher,
To God comes no nigher,
But the areh*fiend pnde
Mounts at her side,
Foiling her high emprise,
Sealing her eagle eyes,
And, when she fain would soar,
Makes idols to adore;
Changing the pure emotion
Of her high devotion
To a skin-deep sense
Of her eloquence,
Strong to deceive, strong to enslave—
Save, 0 save I
From the ingrained fashion
Of this earthly nature
That mars thy creature,
From grief that is but passion,
From mirth that is but feigning.
From tears that bring no.healing,
From wild and weak complaining,
Thine own strength revealing,
Save, 0 savel
From doubt where all is double,
Where wise men are not strong,
Where comforts turn to trouble,
Where just men suffer wrong,
Where sorrow treads on joy,
Where sweet things soonest cloy,
Where faiths are built ou dust,
Where love is half mistrust,
Hungry, and barren, and sharp as the-sea,
0, set us free t
01 let the false dream fly
Where our sick souls do lie
Tossing continually,
0 i where thy voice doth Come,
Let all doubts be dumb!
Let all words be mild.
All strifes be reconciled,
All pains beguiled j
Light brings no blindness,
Love no unkindness,
Knowledge np ruin,
Fear no undoing;
From the cradle to the grave,
Save, 0 save!
—Matthew Arnold.
mi JOBS’S TABLE.
“Plain John,” a very sensible corres
pondent of the New York Observer, has been
analysing a contribution to Foreign Missions,
made in a certain church recently, and has
made some rather remarkable discoveries.
He assures us that the case is not an ima
ginary one, and that the facts are as he states
them, though the place and real names of
the contributors!are very properly suppressed.
The following is the table which he has pre
pared, the names indicating the character or
disposition of the contributors
ild Prosperity
''Kristian Principle
». Stinginess -
Busy Mary -
Here Again, e!i ? - -
Affliction -
Xnte to pqy - - .
Aickness ....
». Chips •
Self Denial ....
0, What?
Faith -
How well we do ? •
Straitened •
Poor Rich ...
Rich Poor ....
Fears God ■ •
Fears Poorhouse
Struggling ...
Breed ....
Little Love . . .
iiacli Love....
A Conscience . .
Fo Conscience ‘.
Hein Home first . .
He Preach . .
-itsrice ....
A'essed Charity . .
'leavePoor . . .
A. Lie. . , . ,
Abounding Grace . .
Accumulation . , .
Adversity . » .
Cheerfulness . .
Xot a Cent . . .
Comfortable Christian .
Uncomfortable Christian.
If only Rich
Widow’s Mite . . .
Systematic Benevolence
Systematic Selfishness
Social Pride . .
Meanness. , . ,
Don’t pass tra
Reg, leg, Beg.
bounty ,' . . ,
Dave a dollar once .
Sorrow .
Tears and Prayers too
Odds and ends .
We fear that there is more than one church,
in our denomination, as well as others, where
such an analysis would produce a similar
result, and where the deductions which “Plain
John” makes from it wopld be equally true.
These deductions ate —
1. -That there are very few prosperous
wen who honestly give to the e ause Of Christ
in proportion to the. means given them.
2. —That affliction is beneficial, in that it
tften makes the Christian worth more to God
and to the world, even in moneyed offerings,
than prosperity.
3—lt shows that the lord does not esteem
property nearly as much as we* do, or he
5 ould not give so much of it into the hands
r 'f selfish, penurious, grumbling professors.
Df the $lOB, eight persons, representing less
than $50,000, contribute $59; and twenty
five more comes from poor families, whose
economies will be affected for weeks by their
contributions. The remaining $l9 comes
from forty or fifty professedly Christian fam
ilies, representing $860,000!
Reader, is your church one of this sort ?
a ttd are you one of the last class? If so,
ie Pent, and bring all your tithes into the
st Mehrmse of the Lord, and prove him there
"hh. God deals very summarily, sometimes,
pli those unjust stewards who withhold from
" ls cause what justly belongs to it.
, Sabbath Work. —The New York Tribune
t , aH haen trying the experiment of breaking
""■ Sabbath for the last five months, by pub
lsll «eg a Sabbath paper. It now says it wil
f°*Pay, and abandons the practical It has
opportunity to show how much conscience
'! on the subject, and we do not regret
le issue of the experiment.
Methodism: Relaxing.—A movement .is
r f} n g on foot in England to have the rules
»the Methodist Church in reference to Itin-
Tlnc y wade less stringent.
GENERAL VIEW OF THE MISSIONS OF
THE AMERICAN BOARD.
We begin, as usual, with Africa. In
Western Africa, tbe older brethren, .though
deeply sensible of the obstacles that have
long stood in their way, still cling to their
chosen field and work. The continuance of
the mission is a good deal owing to this fact.
Where the Lord is pleased to give such a
spirit to his servants, it is reasonable to be
lieve that he has a work there for them to do.
It may yet appear the duty of the Board to
sustain a mission on the West African coast,
that shall be . composed wholly of colored
persons. In Southern Africa, the mission
is very differently situated. , The climate,
people, government, Under the grace of God,
give promise of a harvest in proportion to
the degree and skill of cultivation. The
twelve stations are all not very far from the
sea, occupying somewhat more than a hun
dred miles of the maritime district. Most of
the brethren , are able to preach in the motive
language. The ten small churches are gra
dually gaining numbers and strength;—
Twenty 7 six new members yyere added the
past year, and several stations were blessed
with a revived state of religion. At one,
hope was entertained as to the conversion of
nearly forty persons. A native has been set
apart for the gospel ministry, who is to re
ceive his support from the native community.
The local government and’the best people of
the colony are in very, friendly co-operation
with tbe mission. The native Christians
readily secure for themselves the,comforts of
civilization, take an interest in the education
of their children, and have made commend
able exertions to secure convenient houses of
Worship. Exigencies growing out of our civil
war, have made it necessary for Mr. Bindley
to delay returning mission.
The Missions to Western, Central , and
Eastern Turkey, may be spoken of as if they
►Wei*e one mission'. “-There arertwenty-three
stations; eighty out-stations; forty-eight mis
sionaries, including three unordained physi
cians ; fifty-six authorized native preachers,
of whom ten are pastors; and one hundred
and thirty-nine other native co-laborers in
different capacities, as catechists, teachers,
and helpers. Of churches there are forty
two, containing one thousand five hundred
and forty-six members; of whom one hundred
and ninety-eight were received the past year.
One hundred and fourteen schools contain
three thousand four hundred and eighteen
pupils, of whom eighty are in three training
schools for . preparing pastors and. helpers,
and thirty are in two female boarding schools
for educating wives for the native ministry.
Nearly sixteen thousand dollars (two-thirds
furnished by Bible and Tract Societies,)
were expended in publications in tbe Arme
nian, Armeno-Turkish, Bulgarian, and mo
dem Greek languages, amounting to about
165,000 copies, and 13,000,000 pages. Dr.
Goodell has revised: hip Amenp-Turkish ver
sion of the Old Testament. . Dr. Sqhauffler
Testament, for the use of the Moslems, and
the government, after much hesitation, Has
consented to its being printed at Constanti
nople. Dr. Biggs, besides preparing and
editing Bulgarian tracts, has been mainly
occupied with revising the version of the
Scripture in that language. The Armenian
Bible, with marginal references, electrotyped
and printed in New York by the American
Bible Society, is highly prized; and that So
ciety is also electrotyping the New. Testa
ment in a similar form. The American
Tract Society at New York has also electro
typed and printed several works for the mis
sion, which are admired for their beauty.
Time does not permit much farther detail
in respect to these highly interesting mis
sions. Dr. Dwight, who explored the Arme
nian field in 1830-31, with the Rev. Eli
Smith, is now traveling over the same ground
for a re-survey, and is filled with wondering
gratitude in view of the changes since that
time. Then, from the Mediterranean to the
rorders of Persia, they nowhere met with
any among the people, whose religious views
and feelings were in unison with their own.
Now, missionary stations are scattered over
the land, • and scarcely a place is entered
where at least some one does not greet the
visitor with a joyful welcome as a herald of
the Gospel. At Marash, in a house of wor
ship erected chiefly by the people, Dr.
Dwight saw forty persons admitted to tbe
church at one time, and preached to a con-
S’egation of nearly fifteen hundred people.
nly six years had then passed since the
church was organized; and but twelve years
since there was not a Protestant there; and
the people were then proverbially ignorant,
barbarous and fanatical. The prospects in
and around Kharput, are very encouraging,
and so they are in other places.
At the metropolis there are trials among
the Protestant Christians, not wholly unlike
those which the Apostle Paul experienced in
Galatia, The Bulgarian mind is found to
have a stronger resemblance to theJjrreek,
than was supposed, in point of worwliness.
That people are behind the Armenians in
simplicity of character and in love for the
Soriptures. This has probably arisen from
their long connection with the Greek Church.
Disappointments and trials have also attend
ed the work among the Mohammedans. The
number of baptisms among that people in
Constantinople, is twenty-three.. Should the
Gospel Propagation Society encourage the
1 present course of its agents, it may prove
more dangerous to the spirituality and suc
-1 cess of the work among the Moslems, than
all that the Church of Rome is able to do.
AMOUNT COHTRI’
$12,000 $lOO
10,000 10 00
40,000 46
1 00
12
1 60
100
1) 1 00
75
100
75
75
25
1 60
100
75
600
38
2 00
26
60
2 00
400
23
60
5 00
100
2 00
160
40
100
26
300
88
800
10,000
5,000
7,000
800
00,000
700
40,000
1,600
15,000
600
4,000
4,000
. a, 000
8,000
3,000
50,000
4,000
3.600
100
20,000
3,000
8.600
8,000
1,000
4,000
6,000
6,000
10,000
80
800
100
8 00
20,00
26
100
25
9,000
900
10,000
300
700
. 10,000
$441,800
$lOB 00
The mission in Syria has not witnessed
any new outbreaks qi fanaticism. The ter
rible distress among the nominal Christians,
and the bountiful contributions for their re
lief in this country, and still more in Eng
land, made it necessary for the brethren to
act as almoners, at different times, to about
76,000 people. They had thus such oppor
tunities, as never before, for a wide publica
tion of the Gospel. The departure of the
French troops in the summer was not fol
lowed by the appprehended disorders; owing,
probably, to Special efforts on the part of the
Turkish government. The political aspects
of the country are Better than they were a
year ago. The religious prospects are also
better. Immorality has indeed increased,
al id doubtless the hatred between the races.
But priestly and feudal power has been
weakened. New civil rights have been se
cured to the Protestants. The beneficent
fruits of Protestant Christianity have dimi
nished prejudice and awakened respect.
Missionaries, by their instrumentality in re-
PHILADELPHIA, THU
lieving distress, have greatly agmented their
own influence for good.
The New version of the Arabic New Tes
tament was published in two editions last
year. Dr. Van Dyck is now engaged in
translating and printing the Old Testament,
and has completed' the book of Leviticus.
He is also preparing a voweled edition of
the New Testament for Mohammedans, in
the style of the Koran. The sale of the
Scriptures, the past year, has been unprece
dented, Against four hundred and forty
eight copies, sold in 1859, stands the sale,
in the year under review, of 4,293, which is
a tenfold increase. The state of the country
has greatly interrupted the schools.
.. ss: Sfc j|£
The reformation is gradually bringing the
true people of God among this people into
active fellowship with each other, and re
formed churches may be said now virtually
to exist in perhaps a score of villages, and
several of them with Nestorian pastors.
The number of these church members must
exceed three hundred. The death of the
Patriarch, Mar Shimon, is the removal of a
formidable obstacles The remarkable out
burst of benevolent feeling among the evan
gelical Nestorians, a few months since,, with
which the members of the Board are familiar,
is a striking illustration of that, strongly im
pulsive character, which led this people, in
former ages, over so much of Central Asia
as missionaries.
The Ahmednugger district of the Mahratta
mission has ’been blessed tbe past year with
a continuance of that spiritual prosperity
which it had enjoyed during the five: previous
.years, One hundred and thirty-one new
members have been added to the eighteen
churches in the mission, increasing the whole
number to five hundred and four ; and it is
interesting to know that the baptized chil
dren of the church number three hundred
and fifty. The native Christians, under the
auspices of the British Government, are gra
dually coming inti) possession of their social
and civil rights. •*'. * * * *
C. E. Fraser Tytler, Esq., Collector and
Magistrate at Ahmednugger, has generously
contributed six hundred dollars for erecting
meeting-houses in the villages. The same
benevolent gentleman, moved by the death
and burial of a beloved daughter at Pimplus,
a, central village where the Gospel is taking
root, is erecting a house and' chapel there,
with other necessary buildings, at a cost of
two thousand five hundred dollars, which he
proposes to make over to the mission for a
new station. * * * * * *
In the Madras mission Dr. Winslow has
dismissed his English and Vernacular school,
under the appprehension of pecuniary embar
rassments from the civil war. The Report
bears testimony to the usefulness of this
school. Dr. Winslow hopes to complete his
Tamil and English Dictionary in the course
of a year. The press, under the management
of Nlr. Hunt, continues to do an important
work for Southern India.
aura aiStrict, and .territory,
somewhat larger than the State of Massachu
setts, is, by general consent, under the ex
clusive care of the Madura mission. The
one hundred and forty-five “ Christian con
gregations” number seven thousand five
hundred souls. Of these eight hundred are
able to read. The twenty-eight churches
received seventy-six new members the past
year, and contain one thousand one hundred
and nine. Six of the churches have native
pastors. The contributions of the native
Christians, during the year, amounted to
five hundred and thirty-two dollars; besides
the Jubilee offering to the Board, which in
creased the sum to nine hundred and twenty
two dollars. They have a Home Missionary
Society to aid feeble churches in the support
of their pastors. The schools contain twelve
hundred pupils, one hundred and fifteen of
whom, of both sexes, are in the higher train
ing schools. * * *
The wonderful work of God that has been
in progress in Tinnevelly, south of the Ma
dura District, has extended to the neighbor
ing churches within the bounds of our mis
sion, and even reached the seminary at Pasu
malie; and the brethren haye great hopes in
respect to all their churches. The Board
is earnestly requested to remember this mis
sion in their prayers.
It is remarkable that the Oeylon mission
should have suffered no more from its neces
sary, but somewhat sudden, disruption from
the means of secular advancement for native
Christians in 1855. The good sense of the
native community would seem to have appre
ciated the reasonableness of the measure.
This is shown,by their Jubilee offering to the
Board of near five hundred and fifty dollars,
which came principally from natives?who
had been educated by the mission, and who
had been disappointed in their hopes of an
English education fpr their children from the
same source. In this view, as well as in
every other, the offering is highly gratifying.
The mission schools contain fourteen hun
dred and ten pupils, and are all now verna
cular, the natives bearing the whole expense
of their tEnglish schools ; and one of their ef
fects is to displace the old hereditary village
teachers. The Oodooville Female School
has forty-seven pupils, and the Theological
School at Batticotta has twenty. The inde
pendent English high school, under native
management, is a Christian school, and
shared in the revival, which, at one time in
the year, blessed the labors of the mission.
It is encouraging that when there is little
now connected with the mission to attract
the people in the way of worldly motives,
there is not only no open opposition, but the
missionaries are welcomed to villages and
dwellings, and have so favorable an opportu
nity to sow the good seed. * * *
The three China missions are all strug
gling, in their respective fields, to gain the
attention and awaken the interest of that
great and singular people. The English and
French wars, and still more the great rebel
lion, which seems lately to have been roused
into new life, must have distracted the gene
ral mind. But, in point of. fact, the way for
the Gospel has been sigifally prepared. Mr.
Bonney, in company with three English gen
tlemen, lately traveled from Canton to
Shanghai, by way of the Tong Ting Lake
and the great Yangtse river, about two thou
sand miles, without any serious obstruction;
Mr. Blodget occupies a station at
only seventy-five miles from Pekin, and has
visited the Chinese metropolis. The climate
there approximates to that of New England
and the Middle States. It is proposed to
make Tientsin, rather than Shanghai, the
centre of our northern CMna mission. Euh
ohau is an excellent riba- mission
next south, and the brethren "there haye in r
creasing hopes of a yi ry encouraging; fieldfh
that populous region. ; M
The Sandwich Islands , liiave suffered : . a
great loss in the death of J)r. Armstrong.
Btit the past year one of special Re
vival. The additions to the churches have
,been one thousand fcpr hundred Sifcty
five, raising the whme present huinber: of
church members to nineteen thousand seven
hundred and seventy-Jix. Add the deceased
church members from! the beginning, to the
living, and the number, is thirty-seven thou
sand four hundred*’ajnd fifty-four. More
than twenty-one thousand ‘dollars were con
tributed by the t'went^4hreeehufclifes, : during
the year; for the su|ipt|rt and prOpgatioh Of
the' Gospel. Ecclesiastical bodies have been
formed on the four larger islands, more or
less conformed r to the [Presbyterian or Con
gregational models. . Yhe deerease.vQf »t|ie
whaling' business, .apd
and of -money, has petarded t the grpyth,.,ef
gdod 'institutions of all Ends, and diminished
the self-sustaining p<pjver of the churches.
The iftiSSioii; %as * ahf Off-shoot
of the One at the Sahdwich Tslahds, !? Re
stricted, for the present, to.‘the ! m'ore eastern
groups, it wiU probably be conducted’-as Vir
tually a part of that mission,i «.nd fadiniy:
through Hawaiian ni^ionp , les H - : ,i;i;uou !•>•.=(
A nepr station egmmenped anipng'
the Dakotas, undeh favorable, .auspices., i A
son of Dr. Williamsph, haying, completed, his:
studies at Dane Sinuhary;'repaired 4 tb the'
Sioux Agency last ifftiMn And upon
his chosen work. Having •learned their lah
guage when a childf’and ; having retained
their confidence andbregaifib he has’peculiar
advantages for good;;; Alehifrch
has been at.. this; station; Imth
eleven members. A, house of worship ,-is in
process of expmisp jthe
Board. ‘ “*' 4 * - -1 , ;
The reports frSM; Yellow Medicine and
jHazlfffVdbd : ar# hopeful than they were
a year ago. There 'is more dispdsitioh td
listen to the preadfang ’of IhO gospel;’And i
the truth asbt isin-ffesus is not declared in
vain. *■, ■ < n‘ *
The labors of -theftyear .have not >been In
vain among th e A spirit-pfj inquiry
has sprung.up in sq|ne minds,; apdthe .-piggi*
bers of tße church .evidence
stability is 'the dispiples of Ohrish lEhongh
fetr in tbbir 'iMiuehep is said' to" be
great-; The boarding school is in succossful
operation. ' ;
Among these Inmans, also, there is a pro
gress in material interests. They are doing
more for the improvement of their land, and
more for the comfort of their , homes than
they have been accustomed tO ,, Indivi
dual enterprise is 'increasing, consequently
more independenceilrid thrift are developed.
The past ye&"'l&&‘.lsq'el' phe of '■foiaTfor
the Seneca missioi? Mr. G-le'asdh has en
tered another’ field of labor, with the honfi
dence and Committee, and his
ptefio ytfe y •• y AyL 'bb
, Upon the Alleghany Reservation, the mis
sionary work may be- regarded as more en
couraging than it has been. The educational
interests of the Senecas are kindly and faith
fully cared for by the State of Hew York.
OUR LORD’S INDIDMTIOI.
JOHN 11, 47.
At the spectacle of all this grief, the
sisters : weeping, and -even the more indif
ferent visitors from Jerusalem 1 weeping like
wise, the Lord also “ groaned in spirit and
was trouble#.” The word which' we translate
“groaned ,” does indeed far more express the
feelings of indignation and displeasure than
of grief, which, save as a measure of that is
contained in all displeasure, it means not at
all. But at what and with whom Jesus was
thus indignant, has been very differently ex
plained. The motion of some of the Greek
expositors, that he was indignant with him
self at these risings of pity, these human
tears,—that the word'' expresses the
smuggle to repress, as'something weak and
unworthy, rising utterances of grief, is
not to be accepted for an instant. Chris
tianity knows of up such dead Stoicism; it
knows of a regulating, Aut of no such repress
ing, of the natural affections; on the .con
trary, it bids us to weep with them that
weep; and, in the beautiful words of Leigh
ton, that we “ seek- not altogether to dry the
stream of sorrow; but to bound it, and. keep
if within its banks.” Some, as Theodore of
MOpsiiestia and Lampe, suppose that he was
indignant in spirit at the hostile dispositions
which he already traced and detected among
the Jews that were present, the unbelief on
their part with which he foresaw that great
work of his would be received. Others; that
his. indignation was excited by the unbelief
of Martha and Mary and the others, which
they. manifested in their weeping, whereby
they showed clearly that they did not believe
that he would raise their dead. But he him
self wept presently, and there was nothing in
these their natural -tears to have roused a
feeling of the kind. * ; ’
Much better is it to take this- as the indig
nation which the Lord of life felt at all which
sinhadwrought: he bfeheld.death in all its
fearfulness, as the wages of sin ; and all the
world’s woes, of which this was but a little
sample, rose up before his eye,—all the
mourners and all the graves were present to
him. For that he was about to wipe away
the tears of those present, did not truly alter
the case. Lazarus did but rise again, to
taste a second time the bitterness of death:
these mourners he might comfort, but only
for a little whilethese tears he might stanch,
only again hereafter to flow; ■ and how many
had flowed and must flow with no such Com
forter to wipe them, even for a season, away!
Contemplating all this, a mighty indignation
at the author of all this woe possessed his
heart. And now he will delay no 'longer,
but will do battle with him, and show, in a
present, though as yet an incomplete, tri
umph over him, some preludes of his future
victory. With this feeling he demands,
“Wherehave ye laid Mm? And they said
wpto Mm, Lord, eome and see: Jesus wept; ”
himself borne along with, and not seeking to
resist, this great tide of sorrow.— Trench.
MIITIN6 OF THrE|AIGILIOAL ALLF-
LETTER OP REV. DR. BAIRD.
Geneva, Switzerland; Sept: 5,;1861.
. Messrs. Editors :—-In my last I gave you
some notices of my journey to this place.
Qoe of the objects, which, f hyd in view ip
coming hither was to attend the Conferences
which com
menced ;on Monday, the 2d inst., and are
npw going on from day .to day. The pre
liminary prayer meeting,-to invoke, the. Di
vine favor upon the proceedings of the body,
wab held in one of the chapels of the Free
Church ‘ Sabbath afternoon preceding.
It Was “a large and interesting meeting. %
number of prayers—as many as six or eight
—were offered up by brethren from various
parts of the Protestant: woxld} in French,
English, and German, and three addresses
were made, one in each of these three lan
guages, It was a good preparation for what
was to follow. Pastor Barde, one of the
ministers of the Established Church,'pre
sided, aid made ioihe excellent remarks on
fthe s importance of a spirit of charity—of love
to. God and each other—inbufeh meetings.
•Most of the prayers were spontaneous,.as in
the- Fulton Street prayer meeting,! and: all
_ r ,liaye # hepn.heldi-mpinly l in
..Me great 1 church of St,-Peter,rwhichtis by far
fhe jargest place‘of .worship in Geneva. -It
Was in fact a caithedral, or. rather the cathe
‘ dralpbefoi'e thA city' becMifie in
theisixteerith'centttfy, 5 fhrough'dhe’TAbofs ’Of
Froment (who commenced the Work as an
humbles. and f cainefiWelß nigh
being ;thr own. into ithe Rhone several times,)
s^W!?ering J .preachery the Luther
of these parts,) and Qaiyin, the; theologian,
in wh<|m,the]je was,the.,union of .the. intelii
'gencS' sjpiri^ and,character’ of’’both Zwihgle
and Melancthon.i t: ' '* '
The church of St. Peter will hold 5,000
people, if ndt‘ more. ; FrOm 2jooo to 3,000
have - Attended ! the 'Moriuhg- sessions, it'him
•been estimated—but the lower- figure is nearer
the truth thafi the higher* in Any Opinion.
. Amjf f(this' number: have founds dfilfex
tr^fly^j^cnlt,Jtpl hear all that- has, been
said, ~ s<s/$ pf .thepfternopn: meetings ,a,r.e ,to.
be held in the chapel of the Oratoire, which
may hold 500 or 600 people. In fact two
have already been held there.
• "The arrangements for the, meeting in re-
to ‘ the subjects, speakers, accommoda
tion of strangers, etc., ..have been all thai
could he expected; , :
> .MbpdayTorenoon; was devotedi to the open
.ing pxgrcises.jof .the Conference.An adnii
ruhlp addrpss yas. delivered;,by Mr; bfayille,
in‘Which me principles., of the Evangelical
Alliance were expounded, and .a cordial wel
come was given to the foreign brethren from
the various countries, to which responses
were made in brief terms by Sir Culling Eard
ley,_ Dr. Krummacher, Rev.’ G/ Monod, of
Paris,., and ■ others, including myself, to whoni
was;assigned the .dutyhof speakihg for rthe
XJnited States., . The-afternoon was devoted
to the .Sc^hqi^h n and most certainly
I have never heard subject , handled so
abljy on any other occasion. There was a
mdsfhappy union of sound: Scriptural views,
and clear and able philosophical appreciation
of devoting s one day in seven : to rest- ; and to
exercises of reiigion. The Report of Pro-"
M idmirablp,.
and so were the speeches of the Key. Pastors
Coulen and Deinole, of this city, Thompson,
of Edinburgh, and Panehard, of Brussels.
The subject of consideration for Tuesday
forenoon was on “ The Means which Wisdom
and Experience indicate as the best for Ap
plying the only Efficacious Remedy to me
Evils which Result' from the Want of Reii
gious Life; and the State of Immorality in
which a Considerable Portion of our Popula
tion is Found.” . This important topic* was
ably discussed in the French language;- in
the Church of St. Peter, from five o’cloek till
noon, by Professor St. .Hilaire of the Sor
bonne (Paris,), Pastors Bonhoir of .Geneva,
and John Dost of France. M., St, Hilaire
read a report or essay on the subject, of two
hours in length. The subject was discussed
in a large meeting in the Oratoire, in Eng
lish, by ifier. Doctor Guthrie of Edinburgh,
Rev. Baptist Noel of London, and others.
In the afternoon the subject of Foreign Mis
sions was considered. This was a most inte
resting day -in, all. respects. -- s -« .. . ■ , ■
The subject of Skepticism 'was ably dis
cussed yesterday by Mr. Ernest Nayille and
others in the morning, In the afternoon
there was a good meeting in behalf of the
Israelites. Dr. Cappaddee of the Hague,
made the report, and Mr. William Petavel,
of Neuchatel, made what must be considered
the most eloquent speeeh thus far delivered.
To-daytherewasno meeting of the Con
ference in the forenoon, but theTewas a good
one of the English-speaking members on the
subject of Missions. In the forenoon there
Was ap important meeting in behalf of Italy
mid, the Italians. An excellent ; report, was
made by'Pastor Meille of Turin, and speeches
Were made by several persons, the most dis
tinguished of whom was Professor Mazza
rella, of Bologna, a man scarcely inferior to
Gavazzi in- eloquence. What remarkable
orators Italy is already producing!—the
fruit of civil and religious l liberty and the
spread of tho Gospel. ; ,
I t have said, enough to give you a correct
idea, of the mode in which these meetings are
conducted. They, will continue to be con-1
ducted thus til! the end, which will not be
till Thursday night of next week.
Every night meetings for preaching in
French, German, and English are held.
There have been-several''meetings' in the
open;air, in the beautiful gardens of several
of the wealthy Christian; Genevese,;; chiefly
in the immediate environs. Mr. Denham
Smith, of Dublin, and others of the same
spirit, are laboring for the salyation of souls
day and night, and I rejoice to say that
their labors are not in vain the Lord.— New
York Evangelist.
THE LATE DR. MORISON.
Db. Morison never,forgot himself.in his
travels, His religion., was unaffected by
change of scene or of society. It so per
vaded His whole being as to form a second
and a better nature. Traveling from Bath
to London on one occasion he found himself
inside the coach in company with two young
ladies, the daughters—as he understood be
fore the journey’s; end—of a clergyman in
the, neighborhood of London, The young
ladies had just been visiting, a religious rela
tive at Bath, and seemed like birds escaped
frony imprisonment. Their, conversation we®
full pf life and merriment.
“I could hot stand it much longer,” said
one of them significantly. “It was ndthing
but Methodism.’- - !
“Do you know what Meth.odisih is?” said
Dr*-Mormon quietly; •; I■>« -»
.',,“l : tMftte itiis just? telupg-rabiduf religion
all day long, and nothing else.”
[Ol7 Tin
“Now I don’t think that was ever intend
ed,” was his. quiet answer.
The door was now fairly opened, andi Dr.
Morison pursued the conversation, we . may
well suppose, with .that genial .earnestness
and consummate tact,, which'' distinguished
him. One of the ‘young' ladies, however,
stood out vety resolutely against his views of
religion, and when the coach stopped at the
cross-road, where friends were waiting to re
ceive, them, Dr. Mdrison said to her :
“'Well,,my young friend, let, -me request
that h>efoye you gp to bed to-night you will
read ,a chapter of your Bible, and, pray to
God that lie will enlighten you upon these
subjects.”, -’ ' " , . ? '
“ Well;” shfe replied, am much obliged
to you, at ail events?’
St : all obliged,” Said he, “for lam
always obliged to defend the truth", whenever
lThear.itjcallBd.iniqtiestloh.” : 1 ; • i
:ii -Masy. taEdvtheJciremii
i Stance]liadu;lmost ; vanished'froin hilhmemory,
a .dinner ,by :Spxne
of f who, had
spCiit an'evening in knptter'part of London,
; and f ha9: mpt f wim ,'clergyman ,and his wife,
'who* "spOke 1 yhuChvbf ) Dfc?Mofisoiij and' were
'vhry* ifeiiful 1 '%*' y e ! ; 'bini: 1 The 1 obj ect of
-W 'Mjip'l^ 2 the* Ojipbrtunity.
During, dmneitithei'cdnversiitlonfloWed freely,
and the clergyman’s«wife;young and inte
resting, 'vgas^freq i
wardsT)r. Sforisgndpifilencc, but with tears,
in her eyes.' After dinner the party went
into the; garden, and walking with Dr. Mori-
.ftlope,; the, .clergyman, said.. to.Tnm,v ; C I
cannot tell- you,, sir,' ho,w much-1 ■ am. indebted
.-rfV-:"- /--’-r:: -T/.-.-f ... ■ 1 !
“I was not at all, aware.. that you are in r
‘deßted'tb me,'” was the natural reply. , ;
“ You haive observed my wife,” said the
clergyman:' !T “ s She itf the hest 'Of ‘ wives, and
the best of mothers. 5 ! Christianity has matde
her iso, and it as through your words that she
became a Christian.”, The circumstances
were then recalled, and their sequel related.
The young lady, Who had stood out so boldly
in the Bath poach against her ,fellqw f travel-
views 'bf r reiigipn,, despis€s|; i his .parting
counsel, an.cf wentfo bed’ thatnight wit£,out
reading the Scriptures, or 'bending her knee
ihojrfayer. Biit she had no sooiier gone to
Bed "thaUi conscience began to 'work, and
would not let-iher sleep;. 1 ’She was compelled
tpjgefjrp, and dress; and.then she read the
word of as, she had pe,yer read, Jt;hpfore,
and prayed ad she ha,d.never prayed,(before;
and ||ife 1 of was Bey conversion- to God!
When the aintifet party Had re-assembled, in
the drawing-room, the clergyman said tb his
l“have 1 told hiin all;” and
she, rose'iandirusKhd to* Dr. :i Morisoh,' as 'a
cMldsWOuldtOia father,land fell on.his beck
and said, withijan* emotion’ which ncannpt l he
described,, “ Yes,, if: I ever get to , heaven, i
will own,.,you for my. spiritual, father.”
Blessed are they, we add, that sow beside all
watery, fdr lh'KCayeh isuchsurprises and jqe
cdgnitidnsas these will he numerous and i
common.— ‘Service md Suffering, by Ken
ned)/. ' '--tt
- It is possible'.that here and there a minis
ter may be found:wiio has the.powerof com
pressing, his ideas .and ,words:within so nar
row a, compass apJo be able to do justice to,
one of the great themes of the gospel in, thirty,
minutes or less. But we hear of such per
formances with feelings not unlike, those that
ake excited by reports l of : Bl6nSih’s success
m walking on a wet and slippery rope across
Niagara. The feats are wonderful, hut we
see no reason for commending them as wor
thy of general imitation.. . . ' . But that
a preacher should grapple with the mighty
mysteries of our faith, and reach the height
of the great argument in thirty minutes; that,
a discourse crowded into these narrow: limits,
should have the breadth and sweep, before
which congregations are borne away as on a
flood-tide toward heaven, seems to us ihcre
dibleiAnd ; the*riew we- take- of this%ubje‘et
is confirmed by the fact, that the best pub
lic speakers almost invariably require con
siderably. more than half an hour for the de
livery of a, satisfactory address. on any. im
portant subject. , Not. one of our popular ly
ceum lecturers limits, himself by, any such
restrictions as many seem desirous of placing
upon the' pulpit., Nor is there one of them
who could do -it, and sustain the place he has
gained before the public. ; Who, that has an
important case in court, Would think of
: charging his lawyer not to occupy more than
twenty,-five or, thirty minutes in'his address
to the jury? (Where would the influence of
our secular orators be, or what would be
come of the reputation of John B. Gough, if
subjected to this stringent and senseless rule?
We believe that the clamor for shovt ser
mons comes mainly from those whohavelittle
real -interest In, preaching. * In all our Sab
bath congregations- persons may be found
who; are, so jaded and wearied by the cares of
this world, qr.the . deoeitfulness of riches,-as
to,’be almost incapacitated for the services of
the sanctuary. During: the week they hardly
read anything more substantial than the
daily papefs. They come to the bouse of the
Lord under a kind of compulsion, and while
there “snuff at his ordinances; ” iand feel, if
they do not say, that they are a “weari-
I Such persons almost invariably pre
fer short sermons, and such as may be lis
tened to with /little or no mental /effort.,
Our, readers probably remember the story
of the good sister who sought to, comfort her
pastor when a part of his congregation had
been drawn from his phurch to listen,to his
more eloquent colleague. She had no thought
of going with the multitude to hear brother
H. : /“True;” said she, “he has the reputa
tion of being a efeep preacher; but for my
part I like-.preaching;- : Thehaste
for short sermons and shallow preaching
seems to be on the increase; it is no port of
our duty to encourage it. If we refer to the
noble men of blessed memory, who in their
generation made the pulpit a throne of power,
how few- of them : gave countenance to these
dwarfed and alienated sermons. As we write
we lift our eve£ to the shelves of our library,
and there stand th'e volumes 1 of Edwards, arid
Davies, and: Chalmers —to go no
Which of these men of might thought of con
cluding his .discourse before the hour-glass
has fairly emptied. , And Olin, the grandest
man by far it was ever our privilege to. see
ih 'a puljiit, preached sermons, that requires
from an hour and a half to two hours for their
delivery,'- : 'H
IThere'is
iof Its-:direct bearing =. upbn the
question under consideration. From the pul
.QBiISJID No 80S
SHORT SERMONS.
pits , of one denomination in oxir country we
seldom or never hear other than short ser
mons. Ritual ceremonies engross so much
of the ' time devoted to public worship that
thg ; prdachef is' feoinpelled to be brief And
as a, consequence that denomination has, per
haps, in general 5 the' most inefficient minis
itry in the we mean, in the
great, wttrk to which Cvery Christian minister
is called, that of preaching the gospel. We
need not go beyond the pulpits of the deno
mination referred f o for the. proof that .short
sermons are not necessarily pointed or prac
tical. Having ,said so much, perhaps we
ought to add that' wpwould not encourage
;any • to : Cultivate the habit 1 of preaching lopg
A.disedurse that is long, dry, add
lean, is intolerable, and no congregation can
be blamed for rejoicing when they escape
frpni sfleh aptiinflietion- A feeble, indefinite,
.if. imty.thiriy
.MM# IPSpftßditfP tiff# wm> if.it drag
its, weary length through a whole hour. If
we felt competent to offer a word of advice
on this'subject,Vdwould; say 'to brethren in
'the ministry Never preach 'without having
your feeMngs' thßrOnghly‘interested in your
subject. ■ Having secured this preparation,
spend little-time in; introductory remarks,
but get at thei substance of your, discourse
with.ys,litße-delaryt as possible’.; Then speak
what is in your heart without fear or favor;
and, above all, stop wsen you have done.—
N. Y. Adv. and Joyrmat-
[cpMJfxraiCAiED.].. • .
THOUGHTS P»B THE PBAYKR »miXG.
SBE aCOHEBR’S EAR.
f *);• asmßE» iOIIB,
' I'HkvlE bbdri suiprised at thfe sdnsifivehess
of a mother’s eaw i ; Tief e 'is : Something -Which
no: cultivation could %ecohaplisk itf the abil
ity to detect,, among many other sounds, the
•sound which; proceeds from a suffering in-.
fant> moan,, and to which the mother of
that infant alone is,so sensitive. , I was sit
ting in a circle of friends in a parlor, and
between a mother and the door of that par
lor. Suddenly, while almost every, one in
the* rOom-was conversing,'!'noticed a change
in the maMner of a young mother. No one
hehrd a sound hut that which proceeded from
the happy company, exee'pt that young mo
ther who had left .her only child up stairs.
She thought she heard were a call from
the cj-adlp.i . -lwas . spre she was nepdlesply
restless, and. would have joined others in
saying so, had T Been asked my opinion.
But nothing could persuade the. mother to
remain,- and she passed 1 away through that
door, 5 ‘and ' was 1 s'oori By her infant’s side.
She was correct in'her judgment. It was
her infant's almost inaudible moan. A few
days; afterway*! 6 Was’dangerously ill;; and
in a few more it was; sleeping its last; sleep: •
How sepsitjye. wawthat mother’srear to her,
aorrow! it. disenminated r he
tween the hoisps f ar6una' s and'‘|iiaf soiind from
the lowly erhdie; although those were
louder aMmore confident’, courtesy^
• atl<| friendship, Wajd-pfc’atoegadtt liriellectted
enjoyment found a form and utterance in’
those sounds, yet nothing epuld di-own that
one, feehle s plaiihtive groah of the offspring,
though, from afar off. -
, Now there is a passage which possesses;
great force By the side of this as its illustra
tion. It is in Isaiah xlix. 15, “ Can. a wo-,
manTbrget her suekirig child' iMt sHe should:
not have compassion on the son pfr her womb ? 1
Yeai, 4hey may forget, yet will f hot forget
thee.’’ We are God’s offspring, and amid
the temptations; the sorrows; 'the,' kink, thb 1
struggles, and the desires of a rebel world;:
the gentlest voice of a; child,of God shaßrhei
iheard, heard above thejtriumphs; apd shouts,
and . energies of earth., God’s ear is more
sensitive than any ear in the universe ! Ah !
what 'enconragement to all, even.'to the sad
and sofrowfril in his'feebleness, u who is only
able to say, “ God Be merciful to me a sin-
'£ ■(!■.? 5 •'! ■’ -■■■:: . 'H. &
Belviperb,- HeJ.,.. i,. f. . ' , '
WOESEI’S' REPENTANCE. '*
I& T “N. & Q.” appears an historical paral
lel, between two luckless statesmen, Cardmel,
Wolsey (1530) and Sir James Hamilton
(1540), who, at their last hour, regretted
“ that the had not served 'their GW aswell
■as they hMsemod their Ung." Perhaps the
latter iriay have unconsciously borrowed from
and copied the former. But may not the
expression be derived from the East ? Sol
many oriental tales, / pro Verbs, and -maxims,
were, wafted from oriental marts in Venetian
galleys to Italy, and thence dispersed over,
Europe, that they became household words,
and the ground-work, in, many instances, as
well of amusement as" of thought. I enclose
- a tale from the Gulistan of, Saadi (a. d. 1258,)
which expresses the same idea in words so
; similar, that one can : hardly suppose the- re
; semblance to be accidental; but of this your
readers will i :
“ One of the Viziers went before Zun’ Zun,
®SyP t; >:Apd His opijaioTi, saying:
‘ I am engaged day and night in the service
of the Sulfan, .toping good from Mm and
fearing punishment.’’ ' Zun’ Zun wept, and
saicL: ‘lf I feared God as you do the king,
I should he One oftheebmpany-df the saints.’ ”
“If*aDurwaish hoped not ease; and (feared not) pain,
He would-jaount to the heavenly dpine ;
And if a Vizier feared God as much as the king,
He would be an angel.” ;; '
GLORIOUS WORDS.
“For God sent not his Son into the world
to condemn the world; hut that the world
through him might be saved.”—John iii. 14
to 17. ;
.Glorious/ words these, to which I heard a
dying woman respond, not long ago, with a
suddemburst of praise: . ,: ......
“,Is ho not. so great
and good, and willing to save all us poor sin
ners:” r .
", Shd was .lying.■’biff a hard bed, in a dreary
infirihary ward in a London Union Work
house, andAhfe power of faith and love to
create ’a happiness independent of circum
stances, came out with startling force in her
answer to the inquiry,
“You know him, then, and love him?”
“Yes, Ido know him, and love him. . His
presence makes a heaven of this room.”
“If you heaped up niy bed with gold and
silver,” she added, “if you could give me the
queen’s carriage and horses, and her palace,
and her garden, and all her beautiful flowers,
and health and strength io enjoy it all, I
would 'not take them if they would hinder me
from going home to my Saviour, They talk
bf -the phiris of dying; vfliat will they be to
me? They will but hurry me to heaven and
to Jesus.”