al. VI, No. 23.—Whole No. 292. ~~ ~~~~~. The Compass. I'm storm was loud; before the blast Our gallant barque was driven; Their foaming crests the billows reared, And not one friendly star appeared, Through all, the vaults of heaven. , Yet, dauntless, still the steersman stood, And gazed without a sigh, Where poised on needle bright and slim, And lighted by the lantern dim, The Compass met, his eye. Thelma taught his &irksome course to steer, Iteitieathed no wish for day; But 14114. ed the' whirlwind's headlong might, Noi , onee throughout that dismal night To fear or doubt gave way. And what is oft the Christian's life -lint storm as dark and drew.; Through which, without one blithesome ray Of worldly bliss to cheer his way, Ile must his vessel steer. Yot let him ne'er to sorrow yield, For in the sacred page A compass shines, divinely true, And - self-illumined greets his' view, Amidst the tempest's rage. Then firmly let him grasp the helm, Althongh the billows roar; Anti "goon his toils and troubles past, His anchor shall be safely east On Oanann't3 happy shore. UTTER FROM MT. LEBANON. GEI'IERODS NATIVE CONVERT. -- OMNIBUS - RIDE OVER MT, LERANON.-MAALAKA.- THE GRAVE OF NOALL-THE VINEYARDS. ---ZAIILE irISITED.• liry Dear Mr. Mears :—Missionaries in a foreign land have many trial ' s; sometimes peculiar trials which words cannot express or pen describe, and which the dearest friends far, away ilaver know. We have had a large share of _trials, and, Oh we have had pecu liar:joys, too, .and have found the Lord Jesus Ohrist to us a most precious friend and Saviour, able to succour and sustain, and comfort, id the deepest vales of grief and sorrow. .WOhaVe on the hearts of the natives, of these wild, half-civilized, half-savage moun taineers, to a remarkable degree. The owner of oily house is a sweet specimen of, the power of the -Gospel; he is a tall fine-looking man, rich in vineyards and mulberry trees, and in all the good things of this world; he once hated the Gospel, and was far from loving us, but the Spirit touChed his heart and renewed and sanctified it—he then wished us to 'come and live in , his house. We removed -from very uncomfortable quarters into the upper rooms of this friend; he with his parents, wife and children occupying the lower story. This kind native brother has ever been the same, ready to do all his duty when he, knew it, Afew week's ago he put into - Mr. Benton's hands 150 piasters, about six dollars, for a poor widow, and 25 dollars for us-to use as we pleased. NoW ,we weredesiring to visit Zahie, and here the means were put intO our hands ;we accordingly took few things for cooking and housekeeping, and beds to sleep upon, and loaded them upon two mules and a donkey, ourselvekriding upon- two animals to the Khan Ruassah, on the new carriage road; where we were , to wait for the omni bus to take us to Maalaka, a large village adjoining Zahle, where we found shelter, after toeing stoned- out of Zahle two years ago. THE OMNIBUS RIDE. The omnibus soon appeared coming up the mountala in fine style drawn by six horses; a black Ethiopean, in loose white breeches, acting as coachman, with an Arab eotilueter at his side, who held the whips, blew the horn, attended to passengers, - ete: The omnibus was too full to take us all.: so myself, with little Eddie and the. baby, took seats in it, leaving the rest of our party to folloiv on the horse and donkeys. This was my first ride in a carriage, on the first road in Syria. My fellow-passengers were all natives of the country—one Emeer, several gentlemen from Damascus, amtk 81ok man, whom they called by way of honor, .Effendi. They were very social and respectful, took notice of my chil dren, and did not appear to lose any of their respect when I answered their inquiries as to what my husband did, and I told them he was a preadher of the Gospel, a missionary. Only think of taking a missionary tour over Mt. Lebanon in an omnibus. At the end of the line at Maalaka is a little- 'Frank 'hotel here I sat down -to wait for the; est to come. I was four hours in coining. Those who rode the animalt • were nearly seven -hours. At sunset theyetme on, and we all entered the town and were most cordially received at the house of one of the Protestant brethren. Here we found five persons, Abu Asaad, and his son and loon's wife, his daughter and her husband, who; seem tritly*-born again. They have suffered much persecution for the cause. There are a . great many Nieodemusea in* Maalaka who comekto us by night—but this truly. Christian family have dared,to face all the curses and excommunications of all the churches, and the -bishops, and priests.. One monk cams to us by night ;.he longed to get loose frOrehis convent, to throw off Monk ish robef ipia. enter society: said, "I will dig; or ll**, x teach school or be a cook ; . 'l`, am, ready for till the'vile language end insult I know I shall suffer if I become a Protest. ant, but I ain afkaid of imprisonthent and death." We visited several families with our friends, and were received always with all courtesy and kindness. Orte day we went• to a little villuge. to see a funeral ; a yo.ung woman had died,; she was brought out 'of thehouse and laid on a bier, several priests stood around with smoking .n.eIiPPT B and mumbled long prayers spa read ix! old books, but not. one word of intelligentfroyer Or one serious word of exhortation was hear& THEI T 01413 OF 'roast.; This little village dos' nbted for contain ing the grave 3f Noah; we went to see it. A quaint, queer old woman brought : the long wooden key, kissedit: and. tie door most voutly; slni is the servant of 'the . pidphet, and she orned the door, and bowing,; bade us enter. It was a harrow roini,-hun t ' *Aix various frames and golden writings of this strange people. In the midst of the room, reaching from end to end; was the grave. Mr. Benton measured it and found it was just one hundred feet long; this pleased the old woman, as she thoughtit must be with some pious Intent, and hoped he would bring a new cloth to,, cover the "Neby." The old woman tried to be very knowing.: said, they used in old times to be tall as trees, but every generation grew smaller, and at the last end. of time the human race would be about the size of peas I . She" did, not know how old the "Neby" was, and was delighted when we ,told her his age. Can all' the children who read' this tell the age of Noah? 'look it out in the Bible if you can't This poor woman was' a Matta wala, one Of the most , singular people inthe = world, yet they have the, story of the flood, and call, Noah their " Neby" —prophet. They have no dealings with. Christians— would not allow a Christian to drink from theii jars,' or eat from their plates. TRW VINEYARDS. One day we visited the almost intermina ble vineyards which surround Zahle and Maalaka. Theywere making raisins and dibs. fibs is made by treading out the juice and boiling down to thick molasses ; it is very delicious with bread or hot cakes. One would never" weary f these delight ful vineyard& and the excellent grapes—so many varieties, colors and kinds, and the vines were differently trained from what had ever seen them, before ; they were in rows, and all propped on short sticks, and kept' closelY trimmed. As they all bent over . towards the east, they had the`appear ance of little treeihowed over till the tops touched the ground. The clusters are enor mous, some of them weigh six or seven pounds. Every now and then, on an elevated spot, were seen the huts of the watchmen. After a long,..long, long swayable, up, up, up, till we were all nearly exhausted, we came to the hut of . our friend, Abu A.zaad. There we found the old kintleman, with his - pod books, sitting at his door, all. alone. He was delighted to see - us lip- in his vineyard brought out his carpetspread it for us to sit upon, and went and gathered a big basket ful' of the most delicious grapes. I only wish you could have been there to eat with us ,the choice bunches. On the Salba,th, at Maalaka,, about twenty women came around me, after the sermon was over, and Tread to them the account of the woman at the 'well, They were inte rested. Ohl hoW I did' long to stay and teach them, and lead them 'to that true well of water, Jesus the Saviour. ZAHLE VISITED. After eight days of delightful missionary work and intercourse with the people at Maidaka, we went up to Zahle. Here we had been invited, and accepted the offer of a room in the house of Naaman Maloof, one'of the most influential men in' the place. The Zahleans are &most bright, smart, enterpris ing people, and it was perfectly astonishing how 'much' they had done towards 'building up their houses.,— The -poorlif Zahlware 'rely poor, and our, hearts were made sad to see so many widows and orphans sitting among the ruins of their former pleasant homes with very little to cover their nakedness. Many ladle's came to see us wearing a pro fusion of gold coins dangling about their heads and necks. They asked about the American ladies : I told them the Chris tian ladies in America wore few ornaments, but went about among the poor and taught the children in the Sabbath schools, and gave food to the suffering.. " Ah," said they, "that is the true Christianity.; here we are only such in name." The Roman Catholida are building an en ormous convent at Maalaka, to contain a thousand-monks-and nuns. -a. More *about Zahle at, another time. Your affectionate, sister. in Christ, LOANZA G. BBICIOlt: THE IMPRECATORY PSALM. The one sided critic is impatient of - the Imprecatory Psalms, because they are shining delineations of the justice that punishes the heathen, and do not sketch; with equal bril liancy, the grace that offers an Atonement to• Gentiles as well ash Sews. They are like the cartoons of Raphael, intimating,in a slender sketch, one part of a vast scheme, all ,the sections of which We are too puny to take in at" , once glance, and a finished 'picture of which no man can look upon and live. - After the' spring time came the harvest. The nature, spirit, and extent of the atone ment • are now smore luminously revealed. But there are critics on the gospel, who conk; plain that it,favors the passive, gentle graces, and fails to stimulate the active, bold virtues: It lowers the aspiring mind intethat humility ,ihich is, ear the groun4; tones'down a bravo soul into that meekness Which is akin to , sillanimity; lulls a resolute spirit into that obsequiousness which will reward the' theft of.a coat with the gift Of a cloak also; but it forms n(LuLanl..y..charactovanfl=does •not nerve the spirit for hazardous,. or noble ploits. This is the one-sided- criticism, •of men whelisten to the robust phrases, of the Imprecatory Psalms, are. shocked. What would satisfy them? we pipe unto them, they will not dance ;::"ift.rfe :rneurn unto them, 'they will not lament. If the divine word be mild, it isitoo mild ; if it be : steri, it is tore Some professed friends of , the Bible;have 4onfined,theirview -to its unqualified eornmen dationa of the . gentla virtues and have been thus allured into, an incomplete form of ethics. ,They forbid all war, because we are told to 'Volunteer our'escort of two miles for a usurper who demanded only . , one mile. 'They disapprove - of capital punishment, be cause we should turn 'the other,cheek to-him who his already smitten- - utiP , on; one cheek. They disallow family punishment, and cor poreal punishment,And=allpunishment. But where are the Imprecatory i Tsqms? These old - songs were written., with ,the design of sug4psting certain conservative truths, to us. Their, sentiment was arrayed in burning words, in order to flask upon our ,eyes a light which *c must look at, whether we will or not. " They Were Uttered with a rousing emphasisrwhich iVaS intended to arrest , our progress toward a one-sided virtue, and to make us consider, willing - or unwilling, that the element, of justice is involved in a corn plete love. If roc() disjoin the tenderer man- dates; which are unqualified, and if we perse vere in keeping hem discovered, and cling lIILADELPH ' A,,: - . -,:,_ i!,,....,.0 . ..,,,,-;..j=ayz,y:: 71.:,..ituART - ,_Lpio. -;,,'-. ing to the gentle while we recoil- from the severe, we throw, away one half of the truth; we lose our equilibrium ; we extend a reason able clemency into anunscriptural effeminacy ; what was intended to foster a principle of benevolence, we pervertinto an excuse for an easy good nature. This womanish kindness may in still times be, a lovely instinct, but in times of, peril it may ruin the commonwealth. It has no moral, ground. It. is, an impulse rather than a principle. Therefore let us not, flatter ourselves that we have outgrown the main Ilse of the Imprecatory`Psalms. They are needed when the souls of men are tried.* They prove the inpiration of that volume which was designed as for all men, so for those men who: are bleeding under inju ries, and who can:; relieve themselves by , timely courage, and. who ought .;to come straight up to their duty of self-defence. At the present day, *ben it is possible for us to astonish the advocates of a despotic govern inent lay demonstrating the power of re,pribli- - can institutions, and when it is also possible for us to - exemplify the weakness of these in stitutions, and to impair their credit through out the ;world, -we need the stimulus of these Psalms. Their voice comes to us like the sound of a trumpet, calling us back from a pusillanimous non-resistance ; an emasculated love of :peace rather than of right; a °bra passioirfor the criminal rather than for the victims •of his crime; a gentleness toward those :who do wrong, but an indifference to ward those who su f fer wrong.- The. religion of some men consists in a pity for all .except the virtuous, trembling poor. ' The day will: come when, we shall learn not to dislocate the Imprecatory Psalms from , their appropriate junctures. That will .be the day of the revelation of 'the righteous judgment of God. Then we shall look upon his purposes as the inspired Psalmists looked upon them. ' ' • On that day the 'oft-repeated Psalms will strike up a blaze of light, illumining the Uni tize and, the grace of God; that justice to the few which, is... benevolence.- to the many; those .retributions on: ten thousand which are essential to the safety of ten thousand times . ten thousand and thou sands of thousand& The whole, 'genius of these abused Psalms then be t 'Unfoldedby the final event, and'-will''be recognized - as compressed 'in the two words Which we use so idly and vainly on earth: Amen, Allehniah. That sound which the beloved apostle heard in Patinos, was the resonance, of these, old Psalms. hearda great, voice, of much people in, heaven, saying Allelniah:— for true and righteous are his judgments, for he hath avenged the blood of his- servants.—And again they said, Alleluiah: And her smoke rose up forever and ever. And the four and twenty elders fell doWn and worshipped God that'sat on the throne, saying Amen, Alleluiah. And I heard as it were the voice of a ATeat multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, say- Alleluiah; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and -Ore. 'Thbre. "shitifb - 6 - ins joy' in heaven at the Misery of the `rebels; no joy at the necessity of penal woe. But there shall be joythat the battle at length is fought ; the :victory at length is won; the loyal citi zens id 'the emp . ire. may :now have peace. There shall be Joy, because Love, Mercy, and Grace will now reign unmolested ; because there will never be again one single act of siiccessfil injustiCe; never , again one single triumph of fraud, or envy, or malice, or re venge ; and there shall he no more harm to the good man ; neither `sin nor temptation.; neither shall' 'there be any more peril to the cause of truth and charity.—Prof.-Park,inthe Bib. Sacra. *While delivering a patriotic address. in Boston,- on the 16th of October 1861, - 4on : Edward Everett gave a startling narrative of the miseries Which have been inflicted ort our land by eight or ten leaalers of , the Southern rebellion. When he had-quickened his auditors into a befitting sympathy for the injured people, he gave vent to thamords : _ "Is thee not some hidden curie. Soule chosen thunder in the stores,of heaven' Red with unconinion math. That seeks hii greatness in his dountiy's ruin?" We are irifortned- that at the recital of these verses; the thrill of the assembly iias4ell nig h. unpleeeden ted ; the " running ,fire of apPlause which had been elicited by previoui Words 'Of tile orator, now " burst into a iolcano of enthusiasm," 'AN'ENGLISIMAN% orINNN; The ' Watchman ; the organ of British' Me thodism this refers to Matvy's recent letter to Admiral Fitzroy in defense of secession Capt. -Maury's defense of rebellion fails. just* the point where he labors the longest nd most earnestly. He, a Virginian,: se cedes because Ili state has g,one, into seces sion, and he recites the Act of thst, .tate, in, 1788; adopting Federal Constitution, in proof that she reserved to herself " the right, for Cause, of witlidiawing at Will." - Vispii sionately examining that- marriage contract, we see- that 'certain beneficial -posseSsionsJ were- settled upon. Virginia, but we do not find ,one word about her. right , of ,divorce: in case, Alp ,conditions of the Anion were liqt fa_ filled. - That ivhiCh id.stipulated is, that 'the' powers granted under the Constitition; be-. ing 'derived from the people, of, _th,e United' States," may whenever perverted IV their in jury and' opprCssiCiri, "be resumed= by ‘f By them :" surely that is "the people;" the" nation; one and inadivisible; " , of:the United States ;"' not of the planting States; as a See tion ; much less ,of Virginia,, as &member of the -Union. The legal and ,constitutional ground,: therefore; i :on which Virginia thinks that, she stands, `breaks dovn beneath her feet, 4 . caves under, to plagiarise an Anieri can metaphOr, and-lowers - her into abyss of rebellion. 'The Confederate States them selves have been slicw and reluctant to sub mite the question 'of secession toLtheir .own people. , To "the people of the United States". it has never been submitted.: Captain Maury is not more happy in .. hie attempts ,to .prove that such injury, and oE 7 , pression" have been inflicted upon the Sou thern States as might have Warranted "the people of the United States" in resuming the powers conferred by the Cpraditution. miserable reckoning' of -bounties and' pretie tion to 'New England fisheries and rhanufac= tnresi,lof light-houses and 'navy yards estab lished on ;the coasts of the mercantile North, while the harbors ,of the less - commercial South were comparatively ne,glepted; 11 , Com plaint that iinmigrants from •free Europe , - Were invited by the ten thousand, while the Brazilian or Cuban master, if he came, might not bring his slaves with him; and that into territories beyond alline of" latitUde a,greed upon by the South,' itself, the Southerners could not carry theegrcrchattels,=—are, in reality, all that Captains Maury has to allege. This is his vindication of, rebellion, of civil war, ,national: debt, and .dashing to watery atoms, as if it wer e Out a bubble, of that rainbow., vision wing 'Bishop, Berkeley be held when he wrote -;",••-- Can. Capt. NaArylicipe to improve- on Aga, prediction by making,, ,B9orpion,, br00 . .. slave , confederates ,ike last, oir,qpring 61 Pe West '? . • OUR SYFFENt OF 'I 4 :tERIAL strOon_ 7 _ .--4- a, .f-_,)„,_,..,,,:;..„., Our systerrri''Whi reqnires the Minister to rely for his support:on the people to whom he preaches, has haelthe following inevitable results:-1. _ln ,our cities we have no church es to which the pour eaii,freely go, _and feel themselves at home.:; No doubt, in triany of our city congregation: 'tliere are places in the galleries, in which 160 peer may find seats free of charge„ but, As :a general thing, the churches are private Property. - TheYbelong to those who build thein, 'Or .who purchase or rent the pews after they are %Mit. They are intended and adapted :for 'the cultivated and thriving classes -.of. t community. . There may be, exceptions to,this remark, but:we are speaking, of a generalfact. . Thednaas of the poor in,. our cities aire excluded : from our churches. The Prefibiterian church prac tically; in such places, the church for the up per classes (we do not mean the worldly and the fashionable) of soCiety. .2: In large dis tricts of the - Country- 1 -as in the pines of New Jersey, for eiariiplwhere the people are poor and widelyidi4icsed, wevan have no churches.. SclfartaralTe ate concerned,.. such districts are leftenti4elnilefferted: - 3.- - Efun-t-, dreds of our best and most laborious minis ters, settled over newurfeeble congregations, are subjected to the greatest privations and triils ; often unable to provide for the' sup port of their &mill* or the education of their chit:tin. 4. any such-ministers, un able to Sustain thernieives, are constrained to.engage in: secular irsuits, and to devote more or less of their:Wee to making,money ;- others give up in desp&ir, resign their charges, and wait and look. Ar. some ._vacant church able to • support them 7 hence, the . number of applications for ,ever such vaPancy. 5. Our present system interferes with the pro gress and efficiency of the church. It can go only where there are people' who are rich' and good enough to support the. gospel -for them selves. On thiarifla*if is almost impossible . thit we should adeOxtelyffultil our . duty to preach the gospel to,•s„iir„ery creature. •On the other hand#theliktem Which se cures an, adequate f Entypert ' arn the..ininister, . . iildepenclent.,,,eb - ately serves, has Ptecisely. opposite leifects. 1. The, churches are it ,niffnukjiroperty. They do not belatig4em.clividitals 'who build or rent thenirlTheyTekitg to the. 'people. The high artelOw, the riel and ps4 have &- common and equal right to .them; .r as they have to the come on highway. • Tbey resort to the one with the.same.freedom with which they walk*on the other. " 311he:consequence is that, there are few or neelkss. churches, none from which, by force of ciremnstances, th& poor are excluded. Any one who has visited EuroPe must have been struck with the fact. Not, only in Clitheß.h:tarso in ProteStant . countries, the places of worship are seen crewded with a promiscuous throng—the pea sant, ^ the student, the professor, the mer chant,the noble, unite in>one •worshiping as sembly. This. is, a right of which the:poor avail themselves freely f and the gospel, or at least,the benefits of public worship, are as open to them as to any class in the communi ty. 2 Ministers can be sent and .sustained. among people unWillingsr unable to support, a religious teacher f. --- ~4:i :resolves. 8: "kis rare where this system preVails to see minus=' * ; tern engaged! in any secular piirsuits. - The proposition toprovide an adequate sup port=for the clergy, independent of their con . gregations,, righteous and= Scriptural as it' ap pears.to us, met the mestStrenuous apposition, not only on the ground:Of ;; the expense which it would involve • but on theasrPumption that if ministers, are secure of, -4, sopport indepen dent of their peeple,_they will neglect their wOrk. To this we answer, I. :Thot it sup 7. poses that ministers have no higher motive of action than' the desire to get'inl , ey out of their'peoild. '' If the love of Este eY gpverni theministry of our church,4l . . 7 are a Very silly set Of .men. There is . no cne in ten of them who , could not _secure, that object in some ' other. way more :effectually than, by preaching thezespel.. 2. It is not fonnd that, the teachers of our free ' ..academies and Schools, - whose' salaries are not (dependent i:!.. 1 - :thefavor of the „parents'eftheir pupils,;neg -feet their'Work: Theei.:tdialierii, are not con "Ora,inedl;l4,.liigher. metiVeiythin Ministers; it e ior are held to a ster , fesporisibility. ' 3. "Our foreign missionaries hale a.support ,independent of thepeople among whomJhey ,lahor. And yet, as a bodytheyareos faith ful, diligent, and succesktil, to spy the least, , as any other equal - mmiber of our elergy..A. This is, no new plan, it has been acted on for centuriei. Whatever maibe"sell of the or thodoxy or spirituality of the Ptipendiary clergy of Prussia l for example, they are' as harthworking .a class , of men asany to be found in this country. They not ;only eon :duct public worship.c&f , Sundays _ and.- festi vals, but they must - attend Ito the sick, and to the burial of the dead ; and devote certain hours every week to the religious instruction of the Young in the publieschools. AveTY, child in the Prussia, male. or feniale; passes through a course,of religionu training by the clergy; and'you ciiiiiint firßabarefooted boy in the streets of Berlin ' whorcannot read 'and Write, and giVe an - inteligible account of the 'historical facts of the Sibley atid,.if approach ing the, age of fourteen, who cannot repeat ,the ,ereed,.the lierd'li.peyer, and _Luther's oatenhiamr Tki:eS,O,,resnNnipnPlY an amount, *faithful-and systematie litber,. which the plan of making the'clergy dependent on their own people'has never yet sanred.-Princeten • :Review. - '- ' ' ' ''' ' to 'blast the man 07AffirMme bllt,lighrof the cc,seq_uPnges of them' crimes at tile time when tkey commit them. Westward the Star of Ipirelake'S its way. The fourfirst, aettkalreally:past, The next shall elo4elthe drama with the day. • Time's noblest offspriiii)is'his, last. , ' MO ll= DEATH OF DE MORNAY. When the pastor :of the congregation of which he was a member announced to him, somewhat bluntly, that his recovery was hope leas---" Is it so?" said he, - "'welk 011131•C4311- tent." Not long afterwards he:addA, " have an account, to rentler, hip.Q, , 10%.1 much and have profitodlittle." . The, paitor rejoined, that during, a lon* lifehe had hap pily and faithfully used his taTentStrndthe service of Christ an his church: De Mornay instantly 'exclaimed,"ay not I have • done 'it—not I, but the grace of God in me." The pastor asked 'him, "Monsieur, do you attribute no merits!to' your works?" -"Me rita! merits .I' replied De Mornay, "away with; merits from •me,,.and r from every other man, he he. who he may. . No, I ask onlyfor mercy, ;unmerited mercy." Then with 'a firm and grave voice he blessed his, daughters and their husbands; , praying them -,to maintain among theinselves peace f'Vrlnch, added he, "I bequeath to you Ilion he pronounced :his blessing upon their children present and absent; beseeching God toratify it with his own holy benediction. The same,was. done to, his, nephew and niece, and to all his do mestics. Lastly, and with deep solemnity, he gave a blessing to the pastor present ; .and to the church of Saurour,.with whieh he was accustomed to worship, and -in. the spiritual welfare of which he had, long taken the deep est interest. "During my;life," said he, to the company in his chamber, " I have had no other aim but the glory - Of , my God. Those who have knevni me, are well aware that if I had chosen other ends, it would have been for me to attain great riches and high honors. Pray to the Lord that he will dispose of me as he please's.: am not disgusted with life, , , but I see before'me' one far• better 'than , the present. ` I withdraw fronilife, but I do not fly =from it." As his children and grandchil dren,:for the last timebefore_ he