TEE CHINESE PHILOSOPHEE MENCIUS, j
MenejuSfis only secondary to Con
fdcius. He js 'not a sage, nor a worthy,
bat a subrsage, or an almost sage, accord-;
ingto the estimation and judgment of the •
Chinese of the pres&ttVday. • Hit image,
dr tablet occupies a, high place of honor,
jjqar, to .that of Confucius, on his left, in;
the temples' erected in China for the;
worship of the sage. •
following te brief|
account, of. wp v follow . sub-j
language. senti-j
menijs/ pf tti,e Bey, Dr.
jjqndpn jMiasi on ary. Society, .located., at ;
Hong Kong, jwhp has. pqbllehed an
elaborate translation of; the writings of
tb,is. .maijj' prewded by a
studied estuuate of his life, influence and
]ppifflops—comprising thesocond volume
of j £hp, I . Gkines'e Classics. ' which "he
proposes to translate and publish. , (1 ,
Mencius is the latinized form of
Mfingtsze, «the Philosopher 1 ' Mang.”
Hisbirith-place is situated In what ; was
apoicntly the State .or Principality of
YsoWj’ hut now forms a part of the
Prdyihce of Shahgtdhg, in the northern
part 'Ofthe Empire. It was adjacent to
the •Kingdom, of Loo, in whiphCon
frtcius .was Born. They.earof his birth
' was probably the fourth of the Emperoi;
liuch, B. C. 371. He lived to the age
of 1 84, dying in the year Bf C. 288, the'
twenty-sixth' of thd Emperor Nan, the
last sovereign of the .Chow, dynasty;
Thofirst twenty-three years of his life
thus synchronized,with, the, lasj;, t wentyj
i hree o'|Piat6’s. ! " Ar istotie* Zeno, Epicu
rus,Deiiiostkeh'es, and some otheTgreat
mett'Of thfe west Were-also’ his contempoi
■aries; . When we place Mencius among.
Shorn.ho can look them ,in the face; He
apes not need to hide .a, diminished head;
life had the misfortune to lose his
father at a very early period of his life.
Bhf. he was blessed with'the instruc
tions and the' example of his; mother,
who has become a.distinguished model
or patternrof what (Should be.
Aocordiiigio the Chineße, “ Thq Mother
of’ Meiidins” is a kind of proverbial
oxpfqssibn, indfoatingiher Oxtfaordinary
excellence. She thrice Changed her
residence on his account. ,
At. ffret,. they lived near a cemetery,
and Mencjns amused himself with acting
the varibns scenes which he witnessed
at the tombs. “ This," said the lady,
is no place for my son,” and she
removed to a house in the market-place,
but'the change was no improvement.
The boy took to playing the part of a
salesman, vaunting his wares and' chaf
fering with customers. His 1 mother
sbught anew house, and found one at
last close by a public school; There
the child’s attention was taken with the
various exercises of politeness which
the sohoiars were taught, and he 6n
deavored to imitate them. The mother
was satiSfled. “ This,” she said, “is the
proper place for my son.”
As -Mehcius grewup he Was sent to
sohool. When he returned home one
day, his mother looked up from the web
which Bhe waiß mending, and asked him
how for he 1 had got on. He answered
her with a look of indifference, that-im
was doing well enough, on which She
took -a knife and cut through her web;
The] idler was alarmed, hnd asked what
ghe ‘meant, when she gave him a long
that she had done what
Be was 1 doing—that her cutting through
her web was like bis neglecting his
studies. The admonition, it is aaid, had
its proper effect; the lecture did not
need to bo repeated.
Such' are some of the accounts found
relating to the mother of Mencius.
Possibly some of them are inventions,
but they are devoutly believed by the
Sle' of China; and it must be to their
ti We may well believe’ that she
Was a woman of very superior charac
ter, and that her son’s subsequent dis
tinction was in a great degree owing to
her influence and training:
In regard bo the teachers of Mencius
little is known. Some have affirmed
that he was a pupil of Tsze-sze, the
grandson of Confucius. A reference, to
dates shows this to be incorrect. For
supposing that Tsze-sze was born in the
year his father died, he must have been
112 years old when Mencius was born.
One anoient writer states that “ Mencius
studied, with the disciples of Tsz'e-sze.”
■This may have been the case. There
is nothing on the score of time to make
it impossible or even improbable, but
this is all that can be said about it.
Mencius nowhere speaks as if he felt
under special obligations to. any in
structor, . ' :
ihe first forty years of his life are
little hibre than a blank to ns. Many
of- them we may be sure were spent in
diligent study. He made himself fa
miliar.. during this period: with all ; the
literature of his country. Its classics,
l&fliistbriesj its great men, had reoeived
Bis direful attention. Confucius espe
cially became to him the Chief of mortal
men, the object of his untiring admira
tion ; and in his principles and doctrines
bo recognized the truth, for want of an
appreciation of which the bonds of
sooiety : all around him were being
malaxed and the empire hastening to a
general anarchy.
Ho.yi hq supported himself in Ysow
we cannot tell. Perhaps he was pos
sessed of' some patrimony; but when
he first comes forth from his native
state, we find him accompanied by his
mopt emineqt disciples. He probably
imitated Confucius by assuming the
office of a teacher—not that of a school
blaster in our acceptation of the word,
but that of a professor of morals and
learning,.encouraging the resort of in
qvdring poinds in order to resolve their
doubts, and’ inform them on the true
principles of Virtue and society. These,
disciples would minister to his wants,
though we in ay presume that he sternly
maintaine,d;his .dignity among them, as
Me aiterwards did towards tne princes
of the time, when he appeared among
them aB a lecturer in another sense of
the term. One instance of this will be
given;
“ When Kang of Tang made his ap
pearance :.in yojur. schoo),” said'.the
disciple Kung-tOq,''“ it seemed proper
that a polite consideration should be
paid to him, and yet you did not answer
him; why was that?” Mencius replied,
“ I do not answer him who questions
me presuming on his ability, nor him
who presumes on his talents, nor him
who presumes on his age, nor him who
presumes on services performed, to me,
nor him who presumes on old acquaint
ance. Two of these things are charge
able of Tang.”
The state of; China, had waxedf worse
and • worse .during, the injfcrval,. that
elapsed between Confucius asd.|ileticLu.s.
Tfib- of disorganization 'wKicir
were rife’ in tfib times of tbf earlier sage
had : gone On to prodUCoitneir hatural
restflts. Qnd feeble [sovereign had fol
lowed another on the imperial throne,
and. the dynasty'of.Chp.w ,was readyto
vanish away.’-.Menwere persuadedof
its
.of loyalty to it whs a cherished
sentiment, and the anxiety and expecta
tion was- about, what-,-new. .rule.; would
take’ its place. The prince's were at
constant' warfare with One another.
Ambitious statesmen were continually
inflaming these quarrels.' The recluses
of Confucius’ .day, who withdrew:, in
disgust from the world alnd’its turmoils,
had given; place to a class of then who
eame' forth from their retirement pro
vided with th el arts; of war or'schemed
of policy which they recommended to
the’ contending VpMeik' They -made no.
sbruple- 'bfr bhabgihg' their' religion as
they were moved; by whim or interest.
"It is not wohdeffabthat ih suchtitnes
the minds of men Should, have; doubted
the soundne's's of the .ancient principles
of the acknowledged sages of the nation.
Doctrines, i strange 1 - and portentous in
the View of 'Mencius, were openly pro
fessed, ' ; The authority of Confucius was
disowned. ■ The Foundations ofgovem
metit Svere overthrownthe foundations
of truth were assailed;
Mencius s'et'his'-faco 'storhly against
these disorders’ aiidi these innovations
on the practices and the sentiments of
the ancient 'sagesi He - spent' twenty
odd yeark- in' [visiting the kings and
prince's of vafibus'S fates add Kingdoms,
Usually or frequently on invitation, in
the 1 hope of .influencing them to rule
according to the principles of righteous
ness. When he found his instructions
not followed; oven though he himself
was treated very respectfully, he inva
riably departed from that kingdom to
another. When he was between sixty
and seventy yoars old ho retired from
courts and great officers. We can but
think and conjecture of him, according
to tradition, passing the last twenty
years of hid life amid the more congenial
society ‘ of his disciples, discoursing to
them and compiling the works which
have remained as his memorial to the
present day. ,
Amopg the states or principalities he
visited ih the hope of: influencing the
rulers to better principles of govern
ment; may be. mentioned Tec, Tang,
Sung, Wei andLoo. One of bis favorite
pupils was culled to assist in the coun
cils of the kingdom of Loo. When
Mencius;hear'd of it ! he was so over
joyed that ho could not sleep. Mencius
declared him to be <r a good jhain” and
“ a real inari.” Ho allows that be was
“ not a man o'f vigor,” nor “a wise man
ih’council,” iior a 1 man of much; infor
ination,” but he says he was “ a man
loved yhat was good," and “ the
love Of what ! is good is more than ’a
sufficiehl, qnalification’ for .the govern
ment of .the Empire ; hbw much more is
it so for the State Of Loo.” y
While he was ih Tze his excellent
mother, who had accompanied’'him
thither, died. He. carried her coffin to
Loo to; bury hep hear the dust of his
father ; and ancestors. The funeral Vras
a splendid one. Men cius perhaps erred
in having it so from his dislike of the
Nihilsts, who advocated a spare sim
plicity in all funeral matters: His ar
rangements certainly excited the aston
ishment of some bf his own disciples,
and was the qpeasion of general remark.
He on the ground that
“ the superidr man will not for all the
world be niggardly to his parents,” and
that as he had the means there was no
reason why ho should not give all the
expression in his power to bis natural
feelings. What he did was in harmony
with his own teachings, and the ancient
rites only on an extravagant scale.
Having paid this last tribute of filial
piety to his mother, Meneius;returned to
Tse, but. be could' not appear at court,
till the three years of his mourning was
accomplished according to the ancient
rules-
We must believb that he left a family,,
for his descendants form a large clan at
the present day. He-wan, the 56th in
descent from Mencius, was in the reign
of Kea-tsing (A. D. 1522-66) constituted
a member of the Han-lin College, and
of the board in charge of the 5 classics,
which honor was to he hereditary in
his family, and the holder of it to pre
side at the sacrifices to his ancestor.
China’s appreciation of our philosopher
could not be, more strikingly shown.
Honora usually flow back in this Em
pire. The descendant ennobles his
ancestors. But in the Case of Mencius
as in that of Confucius, this order is
reversed. No excellence of descendants
can extend to them, and the nation
acknowledges its obligations to them
by nobility and distinction conferred
through all generations upon their pos
terity.
An estimate of the influence and the
opinions of Mencius, is a subject worthy
of another letter.
Puh Chau, November, 1863.
It is -wonderful how a full acceptance
of Christ’s righteousness by a very
wicked man removes his senße of shame.
■ Human society could not do it, even
‘should it heap its honors upon hijn, : .
But “ the blood of Jesus Christ, his son,
oleanseth us from all sin."— Nehemiah
Mam.
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, MARfiTT 31, 1864.
THE GEEAT OENTEAL PAIE.
CAN CHRISTIANS CONSISTENTLY CO
OPERATE IN IT?
The question here asked, is one which
to my mind at least, is pressing itself
upon the attention of every Christian
in the States called to unite, and one on
which I believe thousands of God’s
..people, are seeking light.
It is not even assumed by any one
but that the object principally in view
—that of affording relief to theuphysical,
wants .of;,'our brayq and suffering;,solr.
diers —is a noble one, an object for
'which' every laudable effort=-should bo>
and ssa-crifices of a Idgh kind
endured. But good and holy as it is,
miist it he that burlesques on divine
institutions, such as mock marriages
and gambling .are to, be resqrted- to in
order to accomplish evexi this ?
’I will not allow myself to be under
stood by any one as inimical' in any
way to the Sanitary Commission in the
prosecution of its grand object; iwhiie; I
am willing to have, all men know that
I am wholly; in.; pppositiqn) tor some of
thp,means employedin epnneetion with
the; great fairs throughout the country
to accomplish the ehd : proposed; ;i
; What good Christian In our, land has
not shuddered for the religion of Christ
as he has read of the manner in which
these fairs have generally been. cbm
ducted, and chiefly - because ministers
; of the‘gospel and leading laymen; ih:-the
membership of the church are promi
nent on the.,committees in ,the conduct
of them, and. it is; taken for granted
they endorse’ the methods employed to
raise money. - ■
Must we do evil that good may
come? Hay.ealfhonorablemeansfailed
to fill waning troaeuries.'? we
obliged to resort to dishonest aid .dis
honorable measures to accomplish a
good object?; Ig the child of God called
upon from his deep sympathies With
the noble heroes of our land, and in
order to relieve their, sufferings, tb do
injury to'his conscience before God^and 1
man? If the men of the world put-;
number,'and in any cause, however
good;,;thus control; ,the action, will f he
people of God be led into, and quieily
submit to do wrong? Is there mo
other channel through which the bene
factions of the Christians of ; our laW
may reach the. soldiers, conducted bn
strictly Christian principles ? , !
In our pwn good city pf Philadelphia
another, is about being added to the
series of fairs that have been held lin
other cities. Are we in Philadelphia
to follow in the wake of our . prede
cessors ?. Is raffling to be a part of tne
programme ? If so, will the Christian
ministers and God-fearing men and
pious women of our city co-operate and
sanction it ?
! I have heard it already announced in
a public meeting that, an opera troupe
will perform in connection with the
fair and for its benefit ; and in the
public prints of the city, in one of the,
most exhaustive appeals presented aft
the names of the officers of, the com
mittee on labor, &e., a call is made upon
“every individual within the Statesbf
Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Dela
ware, in any way earning a livelihood,
to contribute one .day’s earnings.” .
Now I shall be very sorry, for one,
for the reputation of'bur city, apart
I from its Christianity, when we' staiid at
the door of the theatre, the dance
house, and the tavern, and ask their
learnings.and stand upon a level with
them, in such a work as the religion of
Jesus teaches, and exemplifies in its
highest form. - ; . ; , ;
As if designed to -be a corrective; of
all these abuses,, and; meeting the ,same;
grand object, apd ; much more at the
same, time, lopkipg upon man as. having
: a soiil as well as a body, and doing the
; work not only in d ihuch ihofe economi
cal but in a- much; more effective - way.;
Sas not God. given to the 'country the
Christian Commission f and has not. His
blessing rested on it ?
In doing the same, and at the.same
time, a much' higher ah'd'holier work/
can the Christians of our land hesitate
for a moment through which channel
their benefcLdions, at least, shall flow ?
In the name of our common, Chris
tianity, I protest against the means
employed bv the Sanitary Commission,
as above referred to, in these fairs, for
the securing of money, and I repeat the
question, can Christians consistently co
operate in these fairs,? M.
The following letters tell their own
story and carry their own moral with
thorn: ■ - -
February 10,1864. ,
To the Ladies’ Sewing Circle of the First Presby
terian Church, Philadelphia.
Kind Christian Friends Tester 1
day was : a' gladsome’ day in our family
circle; and it was made so by your
thoughtful, generous ministrations. : De
spite the winter’s cloud and cold withpuf
we had a large experience of t£e “Sunhy
side” of Missionary life; and all this was
brought to our sight and hearts on the
opening of the box of good things from
■the, city of benevolence and love-. The
day before I brought the box home from,
the railway station —8 miles distant—
and such a box V So plethoric, yet well
proportioned, as to require a two-horse
team tq convey it to its destination. In
examining its contents we had an agree
able surprise party.; the friendly gifts
exchanging looks with us from every
quarter of the room'; only tlie donors:
were not present to witness the almost)
magical soothing and melting effect ol
these tokens and substantial proofs of
Christian charity. We thank you, kind
friends, for so ample a store of useful
articles. Hot one thing of all: the treas
ures but what will do us service :, from:
the dolls and marbles, &c., for the recrea
tion of the little ones, to the books and
papers for the reading of all. When
winter was approaching; I could not see
how we were to get comfortably.thrpugbj
for clothing, &c., but I was willing to
trust a gracious Father, and He has sent
us, through your willing service, a large
TWO MISSIONAEY BOXES.
fcpply for our wardrobe. For months
f> come will these articles of dress serve
io clothe our bodies, and we hope to be
iiankful to God and you so long afi a
angle thread of these things remains to
Jpcak through the eye to the heart. And
yhile we gladly wonder at the sacrifice
of time, influence and means on your
part, to furnish so many useful things,
ive are grateful because without your aid
•wh should have been destitute of many
useful things, and also beeause you have
alleviated; by many and many a stitch
and hour of toil, the labors of my wife;
The shoes, hoods and garments -for the
children arc all neat' and timely. The
clothing for myself and wife benefit the
mind as well as the body; and, in the
fancy and furnishing goods, it seems as
though the whole contents of' a thread
and peedle store had been poured into
our -laps: and although cotton, .is, no
longer King, yet from the profusion of it
sent us, in pieces made ana unmade, we
are persuaded that Christian charity is
potential, and that cotton and all things
earthly are. at its. disposal, for the ser
vice of, phrist.. ~ ,
. '..Myself and wife and children thank
you for your generous aid, and We only
wish that every needy missionary house
hold might find relief so providential,
and that every benevolent . society may
have the rich spiritual blessing that
springs from a consciousness of doing
good. May the Lord' reward, you, in
your families and Church, with an in
crease of grace on earth and an over-:
flowing fulness of glory hereafter.
. Yours in the Gospel.
P. S. During, the high price of tea and
sugar, we had been doing without them
for some time, and wero expecting thus
to get along until the war, with its reign
of high prices, is over. We pray for the
end qf war and its desolations, and feel in
duty bound to stand by the Government
ill its painful and righteous duty. Our tea
is now doubly sweet from the thought of
its procurement.
Very Kind Friends : —Your most
Welcome gift was received by us day
‘before yesterday, the 9th, having been
nineteen days on the way. But we
assure you that all our anxious waiting
during that time was compensated when
we were permitted to look .within the
box, and take from its sacrett trust; one
by one, the treasures it brought-us.. It
had been a household word, and .now
that it had arrived all necessary labor
was speedily finished up, not an article
being removed (the cover already being
off) until all w.ere ready to see; then
came the unpacking. Could you have
witnessed the scene and beheld the
delight depicted in each, I think it
might have proved some slight com,-
pensation to yon all for .your labor and
kindness. . But the sensation of the hour
was the discovery of the beautiful dolls.
The largest one presented itself first,
and was received with , wild delight by
its declared owner, Emma, who being
eight years old and the senior of the
juveniles, laid claim to it,, to be sure,
and we all gave way and admitted the
claim. Those dress patterns were very
fine, while piles of linen declared the
generosity of the donors. Those Swiss
blankets are very highly prized! That
variety box was just in place. But
words are not adequate] to the gratitude
we would express. Everything is ac
ceptable. May God bless you a thou
sand fold, and keep you,to the life above.
I paid freight on the box on both roads.
The amount was ?2 46; so you see there
was: some left of the $5 you sent for
this purpose.
Yours very truly in Christ.
S. HODGES OEITTENDEN.
Departed this life on Thursday, the
: 10th inst., after a severe and:protracted
illness, S. Hodges Crittenden, Esq.,
Principal of the Commercial College
■ which- bears Ms name, in tMs city.
At the early age of 12 years, Mr. Crit
tenden, assumed the sacred resposibili
ties of the Christian profession by uniting
with the Church, and he continued the
active and consistent discharge of its du
tiesfor the remainder of his life. He was
deeply interested in every department
of Christian benevolence and instruc
tion. As Superintendent and Teacher
he devoted himself with great zeal and
success to the Sabbath School and Mis
sionary work. In all the relations of
home and society his daily life and char
acter commanded an unusual degree-of
confidence, affection and esteem. But
the great and peculiar mission which
the Master gave him to fulfil for the last
four years of his life, was one of suffer
ing.. Worn out.by slow degrees; ex
hausted by pain and. want of rest; feel
ing the sensitives threads of life cut away
one by one, and yet tantalized from time
to time by an appearance of amendment
and the promise of recovery; occasion
ally sinking in deep waters, and then,
lifted up by a strong and restoring hand,
though always left a little lower than
before; doomed to be a spectacle of woe,'
a living embodiment of affliction, wait--
ing for release .from the body of this
death, it was his great ana sacred
missioh to preach Christ through it all,
by exhibiting a patience that silences
'Complaint, and a faith that conquers
agony to the end. While many mourn
the loss of so excellent a brother, they
cannot but rejoice that he received
grace to complete his course so well, and
that Ms tried and troubled spirit, out of
great!.tribulation, has entered; into rest.
The faith of many has been strengths
ened by the testimony which he bore to
the saving power of the truth as it is in
Jesus, when he could no longer speak
the beloved name with the utterance of
the tongue.'
There are four different ways, by
which men expect and propose to be
saved. One is fate; another is chance;
a third is self; the/ourth is Christ.—
Nehemiah Adams.
Night brings out stars, as sorrow shown ns
truths.
To connect the railway system of
Italy with those of Prance and Europe
generally, it Is necessary in some way
to surmount the great obstacle presented
by the Alps. The Italian government
is distinguishing itself by the unparal
leled engineering exploit of successfully
undertaking this grand enterprise. A
tunnel was commenced under the min
istry of the great and lamented Cavopr,
by which the Alps are to bepiercedin the
direction of Prance* and an underground
passage* between seven and eight miles
long, will be hewn through the: heart
of. the mountains. In carrying out this
novel enterprise, a new power has been
brought into extensive use, that of com
pressed air. We give an account of the
mode in which this agent is employed,
taken from the late number of the West
minister Beview. ,
Hothing can be more curious than the
account M. Sommeiller gives of the man
ner in which the works proceed.! The
section , of th e tunnel which the. machines
are employed to excavate is about eleven
feet wide and eight high; a double rail
runs along the centre, upon which a
framework upon wheels is rolled for
ward; carrying the ten! perforators; of
of which nine are usually kept, at work
at once, close up to the face of the rock.
Once there, the distributing pipes for
air and water which are fixed' on r the
frame are put in connection with the
main tubes, carried aloDg under the floor
of the tunnel from the machine-house
outside by means of flexible pipes,- and
each perforator is then supplied with air
and water by turning the cocks belong
ing to it in the distributing pipes;
Pressed forward by the compressed air,
the augers then strike the rock, which
they pierce very much as a gimlet bores
a plank, only that by a special contri
ance they recede after each blow, that
a jet of water, may be impelled: into the
hole being bored, in order to dear it of
dust, and to keep the auger itself cool.
This retrograde motion is produced in a
manner very similar to that : in which
the same movement is given to the pis
ton of a steam-engine. In the perfora
ting-machine the auger is fixed to the
end of a piston moving ; backwards and
forwards in a cylinder. Compressed air
enters this cylinder at both ends; hut
as it is contrived that the front surface
of the piston (the one towards the rock)
upon which it presses should have only
half the size of the other end, it follows
that an equal pressure of six atmos
pheres, the pressure received from be
hind is twice as potent as that in the
contrary direction, and the augerptrikes
the rock, although less violently than if
there were no compressed air in front
of the piston to resist its forward motion,
As soon as the blow has been given,
however, this relative proportion of the
strength of pressure is reversed. The
valve by which the compressed air en
ters the portion of the cylinder behind
the.piston closes; and another, commu
nicating with the outer atmosphere,
opens. This escape being afforded, the
forward pressure is immediately re
duced to the' strength of one atmos
phere, which is of course overcome, and
the piston recedes, while the compressed
air which has just escaped resumes its
primitive volume, and thuß fulfils its
second purpose, by driving out' the
mephitic air, which naturally collects in
so small a space with no draught
through it, and supplies the workmen
with fresh air to breathe. The augers
of the perforating-machines continue
their work until eighty holes have been
bored, each from twenty-seven to thirty
two inches in depth, an operation often
accomplished within six hours, though
in the beginning especially, it took a
good' deal more—ten, or occasionally
even fourteen hours. The connection
with the main pipes is then cut off’ and
the whole framework, with all its appa
ratus, is rolled away by the workmen
to a distance of a hundred and fifty to
two hundred yards, behind great gates
made of thick planks and beams, called
“ safety-doors.” A fresh gang of work
men, the miners, then appear on the
scene, whose duty it is to load the mines
thus prepared, and then to fire them.
No sooner have the mines been exploded
those in the centre, where they are
closer together, first, then the ones on
the circumference, than a burst of com
pressed air is admitted into the farthest
end of the tunnel, to clear it from smoke
and the gases produced by the explo
sion, and a third set of workmen arrive,
with a number of little trucks rnnning
upon Side rails laid for this special ser
vice, in-which they cart away the frag
ments of rock brought down by the ex
plosion. . In this way about a. yard of
progress is generally attained. .
When this system was first proposed
; there were innumerable objections urged
against it in the scientific world. It
was declared impossible ito construct
recipients strong enough to hold a supply
of compressed air, which was thought
capable of bursting the vessel in which
it was enclosed, and perhaps even of
oozing out through the pores of the
cast-iron plates of which it was! made.
The practicability of conveying com
pressed air. to any distance through
pipes, without a loss of tension render
ing it- utterly useless -wub even more
strongly and: generally insisted on.
Fortunately, the experience, acquired at
Bardonneche affords a full refutation of
these unfavorable predictions; for we
learn that not only is there no escape of
air from any part of the machinery or
pipes, sufficient to stir the flame of a;
taper, but. experiment shows that the
loss of tension liable to be incurred in
the transport of compressed air would
not equal one-tenth of an atmosphere in
any distance less than 25,000 metres or
nearly four,times that which -it .ean’.be
required to traverse for the works under
Mont Oenis! Another fear also ex
pressed by the opponents of the tunnel
March 11th, 1864.
IPSftIIXMSXS.
TUNNEL UNBEE MONT OENIS.
was, that from want of shafts the work
men employed must necessarily be suffo
cated; it is, however, found that though,
the temperature is somewhat higher, it
is as easy to breathe at the farther end
of the tunhel as -on the hillside itself,
since a quantity of compressed air is
daily impelled into ,fhe small section
seventeen times-grbater than its cubic
capacity, and- this rush: of compressed
air not only , renews the, atmosphere, but
also tends to moderate th'e neat genera
ted by the presence of a number
of workmen in asm® sjiace,
burning; for it has been demonstrated
by experience, that \whon; Air
pressed.it losob a portion of its,
calorie, whence it follows, that when it
resumes its primitive volume, on being
allowed to escape, it is ready to absorb
an amount of heat equal to - that, which
it Had previously emitted. From what
we have already said, our readers will
readily perceive that there need be no
fear of the workmen being suffocated;
nevertheless, the directing engineers
proposed at least to double the supply
of compressed air before the end of 1863.
BE. BOSS AT HUNTSVILLE, ALA.
Eev. F. A. Boss, D- IX, formerly of
(Qhattanooga,. Tenn,; is well known to
our readers as one of the most extreme
of the pro-slavery interpreters of Scrip
ture in, the South. His home is now
within, the lines of the National army,
but from, the following which we find in
a recent number of the Gongregationqlist,
we judge he has chosen to remaiD, and
has, of course, taken the usual obliga
tions prescribed by military., authority.
The sermon described in this extract
was preached February 7th, in Hunts
ville, Ala., a place then, as now, in the
hands of opr army,
, Dr. Boss’s large and fine church was
filled to overflowing, about one-half of
the congregation being the first families.
The other half were soldiers, for the
most part occupying the side seats. He,
a portly man of sixty years, with gray
standing hair, and short gray beard,.
.was praying as we entered. He used
short, dry sentences;, with reverent
manner, covering the usual objects of
public prayer, with marked and habit
ual exception of national affairs. His
text was from Luke : “And the Lqrd
turned and looked upon Peter ....
and Peter went out and wept bitterly.”
Dr. Boss is'equal to any audience, or
occasion. In the complacent, familiar,
conversational way, he showed that the-
Lord liked Peter, a rough, honeßt,
swearing, but strong-minded fisherman.
There was somekindof affinity of tastes.
In order to any intimacy, it is a neces
sity that there be corresponding sympa
thies, culture, or habits. “ How can
two persons walk together unless, they
are agreed?' Jesus liked' and chose
three of his disciples as companions.
He saved more, and in order that he
might have the testimony of an enemy,
he made UBe even of Judas. Dr. Boss’s
peculiar views upon society were quite
: apparent. He proceeded to say that
Peter was a timid man. He was afraid
of a girl. He denied that he knew the
! man. Here the Doctor illustrated the
i vehemence of Peter’s denial, and became
quite impassioned. Though not record
:ed, yet he did not hesitate to give the
very oaths of Peter, equally as profane
I and blasphemous as any of modern date.
I Strange that in God’s house, and before
Southern chivalry and the army it
; should be thought necessary to give il
: lustrations in swearing I *
Peter was timid; he was afraid to die
a martyr. This was sheer folly.! Why,
a man who was hung, or shot, or be
i headed, or who. was drowned, or who
died by any Budden cause, suffered less
p,ain than fifteen minutes of tic doulour
eux or inflammatory rheumatism. Peter
should have shown more of the cour
age of a man. Whether this picture of
: Peter’s folly will have the effect to make
the preacher and his Southern hearers
less regardful of worldly comforts, and
more ready to expose themselves to
danger of sudden death, remains to be
seen. But Peter was very guilty. As
he stood at the far end of the Hall, the
Lord turned and looked upon him. The
evident satisfaction with which this was
illustrated, daring a solemn pause of
some minutes, might suggest to some
minds the fact that there is but a step
between the sublime and the ridiculous.
But the crowning impudence of the ser
mon was in. the application. Peter
wept, he ought to weep. Alt who deny
the Lord, professing Christians who
come in the army and have foTgottefr
(their vows and ;the Sabbath, chaplains
!whq have learned-to,drink, soldiers who
are seen going toward lovyhouses of li
cense, these should all weep. Yes, even
in little' things we may deny the Lord,
i Dr. Boss again illustrated that a child
with closed eyes, so that no one, not
: even itself should see, and on tiptoe,
with pinching fingers, could reach and
take a lump of Bugar, and so deny ’the
Lord. He ended the examples; : May
suck have grace to repent as : did Peter.
No allusion was niade to those who
make broad their phylacteries, yet bind
heavy burdens, grievous tb be borne, and
will- not move them with one of their
fingers; nor those who shut up the
kingdom of heaven against men; nor.
those who make qlea.n the outside of the
cup, but within are full of extortion and
excess. Of course not. Why should it
;be expected ? If Dr. Boss and the four
other pastors of this place are.deliber
atffiy opposed to every effort to instruct
ana elevate the negro—-if they simply
will not pjjpy for the President and our
government.—if the wife of a distin
guished rebel officer ha& just been lash
ing a servant girl, (thank God, no longer;
a slave) for the offense of coming to our
Sunday school,—-does-the thin varnish!
of an oath raakothom anything else
than pro-slaveryrebels atbeaft?. Whs*
called upon. to fall down before such
eminent ability and piety, I must pray
to be excused. W. C. S.