eartopgittnut.
OUR LONDON LETTER.
LONDON, March, 1866.
MY DEAR SlR:—Tbe two great and
all engrossing topics of the past month
have been the cattle plague and Fenian
ism. The former still rages ; and all
attempts seem vain to arrest it. The
Government declined to appoint a day
for national fasting, and the consequence
is, that some of the Bishops have' re
tommeniled one day and some another
through their own dioceses ; but in Eng
land there will be no national fast. In
Scotland it will he otherwise. The
Commission of Free and Established
Assemblies held their quarterly meet
ing last week in Edinburgh, and by both
of them a day, towards the close of this
month, was fixed as a day of fasting,
humiliation, and prayer; the United Pres
'byteriau Church join in the appointment,
so the clay will he universally kept in
Scotland True to their old moderate
traditions, Principal Tulloch and Dr.
Lee were for naming a Sabbath day for
the purpose, thereby saving a day, but
the good sense of • their less moderate
brethren carried it over them ; driven
out of that, they were for holding it on
" Good Friday" as that was a bank
holiday, but they were driven out of
that too; and were told pertinently by
Dr. Mcßae, of Hawick, that thire was
already too much truckling to Episco
pacy in their Church. Fenianism lies
without my line of things ; suffice it for
me to say, that it fonts a common topic
of conversation in all circles. It is not
found to be so trifling a thing as it was
at first supposed to be. The suspension
of the habeas corpus act in Ireland
shows how important the Government
feels it to be.
PROGRESS OF PRESBYTERIANISM
You are always anxious to know of
the progress of Presbyterianian. lam
sorry to say my duties ark` light in
chronicling facts of that sort. But
since I last wrote I have preached in
Nottingham, a most important and thriv
ing town in the midland counties,
where we have started, a new congrega-
Lion, with every prospect of complete
success. A few Scotchmen were gath-
ered ; they took a large and central
chapel which happened to be to let;
they had the church opened by the Rev.
Dr. Blaikie, of Edinburgh, and on the
following Sabbath I went down to preach
to them. The congregations were most
encouraging, both> morning and evening.
In the evening, the church was nearly
full. Since then they have been sup
plied by some of our leading ministers,
and the report is, that it promises to be
a complete„!uccess.
I have not the slightest doubt that, if
we only had the men and the means, we
might easily double ourselves in a year
or two. There are at least fifteen large
English towns, of from 50,000 to 100,-
-000 inhabitants, in every one of which
are many Scotch and Irish Presbyterians
who want to be gathered together, have
a man set over theni, and helped for a
short time, to become large and estab
lished congregations. Besides this, there
are about fifty towns, with from 20,000
to 50,000 inhabitants, where the same
process might be repeated, in none of
•which we have at present a representa
tive. Our Scotch population, when it
migratesl South,. if it goes anywhere to
'church, finds its way to the Baptists,
Independents, Wesleyans, or the Estab7
fished Church. I have never been once
preaching in an Independent chapel
without having met a Scotch deacon.
Of Scotchmen, born in Scotland, there
are no fewer in England than 170,000.
Of these, upwards of 40,000 are to be
found in and around London. If we
add the many English people who, from
various reasons, are members of our
churches, it would not be very great
exaggeration to say that we ought to
'have in London alone at least forty
•churches. But in fact, the English Pres-
byteriark body, which is the largest by
far of the three bodies in London, has
only thirty charges and twenty-eight
.ministers to them, in the whole Presby
-tery of London. This includes a con
gregation at Brighton, another at South
ampton, another at Lewes, Bournemouth,
'Tiverton, Maidstone, Chatham, Ports
mouth, Woolwich, Greenwich.
Still we are making progress. Take
this fact :—in 1855 the English Church
had in the London Presbytery fourteen
churches and thirteen ministers ; now we
have thirty churches and twenty-eight
ministers. In the Presbytery of Lan
cashire, in 1855 we bad twenty-one
charges and seventeen ministers ; now
twenty-six charges and twenty-five min
isters. In Lancashire and Cheshire
there were, by, the census of 1861 of
native born-Scotch, 42,656. In all Eng
land, 169,202. In 1865' there were of
churches connected with the English
Presbyterian Church. 105, connected
with the United Presbyterians 91, and
with the Established Church of Scotland
23. The total attendance at these three
Churches was. respectively 30,000, 23,-
000, and 7000. Take another fact : —the
river Thames divides London into two
parts ; not halves', but not very unequal
parts, if you add the surburbs, which, to
the south, now spread as far as to in
clude Croydon. On this whole south
side,,from Wandsworth down by Batter
'NS, and on as far as to Greenwich and
Woolwich, there are only of all denomi
nations five . Presbyteriaik churches.
There ought to be, and might be, fifty at
fewest. The native English Presbyte
tians, Englishmen by birth, are chiefly
found in the. Northern counties, where,
with' 100 churches, they are reckoned
on good authority to be no fewer than
100 000.
Take a fact or too more:—within the
last two years, a sum of £25,000 has
been subscribed by the English Presby
terian Church for Debt Extinction and
Church Erection. That fund has wrought
wonders. Judiciously managed, it has
already nearly extinguished our debt.
And it aids mightily the efforts of strug
gling congregations who would fain build
but cannot. In London; too, the Pres
bytery is on the qui vim. They have
raised a fund specially to plant new
charges, and supply adequate stipendfi
for the first few years to first-class men,
to take the work of gathering people to
gether, in hand, from which great things
are to be expected. The United Presby
terians have set a noble example in this
way. Within the last few years they
have built three splendid edifices in
London, and have sent up three of their
best men to till them—Dr. King, Dr.
Edmonds, and Dr. Macfarlane The Es
tablished Church of Scotland is not
strong in London. Dr. Cumniings has
a splendid congregation; but . it is com
posed of all sorts and conditions of people.
No other living man, could keep it to
gether. So soon as he gives it up, it
will sink. All their other congregations
in London are struggling for bare'exist
ence. Lately they had a good congre
gation in the very centre of the most
fashionable part of the West End, in a
street leading into Belgrave Square.
The lease of the Church was somehow
the private property of the minister of it,
tte Rev. Dr. Macbeth. He'fell into ill
health ; the property came into the Mar
ket ; the Established Church people
could not purchase it, and it was bouhgt
the other day for about £4OOO, by a
congregation of the English Presbyte
rian Church, which has been for many
years worshipping in Chelsea, in a chapel,
the lease of which expires in a year.
I The Established Church havenow, there
fore, no place of worship in all the West
End of London, and tlite English Pres
byterian Church has secured one of the
very best sites in all London. The con
gregation that takes possession of this
new acquisition has for pastor the Rev.
T. Alexander, M.A.., who has for sixteen
years presided over it, and we observe
that it has beep notified . in the usual
way that Mr. Alexander is, this year, to
be chosen as Moderator of the Synod,
indited to meet in April, in Dr. Hamil
ton's Church, Regent Square, London.
One fact more : the missions of the
English Presbyterian Churcliare. carried
on by seven clerical and two medical
missionaries in China,.and one native
minister educated in the Free .Church
College, Edinburgh, who labors in India.
The other two bodies have no foreign
missionaries of their own. The United
Presbyterians in England contribute to
the missions of their own Church in
Scotland ; and so do the churches of the
Established Church here. The English
Presbyterians alone have a college.
They educate their own students theolo
gically—a college being pretty fully en
dowed by the munificence Of one indi
vidual who died recently, Arr. W. Brown
ley
If your readers are not tired, I may
tell one other bit of good news. The
Free Church of. Scotland, alive to the
importance of our position here, have de
termined to give us a collection this
year, through all their churches, for our
Church Extension work. We are send
ing down deputations this month to all
parts of Scotland, to gather in this har
vest, and are anticipating great results:
I wish you, dear Presbyterian brethren
in America, would go and do likewise,
and send' us a whole lot .of ;dollars.
Here, in England, we ought to be the
strongest, the most numerous, the best
equipped in every way—we are the very
least of all the thousands of Israel.
UNITARIANS PLAYING THE SAME GAME IN
OLD AS IN NEW ENGLAND.
Our enemies,the Unitarians,have filched
first ourproperty—for they hold neskrly all
our old endowments ; and second, they
have filched away our more precious thing,
our good name. You can hardly find a
town in England in which there is not a
Unitarian minister, calling himself a
Presbyterian, and eating our brei'd by
authority of law. The very meaning
of the word Presbyterian is lost to the
great bulk of the English people. But
men's eyes are slowly beginning to open
to the real state of the fact. I suppose
you know that the chapel of the good,
wise Matthew
. Henry, the Presbyterian
Commentator, in Chester, is now occu
pied by a Unitarian. By his will,
Matthew left a small sum to preserve
forever a copy of his Commentary in the
vestry of his chapel, for the use of the
poor—any poor reader who might wish
to come and consult it there. The Com-,
mentary is there, kept there religiously
still; but locked up in the cupboard !
All reeders of dear old Isaac , Walton
know Tottenham. It is now a suburb
of London. A few years ago, an inde
pendent congregation there petitioned
the Presbytery of the English Presbyte
rian Church to admit them into their
body, which was done. They have now
a minister settled Aver- them, and have
built an elegant new church which will
be opened in a few weeks.
" CATHOLIC CHURCH CONGRESS."
In iy last, I gave you an account of
a drawing-room meeting at Mr. Arthur
Kinnaird's. A meeting of asimilar sort
was 'held last week at the mansion of
Mr. Robert Hanbury, M.P. It was the
largest meeting of the kind I ever at
tended. Replesentative men from all
denominations were there in crowds.
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 1866
The meeting was called for the purpose
of discussing the feasability of a " Cath
olic Church Congress); The project
seems rather visionary. As Mr. Thomas
Carlyle said to me the other day " Sir,
we have too much talk and too little
work in these times." It is too` true.
As an old divine remarks, "there is a
book in the Bible called the Acts of the
Apostles; there is no book of their reso
lutions.
DR. WHEWELL AND HIS SUCOASOR
A great man has fallen,, and is being
buried as I write—Dr. William iWhe
well, Master of Trinity College, Cam
bridge. Few of your readers willneed
to be told who and what he was, or
what he did. His death was theesult
of an accidental fall from his hors . All
the papers have a biographical ske .h of
him, the usual tribute to a greatixian.
He was the sou of a carpenter in Firk
shire. It is rumored that the Rev Dr.
Vaughan, Vicar of Doncaster„is .e( be
called to the Mastership. If so,J i will
I)
worthily fill the seat vacated by h Ipre
decessor. Dr. Vaughan was long', ead
' Master of Harrow School ; and i ',ired
from the post, as he felt that it wr one
which needed the fullest vigor f its
, t I
.effective discharge. He was offe
Bishopric, and after mature deliberl
firmly and respectfully, without r(
assigned, declined to accept the
He was, after some time, during
he labored in a West End Londo
gregation, presented to the Vicar:
Doncaster, where he has since la
with much acceptance. His wor
very numerous ; his theology, if po
is far from profound ; but he
from his thorough knowledge of el;
throws much light on many d'
passages of the Word.
THE PSALMODY DISCUSSION.
Another bone of contention ha
been thrown down in Scotland.
people of the Seoteh Presby
churches are all much attached to
is called the Scotch metrical ver-
the Psalms They look on the
nearly as much reverence as the a
ized version of the Bible itself. La
however,.agitation has been rife
introduction of a hymnpook in!
Free Church. Hitherto, the oppo
has been so strong, that the que•
may hardly be said to have got
length of a discussion in the Free Chur
Assembly. But the Hymnologists a.
pertinacious and persevering ; and I o
served that Dr. Candlish, yielding,
presume, to the pressure from withou
gave notice of an overture in the la:
meeting of the Presbytery of Edinbur ,
to the effect that twenty-five well-kno
and generally loved hymns receive t
sanction of the Church. He indica :1
the class of hymns he meant as those I ,
the same sort as that well-known on
" There is a fountain filled with blood '
This overture will. likely' 'meet stern op-.
position ; and the Assembly, if it gets
that length, will not agree to the' pro
posal without mucli unpleasant discus
sion and angry and bitter feeling. The
United Presbyterian Church have had a
hymn-book for some years ; so also have
the Established Church of Scotland.
THE RADICAL SENTIMENT AMONG
1
NATIVE EAST TENNESSEE NS.
[We are permitted to publish e prin
cipal part of a recent letter fro - REV.
Wm. H. LYLE, of Mt. Horeb, Ea t Ten
nessee, to a friend now in this- art of
the country. It is doubly , int eating
from the facts and spirit it exhib s - , and
from the, author's position as I‘ native
and constant resident of thregion.
We commend it to timorous Conserva
tives in the North. It opens/ with a
more particular account pf the viyal in
Mt. Horeb Church, which ha already
been mentioned in our column ]
Out meeting at Horeb wa one of
very deep interest. It coat ned for
eleven days, with an inter - 17 1 of two
days. The result of the me ting was
sixty-five professions and fifty ne addi
tions to the Church.
The majority of the reb4. attended
and took part in the 'meeting. Indeed,
they all came out except -L---- and
. They are still obstinate ; but
is very friendly with me when
I meet with him. The ----s are all
co-operating with- us except ----.
—' came before the Session and
confessed that the rebellion was wrong.
The Church has been greatly strength
ened. The few rebels who are still ob
stinate, have but little influence on the
Church. Mt. Horeb, I suppose, is now
the strongest Prepbyterian Church in E.
Tennessee. The last report she made
to Presbytery showed a membership of
207. 'I think her membership will now
exceed that. -
The exciting topic among us now is
schools. lam teaching a mixed school
of blacks and whites. I told-the people
here, if they wished me to teach for them,
I would do so on certain conditions.
Those conditions were, that the school
be opened to all colors alike. I did not
feel that it would stand the test of the
great day, to prohibit a part of the
human family frolin obtaining an educa
tion, simply because their skin was black.
Hence, I said to the people here, if they
were going to adopt such a system of in
iquity as this, they would have to get
some one to head it besides me. Tak
ing this very positive ground, I went to
work, and was immediately s ustained
tby the best and most intelligent part of
the Union people of this neighborhood.
The rebels at first made some opposition,
but the best part of them gave ir.k, and
I am, sir, yours very truly,
PHILADELPHOS
A MIXED SCHOOL
are now sustaining the school. The
--- families are all sending, and
everything is working harmoniously in
the school. I have no fears about the
thing working in this neighborhood, pro
vided there should be no legal obstacles in
the way - . •
The idea is, to do right to all men.
" Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
" All .hings whatsover ye would that
men should do to you, do ye even so to
them."
I meet with a good deal of opposition
in other neighborhoods. One says, you
are disgracing yourself. The answer
is : Suppose I go to Africa and spend
forty years, and am instrumental in edu
cating and saving a thousand poor Aft.'
cans, would that disgrace me ? 1- 11 Y
man of any brains and any goodiess of
heart, knows that that would V
one of
the most noble of Christian yets. So, if
I can be the means of
o :weating and
saving a few poor.A.friesns in this coun
try, it is a Christian v
Another says, y,du are becoming un
popular as a mipfster. I tell them,. Let
me do right iptihe heavens fall. I have
done enough wrong in the past. I am
sorry for it ; let me do right in the fu
ture. l care but little for popularity
when God's truth is at stake.
Another says, you are making the
black man equal to the white man y The
answer is, if the white man is really
better than the black, it would be ac
complishing some good to make the lat
ter equal to the former.
Another says, I do not think that it is
proper for black children to be in the
same room and learn along with white
children. The answer is, that "the qual
ity" of this country, before the war, as
soon as their children were born, placed
thenkin the bosoms of negro women, and
there raised them. Indeed, they would
let " the darker come into their houses
and do anything on the face of the earth
to gratify their laziness or make them a
dime.
d a
ion,
0 son
Another says, my children cannot, go
where black children attend. The an
swer is, it is a free country, and you
can just keep them at home and I wilt
educate the darkey.
I think this the best plan for educat
ing the masses of the South. I know
there is a great objection . against it,
but my honest conviction is that it is
all prejudice and abominable folly. I
have been in the school-room for two
weeks with blacks and whites, and can
see no harm or impropriety in it. I can
see no other way of reaching all success
fully. For instance, supp&se that Ten
nessee passes a law that the white and
blacks shall not be Schooled together,
how would it work? In every neigh
borhood, then, where tire blacks were in
the minority, and were not able to get
up a school for themselves, they would
be deprived of the‘beneftt of eduCation.
This would be the case in our neighbor
hood, wheresome fifteen'or twenty black
children would go without learning.
This would be so, more or less, through
tut the South.
If Congress does not take this matter
into hand, you may rest assured that
tie rebel States will legislate to the
d triment of the black man. I hope
C ongress will do something on this sub
je tt, and take the groun& that none of
these States be restored to the privileges
of the Union until they' give the black
man equal rights With the white man in
every respect.
' Our Preabytery ought to take some
action on the subject at the next meeting.
I rather fear a di,vision of the Union
party in East Tennessee, on the negro
question. The former slave-holding part
otUnio.n men, and some of the most ig
norant Union men,'are likely to unite
with the unregenerate part of the rebels,
and form a party whose object shall be
to prevent the negro from having any
rights or privileges ; • while the converted
rebels will unite with the best part of the
Union men to form a party, in favor of
giving the negro his rights.
I .desire your counsels and prayers in
this great matter: Yours truly,
W. H. LvrE.
REV. DR. SEISS ON THE APOCALYPSE.
DEAR EDITOR :—On Sabbath evening,
the 4th instant, having seen a notice of
an expected discourse on the Apocalypse,
by Dr. Seiss, we took a seat in his plea
sant church in Race Street. Every seat
in the body of the house and the spa
cious gallery was filled. The appearance
of the audience was remarkable. We
could see no more than half a dozen
very young persons in the assemblage;
and a more intelligent, reverent and at
tentive congregation we never beheld.
The singing was congregational, and, of
course, appropriate and delightful praise.
For an hour, the preacher held the
Unwearied attention of the people, while
he discoursed upon the Seven Churches
of Asia. • His aim was, to show that they
represented tile Christian Church through
the ages of the present dispensation.
That, as they were corrupt and ever
backsliding, go would the whole Church
be, till Christ came to purify and reign
over it. It was a bold, eloquent, and
evidently an intensely sincere announce
ment and defence of the millenarian
views, as held by Dr. Cumming of
England, Dr. Tyng, ex-President Lord,
of Dartmouth College, and others in this
country. •
Dr. Seiss remarked, not long since,
we are told, that every morning he rose
and found the Saviour bad not come, he
was • disappointed. It is undoubtedly
true, whatever the fact may foreshadow,
that the new theory of the millenarians is
gaining ground in Evangelical Churches.
"
THE JgW VS. THE GREEK, as for everyone; and, partici:l
-OR TELFANIT larlv i mindful , -
.r it is a mother, no one dreams
Y OF THE RACE • .
• t l--; she is bearing a cross. It may be
What an ordeal of moral systems Is a hidden disease gnawing at life's core,
time ; or rather, bow does Go` -'s
the is
still the •
provi.
step is firm, and the eye
deuce sift the systems, and f' tablish l ' e is bright. It may be a , disappointed
truth, as the eternal hills' When pial
he hope—some cherished plan that has
stood before the atiguP Areopasas, withered in ai, t 'ai l • , itn may be a child
was, in the estimatir" of his ow
n coun- out of Christ
; it may be the sin that
trymen, but a per arted Jew—a despis
doth most
easily beset. Whatever it is,
ed adherent of /4 , hanged" malefactor ; -
it is tribulation, and of such, as well as
and in the v;• or of each Athenian, but
ofgreater things, Christ spoke, when he
the -fanati4 " babbler" of a detested " I have overcome."
sect. . Add yet to-day the moral and
But :there are days of tribulation for
theol,dcal systems of the polished
aks nowhere control mankind while
many, u that cannot be hidden. A little
r unity of God, and the unity
;
a voice hushed! a little grave opened! a
e
-.
man, the two precepts advanced by the whole world of memories suddenly hid
den! a golden chain of
apostle on that occasion, combine now, by a dark pall
like a Divine force, to
face of the earth. ce, to sweep falsehood years dropped out of .life—and in its
and tyranny fro
stead, bitterness—bitterness, that refuses
m
Neither the study of occult mysteries by all comfort, and lying low in the dust,
the dreamy Hindoos, the metaphysical makes its moan.
subtleties of the intellectual Greeks, nor Then, in the hour I man's extremity,
the manly virtues of the early Romans, comes the Saviour with his healing
could (by " feeling after") find out the
balm, and teaches 130117 to be patient in
M. M.
unity of God, nor by reason discover tribulation. i E.
and enforce the unity of man.
Mohammedanism says, there is one
God, and Mahomet is his prophet ;
Christianity sags there is one God of in
finite power, wisdom, justice, and truth,
who made and sustains all things in be
ing ; and universal mankind are breth
ren and His children, cared for by Him
alike
These are the doctrines which, theogh
consonant with right reason, have been
practically denied by " the rulers of this
world."
The unity of the human race is the
question of questions throughout America
at this hour. The Bible affirms that, at
the beginning, God created a human
pair, and by necessary generatiori, all
the races have sprung from them. If
this Biblical fad is true, then all men
are brethren, as Paul asserted on Mars
Hill; if the human race is not one, then
the Bible is false, for so it affirms. The
Southern oppressor maintains that the
black is not " of one blood" with us ; or
if he be, his peculiarity of conformation,
or color, is a sufficient warrant for de
grading him into an hereditary " hewer of
wood, and drawer of -water." He prtic
dually denies the unity of the race, be
cause of color, just as the Brahmin does,
on the ground of condition, or the ap
pointment of the gods. Eradicate the
doctrine of the' unity of the race, and
there is no other adequate basis of hunian
rights whatever. A common destiny
and a general judgment bring all our
claims and pretensions before the tribu
nal of God. Neither the Greeks nor Ro
mans had any just idea of political rights.
In all their theology and jurispru
dence, might was right. A common
Father, a common Saviour, a unity of
mankind, and a universal judgment, are
the doctrines that bind us to the throne
of God and make us brethren. • " The
rulers of this world, exercise dominion,"
said our Lord, "but it shall not be so
among you ; but whoever will be chief
among you, let him be your servant."
This is the doctrine that is to destroy
the Dagon of caste and the Moloch of
oppression, now so prevalent over the
earth. M. A.
PATIENT IN TRIBULATION.
Miss Muloch has lately added to the
list of her excellent works, " A Noble
Life." It is a noble book, and a bright
addition to the Christian' literature of
the age. Few who read it, but, will rise
from its rapt perusal, with truer aims in
life, with intenser purpose to struggle
after the highest good, deeper sympathy
with sorrow and fonder love for the only
beautiful, the true. Many of the pages
will provoke tears; but,, unlike the tears
shed over most novels, they will leave
the heart refreshed, and more alive to
pity the real griefs that meet the eye
from day to day.
In the Earl of Qairnsforth, the author
has drawn the picture of one more sadly
marred and tried than .nen often are,
even in a world like ours. But from
xhildhood to matnrer years, and even
to the stormy night, when amid rav
ing winds and wild crash of elements,
the strong, brave soul left the feeble
body, and soared to a happy home
among the glorified, he was always
calm and contented—patient in tribula
tion.
" Ip the world, ye shall have tribula
tion," said the Saviour to his mourning
disciples; " but be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world." Triumphant mes
sage of the Master! How it rings on
the ear through the din of ages ! How
it lifts the weary heart up, up, almost till
the songs of the seraphim breathe their
sweet music through the tempests of
earth. How it carries the heart back
to the green slopes of Judaea , where the
Holy One walked, to the stony mount of
crucifixion, where he overcame for his own.
Many lives float on so tranquilly, that
there seem to be no winds of sorrow or
temptation in store for them. Day after
day rises clear.and beautiful, the blue
sky has never a cloud, the harp of life
hath ever a sweet tone. Night after
night is pillowed on down, and the star
lit orb above is not brighter than the
dreams of the favored ones below. To
them, the words seem not applicable—.
patient in tribulation. But God's ways
are' not alike with all. To few in this
world does he give a life all sunshine.
There are stormA to come, crosses to bear,
dark days to endure, and deserts to pass,
ere the happy home is reached.
And there - .re some who bear suffer
.
ing and make no sign. Every day sees
a round of duty well and patiently done.
Every day, the same little cares, the
same little pleasures, the same loving
GOD'S PLAN IN GEOGRAPHY.
The physical geographer now claims that
the particular arrarigement of seas, conti
nents, mountains, and rivers which the earth
has received, is the very best that could be
given for the purpose to which the earth is
destined. As the Divine wisdom is mani
fested in the order and adaptation of the
parts of the human body, of animals, and
of plants, so there is an object irkthe par
ticular shape the continents have been
made to assume. Everything works in
harmony with a Divine plan, which we
claim to be beginning to Comprehend.
Change the position of Asia and 'Europe,
and you would have ruin and death. Ire
land, now always green, would have the
climate of Labrador. Compare the British
Isles, Norway, and Sweden, with the cor
responding latitudes upon our own coasts,
and we see the dreadful consequences.
Take away the Andes, which arrest the
rain -clouds, and South America, that most
wondeitully watered continent, would be a
desert. Take away the Rocky Mountains,
or change their direction to East and West,
and we have our own tertile country ruined.
Elevate our Southern coast, so as to change
the direction of the Mississippi, and what
mischief would ensue
There is literally a face to nature, as
there is a face to man. As we have our
circulation of the blood, so there is the cir,
culation of the earth's great heart of fire,
the circulation of the waters, and the ven
tilation of •the air. We have yet to con
sider these varied shades of nature in their
relations to each other, and to man and
animal life. But we are not to stop here.
The physical geographer claims that the in
fluences bearing upon the intellect of man
can be explained by the peculiar arrange
ment of the earth's surface. We know that
civilization has marched from East to West,
from Asia to Europe, and even across the
Atlantic to the New World--:growing and
expanding in, its course. We can see what
has been develoved in Asia and Europe,
and may perdict something for America.—
Prof. Doremus.
THE PYRAMIDS.
The ,age of the Pyramids is indeed by no
means a settled matter. But there is suffi
cient evidence to bring the oldest of them
within the post-diluvian historic period.
One writer presents a theory which is pecu
liarly interesting, It supposes the Pyramid
.of Cheops, so called, to have been erected
by a king who was a worshipper of the true
God, before idolatry was known in Egpyt.
In support of this, he cites the total absence
of idolatrous inscriptions, so common on all
other Egyptian monuments; the traditions
of all priests that they were built by a race
of "accursed" kings who despised the
gods; the name Saophis (Cheops), which
Eratosthenes translates "the hairy"—in
dicating a Phcenician, and not an Egyp
tian; and various other noteworthy sugges
tions. It has been frequently remarked
that the Pyramids are not mentioned in the
Bible; yet it is not improbable that in Job
the allusion to "desolate places," which
kings and counsellors of the earth had built
for themselves, and in which they were
"at rest," refers to the Pyramids and other
Egyptian tombs. The idea that among the
splehdid remains of Egyptian idolatry that
are lying shattered and broken along the
Nile banks, these silent, solemn monuments
are the remains of an older and purer faith,
which stands firm on the rock as of old,
outlasting the decay of temples and altars
to false gods, is an idea worth considering
for its very grandeur.
TRUE FEELING.
It is beautifil to observe the boundaries
which nature has affixed to the ridiculous,
and to notice - how soon it is swallowed up by
the more illustrious feelings of our minds.
Where is the heart so hard that could bear
to see the awkward resources and contri
vance of the poor turned into ridicule ?
Who could laugh at the fractured, ruined
body of a soldier ? Who is so wicked as to
amuse himself with the infirmities of ex
treme old age, or to find subject for humor
in the weakness of a perishing, dissolving
body ? Who is there that does not feel
himself disposed to overlook the little pe
culiarities of the truly great and wise, and
to throw a veil over' that ridicule which
they have redeemed by the magnitude of
their talents, and the splendor of their vir
tues ? Who ever thinks of turning into
ridicule our great and ardent hope of a world
to come? Whenever the man of humor
meddles with these things, he is astonished
to find that, in all the great feelings of
their nature, the mass of mankind always
think and act-aright; that they' are ready
enough to laugh, but that they are quite as
ready to drive away, with indignation and
contempt, the light fool who oomes with
the feather of wit to crumble the bulwarks
of truth, and to break down the temples of
God.—Sidney Smith. -
THE ,WILL OF GOD.—God sometimes
calls us to stand still, when we are most
anxious to proceed; this is motifying, but
we generally find it is to see hie salvation.