The American Presbyterian. (Philadelphia) 1856-1869, September 10, 1863, Image 1

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VoL TUI. Id. l.~Wlole 10. 366.
HER GRAVE.
Amid swcot Greenwood's lovely bowerß,
Where charnel houses, hid in flowers, u
Lip oft concealed in summer hours,
■We kid her in the grave.
Hut win try snows then clothed the ground,
Aud chilling air&'fdghed sadly round,
And cold, cold: seemed her sleep profound,
There in her silent grove!
Our broken hearts then bled again,
iir i;“ tin e thence with anguish slain,
We left her there m death’s domain,
Low m her lonely grave.
Our weeping band wends through “the tour,”
And gams the home so loved before;
But one—dear otto—is there no more:
We left her in the 1 gravel
Can home again be e’er so sweet,
Whore never more we hope to meet
The one we loved so well to greet,
Now pallid in her grave ?
We hear her voice no longer hero;
We she no more that form so dear;
But from each eye-the falling tear 1
Tells she is in her grave.
'Mid dreams of night we seem to hear
The accents once to all so dear;
But start to> find she is not here,: ■ j
: And speaks pot, from the grave.
At th’ altar nowfovniorniug prayer
To Jesus we,will telfottr care;
But pee, her seat is vacant there:
She sleeps—sleeps in her grave.
But, as from out heaven’s holy dome,
A voice of love scefllMSiW td conic,
That bids us cease to weop in gloom
For those now in ; the grave.
They go to bo forever blest, '
Who> at their Father’s high behest; -
Exchange earth's toil for heaven’s rest; ■
Then mourn not o’er the grave.
♦
And thongh the storm sweep through'the sky,-
And wild winds rave; and from on high ■
1 he lightnings flash and o’er them fly,
No harm disturbs their grave.
When summer breezes frolic round,
Or gentle showers bedew the ground,
Or thunders peal their awful sound,
. Still quiet is their grave.
When genial suns fall softly there,
And balmly odors fill the air,'
Dark days or bright td'them are fair:
No change can reach the grave:
>ifty think hot friend the loVed and dead
Rest if! that lone though' quiet bed:
The trnsting ones has Jesns led -
To homes beyond the grave.
Far from these scenes of toil iltid Care,
From strife and tumult now afar,
They live where all the holy are—
Far, far beyond the g^ave.
No harm can reach their- blest abode;
No sorrows there, np.tears corrode:
lheyre present ever with their God,
Ahd dread no more the grave.
Their ashes rest a season? h’are, ,
And fond affectipn drppe a tear
On tprls that press on bosoms dear,
And sacred is their grave.
But faith, -with eye foreyer bright,
Pierces beyond the Rave’s dark; night,
And greets ih heaven’s eternal Tight
Those whom'we laidrin graves.
For mofh"rtill dtta?h tlpoti fih^ r 4ofc£b,' : -
And forms now dtessedin funeral gloom .
Snail yet'ip, 11%, bloom j .
%f, Christ lefi the grave^
DELAWARE IMMOLATION SCHEME
( This scheme .is attracting, much attention
from the Press and from individuals . seeking
new homes.li In Boston and New: lifork as w6Il
as in this city &M Wilmington, the secular and
religions press have spokenin the Warmest
tetins of the movement. Individuals from
various parts of the country as far west as
Wisconsin; among others, a Union refugee from
Texas, have -written or called in considerable
numbers at the Presbyterian Ilouse, which js only
one of the offices. So that when.the time arrives
for concerted action, yre should, expect a colony
might be got together, and the object of the
association realised with little or no delay.
A little examination will suffice to show-that
the scheme ; is' worthy the attention of the
Christian, the philanthropist, the wise strifes*
man, the capitalist, and : the' farmer and mechanic
seeking a home and a living 'from the tillage of
the soil. It is one of the great colonial move
ments which the emergencies of our position as
a, nation urge upon us, It is part of the plan,
which must and wil'l bo developed more and
more, to promote homOgeneousness between the
populations of the different .sections. This
plan vigorously carried out, wilLsecure emanci
pation in Delaware in five year*#. Two hundred
votes would, in all probability, suffice to turn
the Seale, in the present nearly balanced position
of patties on this question. The effect on our
national politics would be most serious. Two
hundred reliable Union'votes more in Delaware,
would forever rid Stoats Chamber oHuch
unworthy and dangerous legislators as Bayard
and Saulsbury, and give the whole country
good and true men in their pfycSs. Almost
anything should be done to secure, such a desi
rable result. !
Among the advantages of apersonaleharacter
offered to the immigrant, we may enumerate a
healthy eountiy, an early and genial climite;
an easily-tilled soil, susceptible of cuiture anff,
improvement, no stones * no hills; a railroad
running through the entire State, with arrange
ments to favor the- producer and transporter;
plenty off briber' for fuel- for feiicing, and for
ship-building, and a market at the door. To
crown all, land to be bed at moderate rates,
from $lO to l ss) pet herd; Says th‘h v circular:
“Barms with house and out-houses and fruit
trees, within three or fodr mijes of the Railroad
Station, of fair quality and ifa faircottdition of
fending and cultivation, may be Obtained for
from twenty tO' thirty dollars per acre. Sales
will be made on accommodating terms of pay
ment in quantities to suit purchasers,- though it
is desired that the laud be sold in small f^rms,”
It is expected that new village-sites at suit
able. distances along the railroad - will be laid
out, in which good opportunities for investment
will be offered to early purchasers. ,
Such' are brief outlines Of the scheme now
proposed to be carried out by good men in and out
of Delaware. We believe the results would be
greatly to the advantage of the State. We
expect to pee a Ipyal, Christian, freedom-loving,
class of persons brought into the State by the
effort. Churches unembarrassed by complication
with slavery, and characterized with northern
vigor and ; liberality, will arise and adorn the
landscape with their seemly edifices. School
houses neat,, commodious, resonant with the -
ham, of .cheerful study- under the guidance of
competent teachers, will dot the country- side.,'
The kindly soil wi 11 a*" length demonstrate its" .
hitherto. unproved capacities and fields - now,,
desolate, will smile with abundan t returns to
the wise and thrifty laborer.* Neatness. care
fulness, system, .'energy, will be visible where
slothful content now reigns over a scene of
broken and half-patched fences., tumble-down:
bartts, dark and shabby log-cabins, m the midst
of three hundred: acre farms .skimmed over by
the thriftless, aimless:-dreamy-labor of a-half
dozen slayes The hour has struck The
time for which,the favored territory has. waited
is-at hand. > The Diamond State can and must
be made worthyiOf its title. We heartily pray
fully wish ithis enterprise success, i : '
Circularsimay bb obtained atthis office Rev
L. C. Lockwdod;, or M P. Osfiaoncl may be
addressed on the subject, at Canterbury Kent
Co., Delaware. The land which has, been
brought /into market ,by the Association is
mainly in: Kent Gounty, south'and south-east of
Dover; some' of it is in contiguous portions of
Maryland. , .
INCIDENTS OE THE BATTLE-HELD AT
GETTYSBURG.
Duripg, my recent sojurn at Gettysburg I
learned many interesting incidents and events of
the three days .of battle, and in the hope that
their perusal, may give pleasure and .profit to
your readers 1 pencil them down. ■
THEi, hEtIbIOUS ENTHUSIASM IN THE KEBEIi
AK.MV.
I talked with many chaplains of the Confed
erate army, Methodists and Presbyterians.' who
assured ,*ie that there, was at the'bbiUmencment
of ih# inarbli i&td Matylabd and Pbhhsy 1 vahtA'm
progress, a, “great revival. ,, . / This,'commenced
before the .battle,of Fyedricksburg - and had. .in
creased:-in power until a-great number had pro
fessed cpnversiojß. Chaplain-, Rhodes., of G cor
■gia, told me that within a few weeks, m his - :
regiment, nparly,|One hundred soldiers had, cm- '
braced: religion. . Similar.. was the testimony of
many others. . .... ... -
o.n .the: march,., when the troops'halted, for
half-an-hour, i thprowera many,prayes-meetings-
some of the yiilagee-of Pennsylvania the
sober old Germans were startled, and more tern
fied by thp loud.'Vehement,prayers of the South
ern soldiers,'.and, .their wild and fervid exhorta
tions, than, by the roar, of cannon and the dash
of cavalry. Certainly the moral tone of the
Confederate army has very manifestly changed
The wounded are now seen, in hundreds, read
ing the New,.-Testament. Many.-beckon with
the hand, to every man who strikes them as
looking like a good,man, and wish to talk about
the great salvation. The, bitterness, the savage
nndietiveness of former days, has given place to
chanty and meekness. They talk no more of
their victories and wrongs, but confess that the
rebellion against the old government may have
been wrong; batjalways say, “what can a poor
private do? We were conscripted.? May not
this religious awakening be one of the harbin
gers of peace, and is not-God educating the ma,.s
of the Southern, people for ..true independence?
GENERAL LEF
Much of the popularity, of the great leader of
the rebel .army has „<|isappeared,.in the, suffering
and defeat, of the time. The officers in the
strongest terms condemn the attacfc as rash, and
the destruction to which he consigned' his men
by the repeated charges on our right and left
wings, as worse thati madness. One woundeid
officer, Speaking to'me of the charge under
Lorigstreeh on our left, said, “When we were
ordered to parry the batteries of the enemy on
the heights, we rushed like madmen across, the
: fields and I had reached a point where, twenty
feet more, and iny men would have’been safe.
But one .discharge of your cannon, loaded with.
grape and canister, swept them away like chaff.
.After the terrible rush of shot passed me.l
: turned * to ; look ■ for my, men, and Oh !- my God,
what a bight. They were all torn and mangled;
dying and dead, and they'were all gentlemen,
'the sons of the tfbst and noblest' men of Savan
-1 nah. Oh it was murder—it was murder!" He
burst into tears and then begged pardon for
showing for a moment a weakness,,
. All, with whom ! conversed,, .confessed that
Lee did not show his usual prudence in the at
tack of Thursday,- and unpardonable recklessness
in the repeated charges of Friday. > Certainly,
, much of the respect which we in the North have 1
felt for the personal character 'of Geni Lee, he'’
d6es not deserve; ! He is not that chiralric,'high
toped Christian gentleman he- has been repra?
seated. During his Btay at Gettysburg his
head-quarters were in the house of a widow, a
•very intelligent excellent Christian woman*' who
; lives near the Seminary. During,his three days
of,, battle, Gen. Lee compelled her hospitality,;
The Ist Corps and the 11th of oar army were .
brought'up on Wednesday, the Ist of July; and
thrown I 'into action to prevent the defeat and
capturb of Our 'c'avalry. The cbmrag up' of -
Ewell about noon, enabled Gen. Led to throw
the wh'olb'fbree of his inny on our force's. Wo
were driven back, and retreated to the heights
east of Gettysburg. : Lee was now cbhfideht'of
success; Rebel officers went through Getty's
, burg proclaiming that to-morrow they would
raise the black
1 ' i 1 1 O 1 '
Oil the morning of Thursday, Gen. Lee, when
seated at the breakfast table,-said to the officers
of his staff, “This is the day When lain going
toitnake those d—d Yankees dance.” When he
left the house of the widow on Saturday ’morn
ing, he ordered his servants to pack' up and
bring with them all the fruit, delicacies,' sugar
and coffee they could find in the house, and left
the poor woman without the slightest reward, or
one word of thanks for her hospitality.
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1863.
THE IREN7Y OE "HE SECESSIONISTS
- A.most ibliable and' consciencious young man
of the'name of Woods, from NewviUe Penn
often accomp meet me on my visits to the corp
and rebel ho pital One-one occasion he drove
out to the i attic field a stranger from'Balt more
who profes od to bo very anxious -to find the
grave Of a brother Mr: Woods soon discovered
that all his anx ety-was to 'see the-grave of the
Confederati dead ’When the stranger come to
these he wa deeply moved and shed'tears. - At
one place, where a great number of rebel dead
werh buried, the ground was so filled with rock
that they were, were covered Dut slightly, and
tho hand of a, dead man' stood up -in-the ’air.
It was now covered with worms, and falling to
pieces-;' but- the stramrer alighted. knelt over the
dead kissed the hand and whrpcred Oh my
brother. I live-to avenge you.-- This man is un
doubtedly one of the Knights of-the Golden’
Circle-,-and probably a clerk m one of the depart-'
ments at Washington. , j
On one Of my visits to the Confederate
wounded lying at Plank s house. I had the,com
pany of the Hon Mr I rancis and Mr C Phil
lips, of Lawrence Go..- Pa. When we rfeachcd
the Farm, we found standing at the door. 1 d large
wagon finely fitted up. marked: on its* side
-Christian Commission. - "This 1 at the time ap
peared to me strange, for I had seen no-such
wagon in the employment of-the excellent 1 men
of the Commission. There were busily engaged
disbursing the stores of clothing:' canned fruits,
wines and brandies, two gentlemen and' a quite
rfisfwiSrue-looking lady.
Thegenfclemcnwefound to.be Mr. Ryan, d
noted secessionist of Baltimore, and Mr. Sangston.
a member of the traitorous Legislature which en
deavored to force the State-of Maryland into hos
tility to the government, and who has since loaned'
himself and all his lhfluOhcs and wealth to every
measure of the rebellion The lady was Mrs
Rayburne. I had been to this hospital before:
and the officers and men were earnest and honest
in their expressions of gratitude to the govern
ment. The surgeons had, assured me that all
their requisitions, were .filled by the- medical
directors and they had clothing, deheacips. and
goods of every .kind sent to them m abundance
by the-Christian and: Sanitary Commissions-•
The patients said they were far better taken care
of, than.if they were lying in their own hospi
tals. --They had,not expected such generous,
and humane treatment. They were not treated
as enemies, but as. friends and brothers." Evi
dently, a most. favorable impression had been
made, on all these rebel patients, and they .were
contented and only anxious-for recovery. But
now I found they were all restless, and fearful
that they, were only nursed and. fed like the.vic
tims of the Aztecs for a bitter fate "R ell
said Col. Brown. ■■ we learn we are all to be sent
to Fort Delaware, and that it is: the most sickly,
place on the continent, and there is raging there
cholera and typhoid fever. Gan it bo true that
we are to be sent to such a place to die?-;
Others said, “can it be true that-Mr. Lincoln is
such a man, and that however kind your people.,
the President wishes us all dead? Can it be we
are to be sent to the miserable prisons we have
beard of to perish ? ’ We assured them that our
government was incapable of such cruelty, and
those who brought such reports were enemies
and torturing them under the profession of.
friendship. ,
It required but a few moments in the rooms
amongst- the patients to discover who was at
work. ±ho members of this bogus “ Christian
Commission/' had assumed the name in order to
eater unchallenged into the camps and hospitals
of the rebel prisoners. They were deeply dis
satisfied when they heard the Southern men ex
press their gratitude for kindness received from
Union officers and citizens. They did not-wish
the rebels to he softened towards us, or to relent
the least in their hostility. They; wish the old
slander-to. be true, that people were
all base and mean, and (incapable of one act of;
genuine magnanimity, and they were greatly
chagrined, when they found that a great change
was manifest in the feelings of their rebel friends
towards Northern people and the government.
And they set themselves, with Satanic malice,
to traduce the, government and the President.
“ Our chief -magistrate was a low ignoramus, a
fqql, and a drunkard.” “ What is now,” said a
Confederate officer to Mr. Ryan, in our hearing,
“,,the condition of things. In Baltimore?.”;,. “As
bad,” replied'Ryan, “asiteanbe; Baltimore is
the grave of liberty. We are watched, hunted,
aud imprisoned, and when brought before the
brutal wretches of officers, we are insulted
and treated in the basest manner. When Gen.
Wool was in command, we had a man.who was a
Christian and a scholar, a soldier and p. gentle
man;, but now we ,have a miserable [ignoramus
dressed up in a little brief authority—a tyrant,
and a brute; things could not be worse." . And
Mr. Ryan looked unutterable things. We after-,
wards saw Mr. Ryan give Dr. Means, the Gon
federat .surgeon in charge a roll of greenbacks
and heard him say, “ These are for your men.
They are flighting our battles as well as yours.”
I understood that subsequently one of these men
gave an aid of Gen. Ewell s fivehundred dollars
in gold to.be.distributod amongst the, wounded
rebel officers. There were ’many ladies from
Baltimore who were acting as nurses in the hos
pitals. All their attentions, were given to the
tebel wounded. Many of these they embraced,
calling them.their brave and noble heroes. All
the stores they brought .were given,.with, the
greatest eare to these, and they turned with the
coldest scorn from our wounded, lying m the
same tent. As a farther expression of their
fanaticism, these lady -nurses had their own.
clique prayer-meetin b s and wept, sang and
prayed in clusters .of rebel Bick and wounded,
but turned from our men as if such were not fit
for the kingdom of heaven. The quiet en
durance towards such women on the part of our
officers and government, was'sublime paticnce-
J.J.M.
What Others Do.—When Paul would stir
the Corinthian Christians to liberal contributions
for the poor Saints, he called their attention to
th| grace of God bestowed upon- the churches of
Macedonia. It is well, sometimes. to notice what ,
and how others do.
[from tlu. London Weekly Review ]
THE CLERGY OF THE CONFEDERATE
STATES AND THE CHRISTIANS OF
GREAT BRITAIN.
TO THE EDITOR, OP THE WEEKLY IIEVIEW
Sir —There h * been widely circul ted by
means of various periodicals, an address by eer
t in clergy of the o c lied Confederate State of
America to Christians throughout, the worldi in
which doctrines are broached deserving instant
attention and reprobation. The party sent to this
country to disseminate these doctrines-is a certain
Moses D Ho e D D of Richmond Vrg n a
who I m mfoimed h $ actually pre ohed in one
or m c of the Engh b. by ter n chu che m
.London. If this be/ true. I know not whether
moss to be astonished at the boldness of the sla
very propagandist ot the simplicity of the minis
ter - who permitted him the uc of their pulpit -
Prob ibly there is nothing m re likely to create
hitter, discord among ! Churches in this ' country
than admitting slaveholders, slavery apologists,
and slavery propagandists, to minister in our
churches ; and no dersyman can be a true friend
oC;Christian union- who 1 premeditatedly throws
such an apple oi difccord amongst the people.
The address to which I; allude is a mass of
gross and wilful misrepresentation. Not one of
the propositions i{ pompously puts forth is based
.on truth, and 1 what ls Worse: the “reverend signers
mustshave known them to be false: I- take but
one out of the many untruths which it contains
These ministers of Cod ip they style themselves
assert that "no attempt has been made, to over
throw the Government of the United States, un
less by the fanatical party which now administers'
its affairs The South never entertained such an
idea fSir that assertion xS false The South
era (have entertained the idea of
breaking up the Union ever,since the anti-slavery
party showed its strength during Frcemont s can
didate for the Presidency in 1856. ‘ When the
Anti Slavery party —the fanatical party as these
ministers ot,peace it —elected Mr. Lincoln.
in, 1860. the slave-holders instantly drew the
.sword. No act of wrong or oppression had been
done them no act l of Severity was ever cohtem
plated by Mr. Lincoln and'his friends: but it was
enough for the Southern leaders that the system
of slavery might possibly in future be gradually
hemmed m and ultimately extinguished by the
constitutional- and peaceful action ot Congress:
and accordingly they rushed to steep their hands
; m their brother s boiod; ‘Hoes the Rev. Ur. Hoge
dare deny-that the South first took'.up anus, and
that slavery being m danger was the sole pretext?
Then why does lie come to us with the name of
our Divine Master on his lips, and attempt bv
false accounts of the ofigin of the war to corrupt
the sympathies of the Christian people Upon
the slaveholders and,their, base abettors among
the Christian clergy of the South lies the guilt
of this horrible fratricidal war. They may have
peace to-morrow by simply dropping their rebel
lious swords. and immediately they will be rein-'
stated m all the privileges which the citizens of
the Free States posaesf.:... They will not. indeed.,
be permitted to hold their slaves, for these have
been forfeited by their rebellion, and in order to
retain oppression they fight with the fury of de
mons, This reminds me that the person who has
been,thought worthy to fill our. Presbyterian pul-,
pits is one of those who solemnly put their hands
to this statement: “We regard Abolitionism as
an interference with the plans of .Divine Provi
dence.'’ It is with such blasnhemy in their
mouths these pro slavery fanatics came into our
• midst-seeking our sympathies, and our political:
aid to establish tlieir Pandemonium as a separate
empire Abolitionism teaches the - i vc to cad
his Bible. slavery enacts a law to prevent it:
Abolitionism confers manhood upon God s oppress
ed children, slavery treats them as chattels, sells
them us beasts .of the stall, and heaps upon their
heads wrongs which nothing short of this terrible
war could avenge. Dr. Hogo comes from Yirgi-.
nia. Will he deny that there is a law upon the
Statute Rook of Virginia revised to o 1 tely
as 1849 which exadts punishment by fine, im
prisonment and whippin H to slaves, coloured per
sons not slaves, and white persons, who shall
teach slaves to read? He dare not deny it, for
he not only knows of 1 its existence, but doubtless
approved of it passage, or; like -all the conscience
seared clergy of the South; kept silence wlnle the
slaveholders, rushed recklessly to their doom. It
is in these ways slaiery inteiferes with the de
signs of Divine Providence, and yet he charges
that guilt upon Abolitionism. This Christian
pastor further Tegaids Mi Lincolns proclama
tion. “seekmg-the emancipation of the-the slaves
of the South, ’as a suitable occasion for =ol
emn protest on the part of the people of God
throughout the world." Protest! Why they hail
ed it as an occasion of Jubilee—they thanked God
that the time which they scarcely dared to
hope for had arrived, when the North,, shaking
from her the guilt of complicity with slavery,.-had
atoned for her long declension from the faith.
“Military necessity.” Pshaw ; Sir, what is that
to the slave? It is'of 'the slave we' think, and
not of the,motives of soldiers or statesmen.-, Yet
more:, The meek, lamb-like pastors who appeal
for sympathy to Christians throughout the world
tell us that if •< the proclamation should be carried
out in its design, it would inevitably lead to the
slaughter of tens of thousands of poor deluded
insuirectionists ” The result has already shown
the, falseness of the charge, that the proclamation
was an excitement to insurrection. It takes effect
by the freeing of the slaves wherever the Union
armies go, without violence or injury to any one.
but tO'the-feelings of Southed®t@htistiansj-who'
would iratlier massacre a slave than emancipate,
him. .Many,i.thousands are now free., and the
glad work goes on apace. Probably before Moses
D. Hoge. D. D.. returns to Richmond there
will not be a slave within its circumference:
and however vexatious such a; result may be to
him. it will be cause of (thankfulness •to all:
Christians throughout the world out of the South
ern States of America. The negro has already
taken his place as a citizen m the Union armies
and ho will be protected by Mr: Lincoln s Gov -
ertimer t from the atrocity of lus late masteis
Dr. Hoge s friends threaten to butcher m,;eold
blood every negro prisoner—they were always
braggarts-—but thev dare not. carry out their
threats. They know that a Confederate officer
will be hung for every negro 1 slain in cold blood;
and the Southern - negro-haters will, at length.be
compelled to- acknowledge .the -manhoood of the
colored race. , In the meantime. Sir. 1 sincerely
trust, as our ministers desire peace in their
Churches, that thoy' will hold aloof from a
man holding the atroctgusrpriueiplcs ojf slavery,
and that they will speak out manfully against
the surreptitious scheme of corrupting our people
by means of advertisements like that of the
“ Clergy of the Confederate btates of America
in our religious periodicals.—l am. Sir.
A United Presbyterian
Brixton. Aug.. 13. 1873.
SKEPTICISM OF THE PRESENT DAY.
.Since; abundant sources of skepticism are thus
found, even in the domain of religion,, not less
than in,the field ,of politics, you can not‘be'£is
tonished to see analogous tendencies manifest
themselves : in the literature 1 of the
teral expression of .human thought, i • - t
One remarkable fact here claims our alien
lion and will ingly - uffice for th‘ brief sketch.
Journalism m it it’ form - from it lightest
leave ppeanng in the morn ng of each day. to
th e nioie oriou - collections wh ch count their
dates by week or months—-journalism occupies '
a con tantly mere ig pace in the domain of :
public attention lhere aie - ome journals de
voted to the defence, of fixed principles, but their
readers are comparatively few m number. To
winch, then, belongs the widest circulation ?
To those p nod cal - which fa thful perbap - if
not to political pr nciples - t least to the nter
e t - and pas on - of one class of "oeiety yet
piesent in uiner respects the mo t eonti die
tory.. As to their morality, an article of pure
tendency may stand side by side with a most
pernicious novel. • ,n ■■■-'■>
A mother w il fordid - uch read ng to her
.daughter.,. As s to, religion.... an apology f0r,...,
’ Catholicism, a defense of Protestant principles, a
eulogy on Deism,,mav be found under the same
cover which equally shelter - the these - of
atherm and the doctrine - of mhi m L terary
cut cism i - d stmgu hed by a drposit on to
compn e all m order to ju tify all by thr re
finement of tolerance which tolerates every
thing evil as well as good Doubtle s m these
facts we - ee primarily m mil tatio iof the
general st* te of public opihion for journah ts
seek for re dcr and tudy the t ste of their
subscribers. -But this manifestation itself be
comes a, cause. These journals and reviews
are refad; but how are they read ? Is it m a
senous and active frame judg ng gravely of the
thoughts which pass before the-eye of themmd f
Do we enter, into these bazaars,of; the intellect
with the. fim purpo - o to prove all thing and ,
hold fast only th twhch r guod ? Such, in
deed is the disposition of some, at least: at cer
tain times.- ■ • Bat. in general.- periodicals are 1
. not-trecKonedi among our senouS studies.'ibute
read-as:a pleasant .recreation. We open the
newspaper at the breakfast table we cast our
eyes over it busily before going out to the busi
ness or amusement of the day.' The review is
taken up at our leisure moments; is-' opened- '
thrown aside and opened again, without ahy
efforts of thought or steady exercise ofjudgment.
This is all very well as regards the passing poli
tics of the day. the local news, or the harmless
effuffions ot the- lmatrmation. But moral and'rc
ligious questions occupy a daily mcreasm 0 pl - ce
m these fug tive publication - On the great - ub
•jects of God himself, ot the soul-, and ot its des
tiny, we find.m.the same journal, the most con
tradictory opinion - under the deeepi ve un t\ of
the same sheet or of the-same-cover. When I
close the vol me - of Pci or Bo uet to open
those ot Y ftaire I until waie that I i
passing from one region of the intellectual wo id
into a rrg on wholly d lieient If I icad the
newspaper, of one party, after the, newspaper of -
the party opposed to it. I am not ignorant that
I have listened to the advocates of opposite
principles But in the preent - t te of the pe
nodical press ideas the most e ntr - dicio v p r~
before the minds of careie - readers who find
nothing to rou e theinf om th c rele« ne
and who are not warned by any exterior eir
-cifmstances that they are passimr from the
:writings of a Christian to those ot a deist, or
fiom the wnting of a deist to those bf an
atheist The result of th s be a» ured r a
great unsettling of all belief. .Formed in a
school like this, the vounc contract the habit of
hearing with md ffercnce the hoi e tti th - af
firmed and denied by tarns; Before they have
any fixed opinions, they learn to listen to those :
who tell them that firm belief is a mark of ig
norance and folly, and that the proot of superi
only of mmd and elevation of thought is to
wandei freely in the world of intellect without
ever being Steady to' anything. - This is one of
the serious dangers of-dnr time,’ and points out
to us a great duty. I propose to vou. gen
tlemen. a work which I know to be difficult: but
when w “it ever c yto ecomplish anything
'great ? We must labor to annihilate this cor
rupt and mercenary'press.-which seeks success
lone careie -- of it e true inteic ts oi - ou * and
which Has directly inherited tfie sophisms of an
cient Athens. It is necessary that a stable opi
non hould be formed nd prom nently brought
forward, oa - to carry wth it the writer who
occupy the place of organs and directors ot pub
bethought "Without anv proper call or au
thority, the door must no longer be carelessly
opened to articles which one day gloufy God
and the next day deny Huh. which one morn
ing praise the holiness of Chr tan morality
■nd the foliowi g morning labor to spit m itr
most sacred precepts. In ancient times, the
Greek Carneade® secured of the
Roman youth by pronouncing an eloquent
speech in praise of justice, and afterwards de
monstrating with similar eloquence that justice
is nothing Cato the Elder demanded that this
dangerous man should bo immediately expelled
from the city. Many of our journals are like
Carneades.‘bnt the Gatos among their subscri
bers are few. —Theological Eclectic.
THE SOLDIER’S WIDOW-
It was all over. One more heart was broken
never- ifiore to be bound up on earth. The
light l had gone from one more hearthstone. One
more victim to'the cruel hand of rebellion had
fallen. The young: widow sat alone with her
grief.. She hgd given up her heart’s best treas
ure... Patriotism had triumphed over affection;
now affection •fans predominant. She had given
him up like many others, sonoblc, so-promising,
, combnimg brave and soldierlv qualities with the
highest culture and refinement The hist day s
had been full of .the poetry of war; the gay
moonlight camp, the music and long walks, the
dress parade, the easy life; then it grew more
real and earnest. There were weary marches
and exposure, yearnings for home; battles,
: wounds and death..
He had come home, in his coffin, pale and
ghastly, and she had buried him. out of her
sight Tt was so bitter! Why should ho of
all others be taken? A sweet childish voice
was heard in the next room singing : , ,
"My Jesus, as Tliou wilt.
, ■ Though seen-through many a tear -
, Let not my star of hope
Grow dim or disappear."
j 'Her! tears "started afresh. She- Might lire
yrearily on, but what would heir poor fatherless
children.do ? She missed that protecting arm.
She wag yveak and frail, .and yet she must
&uide; those young footsteps. Life, seemed
dreary and dark,' but'she Must liv'e ’for their
sake.; As she listened to the voice, she thought
of the words it; was singing. * ;They seemed
Meant for her.. She was a Christian. But the
itar of h,er hope, had grown dim in all this
great soorrow. She could not see through her
blinding tears the 'gloriofis facte of love bend
ing "over her. ' Oh, but' it was there,'''that
blessed: face, and He who had afflicted'her,
loved her,, tenderly—faithfully., Was, it. not
that she, might love Him more that He had
taken away her idol. ? "
; And another wave of sorrow passed over her
soul. She thought'of her great loss, the sad,
lonely way, the aching heart. If she might go
too. She could not bear the burden alone.
Alone f Where was the widow's God ? Had
she not just had a glimpse heavenward? “ Leave
jthy fatherless children ; I will preserve them
alive;; and let thy widows trust in moy :Sho
fought of that verse, and her faith grew strong
er as she leaned on the Almighty arm.
Thereare \v idoweri hearts all through this land.
There are hours whenaii earthly consolation
fado, and the bereaved, .one must bea,r the bur
den of gloom and faintness which onlv one
voice could dispel: and that voice is hushed in
death. The thought of the bright fatherless
faces clustered around the empty chair, and of
the new and heavy responsibihtv which the
broken heart mast sustain, sends a weary pang
to the sufferer, and awakens unutterable long
ings-to Uy away and be, at rest. God-loves
Ana pities these widowed ones. He will be
their Refuge, and strengthen and cheer them,
and give them daily grace and consolation, if
they tiust him Cm r uav Peart
OtJR CHILDEEN S GOD
i A child is born. Another pilgrim oi love has.
$Sf ino your 1 c rt - and home - Anew life'
■has awoke. A life that shall last'forever. 'For
ever the woid float to us heavily freighted
;on the sea of language. Forever: the stars
,shall fail and fall away out of heaven, the'sun
shall bum it - elf to ashes and bl ckne - the h r
ve t moons “ball dr solve to blood earth shall
melt away with fervent heat and the heavens
shall rend and pass away like a riven scroll,
but that new life shall live beyond sun and
‘tars on through the ce ele - cycle of eternity
Someth ng ne v r ev led someth ng-'tmdylng:
The feeble body that you c refrilly cherrh is
frail and mortal enough, a few days or years or
tens of years and its limit will be reached. Its
'firt young ro - e - may crown its death or tne
almond tree may bio om for it at four core
yeai s and yet it r a I ttie thing , The life of
ithe body is short and feeble, the life of the soul
is mighty and infinite. A child is born for ease
oi suffering or both t matters little m thr
world, but it r bom for eternal joy or eternal
woe, it matters., oh. how much! This little
space of life is the seed-time to eternal harvest
ing;' the soul shall go white-robed and erowned
,to bind she ve - of eternal joy and deathle s
thanksgivings or blaeke led and randed aid
the wailings of endic s dc p - ir The! ttle pi
rit will grow day by day as you train it: the
garden ofthe heartas betore .you to sow thorns
and tre or be - ed go p 1 e d Lhe pi si e
mind will be moulded by vour hand either into
grace and beauty or hideous deformity. At
ithat dread day this soul shall be your Crown of
rejo ung or hail hr ek t car e into your p
.palled-ear,as,it sees,itself forever tost. ‘
Oh! who is sufficient for these things ?. One is
•efficient, and 10. He comes to help you. The
Everlasting Father is readv to enter into cove
nant with you for your child: Jesus lß'readv to
mark it among ;his precious ■ purchase. The
Lord condescends to assist you.- He has given
you a - ign and a promise, he has bound him
self by a pledge and vouchsafed you a token.
Baptism is the token, and the promise of eternal
life. Dedicate your little one to Him. be wilting
that he shall u - cyoir treu - ure foi hr ovn
glory de ire only that the child m~y live o as
to do, God service and inherit his. rest. Bring
your child with joy. exult and rejoice in your
wonderful privilege. Thank God for it every
day;, 'every tunO you'look at the baby brow
i where bapt mal wale have been hed Feel
that God loves.your.child.-that he is ready to
set it among the lambs of his flock. Remember
the Savi ur s tcilerne -- for 1 ttle children
Plead this covenant often m prayer, recall the
happy;hour when von brought your darling be-'
fore the Holy -One for a blessing. Do not doubt,
believe .that vour child shall, in God s good
time.be ju - lfiel and ~anuil l jes believe
th t wll e rly be justifiel nd s net fed
Follow this dedication with your earnest ef
forts. pray with your little one and for it—teach
it to pray;, tell it of God's love and the solemn
covenant for ,it: let thoughts of God be associa
ted with all, around it. with every good and
be - ut ful thing call up a thought of the Cie tor
be-faithful, and to such: iaitbfulnes - you can
only attain by earne t piayer and striving. If
you faithfully fulfil vour part of this covenant
ritpo lblc that God tv ill f lin His ?: "WillHe,
invite you to bring your child to him and then
refuse the trust? Will he encourage you by
many sweet and:precious promises only to dis-’
appoint you? Never 1 /Be faithful in your
{ art and God will ,be faithful -in his. . .Oh! pa
rent, if you love God. how can you negleet this
covenant of baptism, how can you despise what
shall bring you into uch ne rne to h m how
scorn ' o \veet a pledge of hi lov to you how
neglect his, commands ? God may be better-to:
your child and better to you- than you are to it
or were to yourself. You may never onng. it
to him m baptism, never teach it or pray with
it, and yet be mav save it—it mav not be lost
with you. Yet he,has not promised to,do this. -
Oh: parent, is it,possible you are not a,Chris
tian? How fearful your responsibihtv 1 Will you
tram up your child for eternal despair ? Ilave
pity off your little ones and on yourself, make
your peace with God. entreat to be among his
people, that in precept and example you may
bo to your children what you should—that you
and your children mav be his children, and that
He may be your God and your children’s God.
NOT IN VAIN.
“My first sermon,” said a pastor, “ what a
vivid recollection I have of it! ” A ministerial
acquaintance, who was- tp spend the Sabbath
from home on an exchange, had invited me to
ride with him to his appointment. On arriv
ing. besaid:
•‘I shall depend on yon to pTeach half the
day” j . ,
The afternoon was left for 'me to improve.
There was a heavy rain, and few ventured out,
for which I felt more and more thankful as the
services advanced. 1 My discourse, partly writ
ten and partly extempore, sounded to my own
ears.like the “foolisbness of preaching” indeed,
and with an inward resolution never again to
commit the foilv of speaking extempore from
the sacred desk. I went home mortified- hum
bled, and desponamg. ‘■■■i •
Some years afterwards,: while settled over a,
church in Connecticut,: an; acute bilious\attapk,
laid me by for weeks frotn .the labors of the
pastorate, * One day, while iyihg , dejected on
the sick bed, a stranger visited me. He : was
also a rpastorj residing some tWelvemiles away/
After some pleasant preliminary words;; he
said,: . , _ . , ... ~ ...
,“I have, come on an errand to you. It is a
Message enfrbted 'to l ine ; by a dying woman.
Do you remember spending a Sabbath yin*
some years ago, in company with KoV.
Mr.-11. ?” .j ,
“I do,” said I, while a quick flush passed
over my face. .' 1
“Do' ybu recollect'what 'a great fain there
Was, and how thin the attendance ?” '
could nokforgetiif J would.”
Well,”,said ; he, y 1 was pastor of that church
then, —we did not meet, however. Two years
after you were there, I was scut for to converse
with a lady about ~to die. " She was ready for
the messenger. vatlJut, ’ skid sb®, "I/'have a
special request to make of yon: ’ then, referring
to your sermon at that time, as being wonder
fully blest to her, she added, ‘ I fear he went
away discouraged—-supposing he had ! dohe no 1
good—and I want you to tell him how God
sent home that discourse to my soql, that ho:
may know that his labor was.npt in yain in the.
Eord:’ ' And,” continued my thoughtful caller,
G K\ T KSKK KVA NG BUST.—Whole -Xft. 903.
tearing you were sick, and fearing yott. might
feel low-spirited in 1 being 1 unable to ! discharge
your accustomed duties,* I fs% it .my < J a *3 r ..* £ ;
ridp over and deliver my message now, hoping
it wduld cheer yoii in y6dr'afflifetibiis.” . ’
“ My word shall not return, unto me void 1
says Jehovah. with courage, all you
yrho cultivate,the,Earvest^field'of the Gospel
Here. In ‘a "w§rlB ' shall
reap m '<
> A HOBtiB BEAtSOir, ; ;
» A 'sprightly 'writer iketcfhitag ißb bharfecter* of
the late e'Scello.Dt Hon. Daniel Sifford, ofßoston, i
gives-some.pleasibgdlluatoatiqns : :-n ,i : ■
,t: Ai ,'three dapghtpp, .lived. by
■their needle,, said. they could hot afford the time
, to' attend "evCniSg meetings. "jEe u iMigbt 'hive
'thrd thehi that'th'hir sdulh%orn‘ l intidh , 'lnore'im- 1
portant than" their 'bodies; .bat'he did not, be
cause ,hewasas wiseas.he .was; good. y \ He just
•jhiadernff t 1? thenijtlie time they, spent at meeting.
v They were all converted.
A young Irish girl c^jngto his door with -a
had story of alost h.usb.and, a lost child, and a
cruel landlordf L, a ! “{iraste'^'tha‘h , ha3‘ ! ‘.‘too many
pjobr already v ! ■ His familywas seirttalbok after
s her,;a ihed was provided for her at the hospital,
ahd,|hree weeks aftqr her, happy face .was .at his
"door., the “nicest boy in the city” in , her , arms,
iabd' she leave 'to call hihi “Daniel Saf
fprd;”?an'<i give hi'm Mr. Safford'B religion, too,
because he>“tuk.pity on,me when my heart was
bruk.y. ®wenty ; five yeqrs afterwards she came
•to his house to jWeep for his death.
Mr. Salford' would have prayer somewhere in
al!his parties. "People objected'that it was in-
He’Wished, he answered, to allow
nothing,an/his' own house which,,would not har
monize with religious worship. .. He hit a prin
ciple square on toe head., ..
An , Irish; Catholic woman forty years old,
wanted to be his cook, because she had heard
thatmo'didnerswere cooked on Sabbath. She
'was,told that,as, the servants were considered as
members qf the, household, they were always ex
pected to he present at family prayers, and if
she could not conscientiously unite with them it
vjouM be ! better for: her'hot to come. She came,
and was allowed to use her Douay version of the
Bible—note the wisdom 'of this man—nobody
iinterefered; .With" !h'e;r ,tfrjtric'd tor pros,elyte her.
'ln .a few months sjie.bpgan to cry over the “beau
liful hymns.” , Then sbAwanted her eight-year
old nephew to go to Mr. Salford's Sabbath school;
then she wanted : 'a : seat in his church,, “for,” said
she, “I have been, observing the religion of this
"family ever .since I came into it, and it seems
to me i more like what I find ,in the Bible
than that of the catbolips.” ; So she became a
; Ghristian, ahd’dieddn the faith of Christ.
MOBALEFFECT OF BEAUT?,
1 ! It,has been said. by. Schiller, in his letter on
JSsthetic Culture, that the . sense of beauty
meverfurthdredthe performance of a single duty.
And though' this falsity is not wholly and in
term A admitted* ! ybt it SeemA to be partly and
practically so .in uiueli of the doing and teach
ing even of holy men, who, in the recommend
ing of the love of God to us, refer but seldom
jfo'tbosfe thingfe-in whieh-it is’ most abundantly
and immediately shown; though they insist
much on his giving of bread, and raiment, and
'health; (which hb gives to all inferior creatures,)
they' require us riot to thank him for that glory
of his works whieh he has permitted us alone
to perceive; they tell us: often, to meditate in
the closet, but they send us, not like Isaac, into
the fields at, even; they dwell on the duty of
self-denial, but they exhibit hot the duty of de
light. It seems to me, that the real sources of this
bluntness in the feelings toward, the splendor
of the grass and the glory of the flower, are less
to be found in .ardor of occupation, in serious
ness,of compassion, or heavenliness of desire,
than in the turning of the eye at intervals of
rest too selfishly within; the want of jpower to
shake 'off the anxieties df'actual and near inter
est, and to leave* results in* God’s hands; the
scorn; of all that does not,.seem, immediately
apt for, our purposes, qr open to our, understand
ing, and, perhaps, something of pride, which de ■
sire’s rather to investigate than to feel. I believe
that the root of almost every schism and heresy
from which the Christian church has ever suff
ered, has been the, effort of men to earn, rather
than to receive, their salvation; and that the rea
son that preaching is So commonly ineffectual is,
that it calls on men ofteher to work for God
than to behold God working for them. If for
every rebuke that we utter of men’s vices, we
put forth a claim upon their hearts; if for every
assertion of God’s demands from them, we
could substitute a display of his kindness to
them; if,;in fine,, instead of assuming the being
of ah awful Deity, which men, though they
cannot* deny, are alwfiys unwilling, some
times'unable,'to conceive, >we were to show
them a, near, visible, inevitable, but all-benefi-
cent Deity, whose presence makes the earth
itself a heaven, I think there would be fewer
deaf children sitting "in* the * Market-place:—
SURROUNDINGS OF A WESTERN PASTOR.
Some Eastern pastors who are inclined to
complain of their lot, says the Congregatwnalvst,
may perhaps see things through niore cheerful
and contented spectacles after reading the fol
lowing:
My salary is. too meagre,to affordmueh |iterary
food, except what has.long been common to all
in the profession, at least in pur denomination.
There is hardly'a ministerial brother (with one
exception) that'comes > into my house once a
year. My churches are ten miles apart—bleak
prairie so feeble that they raise
only $131.50 each on my salary. [On the
strength of a late .donation of substantials—
s2l.oo rent money—l have laid by money and
sent for $20:00 worth of 'books, the first of any
amount since May, 1860.] ~ *
; Besides I have had a, new trouble in Novem
ber and December last, erysipelas in the neck,
. owing in part, says the doctor, to exposure to
prairie winds. More'thsn ail; S——,has made
a perfect securing-; that for which I
'principally came here, a good, Christian high
schhol, 1 ' or a well regulated' academy. Our
commPn school is a poor one, void of ail proper
stimulus for children* to him at-good-scholar
ship:, ,And instead : of improvement here is
deterioration., , ...
! Now I have cheerfully pioneered till 45 years
of age, have, for six and a* half'years been vo
luntarily shut, up by surrounding ample acres
of prairie, from seeing 'the rest of the world and
mankind particularly; havegenerally been from
two-to three-andtaHbalf -Wfeeks-going and re
turning from our General Associations—whose
meetmgs dnty and taste (Unite in leading me to
now.let some young man lay the
fOundatipiis, andifthe wants me
to;c*ry Mod id the ! rearing df the superstruct
ure > I will*do it. Only be it imderstood I shall
carry something of Taylor, Finney, and Ed
wards m the hod, and more yet of Paul, and
. ohn, and John’s blessed Master.
. jEAOH inmate o|; our, prisons and almshouses
was once an innocent babe!
A Westerx Pastor.