The American Presbyterian. (Philadelphia) 1856-1869, February 11, 1864, Image 4

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    §omsym&m,^
NEW ENGLAHBiftSMMARY.
The writer of the following, who, for many
years, has signed himself Sigma is Lucius
Manlius Sargeaht;v Henson Episcopalian, a
pious and unusually talented man, and the
author of the famous Tales.’’
ffi’Myis "done tbe rebbl pfilljishfers and'.iaufilF
atohs ‘
ample » iK: - -v
A BOOK OF PNCOKMON PRAYER.
arrebel ‘ nook among
captured blockade runner stock, in Boston,
thus humorously describes a curiosity:
The prayer-book*iS% ‘curiosity; and is wdH
described in our caption: it is a book of wn
cojjWKoraprawej'.f jTbere are two'editions of dt,
in.24mo. and l2mo.,and it was intended do
Buit :th'e , '.cdmplexion dfTebeMom p that is, Bke
prayers offered by us, in Episcopal churches,
m behalf of the United States and our Pitesi-
" dent, are, in this hook, intended to be offered
i in behalf of the ; refcels and their President.
* In the preparation of .their prayer-book, as<in
v everything else; thedevil seems to have helped
<-them.
On the -title-page-we find these word at 'the
* bottom : “ Richmond, ; Virginia: J. W- Ran
* dolph, 1863.” At the bottom of tlie same,
leaf, on the other side, in very small type:
London: printed by G. B. Eyre and W.
> Spottiswoode.” : ’ '.u.■'■■■'f.y. '.\L
After the creed, inf-morning prayer, and the
■ collects for peace, amd j grace, comes’a Sprayer
- fax “the President oftthe Confederate States."
The same is repeated'in-the: evening sendee; -
'■ In the Litany,-it would be ludicrous, were its
infamy less, to find the traitors praying te -be
delivered ‘ from cithsedition, privy conspiracy
and rebellion." Then comes a prayer “for
thepeople’of the Confederate States? ’• l ' So fcr:
all is consistent—thfe Hnited States are given
. -over to the tendertmereies o'i thb evilbne, or,
: at least, loft out invfhecold.j The meroyiof
‘•Heaven is besought for the Confederate States
. alone. But it really -seems as if, in the pre
paration of this a'fuiihyiinood,
was resolved to toy ,his hand at a galli
■. maufry. . ;•* -t--? -
After QfffwQr&toi,” come
“ prayers fei be UsSS.aflea,” which “ maybe
used in ships,<rf wm/.I ~ It. is, ,to, our, purpose
to quote ft J paH »f-tfeisprayet verbatim: will
the .reader be so kind, as to suppose these
words, _ from a rebel prater book,
Captain Se'mmes, oribpard the British pirate,
Alabama: “ Preserve from the dangers of
the sea, and the violence-,of the enemy jtKat toe*
, may Uniked States
of America', and m security for,stock as-pass
vpon the seas, upon, theiqff awful occasions.’’ ■
1 The consecrated scoundrels yho set them
selves apart to mutilate the Prayer-book, and'
R&SPt it- to rebellious purposes; have proved:
snelnselyeil'the veriest hagglers, blind guides,
pharisees 'and hypocrites. :
In their introduction vto‘ the psalms and
hymns appended to the. Fiftyer-book we have
the United States once nioip.
The Ifcston Traveller says' I ‘soo prisoners;
at Point Lookout are enlist .in. the
Federal sarny.” They are beginning., to. see
their folly. Poor fellows!
E. F. Beach, for a loug titqe manager of
the Bos<q» Jlfuseum, commonly called 1 ‘ The
Orthodox. Theatre,’ ’ because, under the former
name, it, was really a “Theatref’ is dead. —
The,So&s .Street Church,, where dELev. John
I’ierp.ont (Unitarian) fought a great battle on
the TgmtperanQS question, and wbere-ißev.
,-Sjtavr.King, a.Ueiversalist, was afterwards set
tled tothe. great ehagrinof the'old aristocratic
Unitarians; is bidlding a fine
va/rd College, consecrated to “ Christjand the
Church,” was so jbbgux'clusively in theShancJs
,of*thAUnitarians tiiat they seemed tQtdfim
ih 4 fte 'simple in it. ihe State elects.annsaliy.'
a ’ Certain number of ** oyef seers, ’’ apd’ihey
have juit chosen two Unitarians, one Baptist
pne and one prtVddox. Congregation-,
alistr—'fih’e' 'H6sion' Traqscnfif says: “The
pewsin Rev,' T- S. King’s new church, in Sap
FranciSco, Rave been, rented at '.auction, 'so
that the grogs amount for a year is $>25,00.0.”
—tAtlle Skoda, according to
is ,pheai ofyall the other States. s |3he
hag ipade up'.'her. full jguojta' pp all
foiTupVpajjlsof.the.'ih-epidenf; ptat. Fas also an-,
tieipated the last, apd Steady has a large pro
portion of the men ty mnet it, Noble Shodal
=-Th.e JSogtpn 'traveller, says 5 : “ General
Banks has pledged himself to the Free State
Committee to so modify the Louisiana Consti
tution as to exclude negroes from the Repre
sentative-basis.”- . In the first place, we do
not believe this. In the second place, it is
only another outrage upon the colored race, if
it be so; and, in the third place, it is equiva
lent to the notice in the Market street horse
cars in Philadelphia, 1 ‘ Colored persons not
allowed to ride in this car.” Oh,, shame!! —
Meetings’are still being held in Boston, and
masses said for the repose of the.soulof Arch
bishop Hughes. Ty hat.a holy. Bishop he must
have been to take so ,long and so many masses
to get him through Nurgatory. . If it take so
muoh for,a good Bishop, how will poor sinners
fine? r :
The ,28th l; Anniversary of the “Warren,
Street Chapel Association ’’ has just been held
in Boston. This is an Association of wealthy
Unitarians who for more than a quarter of a
century have contributed largely to support a
minister to preachi to the poor and to main
tain schools of instruction. The thing has
praved a success. Indeed, so great has
proved its success, that within five years the
“Old South Church,", (the only one of the
old Congregational churches of Boston that was
saved from Unitarianism when it first showed
itself in Boston, ) has established a place very
similar, in its externals, to that of the “War
ren Street Ohapel.” -The Old South Church
is abundantly able to do this, as it is a very
wealthy society. This wealth was chiefly
front a donation of the garden” of Rev.
Thomas Prince’s widow. After the decease
of her husband, (they having no children,)
and “the garden” falling into her hands, she
willed it to the church. It consisted of about
an acre of land' directly around thp church,
then without houses, but is now covered with
some of the largest granite stores in the heart
of the city. It was a noble donation, and the
church might have done much more good
with it than they have.;: It is a good omen
that they arf now beginning to use it Can
not'some siich enterprise be set on foot, for
preaching (he gospel to the poor in Philadel-
v* c<
phia? Each branch'of the Presbyterian fami
ly might carry oa v a
vast amount of good might thus be done. If
every denomination iai-the city would do it,
fiie gospel might be preached to at least two
hundred tbousaiid souls who now never hear
it.*,:Why;jwe are toifi.- there are t
flthbusatid Colored people in' Philadelphia’--Who'
•do-not .attend ipub&w .worship 1..., Is;, it ?
Then, hayemot Christians some -do
in the mty of Quakerism?'
•The Shdicmut Church, Boston,'h‘asiyists
taken leave of its old-vestry and sanctuary,.
to.remove to .its new-one just ready toife&dje
dicated, at'the cornarof Fremont and’Bronk
lime; Streets. Wefcah'give a &iV<2’seg , etis- r
tory'ot this churfeh-: 'More than
ago, the writer.used to go up, to a';.lttie.
clump of houses,- technically called thtQSeuih
End,' on' Sabbath’ ‘evening, espei)ially,;iand
sometimes to siEttle
handful of poorbrnk good peoplewho five: in
that vicinity. -Heiffiasnow a record of -more
than one hundred.:, such meetifigsf; vkfctorided’
gratuitously, to ”‘e preach, the gospel sto the.
poor. ” ;By .andßy. ;tbat- part -of the - city
began to be settled- by wealthy' merchants
and Beaconbtreefc gentry who hadretiredfeom
business. Soon the house,.-nowi called*’--the
old one, from which -the- Society have .just
retired, was erected. :* It is not old, but sthe
Society bad outgrown it; and they soon Out
grew their first'Pastor, as: they have outgrown
almost every thiugwiih whichthey have-been
, connected;,,.and siftheydomot outgrow;<heir
present Pastor ere long, it will be because he
i ;can grpw as- fast .as they. . Happily , there ds
, room in the new<part of the city for them do
spread. —,Rev.-3\ -Henry Thayer, ,of the-
Grombie Street. Church, Salem, has- been
elected by the -Trustees of ■ AnAsver Semiuaiy
to fill the Peofessership - of^‘ Biblical Literature
vacated by fthe-iresignation <sf *Pro’f. ■' Stowe.
The choice, ist asgood' one,- 1 aed our young
brother will-, fill -the office well.—Eighty-five
members of the-bhurch .in Georgetown, late
B.ev. Chkrys'Be'eeJier's, have been organized
into a new ehureh’by’fhe name of' the “Or
thodox Congregational Church of George
town,.” that|Bie sngjprily v of
. thisi'churcii had -to . leave tim old place to a
i minority.' Massachusetts has.lops been ac
customed, to sueh.iinahoeuyres; Tt was the
• told game of Unitarianism, to give.tbs.church
.property to the' wbrld under- the same ‘ of
,sthe Society. Thßs.-eyen
an many cases was given to -the world.
A minority of this-;©eorgetown‘ church, by
eoririexidn with, the Society, an incorpcrated
body, controls. the majority.. ; This is the
working of Massachusetts church polity and
the civil law. “Tfuthiidfallen'in 1 the street
and equity eannbt
for pastors in New England seems to be still
bright. We cannot motion half of- these
cases, but take specialplfefcsure in naming one,
. that pf Assonet in,Freetown. The,Rev. A-
G. Duncan, the pastor, was jately visited by a
numerous company of friends who-left'money
-ius .was'a 1
place’ ! 'of-v“ahall ;thingk” ; ’ apii; Superstitious'
people 'used ,to say the reason' of it was;the
church edMce was built by money jdrawn in . a
lottery. ; Perhaps, tliat . curse has’ now worn
. out.—The ebUncil at BrooklW have given,
a result py they
feeted memberslO remain in the old'“Harvard
Church.”—The rerival in Manchesteit!, -N, H.,
, is a rcmarkahlpjone, andseems.pb qom
■ menced with the week of ,prayer, Mqre than
, 200 have - expressed: their interest' either-as
converts or -inquirers. So also at Chicopee
Falls, at :JSe'st: .Springfield,, ! Terryville,
(Plynioutb > )'at;Enbsburg. iyt.ri:The'lJriitafi
ans claim to have 256 . in America, 1
and26l Societies. - They have TS'in Boston,
and they are all. supplied with settled minis
ters, Rev. Joseph'Richardsap, ofHingham,
is the oldest pastor, .and was settled in 1806.
They claim to have 17 chaplains in the army;
In Massachusetts there are 163 Soeieties, and
in all the rest-qf Sjfaterthere are
only. 93. Truly, this kind,, gf, religion do^. :
not thrive out of the old Bay State.
; PAPERS POR THE ARMY.
From Benedict D. Stewart, . $25.00
The most noticeable feature of the w,eek
here, has been the- preaching of a sermon
by Rev. Dr. Sunderland in'the capitol. It
appears that there • had been some hesita
tion and opposition to granting the hall of
the House of Representatives for Public
Worship. Some had doubted the pro
priety of the chaplain service, and of
prayer at the opening of the-daily session.
Others had openly manifested their con
tempt for God and his worship, by sitting
with their hats on, and others rustling
their papers, and continuing their scrib
ling and newspaper reading during prayer.
To all these scandalous indeeeiicies, Dr.
Sunderland alluded ; .but imdre especially
set himself, to answer who
spoke against observing any of-the forms
of religion nr the capitol, or recognition of
Christianity as the true faith. ~ , ,
The speaker took by one, the
objections of this class of men to the
chaplain service. I h’afve thought it
might be interesting to your readers to
give them a fragment of this part of the
sermon.
[The extract will appear in our next.]
The sermon produced a profound im
pression, and the only regret is, that so few
of the members of Congress Were present
to hear it.
I think, in the judgment of charity, not
one-half of the members of Cdngress at
tend any place of worship. What wis
dom they obtain on ; this day is not from
above. We need some of Son of Thun-
der yieit the'capitol and arouse the
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
PfflSSffi’Effil'Hl AATrSTTR-fl) AY,
guilty legislators who invoke,; by their'
godiessheSs, the continuefd judgments of
God on the land. ■
Dr. Sunderland, for his bold .afad' on
flinching, .loyalty to his *•.country Jand .his
. g crnr.r
God, deserves the gratitude of: all good
men. -Mayhisbowstill-abide in Btrengtb.i
I ' understand that the stermon is : t® ;; be
repeated : before the ilnioji' .'League,' ,on
Monday-night, and maybe* published, -It
is ablowaimedin the* right and?
struefca great sin between the eyes; -lb a
time like this,[when we are makia&>sktieh»
sacrifices' ; for the.; right, .every,- fcanfi-of
trangression in high i/plaees shoul#by>re
buked -■with apostolic energyrand ?.ieal,.
SicagainstGod',; and unfaithful o f the
trustiwe .rcceived tnoni’ our, fathers,< hate
brought: upon us the - judgitfs4j% -ofithe'
hour. • ■Jund'we Have -reason
iworse things, are.jat; the; dp;or;unleffifsfe-re,-'
pent. - oii,'/ c -cj-c
While 1 amgl&d t:o say-that hi iporal
character and. in painless: .integrity,. ; n.O]
Congress, for many .years -h&s‘beeii iqual
to the present;- stifi.there is great
for improvement. Washington. : iisj un
doubtedly the Sodom of the conti»enjt.; : -
; The population; are as eager, in- gnjrsuit
of. the most frivolous pleasures, as tip in
habitants of Paris. ...The places r of-<amuse-,
ment are. fabulously-crowded,. and- vi e be
yond thought or.language,. . They p tnder
to every vice. •. Public ivatp
robbers, desperadoes, quacks,; Jews, swin
dlers, black-legs, Syrens, the rs of
shame; all flock, here as vultures t) the
' . -■'■■■ '..if . ,10 ': -.n
carrion .carcass. . ,
While there are here in all places and
many the excelLenl.|f the
.earth, there daily flows to and fro't in ihe
j; grebt avehne; the-mest godless/ hardebed,
jtwicked and worthless 'th'e
(Country. :
Truly more than waters 'ofjithej'Bo-:
tomato are meeded' tondeanse our
Ik a.- future letter-1.-mil: speak tof ithei ob
stacles,; peculiar, in the way of doing.jgood
here. But : iu. the meantime; let-all,who.
love, their, country, for. the/sCapitol >
and tour national legislature, Lpt every
thing be- encouraged by sympathy and
chairty, which is calculated to ; increase,-
the power of Christianity in high places:,
I am glad to tell you.rthat the. Book,
“ The Christian Lifegnd ißetitutionyof.our
country*’ is meeting with , a large ..sale,
and, by,4U whoihave read,if, is,.epmpie I nd.-
ed .in the strongest language- It. is truly
a noble Book. It is ,the richest, cream of
the past, a thesaurus of many most -impor
tant and forgotten, facts, in our yearly, his-
.. . ; . - •. !
It is a Book for the times. it
may find: its yrayas it deserves,.iatpi every
liigary and school ip the land. iX.iJ’.-JVf.
THE WOE® OF GOD'Tr OAMP^H^A tt
■ LHftOENT. . ' '
I/ETTB'B ED THE CHAXRKAN OP jjS
■■■ :■ •-> ■'■ V-'KS•>■? 1 i , .>■
" 'coivijiMsioN. -
: .. , . - :! > ;
Camp Yx. \
'■■■ i 0 ■' ''Jaß.'3oth-' i 1864V J ’ J "
] Delrßro, Stuart ViL-It 1 is indeed plea
saint to preach abdliibbr for the soldiers in
this camp At home the people are," sur
feited with preaching, here they hunger
for the truth .triiieh is able to mate them
; - > .:rd</ .■ \ - -ft--
wise unto salvation.
Many, unquestionably, are every week,
and some,, every day, converted. It .is
touching to. witness their fraternal love
and sympathy, to see them " when they
have found the Saviour, put their arms
around their . comrades and lovingly per
suade them to the same Saviour.
- Our services in the chapel are exceed
ingly interesting, and every night hun
dreds remain after the preaching, to unite
in the prayer-meeting. And there then
follows invariably, a scene over ’which the
angel| might weep with joy, .
Never, in my life, have I had men ask
with more apparent earnestness for the
way of life, and never have I heard men
pray, evincing a deeper, and richer expe
rience of the indwelling poorer and grace
of God, than do some of/these brethren.
Surely they have the secret of God with
them, for such breathings of prayer can
come only from a heart wherein dwells the
Holy Spirit. Coming here to teach, I find
myself inclined to learn of some of these
Christian brethren and rejoicing converts,
that divine wisdom which so often is hid?
den from the wise and prudent, and re
vealed unto the babes in Christ. ,
■ Before we are up in the and
even after we have retired ' at" we
hear the voice of prayer from the adjoin
ing chapel. Indeed there seems to he no
hour in the day when the chapel is de
serted. •
, My own heart has been especially
drawn out toward the poor fellows, about
three hundred, in Camp Insertion.; Many
of them, I believe are good-Christian men.
It is understood among my brethren that
that is my parish. I have pre-empted
that territory, and every, forenoon visit it,
holding.service in the open-air, and distri
buting religious reading. - And never
have I been treated more respectfully, and
apparently never preached to. more eager
listeners: When prayer is about to .be of
fered, every hat is removed, and there sue-
ceeds a stillness as profound' as if they
stobC around ' the open "grave' of a dead'
comrade'. ' "
Two 'nights since, after sertice, I'had'
returned to my quarters, and had been there
for an,hour or so, when tempted by the
beauty Of the night, I proposfed a Walt-to
brother 'Hehson. We went" out, and' had
proceeded : biit a : short distance; when'
there came 5 floating to us oh the still 1 air
the voice' of' prayer.' We advanced * aid
stood’ within 1 Sar-'shot. Several soldiers*
were Holdup a prayer-meetibg Under : the
pines. It was eleven o’clock. The night?
was extremely lovely,and the scene was
one ’lcati never forget. used very;
appropriate and beautifuHanguagei ’Onfe'of
themprayed for the blessing of God upon
th'eipreaohiiig; and those who - 'had comedo
■labbrtiHth grid for the soldiers, forall-offi
cers; and 'men in the<camps, for * their <com
xadesjecentlyttgohe to .the front;?’' Then
he prayed earnestly for a comrade kneeling
there,. i and evidently ■ seeking -peace/ and
salvation.- -V O, SaY-i-our, give him.thy >for
■ giving lotej andthy redeeming I
was deeply moved, ; , i ; . l
My dear sir,- the Spirit of. God is hover
ing oyer this camp, and,l think greater
things-.are.in store for,us than as yet our
eyes-have-seen, or par ears.-have heard. ,
f Wary truly,yours,
.... P. L, EOBBINS. .
. APPEAL .TO THE, EDITOB. -,•/
, Del,.February,3d,,l,B64:. _.
tp,ydu r as,,p I kind of. authority with .regard
to certain, matters,. which ?j though geeming
at fwstl.sight, may be, . ;
counted as,of more general Interest.. .Are
you not, as other Jmn.arable men, opposed
to anonymous commsmigations, be they
nptes..or.,,letters,;or what-not? -Here, is
the, first part of my grievance. , ;
stated supply of the Presbyterian
Church ,in : Chesapeake City, Maryland,;
about ten miles from here. Two or three
weelts since, after the service, the, wife of
one of the elders of ; the church handed
me .an envelope superscribed with my
name. Upon opening it at, a convenient
time, .and place, imagine my. consternation
(?) at finding within.- unsigned writing!.
This writing which had thus been foisted
on me—this irresponsible communication,
was merely .a matter, of “enclosed please
•And fifty (50) dollars, as a donation from
the congregation in appreciation of, your
servicesor words to that effect. But it
wias'without signature. Is not. that,the
important part ? To, be sure there were,
certain scraps of parchment paper, pro
fusely ornamented with ldesigns in green
ipk', '|vhich had signatures of one L. fi,
Chittehdeh, and somebody Spinner, (what
his‘initials' are; - 1 find no one’ who can tell.)
Blit' ;as 'they are merely lithographed, of
.co'urkb i Hw(y' , iare" hbt“ rosponffible for this 1
aford-mentioned note. What would you
advise in' such af base ? I 'toid'the' congre-'
gatibn l the 1 hext Sunday iji pretty plain
terms what I thought of the affair,'and as
some of them looked conscious of having
had a share in the transaction, I thought'
that might be sufficient. What do you as
censor Of public niorals advise ? - ■
But this is i not ali ; indeed not a : third
of- my' grievances. Yesterday-was my
birth-day,, in icommemoration whereof a
. few-friends were invited to supper, (you
know supper in Delaware is a wordof unc
tous. fragrance, and excellent good taste.)
Now for the point. Can you believe it?
A gentleman of whose sanity, and of
whose politeness before now I had the
highest opinion. actually vjithoutinvitation
walked into the. very dining-room, and
into the very presence of the invited
guests, lugging a huge basket ; And not
only he, but another and another, old and
young, all without invitation, or even pre
vious notice,mnd some without ; ringing,
(as Mr. Wilson would commendably have
have us say,) the manse door-bell, came
in, sat down in the parlor, occupied the
dining-room—we and our ; select and com
fortably invited guests almost crowded
out—swarmed in the chambers, and gene
rally, .took, possession of jvhat common
law designates my “castle, ’’ and which
the great Burke declared, even- the' king
could nqt enter uninvited. And then to
think how they, acted. Not content with
this kind of coming, they spread a table in
a chamber as if that were a place for eat-,
ing. (But then who can account, for the
manners of those who will come without
an invitation ?) And there,, to cap the
climax, a gentleman, a physician, hitherto
considered of suavity irreproachable, spoke
aloud, and in the most personal way of me
the master of the house, under my own
roof; thrust his hand into his pocket, drew
forth ; an “ official-document ” looking en
velope, and actually had the boldness in
sight of the witnesses (by any of whom I
can prove it in court,,) to present it to me.
I find on .examination, since, that it is not
only an anonymous communication, but
beside a; matter of .something over a hun
dred,. dollars, it contains no writing, not
even a.scrap of paper. . Without waiting
for any, more formal gathering of the con
gregation, I .immediately, in the heat of
m y emotions, informed him; and;-all of;
them of my opinions, And when they
had gone, after'haying'eoolfy made them
selves at homo through the evehiiigf feuch
a house as was left! Tiiepantry nicely
cleaned and put in order for ' the invited
-company, was croWdedand cluttered up;
the shelves disarranged, and the vefy floor
looking like a prodiibe dealers’warehouse.
Nor though this Was not Hallow e’en
were ‘these a&ties eoifflied to rational
beings. For ihstan6e, ; ‘a turkey came
-some five miles to'roobt : oh' our cellar
stairs; “ Chickens 1 ! hung : all -dressed i and
marketable' dii ‘ibbnVeMtetPh'aalS: Bottles
filleflup with eteato -ButterSuddenly ap-*
peared ; on *erh‘pty- plates l ; lard in places
Wheresit nevefKbefore had'been kept”; cab
'bageb'-anth -parsnips, l - and' salsify tactually
crowded , baoh.; other -mcW-barrel,Kwhich,
had before-.contained ; ■ sweet ', potatoes.
(See Darwin <on .tbe.Grigin and: Conflict of
Species.) ; And ; either .by the laying of a
most; prolificand {expeditions hen, or some
other j means, eggs-.enough ; to. ; fill a huge
platter were laidin adark corner under the
stairs. -.m •
Here ismy.complaint. What shall be
done .for all .these, breaches of manners,
this, bold invasion ?- : Can you,; Mr. Edi
tor, answer my. question ? ,
, , , - Sincerely yours, .
Isaac Ridey.
,[We. advise “unconditional surrender ”
>tp all such.amicable assaults, Ed.-] •
CONVERSION: OF JOSEPH' BARKER,
i' -There appears no reason to doubt the
fact; as announoedsometnonths ago, that
Mr. Joseph Barker, dace so notorious for
his: infidel opinions Which: he’ maintained
in a public debate in - this city some ye'ars
ago;, with - RevJ Dr. Berg,*aridnwhich he
has sinee industriously promulgated in
connection With the secularists of Eng
land, has abandoned his errors and declared
a belief in the,Bible, and his concurrence
-in the principles of the Evangelical
church. From o.ur foreign exchanges,
we learu that Mr. Barker has been lec
turing under the: auspices of members of
the New Connexion, ; (Methodist,) upon
“Christianity, the- best - Secularism;”
“The Bible, its Worth and How to Read
it:;” and “The:Teachings of Experience, or
Lessons lhave learned on my roadthrough
Life.”
The Wesleyan -Times speaks in high
terms of Mr, Barker as commanding re
spect and exciting hope even" during his
career as an infidel, by strict adherence to
those habits of temperance and self-respect
which characterised him in his youth,; and
expresses the belief that his lectures, at
tended as they were by many of his old
friends, have done, much good. Mr. Bar
ker has been laboring and preaching
among the- .'Primitive:-Methodists, who
have-invited him toiconnect-himself With
their • -body;' but Mr. Barker replied to'
their invitation,>that he -had received more
than-ordinary, kindness -from Dri Cooke,
of the New i Connexion, who had mani
fested such a liberal and Christian" spirit
asito command his highest respect and ad
miration; ■ The correspondence was still
open between them, and he could hot,
.therefore, decide to ■> accept' their kind “and
unexpected invitation. Besides, he felt he
owed much to the New; Connexion. He
had deeply injured it, andhe was impelled
by every - consideration to endeavour to
repair that injury.
The conversion of: this notorious infidel
is a remarkable illustration of the 1 power
of grace, and:we trust-“a;.token for good”
to the working classes of -England, who
have been sadly deluded and led away
from the truth by the teachings of Mr.
Barker and his associates.
THE SHFFERING REFUGEES IN
CAIRO.
Day by day the fact is coming more to
light that we, who live amid scenes of
peace, know.next to nothing of the true
sufferings of war. We are reminded of
this by a fresb appeal to our benevolence,
from a quarter where the loud cry for help
must be answered by prompt individual
responses, or it will .probably be in vain..
Gen. Reid, commanding at Cairo, 111., has
despatched Rev. E. Folsom, chaplain at
that post to the east, to solicit immediate
aid for the Union refugees who have es
caped from within the rebel lines, robbed
of all their possessions, because they would
not and could not forswear their love to
the old flag, and driven, in utter destitu
tion, from their homes—large numbers of
them delicate women’ and children, whose
fathers, husbands, and brothers have been
cruelly murdered by guerrillas in their very
presence. These hapless fugitives from
the mostheart-rendfog scenes of barbarity,
are received kindly, and fed with’Govern
ment rations as soon as they come within
our lines, and transported by military au
thority to Cairo, Illinois. Here all Go
vernment action ceases. As they are not
soldiers, their case does not come within
•the provisions of theigreat benevolent or
ganizations for the relief of suffering sol
diers, Here; therefore, the hand of public
charity must take them up, or they perish.
Money;, therefore, is needed at; once, and
continually, and in large, quantities, in order
to provide means for their transportation
to places where they can find friends or
employment. From a letter from General
Reid to Mr, Folsom, ofJan.lft-tve learn
that more than three thousand have alrea
dy been" aided in thus moving on, through
his efforts for aHf, J extending from Chicago
to New York'. "'Bui they still arrive in the
ratio of one huhclred per day; and Phila
delphia is now implored for help. The
following appeal Will show the estimation
in which the call is held by many of our
first Citizens: . '. ~ c
Philadelphia, JOni 22^1^3.
The undersigned have learned, they
believe truly, that great suffering
exists -ateeug I thfii .iTJnion nien,
children, who are gatherijm
at Cairo, qrten, pt* the rate of one hnndft3
per «te helpless
remnants of 5 - families; ■ ■ whose -protectors
awt-who
have beeii robbejlgqf ♦,all means., of UfiAg.
They are suffering for almost every neces
sary of life ;- their sufferings are aggrava
ted by the privations of Winter; and from
the nature of the case, the severity ~of
those sufferings is increased by .the accu*
mulation of the numbers of the sufferers.
Rev. Ezekiel Folsom, Chaplain of the
Post Hospital at Cairo, is no w in the East,
under.orders frornGeneral Reid, command
ing at, Cairo, on a mission of benevolence
towards those refugees. His labors in se
veral cities have awakened deep and prac
tical-sympathy. We understand that he
designs visiting Philadelphia.' Our infor
mation respecting, his fitness is satisfacto
ry ;we are satisfied ,with the mode adopt
ed for the distribution ,of the fruit of his ef
forts ; and We cordially commend his en
terprisetoour fellowcitizene. >
Alexander. Henry, ; James Pollock} Geo.
H. Stuart, Archibald.. Mclntyrej James,Ji
Barclay, John B’ Siyers, N. B. Brbipie,
William S. Perot, M. ! W.Baldwin, Josiph
Allison, Alonzo Potter, Albert BattieS.TL
A. Boardman, Francis Hodgson, J.-Whea
ton Smith, Richard Newton, Thomas Brai
nerd, Jay Cooke, Lewis R. Ashurst, Wm.
11. Ashurst.
Contributions "iii money, clothing, bolts
of cotton, or, such dry goods as meet the
necessities of the case, may be sent to H.
N. Thissel, Esq., Secretary of the Ameri
can Tract Society, 929 Chestnut St., who
has kindly 1 accepted the duty of attending
to their safe and speedy transmission.
Rev. B. B. Hptchkin a Delaware(}o;,pas
tor, has also consented to render such oc
casional gratuitous aid.as is. in his power,
for promoting this charity in Philadelphia,
and for this purpose be enjoys the full
confidence of aH concerned.
THE CONCERT OF PRAYER FOR LI
TERARY .INSTITUTIONS. *
As the time ckqsen for this concert is
near, it may be well.for our readers to re
fresh their, minds as to the great impor
tance of the subject sought to be attained
by it. In addition to; the intrinsic interest
the subject would have at any time, cir
cumstances arejsuch as to magnify,its con
sequence. Our institutions of learning have
in them a large number of youth whose
conversion Avould bring great glory to God,
and confer an unspeakable blessing on
themselves,.These students are soop to
exert a greatanfluence on the, social, lite
rary, political .and religious; j interests of
our country. Should,,they bg.,converted
and Walk in the fear of God, their, influence
will prove beneficial ; should. ; they not be
brought under.the ,restrqiii,ta and impulses
of evangeljpal religion, ■ it may-rbe injurious
and evep destrjicti ve. There are peculiar
temptations qlways; attending .youth con
gregated in large numbers, anebaway from
home. from which the graceofGodis-the
only certain protection. Thpre is neces
sarily an agitated a(ate , 0 f bhq public mind
just now which increases the force of temp
tation, and prevents that qjiiet attention
which should be. given to divine things,
and which cajjs for interest and
importunity and prayer. A demand: is
soon to be made on .our institutions-for
well instructed men, of moral intergity, to
guide the affairs and teach the growing,
millions of our population, .beyond what
they can supply, if they are not blessed
with the outpouring of the spirit from on
high. Through such outpourings hereto
fore a large number have been led to en
gage in preaching Christ; and this is a
great, though not by any means our only
resource, for a speedy supply of ministers.
Prayer should be offered continually for
this end, and it should he specially magni
fied at the approaching concert. The rea
sons for this are numerous and weighty. "
“The harvest is plenteous and the laborers
are few.” Many organized congregations
are destitute of the stated ministration of
the word and ordinances. Large tracts of
territory more or less densely peopled in
our land, are hut very partially supplied
with the intelligent ministrations of the
gospel. NeW territories ihd states call
loudly for Christian instruction and insti
tutions to accompany the incoming popu
lation, and from heatheh countries the im
portunate cry is heard: send those who
will aid'us m breaking the bread of life to
the perishing quickly—and
send many for the Harvest is ripe. Our
Lord directed special prayer to Hb made
for this -object, and wb- bhalFaisobby him
if we fail to offer it / The hearts- of all men
arc. in his .hands end he. can bring multi
tudes into the ministry. He alone can
give the great essential qualification for
preaching his word, and when biß church
shall honor him byfseeking hisieonverting
add. sanctifying; spirit, ;hq will; -hqn or her
With a |'pjip. > wiil.bu|t(|..her up .in
the truth, ana extents the conquests of his
word over the world.