entrroptfitlmirt.
A REMARKABLE CONVERSION.
We are permitted to publish the fol
lowing deeply interesting experience from
the pen of one whose writings, in other
days, have•often found their way to secu
lar journals. These words will not only
be found full of instruction to the people
of God, but will also assist those who
are thinking about their sours salvation:
" DEAR FRIEND :-I have been asked
to write you a letter, giving some account
of the history of my own conversion.
" The first time I went to any of Mr.
Hammond's meetings, I went merely
from curiosity, but before the service was
through I felt very uncomfortable, and
said to myself: Can this be a minister?
He talks something like one, but he don't
look nor act like any I ever saw before.
I believe his sermon has affected me,
some way. There must be some trick
about it. He exerts some influence over
his hearers that they are not aware of..
It may be mesmerism., or magnetism—
tiomething of that kind, but it is certainly
something, and I am going to find out
what it is. If mesmerism, I am pretty
sure it won't have any affect on me.'
" So I went to hear him again two or
three times,' but feeling more uneasy
every time. lat last gave*up the idea
of mesmerism, fully convinced that Mr.
Hammond was a minister, and one ter
ribly earnest, and I was afraid I might
be conveited if I was not very careful.
I did not want to be converted. I knew
I was a sinner in the sight of God; but
I had once heard a gentleman say that
religion was only made for women. Thai
they could not help being Christians, be
cause they were weak minded, and intel
lectually of a lower order than men ; and
I thought I'd show people that all wo
men kind were not simple, if some of
them were, and that preaching and pray
ing should not have any effect on me,
at any rate ; and since that time I have
fought against every religious influence.
When conscience troubled me I tried to
quiet it by thinking that I could live just
as good a life as a Christian, without the
trouble of being one ; and, I will confess,
that within the last two years I had been.
getting some infidel notions also.
" I had been Jiving in a city where
there were many Southern people—.
wealthy and well informed, but nearly
all of that class who don't believe in any
religion at all. As I was thrown con
stantly into their society, I could not
help being influenced by them; and (I
tremble to think of it now) I began to
have some doubts as to whether there
really was a God or no. I was con
vinced that there must be a Supreme
Being ; but who and what was He ? I I
had heard that He was a "merciful"
God. If so, why did He not reveal
Himself, in some way, and put an end
to the misery and wickedness that seemed
to abound everywhere ? People told me
that the Bible was only a collection of
fables, and referred to some of the dark
est parts of the Old Testament as proof.
" For a long time I troubled my brain
with mysteries and possibilities, till, find
ing myself getting more and more in
the dark,' I gave up reasoning about the
matter altogether. - •
" The first time I became really con
victed was on Sunday. I was in St.
Andrew's Church, where Mr. Hammond
preached. I can never forget the effects
that the sermon had upon myself.
I can scarcely describe my feelings.
It seemed as if some mighty power
had entered my soul, and was strug
gling with a demon there. I was con
vinced then that there was a God, and
that I had grieved him sorely ; and
my heart cried out: 0 ! what shall I
do ?' And when Mr. Hammond repeated
these lines :
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood war shed for me,
And that Thou bid' st rue come to Thee,
0, Lamb of God, I come!'
I could not keep back the tears. Then
he asked those who felt that they were
sinners, and wished to be prayed for, to
rise, while they sung ' Come to Jesus!'
" I will never forget the agony of that
moment. I wanted to rise ; I felt that I
must do it, but thought: How can I
stand up before all these people, many
of whom I know, and who will be sure
to see me—me confessing that I know I
am a sinner, and want to be prayed for.'
" How I ever did, I don't know; but
I felt as if I should die if I kept my seat,
and at last I rose up, feeling more like a
condemned criminal than anything else.
" I came home, feeling perfectly
wretched, conscious all the time that that
mighty Power was still with me, battling
with the demon in my soul ; and for four
days I had no peace, night or day. It
seemed as if that Power was drawing
me, where or to what I could not tell,
but the demon was using all his
influ
ence, throwing in doubts and distracting
thoughts—that it was not conviction of
_sin that troubled me, but something else
—whispering : Don't you go to hear
that man any more, they are trying to
make a Christian of you. Where is all
your strength of mind ? Where is all
your self-reliance ? Do you want to be
come one of those miserable, praying,
weeping, rhurch-going •Christians ? Do
you want to give up all your pleasure in
this world ? Do you want to be made
the latighinglstock of your a,cquaintalices
sad have them point at you and say:
That n"irl used to be one of us. She
made more fun of ministers and church
members than any of us did, and • she
said thing's about the Bible-..that
wouldn't dare, to say, and there she is,
NVINg
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1865.
now, setting herself up for a Christian,
as if she was any better than anybody
else. I wouldn't give much for her re
ligion any way.'
" But in spite of the demon's whis
pering, I went to hear Mr. Ilammlsnd
two or three times during those days,
and feeling more wretched every time, I
concluded, at last, that I could not feel
more miserable if I was really a Chris
tian, and that I was sure I could never
be happy again without a change of
some kind, and I made up my mind that
I would try to be a Christian for a little
while, and then, if I did not like that, I
could go back again.
"But in order to be a Christian, I had
got to do something, and what was it ?
I had never read many religious books.
The only one, besides the Bible, that I
remembered anything about, was the
Catechism ;' and the question : What
doth every sin deserve ?' came to my
mind, with the answer : Every sin de
serveth God's wrath and curse, both in
this life and in that which is to come.'
That certainly did not bring me any
comfort, and my mind was in such a
state that I could think of nothing that
Would.
" That night I was in despair. I never
knew what despair was before, and I hope
I may never feel it again. It seemed as
if God had forsaken me—as if I had
grieved the. Holy Spirit, and it had left
me. I could not even pray, and in the
agony of my soul I found myself crying
out : Oh, mother, mother !' as if she
could come back from the spirit land'
to comfort me.
" The next morning I went to see Mr.
Hammond. All the way the same spirit
was trying to move my purpose, but I
thought, as I had started, I would not
go back again without seeing him. When
I met Mr. Hammond be seemed glad to
think I came, and was so kind to me
that it made me feel worse than ever,
and I don't know what I told him, but I
remember very well what he said to me,
and the substance of it was, that Jesus
had died, for sinners, and if I really and
truly repented of my sins, and gave my
self up entirely to 'Jesus, He would re
ceive me arid give me a. new heart.'
" Then lie prayed with me; and I went
home, feeling as if there had been a great
load taken off my soul. That was all I
felt that day—just a feeling of relief. It
seemed as if Jesus had heard my prayers,
and I was satisfied. Sometimes doubts
came into my mind, but prayer would
drive them away, and since that time so
many new feelings have been crowding
into my soul that I cannot give utter
ance to them all. •First came a feeling
of love toward all Christians, and then a
sense of love and gratitude toward our
Heavenly Father, who has followed me
though •I sought Him not, and come to
me though I called him not,' and the
feeling has increased till I think I can
say with my whole heart : I LOVE
JESUS,' and I have the blessed assurance
WITHIN MY OWN sour, that He LOVES the
and has forgiven me, and I would not
give up that assurance for the whole
world.
The scheme can be ordinarily prose
cuted by a wholly gratuitous agency,
and without other expense than the
small cost of papers and tracts, and of
such. temporal relief to the poor as ought
to be included in it. In large villages
and cities it may often be , desirable to
enlist salaried men and women, who can
devote their whole time to it, and aid
the volunteers engaged in it.
The hesitation that almost every one
will feel on embarking in the work, will
give way at the moment of entering upon
it, and, as it is pursued, a fascination will
be experienced in it, that forbids: -the,
abandonment of it: - -- -._
The Presbytery, therefore, begs you,
pastors and stated supplies, to induce,
your people to attempt systematic evan=
gelization of the neglected and neglectful
portions of the communities to which
they belong. It is indispensable to the
fulfilment of your resonsibilities to the
~
population among whin you live. You
are called to preach the gospel, not
merely to the congregations who assem
ble to hear you, and to the families who
Support you, but to all around you, and
this is out of the question, if you depend
on yourselves alone. It is your duty not
merely to teach knowledge, but to pro
voke unto love and to good works. And
in no other way can you suceed in your
NEIGHBORHOOD MISSIONik high and holy calling. Only activ
churches are prosperous churches.
The Presbytery of Utica to the Min
isters, Elders, Deacons, and Members We beg you, elders and deaeo_t s -
et
the appointed leaders of the peopi
of the Churches under its care: i hose
the example of taking the gosp;. i t, and
DEAR BRETHREN:—It is estimated
-flersever
about you who do not come o i
that not more than one half of the in- , er your
to incite private Christia it i
habitants of the cities, villages, and rural - I ,
It is obliga
rsortal account,
districts of our land steadily attend spiritual . care, to activi . t.-
t a o n r ce in the same mis
public worship, and considerably less
your , lihfulness to uponyour
you, on yo capac i ty.
The
than that proportion frequent the ser- Y .
omissionit, I r regations you have
and also in
vices of evangelical religion. Divine
of
truth is more or less frequently commu
selves, and to'
i it e oh m
t b oh e ne r s
to
h o o
if.
country
the o teri.yr church,errand, for
fotor
ideated to many of them by newspapers,
books, and tracts; but the great ma-
maleu n
. vv. e undertaken. a ub ki rgg n x
*P. o le fo m ,
jority seldom receive a line or a word of
it, and few or none have it commended .
the tow have been divinely - commis
to them by any personal agency, or . e
winch perform this service to which
quickened by the magnetism of the living
si . td
called by benevolence end com
voice. They are as little addressed as n -. r
na, to discharge this duty which
they lived in the deepest recesses ofe i
• ,r own interest enjoins upon you. The
heathenism. -'ork is needful
for you, and would
dbr
" I. think I know, now, what a young
lady meant, when she came out of
the inquiry meeting and saying, that she
never was so happy in all - her life be
fore,' for since I have felt that I love
Jesus I have never been so happy in my
life before ; and it is such a different
happiness, something which I think one
'cannot describe. Death has now lost
most of its terrors fo'r me, and instead of
wanting to go back' to my old life
again, it is the only thing I am afraid of,
that by some chance or other I may go
back again ; and may God in His in
finite mercy keep me,' is my prayer.
" Another thing that surprises me is
to find that I love prayer-meetings, and
sermons too. Yesterday morning my
minister delivered a sermon, showing
how we might know that we had been
forgiven our sins and received by Jesus,
and it seemed as if that sermon was
meant for me, and when I came home
my first impulse was to fall on my knees
and thank God for it.
" Oh, I do believe that if unconverted
people could realize what .a blessed thing
it is to be able to say love Jesus,' it
would do more for their souls than all
the sermons they could hear in a lifetime."
There must ob, terefore, . -;5
the system of evangelization adopVi
the churches. They are but pp'
w y to
reaching the communities to
belong. Their whole work
1.
ers
a furnishing themselves wi 'ion is
of grace. No adequate- .
he
made for the masses abo: o ors o
It is not enough that, ,
i
0 e b .o to
sanctuary are open to :e una ble, n
eater in. Not afe
l ,
fingS t or
- to
willing to pay fot% s c harit
ashamed to accept - me ss.
appear in them_ 1 their
...414 ,
_____.
Still more have no mind for the place,
and cannot be induced to approach it.
But shall not the gospel be carried to
those who cannot, or will not come to it?
Must it not be diffused through the com
munity, as well as made accessible to it?
Such is certainly the dictate of Christian
compassion, and the example and pre
cept of the Saviour, and he cannot have
the mind of Jesus, who is content with
the fact that every neighbor of his war have
religious privileges, and hesitates to take
or send them to the multitudes who ne
glect them. It is distressing to, know
that so many care for none- \of these
things, and still more distressing that
little or nothing is done to interdst them
in them.
Now, in what way can the ' hurches
reach the large out-lying pop ation of
the land ? , Obviously not by th preach
ing and visitations of the Ministers.
Their time and strength are to ed to the
utmost by their present pulpit d parish
labors, and if more was po slble for
them, they cannot be competent \ for the
whole of this additional work. And it
does not specially belong tolthein, for it
is not of an official character. - No ordi
nation is requisite for it, and no profes
sional training. Sermons are not to be
delivered, nor ordinances adminidtered.
The instruction of the young, the Visita
tion of families, conversation with indi
viduals, the distribution of religious read
ing, prayer and exhortation in 41cial
meetings, these and such like services
are required, and they are appropriate to
private Christians, and practicably by
them.
And this labor of love would be an in
valuable blessing to the churches. They
are suffering from the want - of something
of the kind. They, need it for their
spiritual enjoyment, and for their spirit
ual improvement They cannot be happy
while they are idle, and they cannot be
thrifty. Exercise is the condition of
health, and usefulness of blessedness.
The Presbytery would not prescribe any
single method of• evangelizing the multi
tudes outside of the churches. This will
be best arranged when adapted to the
peculiarities of particular circumstances.
The means to be usually employed have
been alreadj indicated. Sabbath-schools,`
and in most cases, perhaps, Sabbath
schools "other than those immediately
connected with the' churches, district
meetings, family visitations, conversa
tion with individuals, the periodical dis
tribution of papers and tracts, and often
sewing and evening schools. It may be
ordinarily found best for each church to
make a certain territory, the field of its
mission enterprise, where its schools and
meetings are established, and its visita
tion` and circulation of reading are car
ried on. The territory can be divided
into small districts, for the care of each
of which a member of_ the church will
become responsible. Monthly and quar
terly meetings for reports from the-labor
ors, and for conferente — ge , .
their work will prove highly advantage
ous.
a defeci
Je invaluable to you. The sinners per
ishing at your side plead with you to
save them. The Master gives the com
mandment to you, and will you not for
your own sakes, and for the sake of your
fellow-men, and for Christ's sake, re
solve systematically to take the gospel to
your many neighbors who neglect it?
T. DWIGHT HUNT,
Feb. 2d, 1865. Stated Clerk.
WHAT is life but a warfare? Arid what is
the world but a thoroughfare?
ANNIVERSARIES.
MESSRS. EDITORS : - There are few
meetings calculated to be more entertain.,
ing, or more useful, than anniversaries,
provided they are properly managed or
well conducted. lam aware that it is a
very easy thing to find fault; and this
is one of those things also which very
seldom does any good. Many things,
too, may be said in praise of these anni
versaries.
At that of the Christian Commission
it was impossible not to be interested.
It takes the Chairman of that Commis
sion to do the thing up right; perhaps I
ought to say " brown." The speeches
were good, - very good, but too long by
one-half. It is strange that men of
sense, in all other respects, lose all of it
when they themselves are to speak con
jointly with half a dozen others. I hare
often been reminded, at one of these
meetings 'of long speechificatio4s, of a
little incident which occurred in my
youth, in New Hampshire. It was
the old." Piscataway Association." U .
were to have three
Church in general,
children of the ch.,
ministry. Rev. Mr
many years since,
Dartmouth praslayer,
offer the first prayer
York, Maine, one of
of tu.eri;lhe second
than French, of
who had filled
among the clerg'
Washington .dif
lution, the tb
and he pray&
general, nniv
ants, of ROME
for the offspr
children, the
dren in cove)
out of cove,
the ministry,
rant ministy,
denomination
all time. Th
and conditioi
throughout al
back to the
all in the brie
making the
minutes, and
French nothi
over the sai
roughly culti'
ciation to sr
good Deacol
good humor.
Now, not to- . 1)
speeches, I t ought
at least, on,fiat
much like pie Pr.
Dr. Newt& knE
both halves "-
worthy of all
daughters of
had go d „into
Nettleton, in
went after tl
them away
with keeping
ing up the o 7
said:—"Yl
that I have
than nine
that this
ters to the
night. Who
family?” B 7
my old frier
and Rich'
staid.
Now
Amu
WI
by
The -
,n S. Ogt
by Bishop
agherty. This,
The remarks of
bert 31-01 Tie shows
been made since his
said, " a shame that
let such, a man die in
The Bishop's sPel
what was expected
didnot
warmed
does on
quent, and goXe us
were new.oe bad
si g e e ti His,
chant prin of Olden
Greece, and
ha: 7„. archasing the Car
0 sons of Heth, for a l
is weighing out the
' oney with the merchants.
forgotten (if we ever knew
merchant was a travelling
as we now call pedlars. _
of knowledge, which we did
was that Plato was an oil
This was really new. It
that Plato was a mesmerizer,.
pretended clairvoyance ; that f(
amusement and that of his I
was accustomed to throw his
a trance, and send him round ti
look into his neighbors' parlors
rooms, and see what the' inmal
about. It has also been supper
his works, that he understood
the jugglery of our modern spiH,
and knew how to make tables dr
knee-pans snap ; but that he ret
oil on the brain, like the modern
and laity of Philadelphia, and the
the country, was truly new. If
really speculated in. "oil lands,"
were these lands situated ?
That the Pacific Railroad Bill
as soon as we were free from tl
weight of the South, was what w ,
have expected. The territory, e.f
give the whole world a farm ;
cultural products, sufficient to
the nations of the earth.; the
stores and manufacturing res
the nation, beyond all calculate
well thought of, and nobly and el
portrayed.
the
the
Ts,
A considerable time ago I heard re
marks like those at the head of this arti
cle, applied to our world, and done by
one who is far, from being ignorant.
The preacher was speaking of the
transcendent love of God, as shown to
our world in, redemption. Among other
proofs of his infinite. love, was the fact
that he came so far to redeem it—to a
frontier world--to an outskirt province—
or language to that effect. The thought
occurred to my mind, that was not "as
true as preaching." It also reminded me
of an article, which, several years ago, I
read in an excellent religious paper, in
which the writer sought to prove that the
bottomless pit lies outside of creation, in
that vasty, formless void, where the cre
ative Hand has not been—in the great
BEYOND. psrhaps, could the writer and
preacher have the pleasure of a short con
ference, they might come to the Conclu
sion that their respective worlds are in
very close proximity to 'each other--that
the journey from this fallen world to that
dark abyss is far from being as great as
to the world of light.
I do not know but my brethren took it
all for gospel. If so, it is a pity that I
should shake their confidence. Should
the eye of any one who heard it light
upon this article, he may at once give it
the "go by," and content himself with
the happy thought that he lives on the
great outside.
As the infinite love of God is not to be
measured by distance--not by miles—it
will not in the least detract from it, even
if we should try to proVe that our world
is a central province. It is as much love
to visit and die-in a central province, as
in one "which is in close proximity to -the
great BEYOND. -
But what is the truth ? Do we live
in an outside world ? There are discov
ered to be at least five thousand sidereal
systems. As to what may be the abso
lute locality of our sidereal (not solar .
system, it is impossible for' man to tel
ma-
H.,
'ace
il ar,
est
yed
ear
ren
for
,no-
;dious, like long
ddresses of some,
were a little too
's prayer. Rev.
;h to " cut off
speech, and was
When two of the
ly wicked man
meeting of Dr.
and their father
, storming, took
charging Dr. N.
pings, and break
families, Dr. N.
es and gentlemen,
a meeting later
you know, also,
tse same da,ugh
stays till mid
the order of the
Lighted to hear
- ves, Demond,
But suppose it is on the outside ; does
that place this particular world—this so
lar system—on the outside ? No. It is
admitted as a fact that our solar system
is near the centre of our great astral sys
tem; and in that great system, or " island
universe," there are discovered to _be
about one hundred million fixed stars, or
suns, with their solar systems. One of
oston, and I
they fixed stars, which, it is •said, "must
be the nearest to our earth of all the fixed
'chant's Fund
by William
was read
'eeches were
and by Mr..
stars; is distant about twenty billions or
miles, and requires three-and-one-half years
for its light to reach our earth." The
star Vega is distant about seventy-five
billions of miles. Suppose the other
abOut Ito
gress has
was, as he
' - da should
suns in our great sidereal system to be, at
proportionate distances, and the reader
may fancy, if he can, the distance from
the centre to the outside. Our solar sys
tem is distant from Alcyone, the centra
very like
only he
m as he
elo
i that
trier-
Plice-
Abra
ielah
and
star of the system, not quite twenty-five
times the distance of Vega from us.
Hence it may easily be conjectured how
far our solar system is from the outside.
Neptune, the: most remote planet o
our solar system, is distant from the sun
three thousand millions of miles, and it
has satellites which havepeen discovered,
which are at times still beyond, but the
earth is only about ninety-five millions 01
miles. Hence it can be perceived that
the earth is far from being an outside
world in our solar system. A.h, indeed,
I would rather believe that our world is
a central one than"tEn Outside one.
Distance, gives us grand views of the
power of god, but it tells.us nothing of
his love. Gethsemane and Calvary tell
us of love. They tell us of love that is
had
the
ich
,m
infinite, but space is silent ,upon that
theme. JAMES KERR.
Faith means, as Brenz beautifully says,
to live in death; or, as before has been said
by St. Paul : "As dying and behold we
live." (2 Cor. vi. 9.) Faith can boldly
reverse the words of the old saying—" Even
in the midst of life we are in death,"—and
boldly sing, "Even in the midst of death
we are in life." For he who believes has
eternal life, because he is joined as a mem
ber to the Lord and Possessor of life, and
comes not into condemnation; because he
has come out of the judgment of death in
which he was as a sinner, together with the
8011 of God who died for him. He has
gone forth and passed. into life, the life in
which the Son of God, the Prince of Life,
triumphs for ever over death and hell.
Who will condemn us, if He, unto whom all
judgment is given, justifies us ?"—Besser.
I wrrz chide no breather in the world, but
self; against whom I know most faults.—
Vdcspeare.
"THE OUTSKIRT PROVINCE-THE
FRONTIER WQRLD."
In preaching it may be very pleasant,
in making illustrations, to use figures that
are strikig—something that will awaken
the attention, and rivet the truth upon
the memory. God does it, and it is safe
for us to be imitators of him. Nothing
is more appropriate for illustration than
his works and his providence. See the
sermon out of the whirlwind. But
ought not every figure, every illustration,
to be true to nature and to fact? or the
mind of some hearer may forget the truth,
lose sight of that designed to be illustra
ted, and be occupied with the falsities of
the discourse. I have sometimes thought
that the taking part of some discourses_
that which arrested the attention—was
absolutely false. I haye seen men whose
strength seemed
_te lie in their ignorance.
Thq, 'spoken, though false, was by the
m - • received as Gospel: They went
,- ay admiring the greatness of the dis
til
ioutse, and the eloquence of the preacher.
Really his strength was weakness, but
they knew it not. As "truth is stranger
than fiction," the false is always uncalled
for.
FAITH,
FREEDMEN'S RELIEF SOCIETY, ST.
LOUIS. -- '
This Society is continuing its care . and
labor for the destitue freed people of Mis
souri, and those that come hither from more
Southern States.
he funds raised for this purpose by..the
Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair are nearly
exnausteo.
The recent glorious decree of emancipa
tion in Missouri has the immediate effect of
increasing the number of free people who
are houseless and destitute, as some masters
refuse to provide for or shelter women and
children who are no longer their property.
The United States Government - has set
apart a sufficient portion of the -large edifice
formerly called the "Lawson Hospital," as
a home for these helpless - beings, and the
care of them is devolved upon this society.
For the necessary funds we are 'dependent
upon the voluntary offerings of the humane.
The ladies of this society devote much
time and labor to this work of love and
mercy, and endeavor to use the means en
trusted to them with careful and judicious
economy, having the counsel of the Western
Sanitary Commission and of other compe
tent gentlemen.
We are aware that our benevolent coun
trymen are subject to many calls of urgent
charity; is there any other more -urgent
than this ? Any class of sufferers more
needy or more helpless ? Shall we giife
them liberty and let liberty mean to them
homelessness and starvation.
We desire to mitigate their sufferings,:to
diminish their physical and moral exposures
—and to help them into positions of self
support and respectability. Our past expe
rience assures us that we need only make
known our wants, and a generous public
will supply them. We earnestly solicit
contributions of money and clothing -from
friends of liberty and humanity everywhere.
Contributions may be sent by mail or
otherwise, to either - of the undersigned.
Boxes of clothing may be sent to the rooms
of the society—No. 16, Sixth street, Lindell
Hotel.
In behalf of the Freedman's Relief So
ciety:—
Mrs. Lucien Eaton, President.
Mrs. W. S. Hazard,
_Corresponding Sea:
retary.
Miss A. L. Forbes, Treasurer.
St. Louis January 24, 1865.
We cordially concur in the foregoing
appeal, and earnestly commend it to the
favorable regard of all humane people.
H. A. Nelson, Henry Cox, Lucien Eaton,
Advisory Committee.
James G. Yeatman, W. G. Ellot, George
Partridge; C. S. Greeley, Western Sanitary
Commission.
Papers friendly to the cause please copy
SINGULAR INCIDENT,
In connection with one of his (Rev. T.
0. Keysell,) Sunday night sermons at St.
Peters', a remarkable incident occurred.
While preaching, with great impressiveness,
he suddenly paused in the middle of his
discourse, and then remarked, in a tone
peculiarly solemn : "I have not often par
ticular impressions in the pulpit, and when
I have I am slow to give utterance to
them. But to-night I feel compelled to
express what weighs upon my mind.. I
believe there are persons in this chapel
who, if they reject the offer of salvation,
will never have another opportunity of
being saved ! This is the last !" It so
happened that there was in the congrega
tion a man and wife given to habits of in
ebriety, who, from some unaccountable mo
tive turned into the chapel that evening.
Their attention had been arrested by the
intense earnestness of the preacher, and
their fears alarmed by the sermon• ' but
when they heard the words quoted, they
immediately interchanged looks of deep
concern. "He means thee !" whispered
the man ; to which the woman replied:
"He means thee!" They went home, re
solved to seek salvation; but before retiring
to rest, the new-made resolution was drowned
in strong drink. Next day, while standing
at his stall, the man was knocked down byby
a conveyance, and died from the effects.
The woman was taken ill, and before the
same minister occupied St. Peter's pulpit
again, she was a corpse.—Memorials of Rev.
Thomas Owen Keysell.
PROMPT TO SERVE GOD.
The angel (who delivered Peter,) like
the other angels of God—like the angel
that hurried Lot—appears in a kind of
solemn haste. "Arise up quickly," he
says : "gird thyself." These spirits, when
their purpose is effected, do not stand in
wonderment at their iawn exploits—they
take no breathing time—they want no
,leisure to• rest from the toil, and contem
plate the result. It is a very ordinary
thing to them—it excites no particular sur
prise or elation in their minds—they do not
think of repose. So should it be with the
servants of God on earth. They should
not stand still, wondering at their own
doings, or think they deserve a year's holi
day after the labor of one exploit; they
also should be in solemn haste—their time
is all too short. Not an hour should pass
after their greatest effort without preparing
for some new service.—John Foster.
AN ITALIAN CARICATURE.
Lecturing on Italy at Carlisle, the Rev.
Dr. Wylie said that at Milan :—" Innumer
able caricatures and lampoons on the monks
were freely circulated and duly appreciated.
One picture represented a portly monk with
a jovial countenance, notwithstanding that
he is cut open down the centre, displaying
in the interior all the good things he had
been fed on during the past fortnight, to
wit—a sirloin of beef, gigget of mutton, a
side of bacon, and fish, tarts, puddings,
pies, and fruit by way of dessert. Outside,
this figure was surrounded by a famished
crowd who were exclaiming, ' 0, if we could
only get inside, what a good dinner we
should make.' This too, was in the very
teeth of the priests, and within the pre
cincts of the Cathedral. He admitted that
some of the caricatures were coarse, but
that was to be expected."
THOSE who place their affections at first on
trifles for amusement, will find these trifles
become at last their most serious concerns.—
Goldsmith.