“WE GLORY IN TRIBULATIONS ALSO.”
.Not merely when wo enjoy prosperity;
not merely when we are in health and
strength, and our neighbors, friends and
relatives are all woll ; not merely when
everything moves ns we desire, but
when all things seem to be against us.
That which tbo heart loves most may be
taken from tis, also those whom we love
most; but ‘‘Weglory in tribulationsalso.”
Our own,lives, or llio lives of those who
are nearest and dearest to us, may be
in the utmost peril; but “we glory in
tribulations a 15,0.” Pressures without,
trials, dangers, temptations, afflictions,
deaths, only drive us the nearer to God,
so that “ we glory in tribulations also.”
The heart may bo very sad; nay, it may
be well’nigh Wdken; but the supporting
band of our God enables us to “ glory in
tribulations also.” Tbe oil and the wine
of his consolations give us great joy in
the midst of our great sorrows; so that
“we glory in tribulations also.”
The other, day this passage of the
Word of God came to my mind with
great loroe. I had been thinking of the'
trials, perils And deaths of those in the
army, and of: the anxieties, fears and
sorrows of their friends at home; yes;
in some cases, of broken hearts at home.
Frequently bad. hearts in our community
been made very sad by the report of the
deaths of dear o;e3 in'the army, and, a
few hours before, We learned that one
more was added to the number of the
dead. Others’ hearts were made very
sad indeed. .
But ! thought of due who had drank
of the longest, fullest and bitterest cups
of sorrow, and drank them to tho very
dregs. One who, (ike his divine Master,
had been tried in a’most every way; and
yet the sustaining grade and the conso
lations of his Heavenly Father bad
enabled him to “ glory in tribulations
also;” and I thought that ho who could' .
aDd did so pour his consolations into
the heart of Paul,' that he could “ glory
in tribnlations also,” ban do tbe same
thing for every sad heart in tho land.
He can make every sad heart a joyful
heart. He can sustain under every
crush of-earthly adversity. He Jean
bring the greatest good out of, the sorest
earthly- sorrows. Earthly ties out may
be the means of loosing them from earth
and binding-them to heaven, The de
struction of oftrthly joys may be produc
tive of heavenly joys. As earthly com
forts die, heavenly comforts revise.
As “friend After-friend departs,” we
draw the nearer to our Heavenly Friend.
When earthly supports are gone, we
rest on the heavenly; we rely on One
who “will never leave us nor forsake
us." Sad of heart* ’ wo look up, and
amid the deep darkness of earth we see
flight in God’s'light.” Weoan exclaim
“ The Lord l is my light and my salva
tion; whom shall I fear ? The Lord is
the strength of my life; of whom shall
I he afraid t”
But what is tribulation f The word
comes from tho'Latin, tribute— to thrash. 1
My mind reverted to the various modes
of threshing —the rough flail of former 1
years, and the threshing instruments of
the ancients. But whatever may Be
the mode, whether by beating or tramp
ling by boasts, was there any glory to
the wheat to bo thus roughly used?
Might it exult in the usage received?
Yes, if it would have looked forward a
little; for without that usage it was un
fit for storing away, or for service. Its
roughest treatment did not injure tho
wboat; it only removed the chaff.
So with tho wheat that shall be gath
ered into God’s groat granary. The
ebaff must first be removed. That ebaft
is unfit for heaven : and oh, how much
of it some of us have! How much there
is about us that is unlike heaven, and
unfit for heaven I How much that tho
flail, or tribulation, must remove 1
Sunshine and careful handling will
not separate the ohaff from the wheat.
It must receive some rougher usage.
Even our modern inventions, though
they are easier for man, are no less
/rough for the wheat. The rough, fearful
looking machine, when in motion, seems
as if it would- bruise the grain to utter
destruction. But it is only a means of
fitting it for the garner.
So, whatever kind of tribulation God
may use is not intended for our destruc
tion, but for our purification. Header,
.’ do you realise that all things work to
getber for your good ? Paul could say,
“We know it." Do you know it? If
so, whatever it is, or however severe it
may be, you may glory in it.
In this place Mr. Barnes informs us
that tribulations mean “afflictions. The
word used here refers to all kinds of
trials which men,are called to endure."
-Then every kind of trial you are called
to endure you may glory in, as a means
of fitting you for God’s use and his
garner. As I have soon the wife, whose
husband is far off iri the Army ot the Po
totnac going to and returning from the
post offico, I have thought, how many
prayers are put up by snob, and by
others, as they walk on the same errand.
They pray for dear ones far away, and
for sustaining grace. I am greatly
mistaken if this cruel war does not oause
multitudes to draw nearer to God than
they otherwise would have done. Many
know better whoro their strength lies,
than they did three years ago. How
many have been brought to feel that
they neod strength which can only come
from God; that they need consolations
which no friend but God can give. And
how many are learning these great les
son'B of divine life.
Look at these things by tbe light of
faith, and can you not exult in that
which makes you better; which brings
you nearer to God; which draws out
your heart after' him; which fills you
with consolations that earth can neither
give nor take away? Oh, who would
not exult, in-that which brings him.
nearer to God; keeps' him nearer, and
makes him more Godlike ! Who would
not exult in that which strips him of
his chaff? Who would hot glory in
that through which God prepares him
for heaven, and without which: there is
no crown ? The great company of tho
redeemed are those “ who came up out
of great tribulation.” Those who reign
flrith .Christ must suffer with him. Peter
exhorts us: “Beloved, think it not
strange concerning the fiery trial which
is to try you ; as though some strange
thing happened unto you; but rejoice,
inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's
sufferings; that when his glory shall be
revealed ye may be glad also with ex
ceeding great jo y.
Is opt heaven worth the sorest trials;
and if they are God’s means for prepar
ing us for heaven, shall we not rejoice
jn them? I know that ■“ no chastening
for the-present seemeth to be joyou~,
;but. grievous; nevertheless, afterward
it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of
righteousness unto thorn which- are ex
ercised thereby.” Indeed, wo only need
to have faith, and wo will glory in
everything which befals us under tho
providence of God. James Kerr.
THE WORD OF GOD, WITHOUT NOTE
OB COMMENT.
Ms. Editor:— Some few days since
you. gave us an account of a reply to
several gentlemen in the cars, who were
advancing'‘infidel and immoral senti
ments,who were most effectually silenced
by a single passage of scripture uttered
by a timid and delicate lady. It oc
curred to the writer that he had wit
iiesßed a somewhat different scene, in
respect to some circumstances, but simi
lar in its results. They were in brief
the following:
The last time our General Assembly
met 1 at Cleveland, the writer, in com
pany vri th several other clergy men,
near the close bf Saturday, tobk the
cars on the Cleveland and Mahoning
Bailroad to go into the country to pas®
the Sabbath with friends andTeturn the
following Monday. In oiie of these
cars,' and near the seats of three of
these brethren, sat a well-dressed and
apparently intelligent lady, who waited
only for the cars to get under way,
when she commenced a most furious
and bitter attack upon all ministers in
general and' upon those sitting near her
in particular. She hurled her slang
with such fury and directness at the
one who sat nearest to her that he soon
became silent, thinking that it was of
little use to contend with one who gave
such fearful evidence of derangement.
But, there wore so many marks of order
or system to her madness, that she
evidently felt she had gained a most
complete victory over ’the minister of
Christ; s feeling with which it was
evident enough soverat in the cars now
warmly sympathized.
Her heaviest attacks were made
against the Bible; her great objection
to ministers and other Christians was,
they professed to regard it as the word
of God and to cherißh a sincere respect
for it as the volume of eternal truth.
Her system seemed to be a kind of cross
between downright infidelity arid what
we must call, for want of a more definite
name, spiritualism, or the absenoe of all
respect for the past and a most pro
found respeot for herself and her opin
ions.
At this juncture of affairs the writer,
who had been a not very easy spectator
or patient listener, rose and coolly seated
himself as near to the lady as was
agreeable to either party, perhaps, and
remarked to her in a somewhat sub
dued tone of voice that she had spoken
very freely and very bitterly of the
Bible, to say nothing further. She
raised a keen black eye and fastened it
fully upon him.
“ Yes,” she at length replied, “ so I
have; and there is .enough more of the
same in kind, for I know and feel that
I have spoken tbo truth.”
“ Very well,” replied the writer, “ I
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY. AUGUST 18, 1864.
do not propose to enter upon an argu
ment witn you to convince you of tho
truth of the Bible, or the absurdity of
your views on those other topics which
you have named; on the contrary I
shall leave you to the full enjoyment of
all you have advocated here, as far as
it can afford you any enjoyment; and
shall content myself with repeating a
single passage of that Bible lor which
you profess to cherish such profound
contempt. I do not purpose either to
defend it, as the word of God, or com
ment upon it, or endeavbr to set forth
its applic.ibleness to the case in hand,
but shall leave you to yofir reflections,
King confident that you will find no
difficulty in discovering its import and
in perceiving its bearing on tho present
occasion.”
The writer here paused, as if in no
haste— but in spirit lifting jiis thoughts
to God, that his word migfat.in this case
prove “ sharper than a two-edged sword."
She waited a moment as if in expecta
tion of Bomethiog for which she felt that
she was riot wholly prepared; waited,
but evidently not wholly at ease.
“Well, let us hear it, whatever it
may be. What is it ?” and with what 1
of solemnity we could command, we
repeated the following: “ God shall send
them strong delusion; that they may
believe a lie; that they all may be
damned —who believe not the truth, but
have pleasure in unrighteousness.”
We endeavored to follow the shaft
to see whether it took effect; we
thought it did; we 'still think So; with
out seeming to be aware of it,she dropped
her eye, hitherto so defiant, as if to let
her heart bleed. We left ber to her
reflections and_returned to our original
seat. She seemed to think of nothing
but the word; was evidently ill at ease.
The place where we were to leave was
hero anriounced, and we left her to her
conscience and her God. Z—a.
THE AMERICAN SOLDIER,
[We commend the following senten
ces, written by the father of one of our
Philadelphia volunteers, now alas! no
more, to the regards oi all his surviving
comrades in the field.] 1
To occupy the humblest grade in that
immense organization, the Army of the
United States, at this day, is An honor
to all who enter it. To beconre the de
fender of one’s country on fields of dan
ger and death, in any icase, is to be a
benefactor in a high degree. While to
enter into this struggle and become a
legally constituted soldier of the Great
Republic is, in a sense, to be tbe custo
dian of tho privileges and the rights of
man ! Let the digriity of a position like
this never be undervalued. It is truly
a privileged eminence by the tacit but
spontaneous admission of vast numbers
of the most estimable of our citizens.
And when in the person of a soldier, it
is attended with ingenuousness of ex
pression and utterance, decorum of ban
ners and good principles, it by common
: consent becomes the passport not only
to the courtesies, but to the peculiar
consideration of all. This sentiment,
not long since, was touchingly express
ed by an estimable, accomplished young
lady, whb declared with emphasis that,
whenever by chance circumstances she
found herself among strangers, a sense
of safety came immediately to her relief
provided the badge or uniform of a sob
dier was visiblo or near at hand. Who
that is a young man, would not glory
in being able at once and at all times, to
inspire such a feeling in such a breast ?
Would to Heaven ! that our soldiers
with one accord might determine to
fully justify a feeliog of reliance like
this.
“Blast not the hope that friendship;bas con
ceivod
But fill its measure high I”
This though first written two thou
sand years ago, is a good and beautiful
sentiment, to which every soldier should
give a lodgment in his breast. Made
strikingly conspicuous- by his voluntary
act of enrolment arid devotion to duty
in his country's cause, the soldier is an
object of solicitude to all, but inexpres
sibly so to relatives' and friends. He
who gives evidence of possessing one
marked excellence seems to justify the
inference that it mast, iri his case, be
accompanied with other -.good quali
ties beside. Even courage and patriot
ism become more resplendent when
associated with refined manners and
exalted virtue.
The vices of camps are proverbial the
world over, and profanity and intern*
perance seem absolutely inseparable
from them. “ Foul words," it has been
said, “ pollute the soul!” ; Indulgence
in strong drink, in the observation of
all, first degrades, and then destroys
both body and soul. With what watch
fulness, in his circumstanceSjShonld the
soldier guard against vioos like these.
How strenuously should hk avoid every
contaminating habit and ijoWiShun as a
contagion the foul mouthai apd the in
temperate 1 How instead if |ieiding to |
bad influences, should he set himself
with determination to add one more to
tho list of those who, though soldiers,
“kept tbe whiteness of their souls,” and
left examples to the world to which
mankind delight to look up. M.
THOMAS OHALMEBS,
THE APOSTLE OF CITY MISSIONS—VI.
The comprehensive, many-sided ac
tivity of Dr. Chalmers for the kingdom
of Christ on earth, led him to those
grand schemes of church extension
which, after centuries of inaction In.
Scotland, resulted in the erocti.on 0f225
churches in tho Established Church, and,
after the disruption, to the erection of
six or seven hundred more in the Free
Church. But great ‘and successful as
were these efforts, they were too gene
ral for his, aims. His soul was still
drawn to those labours for the masses,
who could not or would not, be profited
by the ordinary modes of Christian ef
fort, but who must be sought afterdn
their own miserable homes, and raised
by personal effort to civilization and
to Christianity. The attention of Chris
tian,people and of the ministry was not
sufficiently drawn to this great and ne
cessary work. And Dr. Chalmers, now
at last professor, not of mathematics
but of Divinity, in the University of
Edinburg,' and drawing toward the
term of three-score years and ten which
he never reached, felt himself responsi
ble for one telling exemplification of his
great plans for evangelizing the masses
of the city. In a letter to a friend he
says: •
I could not in my own individual
strength, even though aided by tho en
ergies of all tny acquaintances, ever
think of coping with this enormous evil
en masse, or in all its magnitude and en
tireness. ! feel very confident as to the
likeliest- steps by which, piecemeal and
successively, the whole even of this great
anu growing evil might be overtaken.
But the most that I can personally un
dertake to do is, to work off one model
or riormal specimen of the process by
which a single locality might be re
claimed from this vast and desolate
wilderness : and after the confirmation
of my views by a made-put experience
of this sort, pressing it on the'imitation
of all other philanthropists of all other
localities, —sueh do I hold to be the effi
ciency of the method, with the divine
blessing, that perhaps, as the concluding
act of my public life, I shall make the
effort to exemplify what as yet I have
only expounded. - .
In this spirit the enthusiastic, clear
headed, noble old man entered upon the
labour which he instinctively felt'would
be his last, and which he might well be
willing should crown bis days and en
circle his memory in the esteem of the
Christian Church. Of all the varying
phrases in which we behold this gifted
man, this marvel of pulpit eloquence,
this philosopher, mathematician, church
leader and reorganizer in the greatest
ecclesiastical revolution of our day, the
one under which wo part with him,
which exemplified the ruling passion
strong in death, and iri which ho him
self was content the world should catch
a last glimpse of him, was this which
we are now considering—his Apostle
ship of city missions. Having made
choice of his field of effort, let us again
hear his own recorded meditations, as
quoted by Dr. Way land, from hip Horaz
Sabbaticw :
’ “Moving fearlessly onward, may I
obtain such possession of the West Port
as that the Gospel of Jesus Christ shall
have the moral aecendoncy over a good
ly number of its families. Let me not
forget the conquests ot thine all-subdu
ing grace, and the' preservations of thy
faithful servants in tbe history of the
missions of other days. And in this, as
well as in other work, lot it be my care
to follow thee fully; neither let me go
up thither unless thy pre*enco and fa
vor go along with me. Wo would give
theo no reßt until thou hast opened the
windows of heaven and caused right
eousness to run down that street like
a mighty river; and let such a memo
rial of Christian philanthropy be set up
in that place, as to be a praise and ex
ample both in the city of our habitation,
and in the other cities of our laud.”
We quote again from Dr. Wayland’s
memoir:
Dr. Chalmers proceeded to select a
portion of Edinburgh, whtoh should pre
sent the most decisive evidence of the
truth or falsehood of his theory, and
practicableness of his plans of reform.
Some years since the whole civilized
world was startled by the discovery of
a kind of atrocity in Edinburgh that
had never before been heard of. A mis
creant by the name of Bark, with one or
two associates, had been in the habit of
alluring to their den vagrants, whom
they first intoxicated and then murder
ed, and whose bodies they then sold to:
surgeons for dissection. A crime so un
heard of, thrilled the land with horror,
and marked out the district in which
they were committed as the opprobrinm
of Christendotn. By an accurate sur
vey, it was found that tho main street
and its adjoining wynds contained 411
families; of which 45 were attached to
some Christian communion, 70 were Ho
man Catholics, and 296 bad no connec
tion with any church whatever. Orit
of a gross population of 2,000, three
fourths of the whole, or about 1,500 of
the inhabitants, were living within the
sound of many a Sabbath Bell, and with
an abundance of contiguous church ac
commodation were lost to all the habits
and all the decencies of a Christian life.
The physical and moral condition of
this community was deplorable; one
fourth were paupers on the poor roll,
and one-fourth were street beggars,
thieves, and prostitutes. When Mr.
Tasker, who was afterwards tbeir min
ister, made his firstvisits to some ot the
filthiest closes (alleys,) it was no uncom
mon thing for him to find from twenty
to thirty men, women, and children
huddled together in one putrid dwell
ing, lying indiscriminately on the floor,
waiting lor the return of the bearer of
some well concocted begging lotter, or
the coming on of that darkness under
which they might easily sally out to
earn the purchase money of renewed
debauchery. This was the West Port;
the district which Dr. Chalmers select
ed as the place in which he might dis
play to Christian people the efficacy of
the Gospel of Christ.
It was indeed a formidable enter
prise; to many it would have seemed,
altogether hopeless, to come into close
quarters with such a population. Aided,
however, by that band of zealhus asso
ciates which his public lectures, and the
many'private interviews by which they
were followed up, had gathered around
him, he went hopefully forward.
Wichern, the father of the Inner
Mission in Germany, pursued a policy
similar to that of Chalmers, in ehoosing
the vicinity of the notoriously wicked
city of Hamburg as the site of his
Rauhes Maus, or institution for wicked
and abandoned youth.
The plan of operations did not differ
essentially from that already described
in connection with the parish of St.
John’s. The district was divided and
twenty visitors appointed to the differ
ent sections. The purpose of the mis
sion was distinctly conveyed to the peo
pie, and misapprehensions were cleared
away. The help of those not themselves
needy was solicited in extending aid to
others. A school was first opened, in a
deserted tannery fronting Burk’s Close,
in which the education was not made
strictly gratuitous, but the small sum of
two pence a week was charged. It was
soon attended by 250 children, chiefly
from the West Port. Next, an assistant
was obtained, preaching commenced
and all the different operations connect
ed with tbo social improvement of the
people were inaugurated—a library, a
savings’ bank, a washing house, and a
female industrial school. Finally, a
church was erected. Here let Dr. Way
land’s memoir speak:
At last, on the 19th of February, 1847,
the West Port Church was opened for
public worship by Dr. Chalmers, and on
the 25tbof April he presided at the first
sacrament ad ministered within its walls.
On the following Monday, he said to
Mr. Tasker, “I,haye now got the;de
sire of my heart. Tbo church is finish
ed, the schools are flourishing, our ec
clesiastical machinery is about complete,
and all in good working order. God has
indeed heard my prayer:, and 1 could now
lay down my Head and die in peace.’' On
the next day he wrote to Mr. Lennox;
of New York, as follows: “ I wish to
communicate to you what to me is the
most joyful event of my life. I have
been intent for thirty years on the com
pletion of a territorial experiment) and
I have now , to bless God for the.con
snmmation of it. Our church was. open
ed on the 19tb of February,'and in one
month my anxieties respecting an at
tendance-have: been set at rest. Five
sixth of tho sittings have been let, bat
the best part-of it is, that three fourths
of these are from the Wost Port, a lo
cality which two year’s ago had not one
in ten church goers from the whole pop
ulation. I presided there on Sabbath
last over its first sacrament. There
were 132 communicants, and 100 of
them were from the West Port."
Scarcely two years bad elapsed, and
yet how great was the transformation !
When the work began, the number at
tending all the places of worship did
not exceed one-eighth of the whole pop
ulation. In the new church, 300 sit
tings were taken as soon as it was open
ed, and 100 were admitted to the first
communion. When the work began, of
those capable of education three-fourths
were not at school; alroady the ratio
had been reversod, and threefourths
were in regular attendance. Many of
these children were of the poorest class,
yet school fees, amounting in the aggre
gate to upwards of £7O per annum, had
been cheerfully and gratefully paid by
their.parents.
This opening of the church at West
Port, and the administration of,the com
munion there, were among Dr. Chat
ter's last public acts. The communion
was in April ; on the 30th of the follow
ing May he was caljed to receive his re
ward. God permitted him to witness
the commencement of the realization of
his fondest hopes. He saw this disgust
ing wilderness beginning to blossom
like the rose, and fruit ./first appealing
from the seed which he had sown with
many tears and prayers; and having
seen this he fell asleep.
Five years afterwards the progress
was as marked and. cheering as up to
this time it had been. Says Mr. Tasker
at this date : -
In its educational department the
work is complete. In the different male
and female day and evening schools h*
tween 400 and 500 children are in at'
tendance; nor is it known that there is n
smgle child of a family resident within the
West Port that is not at school. Of what
other like district in this country cSd
the same be said, and by what ofhfer in
Sf could it have been accom
phshed? It was tbo district-visiting,
and the zeal especially of those ladies
by whom a special oversight of the chil
dren’s regular attendance at sonool was
undertaken, by which this great achieve
ment, has been mainly accomplished.
The habit of church attendance has be
come as general and regular within the
West Port as it is ia, the best conditional
districts of Edinburgh. The church is
filled to overflowing; and the people of
the West Port, who among themselves
contributed no less, than £lOO for the
building of this cburch at first, are con
tributing at an equ*l rate for the erec
tion of a gallery. During the last year,
besides meeting alt the expenses neces
sary for the support of Christian ordi
nances, amounting to nearly £250 ($l,-
200,) the West Port congregation lias
contributed £7O ($336) . to missionary
and educational objects.
At the same cost, adds Dr. Hanna,
among the same class, within the same
limits, and during the same time, there
never have been accomplished, in this
or any other land, anything like the
same educational and spiritual resnlts.
It stands the only instance in which the
depth of city ignorance, and vice have
been sounded to the very bottom; nor
can the possibility of cleaning the fool
basement story of our social edifice be
doubted any longer.
Some of Dr. Wayland’s general ob
servations deserve to be quoted before
concluding these papers. We may find
room to give them in our next.
MISSIONARY ITEMS.
A New Missionary Field.—Messrs.
M’Gilvary and Wilson, of the Jfresby
terian, O. S., mission in Siam, have made
a visit to the kingdom of Lao, a depen
dency of the kingdom of Siam, going as
far as Chieng Mai, the capital, situated
on the river Menam, about latitude 19°.
They fiud an open door for missionary
operations, among a people of more
character than the Siamese, and probably
in greater numbers, with the king favor
able, and the people loss prejudiced
against Christianity than most Eastern
natives: They havenoprintcdliterature,
but the language is of the same stock
with the Siamese, only written in a dif
feren tch aracter. 11 is said tha t a Siamese
book in Lao characters would be intelli
gible to tho Laos. The ground is en
tirely unoccupied by missions, and the
gentlemen at Bangkok aro anxious to
enter tho field without unnecessary de
lay.
Home Missions—lndia.— Our mis
sionaries in foreign lands maintain
the most lively interest in every
thing done for the spiritual good of tbeir
own beloved country; and all the more
because of its present perils andtronbles.
A letter from Rev. T. S. Burnell, Pulney
Hills, Southern India, to the Secretary
of Mass. Homo Miss. Society runs thus:
“ Enclosed ploaae find thirty dollars to
make A. G. Howland Chinn atombi a
life member by a contribution of ten
dollars by the teachers and students at
Pasumalie Seminary; and twenty by
a friend of Home and Foreign Missions."
A list of sixty contributors of the ten
dollars follows, all members of the mis
sionary school. Heathen converts are
having their views enlarged so a& to take
in other parts of the world, and are
feeling their obligations for what Amer
ican missionaries a«) doing for them.—
Boston Recorder. ■
Liberia, Africa..— Rev. B. E. Wilson
(Meth. Ep.') writes under date of June 1:
“ I am happy to say that our work is
prosperous in the congregations of the
civilized population.. v , o have yeason to
take courage and labor on. The work
is gloriously spreading among the na
tives. Since I wrote yon last there have
been two native stations established,
seven converts on tho Monrovia district
in the vicinity of M. Olivet which is al
together new; th ere have been six of the
converts baptized, and others preparing
to receive baptism. Bro. I. D. Holley,
or the Marshall circuit, is penetrating
the interior with great success. All the
brethren aro well and at their work.”
The whole number of Protestant znis T
sionarics now in China is said to be
about 95, and the number of church
members connected with Protestant
missions not- far from 2,500. Nearly
one-third of these are found in Amoy
and the villages around it, where, for
several yoars, success has been remark
able.
EXTRAORDINARY MEMORY,
Seneca says of bimself, that by,the
mere efforts of bis natural memory he
was able to repeat two thousand words
upon once hearing them, each in its
order, though they had no dependence
or connection upon bach other. After
which he mentioned a friend of his,
Pontius Latro, who retained in hie
memory all the orations he had ever
spoken, find never found his memory
fail him,even in a Single WOfdt a]so
mentions Cyneas, ambassador id the
Romans from King Pyrrhus, who in one
day so well learned the names of his
spectators, that the next day he saluted
the whole Senate, and all the populace
assembled, each by his name. Pliny
says that Cyrus knew every soldier in
his army .by name; and L. Scipio all the
people of Home. Herrvon Nieubliri, the
°f aerated scholar, was once a
°u• uj m bank of Copenhagen, in
which capacity he gave proof of the
miraculous power of his memory by
from recollection aloDe, the
whole contents of a leaf in the bank
ledger, which had been lost by fraud or
.accident.
Ah Awkward Situation. —There are
not many situations more incessantly
uneasy than that in which ; the than is
placed who is watching an opportunity
to without courage to take.it
when it is offered, and who,<though he
res dves to give a specimen cjf his abili
ties, always finds some reason or other
~oc delaying it to the next minute.