eisirrApttOtitte.
JOTTINGS FROM A PARISH JOURNAL
No. -via."
A MODEL SABBATH-SCHOOL
Some• weeks ago, being in Brooklyn,
N. Y., I made it a point to visit Lee
Avenue Sabbath-school. I had heard
so much of that school, as enabled me to
apply to it the compliment of Paul to the
Thessalonians, "From. you, sounded out
the word of the Lord, not only in Mace
donia and Achaia, but also in every
place your faith to Godward is spread
abroad." On the occasion referred to; I
had only time to run through one branch
of this great Institution and reach the
platform in. time to take part in the clos
ing exercises.
In the providence of God, it was my
privilege to be in Brooklyn on last Lord's
Day, and being introduced to the excel
lent Superintendent, I had an opportu
nity of surveying more accurately the
machinery of this noble Sunday-school.
The entire basement of the Lee Ave
nue, D. R. Church, is devoted to the
accommodation of the school ; and, in
addition, one of the infant departments
occupies a gallery. The platform (be
hind which is a splendid organ for the
use of the school and public lectures) is
placed on the west side of the room.
Whilst the entire length of the eastern
transept, rising in amphitheatre style, is
occupied as one of the infant school rooms ;
this wing is in front of the platform, and
within easy range of the eye and voice
of the Superintendent. All the lesson
hour it is separated from the main body
of the school by glass sliding doors,
which during the music, announcements,
addresses from the platform, with open
ing and closing exercises, are flung open.
By a similar arrangement, the left wing
of the infant school occupying thezallery,
is brought under the eye and voice of
the platform. Then the entire ground
floor, save a small space for the Library,
is occupied by well arranged and well con
ducted classes. The entire direction of
the school is under the management of
Jeremiah Johnson, Jr., a noble Christian
gentleman ; whilst the infant depart
ments are entrusted to able adjutants,
one of whom, Mr. Lummus, seems to
possess amazing powers of oral instruc
tion. I regretted not being able to see
his coadjutor, who occupies the gallery
wing already noted. The music is ad
mirable, being conducted by one of the
first vocal musicians in Brooklyn, and
accompanied by an organ, a very splen
did instrument.
The mode of conducting the psalmody
in this school, differs from that of any
school I have ever seen. Instead of
opening and closing with a few stanzas
of a hymn, in this school, singing spir
itual songs" seems to be an important
part of the service—hence, the whole
school (embracing two thousand five hun
dred on the roll,) is opened by singing
four or five different selections—and
closed by singing as many. In my
mind, one main secret of the success of
this school is found in the variety and
excellence of the hymns used in its wor
ship.
To Mr. Johnson, however, is the suc
cess (under God) mainly due,. He has
the entire machinery in . perfect order.
He is a gentleman of great Christian
worth and indomitable perseverance.
He devotes much time to the interests of
the school, and by a well-organized sys
tem of local visitation, children from the
whole of the surrounding districts are
gathered and kept in the school. As a
local mission for Evangelistic work, this
school, with its library, its excellent staff
of teachers, and its juvenile heralds car
rying the precious Gospel into the streets
and lanes of the neighborhood, is accom
plishing a vast amount of good. Fur
thermore, as a nursery for the congregar
tion, its value cannot be overestimated.
In casting my eye over that immense
throng, I could not help thinking that in
five to eight years, if only kept together,
they would produce a noble congregation.
Many of them, doubtless, are gathered
from the ranks of the non-church going,
but through these little missionaries, their
parents may be reached, and God's house
filled.
Would to God all our churches had
such a splendid staff of laborers, under
such a faithful superintendency, for then
indeed would each be a " city set on a
hill."
It is impossible to estimate the amount
of glory which two thousand little mes
sengers may bring to Christ. From this
seminary they go forth singing the truth,
praying the truth, talking the truth, and
in the house and by the way, and going
out and coming in, and lying down and
rising up, they are heralds of God's grace
and mercy to sinners. Seldom have I
felt more refreshed by any - exercise, than
on last Lord's day, while the tones of
the magnificent organ accompanied the
voices of over one hundred teachers,
and, perhaps, fifteen times as many chil
dren, in chanting the beautiful anthem
which runs thus :
"There'll be something for children to do,
None are idle in that blessed land,
There'll be loves for the heart, there'll be
thoughts for the mind,
And employment for each little hand.
There'll be something to do,there'llbe something
to do,
There'll be something for children to do,
Onlthe bright shining shore,
Where there's joy evermore,
There'll be something for children to do."
THE GOLDEN WEDDING
On Tuesday evening, the 16th inst.,
it was my privilege to .be present at a
GOLDEN WEDDING. It 18 a rare event
even in the life of a guest, on such an
occasion. It was the first, it may be the
last, " Golden 'Wedding" I shall ever wit
ness. In this instance, the bride and
groom are both, as may _be supposed,
ripening in ears ; but the most delight
ful thought connected with the interest
ing event is, that they are both mature
in the divine life, waiting for the cry
"Behold, the Bridegroom cometh !"
Their lamps are trimmed and they are
ready to sit down at the great " Mar
riage Supper of the Lamb."
The bride and groom, in this instance,
were married at Baltimore in 1815, and
in 1824 removed to 'New York. For
many years he was an elder in one of the
oldest Presbyterian churches in that
great city, and a very Successful mer
chant, whose whole career in business
was marked by the most unbending in
tegrity. He is the father of fifteen chil
dren, some nine of wttom (all married)
are still surviving ; all most respectably
connected, and many of them giving
clear evidence of a close walk with God.
So that the mellowing parents now wait
ing for the call, and enjoying the fullest
hope in the death of those who have
gone before, as well as those who are to
come after them, can pass from grace to
glory in the joyful assurance of assem
blirig,
" No wanderer lost, mily in heaven."
What a precious :ght! And how
few can fully realize it !
The eldest son .of this venerable bride
groom is a retired merchant, residing on
the Hudson, in a very paradise, and
married a second time to one of the love
liest Christian ladies I have ever met.
This gentleman, while in business, kept
his Bible in his office, and read it daily
in Hebrew and English, and now in his
retirement (having reached an opulent
retiring point) his Bible is his daily
com
panion. His circle of acquaintance em
braces almost exclusively Christians—
educated Bible-reading and. Bible-loving
christians. Since forming the acquaint
ance of his venerable father, I have often
thought of the SEED of the righteous as
the heir& of the promises. And how
true the language of David Rouse's ver
sion of the psalm—
"Blest is each one that fears - the Lord,
And walketh in His way—
For of thy labour, thou shalt eat,
And happy be always.
Winding up with the promises—
.
" Thou.shalt thy children's children see,
And peace on Israel."
Never have I seen that sweet promise
so literally fulfilled as in this case. Ahout
8.30 P. M., sons and daughters, with
their wives and husbands and children,
from almost all parts of the Union began
to pour into the rOoms of that consecrat
ed home—and while the venerable pa
triarch, tall, stout and erect, with snow
white hair and plain countenance, stood
in the drawing-toom and embraced each
child and each grandchild—his daugh
ters and daughters-in-law holding up
their precious little ones to receive the
kiss and the benediction of this man of
God, my mind was - carried back to the
plain of Goshen and the last scene of
Jacob's life, when each tribe passed by
his dying pillow, and received the part
ing prayer and the prophetic 'blessing
which accompanied it.
The present state of health enjoyed by
the bridal couple, might almost warrant
the hope that they should yet celebrate
the tg Diamond Wedding." With my
whole heart I could wisk s it, were it for
their good and Christ's glory. It is com
forting, however, to know and believe
that Christ never keeps a child of grace
a single moment out of heaven, after he
has completed his work in him and by
him. The moment the harvest is ripe,
the angelic reapers will come and put in
the sickle. Of this, the esteemed and
venerable patriarch, whose «Golden
Wedding" I have been describing, rests
firmly and fully persuaded—believing
that
" Still, or here, or going hence,
To this our labors tend,
That in His favor spent, our life
Shall in His favor end."
A PUPIL OF CHALMERS
TO MY FRIEND ANDREW,
(CONCLUDED.)
[Translated from the German of Matthias
Claudius, for THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, by
G. D. A. 11.]
The Lord's Prayer is for all time the
best prayer, if thou knowest who bath
made it. But no one upon God's foot
stool can so pray it as he that designed
it. We limp it forth at a distance, one
step still more miserably than the other.
But be not ashamed of this, Andrew, if
we only mean it well ; the dear God
must ever do that which is best, and he
knoweth how it should be. Because
thou desirest it, I will explain to thee
how I make it with the Lord's Prayer.
But I think it is thus only very poorly
done, and -I will willingly be taught a
better way.
When I utter it, then I think first of
my blessed Father, how good he was
and so freely gave to me. And then I
place before me all the world as my
Father's house ; and all men in Europe,
Asia, Africa, and America, are in my
thoughts, my brothers• and sisters ; and
God sitteth in heaven upon a golden
throne, and hath his right hand stretched
out over the sea, and upon the ends of
the world, and his left full of salva
tion and goodness, and the mountain
tops round about smoke, and then I
begin:—
OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN, HAL-
LOWED BE THY NAME
This I do not as yet understand.
The Jews regarded the name of God
with peculiar sanctity. This I. think to
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY; JUNE 1, 1865.
be good, and only wish that the worship
toward God, and every trace whence we
may know him, might be to me, and to
all men, above every thing, great and
holy.
Here I think on myself, how I am
borne here and there, and now this, now
that reigns, and that all is heart-ache
and I come to no green twig. And
then I think how good were it for me if
God would make an end to all strife,
and rule me himself.
THY WILL BE DONE IN EARTH AS IT IS
Here I picture to myself Heaven,
with the holy angels, who with joy do
His will, and no pain falleth upon them,
and they know not how to speak forth
their love and salvation, and they tri
umph day and night; and then I think,
whether will it ever thus be upon earth!
GIVE US THIS DAY OILS DAILY 13READ.
Every odb knoweth. what daily bread
is, and- that we must eat as long as we
are in the world, and that also it tasteth
good. Then I think thereon. Then
cometh well to mind my children, how
they so eagerly eat, and oft times; and
so happily they - are upon .the dish. And
then I pray that the blessed God may
still give us something to eat.
FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE FORGIVE
It is had that when we are injured
revenge is sweet. This also cometh be
fore me. I also had pleasure therein.
But then there standeth before my eyes
the unmerciful servant (scbalks knecht)
of the gospel, and my heart faileth me,
and I resolve that I will forgive my
fellow servant, and never saya word to
of the hundred pence.
AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION
Here I call to mind the example, on
every hand, where people, under this and
that circumstance, are turned aside from
the good, and fall, and that it might not
go better with me.
BUT DELIVER VS FROM THE EVIL
Here come to my thoughts, still, temp
tations ; how man is so easily deceived,
and wandereth , out tif tie even path.
But likewise thinlij also of the pains of
life, of consumption and old age, of
childsbirth, mortification , . and insanity,
and the thou§and. miseries, -and.' heart
sufferings, which are in the world, racking
and.tortiring ,, phor man, and there is no
one can' help. And thou wilt find,Andrew,
if the tears have not come before; here
they come indeed, and wp can see our
selves so heartily, so<thoroughly, and be
so troubled and cast down within our
selves, as if really there were no help.
But then must we again take courage,
lay our hand upon our mouth and break
forth ,as in triumph.
FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND .PDWER,
AND THE GLORY F I ORE - VER. AMEN
lOWA C [TY, May 16th, 1865. -
LETTERS ON RECONSTRUCTION.
• May 11, 1865.
DEAR SlR:—Having " made you sorry
with a letter," I feel obliged, by the
progress of events, to repeat the inflic
tion. •
President Johnson, I see, has taken
measures of "reconstruction" in regard
to Virginia i.following out the opinion
of his most worthy predecessor, that the
rebel States, forasmuch as they could
not " secede," are none of them out of
the Union in matter of fact. As if re
bellion and war could do nothing which
"secession" could not.
That the States of the South as such
—that is., in their organic character as
governments—took part in the, war, is
very certain. That they thus became
public enemies, follows of course. Could
they in that 'character be members of the
Union ? No, sir ; this friendly relation
was utterly broken off, and terminated.
Silent leges inter arma. Nor was it
simply a suspension of the Constitutional
bond. Do not all treaties finish when a
war arises between the parties to them ?
finish utterly? War exterminates all
civil, political, or other amicable rela
tions between the belligerents.
And it seems to me that Congress, by
admitting Western Virginia as a new
State, have assumed this fact as a prin
ciple. They would otherwise have had
no power for that proceeding, without
the consent of the old State of Virginia
first obtained. See article iv., section 3,
which is explicit. Either therefore Vir
ginia is absolutely out of the Union, or
the act admitting Western Virginia is
void.
Besides, as I have said before, a
State consists of a people politically
organized on a given territorial area.
Of course the area of the new State is
an ingredient of the old one, or at least
a portion of its geographical base ; and
to reorganize old Virginia as a State of
the Union is virtually to repudiate the•
act of Congress that has made a new
State of its Western counties. The con
stitution of old Virginia provides ex
pressly that a definite number of each
house of its legislature shall be from
those counties. So that without those
counties it is not and cannot be a State,
even admitting it might otherwise have
survived the war.
I might state the question, therefore,
in the way of dilemma. Either the war
has killed the State of Virginia (consti
tutionally speaking) or it has not. If it
has,• the President cannot bring the
State to life again by any form of re
cognition ; it requires a new form of
State government, and a new admission
by Congress to effect the object. On the
other hand, if the State survives the
war, two consequences follow : one,
TO .lIS THY KINGDOM COME
IN HEAVEN
OUR DEBTORS
that the act of Congress admitting its
western counties as a new State, with
out its consent, is a nullity; the other,
that any recognition of the remaining
parts by the President must also be a
nullity, for that the State, supposing it to
survive at all, survives in its own organ
ism as a whole, and thus only.
Entertaining these views, my dear sir,
I grieve exceedingly at the course things
are taking. It may be wrong for me to
obtrude my thoughts on you as I have
done ; but I felt as if I must give vent
to them in some direction, and though I
was not sure of your concurrence, I had
too much confidence in your good nature
and personal kindness, as well as in
your concern for the right ordering of
public measures, to fear that you would
take it amiss.
REPORT': OP THE PERMANENT. COM
MITTEE ON - HOME MISSIONS. •
_
READ IN THE afiENERAL ASSEMBLY:
The fourth annual 'report of the Hnme ADS
sionary Committee has made its appearance..
With devout thanksgiving to God for the great
blessings which have crowned the year, it pro
ceeds to give an account of the Committee's
labors for the past twelve months. The whole
number of missionaries employed during the
whole or part of the year is 320. They report
many revivals, 1443 conversions, 1334 have
united with the Church on professsion of their
faith, and 940 by letter.. The points it discusses
are,
Ist. The changes wrought by the war on the
missionary field. These are shown to be dis
astrous in two ways: The war drew off the
young and able bodied men from the feeble
churches at the West for the service of the
country; and secondly, it drew equally from.
the East the young men who otherwise would
have gone West. So that many churches that
would naturally have become self-sustaining
but for the war, are in a state of dependence'
still. -
At the same time the frontier has not remain
ed stationary. New towns have sprung into
being which have called for aid before the
others were in a condition to assume their own
support. Nevertheless,
the frontier has been
materially strengthened by increasing the force
of the ministry there, and the blessing of God
on their labors. Nearly all the• churches in
Michigan and Wisconsin and Minnesota and
many in the other States have been blessed
with powerful revivals of religion. • _
2d. The great multitudes of Germans in this
country, the readiness with which they can be
reached by evangelical ministers speaking in
their own tongue, makes it importantto put forth
more effort for their evangelization and new
endowments. Professorships in our Theological
Seminaries are urged on the attention of the
Assembly as a Means of raising up a competent
ministry for the German and Patch population.
The report makes special referenCe to what has
been done in Newark, N. J., and holds it up as
an inciting example to the whole church. _
3d. Now that the war is closing, a great field
is opened at the South. In Missouri and East
Tennessee the People welcome us most cor
dially. In the forwer, the work auspiciously
begun last year was checked in the fall by the
invasion of the State by the rebel army. Bat
now again, with the permanent clearing of the
State, comes a new demand for more ministers
of Christ.
In East Tennessee two Presbyteries that
were drawn ,away from us seven years ago
have, through the counsels and assistance of
our missionaries, returned to the bosom of our
Church, and it is expected that the two other
Presbyteries which go to make up the Synod
of East Tennessee, will follow in a short time.
The , posture of affairs in these two States and
the sort of work entered upon are a fair type
of what will be encountered all overthe South.
Meanwhile the freedmen and refugees afford
a fine field for missionary labor. We have•a
missionary laboring among them in St. Louis
with great success, and have been unable to, in
augurate a similar work in other places only
for lack of suitable men.
The report allndes to the Secretary's trip
across the Rocky Mountains to California and
Oregon. As the result of the careful observa
tions then made, it is stated that "the popula- .
don of the mining districts will be fluctuating
for many years to co' lkwhile theit distance
from- supplies must•nWthe cost of living and
consequently the expenses of sup . Porting mis
sionaries very much greater than in any other
part of the country. Their remoteness from
permanent Christian influences will, however,
make it all the more necessary that the Gospel
should be preached among them faithfully and
continuously, and therefore, until 'the Pacific '
Railroad is completed, we must expend more
labor and money on this vast, and, on the whole,
most promising region than we have ever be
fore thought of doing,."
The report makes a special appeal for more
ministers. Says the Secretary :—" Nothing
has been a source of greater anxiety to the
Committee than the limited number of minis
ters to supply the increasing number of Home
Missionary-fields. East Tennessee, Missouri,
Kansas, Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio,
and Illinois press their demands for from five
to fifteen each. Our brethren in California,
Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, and Montana, have
grown weary with calling for men. Promising
openings on every hand are pressed upon the
attention of our theological students even be
fore their studies are completed, and they
shrink from the hardships which they fancy are
inseparable from new and distant fields. We
fear that the spirit of the fathers has .died out
in many of the sons. If we could now com
mand the services of twenty-five additional
missionaries of the requisite qualifications, we.
have but little doubt but that the churches
would grant them a support even at the most
expensive points." This part of the report
concludes that the want of suitable laborers is
truly alarming, and that many souls must perish
for the want of knowledge or warning, "unless
the chaplains and stud is in the army shall
speedily fill up the, milks of the ministry, or
God shall raise them up in . some other manner.
Our Church has never supplied itself with min
isters ; it has drawn continually from other
denominations, and if any have concluded we
have not grown as rapidly as we ought, the lack
of ministers constitutes the solution of the pro
blem." ajil'he District Secretary of Indiana
calls attention to ten vacancies in VI State ;
and another at the West writes:—" Our greatest
human want in all this field is laborert. With
a sufficient number of suitable ministers, in all
probability, we could in one year increase the
number of our churches twenty-five per cent."
The matter of church edifices is glanced at.
The great lack in this respect, and the neces
sity of a house of worship to every congrega
tion before it can become self-sustaining and
give the community an impression of perma
nency, the expense of building; etc., is urged
on the attention of the Assembly.
The report next refers to the fields and duties
of the several District Secretaries, all of whom
with the exception of Messrs. Adair and Stowe
are engaged in exploring new fields, planting
new churches, supplying destitute congrega
tions with pastors, and assisting their brethren
in various ways besides makin g collections for
the treasury. The Synods of Wisconsin and
Minnesota have been furnished with Synodical
missionaries at their request, and a few other
changes have been made. Three faithful la
borers have died sine the last report, viz :
Rev. A. Blakely, of Lawrence, Kansas; Rev.
Comfort I. Stack, of Newton, lowa, and Rev.
E. E. Merriam. •
The receipts of the Committee the past year,
$85,000 : are somewhat short of the mark set at
the last Assembly, but, says the report, ".it is
cause for great rejoicing that no church which
has'applied for aid, has been sent empty away
on account of limited resources." Yet the in
come would have been quite inadequate but for
the short supply of laborers.
In conclusion it is stated that the relations
of our Committee to the .American Home Mis
sionary Society continue unchanged. The
Society while using many thousand dollars from
Presbyterian sources, mostly, from legacies of
persons who died before the organization of
the Committee, expends not a single dollar
upon any church represented in our Assembly,
and at the same time more boldly than ever
before proclaims itself the organ 'of the Con
gregationalists throughout the country.
Bizallautato.
DR. BEECHER IN A HURRY.
Dr. Beecher, like most men of extremely
nervous temperament, was very impulsive,
and followed no law in his habits of study.
Henry -Ward, when quite a boy, wrote a
most amusing description of a journey with
his father to Dayton, .where the doctor was
on trial for heresy, on charges preferred by
Dr. Wilson. It is foUpd in the autobiogra
phy, second volume
You, who live remote from Walnut Hills.
have; notwithstanding, heard somahing of
one of our stars, Lyman Beecher., But,
though of note as a public character, he is
not less famous and interesting in private
life. Indeed, we, who see him daily, im
agine that he exhibits more unequivocal
marks of genius in the domestic than in
a wider sphere, for in the - pulpit (thanks to
the attention of Aunt Esther) he wears
whole stockings, has decent handkerchiefs
and cravats, a tidy coat, and never wears
one boot and one shoe together, and in his
published works who can see though the
type either the manuscript or the writer ?
But in his family, and unmolested by
feminine pertinacity of neatness, his genius
eeps forth in various negligencies of ap
parel, particularly his shirt-sleeves, open
bosom and ample display of flannel. As if
to put the broadest seal upon his genius,
nature - seems to have ordained that he shall
study half undressed.
But if we admire these marks of innate
abilities which appear on the exterior, no
less are we surprised at those which he ex
hibits as a business man. Let me give you
a sketch of our iiepariure for. Dayton.
Having several weeki for preparation, he
felt secure, and made no attempt at a be
ginning till the day before, Then, while
cutting up stumps in his garden, he fell
upon a plan for his defence, which was in
dicated to us by' his,,; precipitate retreat
from the stamp to the study. In the after
noon i
he dragged me . away ,
six miles, n an
excess' of patriotism, to, deposit his vote.
b
Before going to bed, he Char.ed 'me to be
up early, for he must get ready, and the
- boat was to start at nine.
The morning opened upon a striking
scene. As I emerged from my room, the
doctor was standing in his study door-way,
a book under each arm, with a third in his
hands, in which he was searching for quo
tations. In an hour and a half all his pa
pers were to be collected, (and from
whence ?) books assorted, breakfast eaten,
clothes packed, and horse harnessed.
After a hasty meal, whew ! he goes up
stairs, opens every drawer and paws over
all the papers, leaving them in confusion,
and down stairs again to the drawers in his
study, which are treated in like manner.
He fills his arms, with books, and paperi,
and sermons, and straightway seems to for
get what he wanted them for , for he falls
to assorting them vigorously, de: novo.
"Eight o'clock, and not half ready. Boat
starts at nine!'
" Where's my Burton ?"
• " Xather, I have found the Spirit of the
" Don't want it. Where did I put that
paper of extracts ? Can't you make out
another ? Where did I lay my opening
notes? Here, Henry, put this book in the
carriage. Stop ! give it to me Let's see
—run up stairs for my Register. No,! not
I've brought it down.
Half past eight.. Not ready. Three
miles to go. Horse not up.
At length the doctor completes his as
sortment of books and papers, packs, or
rather stuffs his clothes into a carpet-bag,
—no key to lock it—ties the handles, and
leaves it gaping.
At length we are ready to start. A trunk
tumbles out of one side as Thomas tumbles
in on the other. T reverse the order—tum
ble Tom out, the trunk in.' At length all
are aboard, and father drives out the yard,
holding the reins with one hand, shaking
hands with a student with the other, giving
Charles directions with his mouth, at least
that part not occupied with an apple ; for,
since apples wein.plenty, he has made it a
practice to drive with one rein in the right
hand and the other in the left, with an
apple in each, biting them alternately, thus
raising and lowering the -reins like threads
in a loom. Away we go. Charley horse
on the full canter , down the long hill, the
carriage bounciriPand bounding over the
stones, father alternately telling Tom how
to get the harness mended, and showing
me thetrue doctrine of original sin. Hur
rah ! A thunder alongside the' boat just in
time.
OUR COUNTRY'S NEW PERIL.
Most people have heard of the " Fenian
Brotherhood," but few, I imagine, are awake
to its rapid growth and dangerous designs.
This is an Irish secret society, the proposed
object of which is to effect the liberation of
Ireland. A meeting was held in our village
recently, at which the whole Irish-Catholic
population turned out en masse, and.a. Chap
ter was formed amid a scene of excitement
and "hullabaloo" which lasted until mid
night. Men, women, and children were
hurried into the organization, many with
out any clear impression, except that they
were following the will of "the Church."
Let me call the attention of Americans
to this attempt to throw the entire moral
and political weight of our Irish population
into the scale of hostility to England.
Whatever error of judgment and of heart
England may have committed during this
rebellion, we cannot afford to plungt these
two Christian Protestant nations into war.
Especially, we do not wish to be instructed
or incited to punish her for her Southern
sympathies by that portion of our popula
tion which, of all others, had given the
most aid and comfort to the rebellion. The
peace men of 1864 illy become the charac
ter of war men of 1865.
Bat the secret of it all lies-farther hack
than aught which appears upon the surface,
in my opinion. It is found in those words
quoted by Dr. Gordon from the Prussian
Ambassador: "They (i. e., the Romish
Hierarchy) know that if they can paralyze
the efforts of these two great nations,
(England and America,) they gain a mighty
victory." And how can they -better ac
complish this object than by taking advan
tage of the popular irritation in our'and
to plunge these two champions of Protes
tant and Evangelical religion into an-ex
hausting and interminable war? And if,
as an incidental advantage, they gain the
independence of Ireland, they have at least
achievedsthat ,much of solid progress to
their cause. For let no man. suppose that
the independence of Ireland would be in
any way identical with - the advance . of lib
erty. Who that has reid the Irish charac
ter, so utterly under pri.estly domination,
but knows that the Irish soil would oeaSe to
be a tolerable habitation for 'Protestants ?
It would be the •roost' priest-ridden and nl
tramontane nation in the - world. What
friend of political or relikions freedonixas
hesitate in sympathy as, between_Erigland
and Ireland ? But, however these, things
may be, let our American people look
closely to it, and think long , before they
lend their fingers (already well burnt in the
flames of war) for the purpose of pulling
that chestnut out of the fire.— Chriitian
Intelligencer. .
THE ORATORIO OF "THE MESSIAH"
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
THOUGHTS ON HEARING THE ORATORIO IN•LONDON
IN THE YEAR 1746
At first it seemed to me more heavenly
than any thing I had ever heard-; but
when they came .to those words about our
Lord's sorrow, " He was despised and re
jected, a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief," and around us there was not a
hush of shame and penitence, but a little
buzz of applause and suppressed whispers,
such as " Charming !"—" What tone !"
" No one else can sustain that note in such
a way !"—and at the close the audience
loudly clapped the singer and she respond
ed with a deep theatrical courtesy, I
thought of " When I survey the wondrous
cross," wished myself in Dr. Watts' chapel,
and felt I would rather have listened
to any poor nasal droning which- was wor
ship, than to such mockery. I could not
help crying.
When we were in the house again Eve
lyn said—
" You enjoyed that music, Kitty ?"
"No, Cousin Evelyn," I said, "I would
rather have been at the opera a hundred
times, and far rather in Watts' chapel.
To think," I said, "of their setting the
great shame and agony of our Saviour to
music for an evening's entertainment and
applauding it like a play ! One might as
well make a play about the death-bed of a
mother. For it is true it is sin ! He did
suffer all that for us."
" How do you know, Cousin Kitty, that
other people were not feeling it as much
as you ? What right have we to set down
every one as profane and heartless just be
cause the tears do not come at every mo
ment to the surface ? The Bible says,
'Judge not and ye shall .not be judged;'
and tells us not to be in such a - hurry to
take the mote out of other peoples' eyes."
I was quite silent. It is so difficult to
think of the right thing to say at the right
moment. Afterwards I thought of a hun
dred answers, for I did notmeam to judge
any one unkindly. I only spoke of my
own feelings.--Extracts from lir& Kitty
Trevylyan's Diary.
PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S PRESENTI-
IiMENT OF HIS DEATH.
The communication below, from Rev. Dr.
Kirk, =of that city, to the Boston Journal, is
good authority for reports of a similar char
acter, which have been current :
A great and good man has fallen I Let the
nation mourn. But let it trust in God—as
he did. This result was not unexpected by
him. He may not have looked for it from
the hand of an assassin; but he was sure that
his life would end with the war long ago.
He told me " that he was certain he should
not outlast the rebellion." It was in last
July. As you will remember, there was dis
cussion then among the Republican leaders.
Many of his best friends had deserted him,
and were talking of an opposition convention
to nominate another candidate ; and universal
gloom „as among the people. The North
was tired of the war, and supposed an hon
orable peace attainable. Mr. Lincoln knew
it was not—that any peace at that time would
be only disunion. Speaking of it, he said:—
"I have faith in the people. They will
not consent to disunion. The danger is they
are misled. Let them know the truth, and
the country is safe."
He looked haggard and careworn, and fur
ther on in theunterview I remarked on his
appearance, saying :
You are wearing yourself out with hard
work."
"I can't work less," he answered; "but it
isn't work—work never troubled me. Things
look badly, and I can't avoid anxiety. Per
sonally I care nothing about a re-election; but
if our divisions defeat us, I fear for the coun
try."
When I suggested that Right must eventu
ally triumph—that I had never despaired of
the result, he said :
" Neither have I ; but I may not live to
see it. I feel a presentiment that I shall not
outlast the rebellion. When it is over my
work will be done."
It is over, and his work ia..done ; how well
done, impartial history will tell.
THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY; June, 1865.
Contents: A Letter about England; A
Prose Henriade ; Harpocrates ;
Cow; Needle and Garden, No. VI.;
Going to Sleep ; Doctor Johns, No. V.;
The Great Lakes, their Outlets and De
fences ; To Caroline Coronado ; Rey
nard ; John Brown's Raid, How I got
into It, and How I got out of It;
Schu.mann's Quintette in E Flat Major;
Richard Cobden; Modern Improvements
and our National Debt ; irhe Chimney
Corner, No. VI.; The Jaguar Hunt;
Late Scenes in Richmond ; Down ; The
Place of Abraham Lincoln in History;
Recent American Publications.
WE should enjoy more peace if Ave did
not lmsy ourselves with the words and
deeds of other men, which appertain not to
our charge.—Jeremy Taylor..