Cortssinntsurt.
LETTER FROM KOLAPOOR.
NHL WILDER'S LAST PREACHING
TOVR. 11.
Mr DEAR C.:—ln my last, I gave
you a few facts showing the state of
education, in the towns and villages of
my recent tour. A third observation on
this tour is, that
3. Native prejudices and supersti
itions are somewhat relaxing. True
science is fatal to Hindu superstitions.
'This is no new discovery. It has always
lbeen known in theory, however much
'disregarded in practice. Npu might as
'well attempt 'to amalgamate oil and
water, or light and darkness, as modern
science and Hindu superstitions.
The, proof of this is appearing more
and more distinctly in Hindu life and prac
tice. Slight as is the progress in educa
tion, its effect is visible, and far more
'widely visible than education itself has
spread. The facts of true science are
retailed in conversation, and pass far
leyond the limited circle of educated
minds. I might refer here to the re
formatory movements in Bengal—the
advocacy of female education, re-marriage
40f widows, and some other innovations
all , over India. But waiving these and
confining myself to the limits of my
"lour, the indications that the more in
tblligent. Hindus are relaxing their
superstitious views and practices were
many, and frequent.
These inclinations are most manifest
in case of native chiefs, Za-ghirdars,
Mamletdars, teachers, and their more
advanced pupils. These, generally, still
yield to custom, and observe the forms
of idolatry, when necessary to their
goodtapding with the priests and more
ignorant classes of the people; but it is
easy' to see that, with' very many, their
idolatrous acts are performed from policy
rather than con amore. Many, indeed,
in conversation with a missionary, ad-' .
mit this fact.
DEISTICAL BRAHMAN-STUMBLING-BLOCKS .
AMONG PROFESSING CHRISTIANS.
These more enlightened Hindus may
be grouped in two classes. One class
embraces those of deistical sentiments.
One of this class, a shrewd Brahman,
came with his party to engage in argu
ment with me at the large town of Koo
rundwar. He put himself forward as
the champion of orthodox Hinduism,
defending even the grossest idolatry, on
the ground that ." the common people
can have no proper apprehension of a
spiritual God, and if they do not wor
ship idols, they , cannot worship at all."
But on sounding him to the bottom, he
admitted that he himself had no fear,
love; or regard for the idols whatever;
he descanted on the one spiritual, .
pervading Deity, with a show of
much learning and philosophy, and
affirmed that, he never showed the , idols
the slightest respect, only out of defer
ence to the priests and the people.
When reminded of the discrepancy be
tween his belief and practice, he unhesi
tatingly admitted it, but justified it by
reference to many (he would have it,
all) Europeans in India, who, while
claiming to be believers in all the evan
gelical • doctrines of the Christian Scrip
tures, constantly violate every command
of the Decalogue, and never' attend
church or observe the Christian -ordi
nances, except when surrounded by
crowds of their own countrymen, who
are kept to the observance by their
priests, by the force of habit, and by
ettele other's attraction; in which case
they conform, as he does to Hinduism,,
for the sake of society and popularity.
He discarded the idea that we Chris
tians are true believers in the peculiar
doctrines of the Gospel ; affirming that
if we really believed the story of Jesus
Christ coming from Heaven to die for
sinners, and the doctrine that the only
means of salvation from the pains of an
eternal hell, was faith, in Him, there
would not be five hundred European
Christians in India seeking "pelf, place
and power" to one preacher of the Gos
pel; nor would the few missionaries and
chaplains here be seeking their own
ease and comfort, seldom or never
speaking to a native, except with the
greatest condescension, and then only
on worldly matters ; that, however zeal
ous and self-denying a few of us mission
aries might be, we are exceptions to the
general mass of Christians, the whole
preponderating testimony of whose lives
and practice goes to show, that they hold
the evangelical doctrines of the Gospel
no more sincerely than he does the super
stitions of Hinduism, while a Deist at
heart. He is a fluent man, and went
on to express his belief that European
Christians are becoming more and more
bold in discarding the peculiar doctrines
of Revelations ; quoting
_Prof.- Green and
Mr. Howard, (two IWchiefa in the
Bombay. Educational Department, whose
infidel teaching has done much to spread
moral disease and death among these
young Hindus), and Bishop Colenso, and
closed by expressing his firm conviction
that in less than a century, all intelligent
Europeans and Americans will be Deists,
and the peculiar doctrines of Chris
tianity will be remembered only as " old
wives' fables."
I need not tell you how I met the
cavils and reasoning of this man, but
will report his arguments in proof of the
insincerity of Christians, insall its force,
to your Committee-men, to the students
of the Thtelogical Seminaries, and to
the Christian Church in , America., In
representing thls.lirahman as a type of
his class, I w:ould..retealir, thathe'' iiaa
been much with - nuropearis, carries his
sophistry further, and manages to blend
more logic with it than most Hindu
Deists. But all are infidel in regard to
Hindu rites and superstitions, however
much they may conform in practice for
the sake of caste, society and popularity.
Tatya Sabib, the chief of Sanglee, tells
me frankly that he cares no more for the
idols than I do ; has no more respect for
them, and allows Gunputti, the elephant
god, a place in his Durbar only to please
his priests and people.
A LIBERAL BRAHMAN CHIEF.
Some of these chiefs and Zaghindars,
feeling quite secure in their position
and influence over the people, disregard
some superstitions
_practically, and in
their case the priests have to wink at
tfieir recreancy. For instance, Dada
Sahib, the chief of Boorundwar, though
a Brahman, does not scruple to catch
fish and shoot deer and otbeianimals—
acts which, by the Hindu code, are mor
tal sins.
By the way, at no place on this tour
did I find a more pleasant interview
with the heads of the people, than with
this chief and his brothers. Their capi
tal is only about thirty miles from Kola
poor, and yet I had never been there,
and both the chiefs and people assured
me that no missionary had ever visited
them before. Much as their views had
become modified by seeing European of
and by the general radiating influ
ence of education, they knew nothing
whatever of the special doctrines of
Christianity.
When stopping in the capitals of the
Hindu chiefs, and invited to visit them,
as I - generally am, I often find it requires
ready resources and some tact to pre
vent the interview froFi being a short,
formal and barren civility. But I found
these chiefs most free and easy in con
versation, and as I led their minds to
the great facts and doetrinbs of the
Christian faith, they asked many ques
tions and developed an amount of inter
est that prolonged our interview, in, a
fall Dubai with one hundred and fifty
listeners, some four hours, with much
apparent pleasure to all parties. They
accepted copies of the Bible with a
pledge to give them a thoughtful peru
sal. Would that we could pray for a
blessing on their reading with pfevailing
faith.
A MORE HOPEFUL CLASS
2, But there is another class of these
Hindus of relaxed superstitions. They
are men of less subtle minds—possessed
of in.ore native frankness and sincerity.
Intercourse' with Europeans and the
force of education have produced their
enlightening effect on their minds. They
have come to see the inutility and sheer
absurdity of these rites and superititions
they were once taught to hold most
sacred. They cannot now practice them
without reproaches of conscience. Some
of them have got possession of the Chris
tian Scriptures and have become familiar
with the saving doctrines of the Gospel.
They show the effect in a more thought
ful, reserved bearing. Their words are
few. They seem to fee that they are
looked upon with suspicion by their
caste-mates ; and yet •the thought of be
ing thrust out froth caste, friends and
society is something terrible to them.
Death itself can hardly be more dreaded.
But God's truth. keeps their-conscience
active, and here they stand in all the•
peculiar difficulties of their position.
As :.&:type of this class, I may mention
the Mamletdar ~of Knwar, a man Of
fine infellect and intelligence. He
tells me he has read the •Bible, every
word of it, and much of it many times ;
and frankly avows 'his belief that it is
the revealed will, ,and the'Only revealed
will, of God. When I press its, claims,
and repeat to him Mat. x. 32, 38, he
looks 'thoughtful'; ; hints at' the pain of
lifelong separation from parents, brothers,
wife and all earthly that is dear to him ;
and suggests the possibility of more ulti
mate good by keeping all present ties
and relations unbroken, and by 8. quiet
gradual influence' enlightening and re
forming-the whole mass. He tries to
pacify conscience with this thought, re
mains in the, tramels of caste ; and yet
is ill at ease. He is one, of scores of in
telligent young Hindus I could name,
in the limited circle of my own acquaint
ances. 0, for the truth of. God, to fan
these smouldering fires of truth and
conscience till the flame Alai kindle and
burst forth resistless!
R. G. WILDER..
Koutsooß, braik, April 26,1866.
The Bev. Dr. Mullens, after a long
period of serviee'its' emissionairef the
L. M. Society in Calcutta, has just left
India= for England, to take the place of
Dr. Thintin . ai Secretary of that society
in 'Loudon. Doubtlelis he' is admirably
fitted for that post; end therdfctin be no
question of the, propriety of i tiving# to
such a faithful old tmisionary„though it
is a great loss to India to..have him go.
Touching at Bombay on his route, Dr.
M. gave a lecture to the young. Hindus
there. In the course of his lecture he es
timated the number of enlightened, Eng
lish-speaking Hindu's in Calcutta and
vicinity at 50,000—dividing them into
three classes :—l. Beef-eaters and wine
bibbers; 2. Thinkers ; 3.. Deists. Much
that he said would confirm and illustrate
the views expressed in this letter. But
how much ground of rejoicing there is
in the increase of this first class, is some
what-doubtful.. True, they .have swung
loose from the old moorings of Hindu
ism, but are still farther away from the
Gospel, .I fear.
We rejoice to,hear of the release of the
captive zlissionsties in.-Abieshlia.
THE',.AMLEW . C.A : Ii, _? rk s BYTERIApi r , Tp_I7, , ItSDAY, JUNE 28, 1866.
THE MEMPHIS FRIENDS OF THE
NEGRO.
" THE ONLY FRIENDS" OF THE FREEDMEN
Having occasion to spend several
days in Memphis, Tenn., two Sabbaths
ago, I dropped in, at night, to the An
niversary of the Shelby County Bible
Society. The evening service in most
of the churches had been omitted for the
occasion, and a very large audience was
present. The Rev. Dr. Ford, a recoil . -
structed Confederate chaplain, now one
of the prominent pastors of the city, de
livered the address; in the course of
which he urged liberal contributions for
the sake of our country, for it is now
the only country we have, and especially
in view of the needs of the colored race;
remarking that, in former days, our labors
and success in Christianizing that now
unfortunate race were known to all the
world, and that since the intimate rela
tions existing between them and us have
been torn asunder, they look to us as
their only friends, to rescue them from
the devotees of fanaticism, who, under
the guise of friendship, are seeking to
poison their minds with false notions of
equality.
HOW THEY PROVE ;FAKIR FRIENDSHIP.
The latter remark's' impressed me par
ticularly, in the light of other efforts
made in that city three or four weeks
previously, which seemed to me to have
been better calculated for, and more suc
cessful in, accomplishing "the rescue"
in question, than a free circulation of
the Bible ; for I had the day before
visited the ashes, hardly yet cold, of
twelve school-houses, in which 1200
colored children were being taught, and
four churches, in which, from Sabbath
to Sabbath, colored congregations had
,assembled, under the leadership of
"devotees of fanaticism," black and
white, for the, public worship of a com
mon Father. The teachers and minis
ters had fled the city, in fear of their
lives ; the megroes, with the exception
of such interference as the very small
military force at hand could accomplish,
were restored to the exclusive care.of
their " only friends," andAhe " rescue,"
to a casual observer, seemed fore the
time being, to be complete, without the
aid of the Shelby County Bible Society.
HORRORS OF THE MEMPHIS RIOT
I doubt if history will furnish a record
of more inhuman atrocity, perpetrated
with, less shadow of provocation, than
the investigation of the Congressional
Committee, which has just completed its
labors, will develope, for those terrible
days of the Memphis riot. After the
drunken row, in which it commenced,
no resistance was , made by the negroes ;
but they were shot down by scores ; sick
men dragged out of their beds and mur
dered ; women and children locked up
in houses, which were then set on fire,
and saved, if at all, only by running the
gauntlet of the bullets of a dozen ruffi
ans stationed outside to prevent their es
cape. Indeed, the whole negro settle
ment of South Memphis, embracing a
population of perhaps a thousand, and
extending more or less to all portions of
the city, was for two days and nights
the scene of murder, robbery, arson,
rape, and brutality of every sort, too
sickening to imagine, much less de
scribe. The police, . whose office it
should have been to preserve order,
were themselves the leaders of the, riot,
and were encouraged in the work by,
prominent city officials.
NO SUCCOR BUT a " RESOLUTION."
I mention these occurrences, more es
pecially to illustrate the consistency of
the claim made everywhere in the South
by ex-rebel ministers, churches and peo
ple, as the exclusive friends of the freed
men. I was careful to inquire to what
extent, after the riot, sympathy and aid
were extended to the hundreds of house
less, maimed and destitute victims ; and
if a sixpence has been contributed by
any Southern citizen, or any word of
sympathy for the unfortunate, or disap
proval of the riotous proceedings, has
been uttered in any Southern church in
the city; or any effort, however slight, by
that class of people to provide for the reli
gious or educational wants of those *hose
churches and school-houses have been
burned (except the resolution of the Shel
by County Bible Society, to circulate the
Scriptures without regard to dais or
color,) I have not been able to hear. of
it. The Freedmen's Bureau have erected
one large school-house, capable of ac
commodating 400 or 500 scholars, with
the very appropriate title of Phstenix.
Educational Institute, which was some
days ago opened with imposing ceremo
nies, and has gone into operation. The
agent of the Western Freedmen's Aid
Commission, Rev. E. 0. Tade, of the
American Missionary tissociation, and
others in the interest of 'the " devotees
of fanaticism," are also Making arrange
ment; to resume their labors as soon
as suitable buldings can be obtained ;
though, as no arrests of the rioters have
been made, as men known to have com
mitted half a dozen murders walk the
streets and engage in their ordinary bus
iness without concealment or fear of
punishment, teaching negro schools in
Memphis is not an avocation to be
recommended, if the object to be ob
tained is simply amusement or recrea
tion.
"MODERATE" SOUTHERN TEACHERS
Memphis, like many other Southern
cities, furnishes a field which our Com
mittee of Home Missions ought to occu
py at the earliest possible moment. A
majority of the loyal Presbyterians there
area ; now , connected with the Second
ON THE Oath FROM MEMPHIS,
June 13, 1866.
Presbyterian Church, as being more
moderate in its teachings than the
others; and the standard of moderate
teaching may be inferred from a remark
of the pastor, Rev. Dr. Witherspoon,
three Sabbaths since, in recommending
the Southern publication cause to his
congregation, that he had been recently
impelled to burn two Sunday-school
books received from a Northern house.
There are said to be as many as seventy
five loyal persons connected with this
Church. In reply to my inquiries, one
of these brethren gave me, as a reason
for continuing their relations there, that
they were Presbyterians and preferred
not to join any other denomination ;
that there was no loyal Presbyterian
church in , the city, and that they hoped
to furnish a leaven through which the
body would ultimately become loyal.
It, is to be hoped, for the sake of religion,
patriotism, and humanity, that unity of
sentiment and feeling in that Church
may not be . accomplished by the oppo
site leaven-prevailing.
A WORD FOR THE CONGREGATIONALISTS
The building of the Union Congrega
tional Church was dedicated during my
visit at Memphis. . Funds to the amount
of $ll,OOO were donated for the pur
chase of a site by the Congregational
Union, and a neat wooden structure,
costing $5500, has been erected. The
pastor, Rev. Mr. 'Bliss, is a bold, fear
less, energetic minister. His congrega
tion on the occasion of the dedication
would, I should think, number 300—
mostly business men from the North,
who have settled in the city since its oc
cupation by the Federal authorities. I
met some fifty of his people at a social
gathering, and was impressed with their
intelligence, energy and earnestness.
Unle,ss they are absolutely driven out,
persecuted and•• proscribeil as many of
them are, published in the newspapers
by name, and the public warned to shun
their places of business as if "small
pox" were written over their doors, they
will certainly succeed, for they consti
tute just such an element as God in His
providence always selects, as a means of
accomplishing great results. Indeed,
after making the acquaintance of these
people, I became satisfied of the fact, of
which for some days I had serious
Vubts, that Memphis is in no present
danger of immediate destruction, for lack
of the number of righteous men required
to have saved Sodom.
GENERAL FISK
The Freedmen's Bureau, under the
vigorous direction of Major-General
Clinton B Fisk, furnishes a moral sup
port to every religious or benevolent
enterprise sustained by loyal men, hard
ly to be estimated. Throughout his en
tire department of Tennessee and Ken
tucky, nothing escapes his notice, and his
firmness, unquestioned Christian integ
rity, and indomitable good nature, draw
from even the bitterest enemies of his
Bureau the tribute of respect to himself
and his authority. Without a single
soldier at his command, however, the
Bureau, under less energetic control,
would furnish small protection to loyal
men, white or black. S.
Cahls.
PRESBYTERIAN HISTORICAL ALBA-
The volume for 1865 embraces the
facts as reported at % the May Assemblies.
and Synods of 1864. Abstracts of the
minutes for that year are given in re
gard to the following bodies :
"Old School," 94 pages ; "New School,"
38 pages; United Synod, 42 pages ;
General Synod Reformed Church, 2
pags ; Synod of the A ßeformed Church,
11 pages ; Camber and, 13 pages ;
" Confederate" Church, ' 2 years, 94
pages.; Canada Church, 4 pages ; Cana
da Church of Scotland, 5 pages ; Church
of Lower Provinces, 1 page. Eleven
other Presbyterian bodies, including
those of Scotland, Ireland and Eng
land, are briefly noticed on a couple of
pages. Besides abstracts of minutes,
we find biographies of about sixty Pres
byterian ministers, illustrated with eight
portraits. Also, a history of the Third .
Street Presbyterian Church, Dayton,
and a paper on Manses and Libraries.
The principles guiding the industri
ous compiler of this work are not al
ways clear. For example, we do not
see it explained why no mention is made
of the Theological Seminaries of our
body; why no one of the biographies
of our deceased ministers is illustrated,
`gild why we do not even see the like
mess of the ,popular Divine whO acted as
Moderator of our Assembly at Dayton.
:There may be reasons for all of these
peculiarities, but they are not stated by
the coMpiler. The extraordinary brevi
tY of the Report of the General Synod
of the Reformed Presbyterian body must
strike every one at all acquainted with
its affairs. Its proceedings, especially
in the foreign field and among the Freed
men, are necessary to a complete view
of the Presbyterian Church during the
year. The very great fullness of the
reports of the rebel General Assemblies,
in contrast with the scantiness of those
of other bodies, is certainly singular.
The Narratives of the State of Religion
are given complete. That for 1864
contains the memorable sentence : "OWe
hesitate not to affirm that it is the pecu
liar mission of the Southern Church to
conserve the institution of slavery and
to make it a blessing to master and
slave."
Mr. Wilson, is, however, deserving of
eriadit, and of greater encouragement
than he now receives, for the savant of
information upon the history of the
Church in this country which his work
embodies. If it were not two years be
hindhand ; if greater discrimination
were exercised in choosing the materi
als ; and if a few sentences, at least,
were given to each of the churches in
Great Britain, the value and acceptable
ness of the work would be doubled.
GOOD JIJVIENIMES.
Twa BROKEN PITCHER; or, The Ways of
Providence. By the author of " Luke Dar
rell," "Mabel Ross," etc. Chicago : Tom
linson Bros. 16m0., pp. 282. For sale by
the Presbyterian Publication Committee,
Philadelphia.
A widowed father and his two chil
dren leave their pleasant country home
and come to live in the city. The
father becomes the victim of intemper
ance, and his two neglected children
struggle along, sustained by the Chris
tian principles instilled into their minds
by a pious mother, until kind friends
are providentially made acquainted with
their condition, and a happy change
takes place in the circumstances of the
whole family. The story abounds in
tender and truthful revelations of the
hearts of children under misfortune; the
surprises of proiridential interposition
are skilfully introduced ; the sustaining
power of religion amid suffering, and
the large charities and kindly ministra
tions to which she trains her followers,
are well illustrated. It is a pure and
profitable narrative for the young.
The deteriorating effect of low associ
ations is skilfully shown in the change
in Hattie's language after a year of mis
fortune in the city. The story ends
almost too happily for strict verisimili
tude.
MABEL Ross, The Sewing-Girl. By the
author of "Luke Darrell, the Chicago
Newsboy." Chicago : Tomlinson Broth
ers. 16m0., pp. 432. For sale by the
Presbyterian Publication Committee, F'hila
delphia.
A sorrowful book indeed, yet full of
deep pathos, and one that needed to be
written. Here, in this new world, there
are tragedies of suffering arising from
poorly paid work, and from grasping
and grinding and soulless covetousness
almost as dark as any in the overcrowd
ed populations of Europe. From facts,
so the writer tells us, and these by no
means the worst to be met with, he has
framed this narrative of the lives of two
Chicago sewing-girls. The story, though
not complicated, is skilfully planned and
effectively told. The sick and dying
Lilly; the interviews with hard employ
ers and with the merciless house agent
Brumbley ; the chill, dignified slowness
and intolerant suspicions. of the Chicago
" Society for the Promotion of Honest
Industry ;" the well-discriminated char
acters of Mabel and Hilda, are portions
which exhibit marked ability and sustain
the interest of the readef throughout.
All itcpure and readable, though suited
to the oldest class of juvenile readers.
•
MARCY. Thirty Years of Army Life on the
Border: Comprising Descriptions of the
Indian Nomads of the Plains; Explora
tions of New Territory; A Trip across the.
Rocky Mountains in the Winter; Descrip
dims of the Habits of Different Animals
Found in the West, and the Methods of
Hunting Them, with Incidents in the
Life of Different Frontier Men, &c., &c.,
with numerous illustrations. By Col. R. B.
Marcy, TJ. S. A. New York : Harper &
Bros. Pp. 442 For sale by J. B. Lippin
cott &Co., Philadelphia.
One of that seemingly inexhaustible
series of books of modern travel and ad
venture, in wild and little known regions,
which is such a marked feature of Har
pers' Book List. 001: Marcy's book is
every way deserving a place in the series.
The information furniihed`concerning
the fast vanishing tribes of Indians is
full, varied and valuable ; his account of
the peculiar phase of pioneer life appear
ing on the plains ; his relations of per
sonal adventure and hardships ; his de
scription of modes of travel and life in
those regions, of the natural objects, and
of the pursuit of game, all form a volume
of great interest, to which Messrs. Har
pers' have added the attractions of un
usually' good paper, handsome binding
and original, graphic, and well:executed
engravings. .
Col. Marcy's influence upon the tribes
must have been rather mixed in charac
ter. In one case, a Comanche chief
gave him a reproof for offering them
brandy ; handing back the glass, he said
it was not good, as it took away their
senses and made fools of them. At
another time, the Colonel :Mowed them a
Bible and explained its nature to them.
He also pleads for missionaries to teach
them Christianity, as, the beet thing the
whites can do to rescue and elevate
them.
poxim. - By the author of " John Halihur,
Gentleman," etc. > Boston: Ticknor &
Fields. nmo., pp. 260. For sale by J. B.
Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia.
We cordially welcome this addition to
Ticknor & Fields Bine and Gold Series
of the Poets. Pure as a pearl,- touching
, sometimes with a homely art, sometimes
with tenderest skill, the deep chords of
feeling,; bat always appealing to the
noblest and, holiest parts of our nature,
sometimes giving a new and striking
aspect to familiar Scripture,—the Chris
tian reader feels emphatically at home
with the author. There is more of
beauty than of power in these lines; and
the severe critic cannot call them poetry
of a very exalted quality. The graces
of a rich and various language, and the
fine elaboration • of thought from the
labyrinths of 'a deep and versatile mind,
are not in these comparatively humble
efforts. Bat there is much in them to
captivate and charm, much to seize upon
the everyday thoughts and memory of
men.. "Philip My King" and "My
Christian Name" are familiar to almost
all readers. Some of the sonnets reveal
more traces of poetic power and insight ;
we may specify " Beatrice to Dante"
and ‘• Dante to Beatrice." "By the
Alma River" and " A Lancashire Dox
ology" are skilful renderings of events
and sentiments of the time. While "An
Honest Valentine" shows traits of a
very diverse character. No one can
rise from the perusal of Miss Mulock's
poems without a feeling of refreshment
and of increased sympathy with good
ness and piety.
A A 111T1 TON. Summer Rest. By Gail Ham
ilton. Boston : Ticknor & Fields. 121n0.,
356. For sale by J. B. Lippincott & Co.,
Philadelphia.
Less and less trustworthy, more and
more conformed to the tone of the com
pany she has been keeping in the Atlantic
Monthly, is the tendency of this once
passably safe and correct writer. Form
erly, such attacks as she made upon the
plain teachings of Scripture, or upon
evangelical doctrines, were incidental ;
in this volume she devotes a long essay
to the attempted refutation of what she
calls " Mr. Gilfillan's Sabbath," meaning
the Sabbath of the Evangelical Church.
Much is said, in two other essays, against
the doctrines of total depravity and'
eternal punishment. In fact, Gail Ham
ilton must be set down as an enemy to
truth, and her books marked as unfit for
general circulation. Few of the pages
of " Summer Rest" are clear of every
thing unobjectionable.
MAGAZINES AND PAMPHLETS.
HARPER'S MONTHLY, for July, contin
ues the " Personal Recollections of the
War," with many illustrations; contains
also "Some Curious Homes" of Animals
and Insects, finely illustrated, and "A
Look at Lisbon," with seven illustrations.
Other article are :, High Days in a Virginia
Village; Armadale, by Wilkie Collins,
(Concluded ; ) Gettysburg': July, 1863;
Francis Asb ury, with a Portrait; The
Sword of Damocles; The Fool Catcher;
Sanctuary Privileges in Rome; Under the
Arches; Mr. Muddlar's Mistake; A Study
of Legs; The Food of Birds; Education
of the Colored Population of Louisiana ;
An Hour at Sea; Forty-Two; Editor's
Easy Chair Monthly Record of Current
Events ; Editor's Drawer.
GOOEY'S LADY'S BOOK, for July, con
tains its usual copious and skilfully pre
pared budget of new fashions, and an arti
cle from a Georgia lady, depicting in most
graphic terms the excessive inconveni
ences Einffered by the Southern women in
consequence of the blockade, and the curi
ous devices to which they were driven in
making themselves presentable.
THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY, July, 1866 .
—Contents : The Case of George Dedlow ;
On Translating the Divine Commedia ;
The Great Doctor, I.; The Retreat from
Lenoir's, and the Siege of Knoxville; Re
leased; Friedrich Riiokert ; Passages from
H,awthorne's Notebook, VII. ; To J. B. ;
Physical History of the Valley of the Ama
zon, &c., &a. Boston : Ticker & Fields.
Phila.: A. Winch; T,. B. Peterson Sr, Bro.
HOURS AT HOME, July; 1866.-Con
tents: De Rebus Hurls, No. II.; A Sol
dier's Dream; The. Nest of the Humming
Bird ; Benjamin , Silliman, D.D., LL.D. ;
The Little Preacher;About Lace;
leotions of Frederia Bremer; Why and
How the Federal Capital was established on
the Potomac; The Christian Statesmen of
America, No. VII.; Ignatius, &o. New
York : Chas. Scribner & Co. Phila.: T.
B. Pugh, Subscription Agent.
OBSERVATIONS ON RECONSTRUCTION.
By Henry Flanders, author of "Must the
War go on." Philadelphia, 1866.
FORTY-SECOND ANNUAL REPORT of the
American Baptist Publication Society,
Preeented in Boston, Mass., 1866. Phila.:
Am. Baptist Publication Society.
LITERARY ITEMS.
Ties Tamil is a language spoken by
about twelve millions of people in the Car
natici and by about half the population of
Ceylon., The earliest specimens of the Tamil
literature date back to the eighth century
A. D. With the exception of commen
taries and some modern works, the entire
literature is in poetry. Mr. John Murdoch
has lately printed at Madras a " Classified
Catalogue of Tamil Printed Books, with
introductory notes," which is a very valu
able contribution to our knowledge of the
Tamil literature. The first Tamil types
were cut at Amsterdam, in 1678, but were
so bad as not to be understood by the ns.
Lives. The next attempt was at Halle,
Saxony, in 1710, to supply the Tranquebar
Mission. The present excellence of Tamil
typography is owing to Mr. P. R. Hunt, of
the American Mission press at Madras.
In 1863, there were ten native presses in
Madras. Mr. Murdoch has described 1755
books, which he has arranged in ten classes:
Religion, 1218; Jurisprudence, 19; Phi
losophy, 50; Science, 62; Arts, 6; Liter
ature, 152; Philology, 176; Geography
and History, 12; Periodicals and News
papers, 26; Books for Europeans studying
Tamil, 34. Introductory remarks, of a
historical, literary, and statistical nature,
precede each class. The books are very
carefully described, and their contents
marked. The general introduction, besides
a great amount of information on general
literary questions, contains notices of one
hundred and nineteen Tamil authors.—
Nation.
DRAGS.
Some people seem born to be drags u
society and on the church. Whateli
scheme or good work is proposed, they er r
oak for delay and caution—perhaps for the
entire abandonment of the measure. They
are afraid of failure, or afraid of expens
or afraid of consequences. They put cn
the drag always at most inconvenient times .
When the wheels are going up a steep bill.
on goes the drag ! These drag men do Is- ,
calculable evil in the church of God ! D .
they do not directly work the work et
Satan, they hinder the work of God. They
are men of unbelief, not of faith.—/bid.