eixtrizronktrt.
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ON BISHOP
WOOD,
PHILADELPHIA, OCt. 2, 1867
DEAR EDITOR: In Bishop Wood's late address
to the Roman Catholies who had assembled to
welcome him home, he is reported to •have " dwelt
particularly on what he witnessed in Geneva, the
home of Calvin. The town he found to contain
a majority of Catholics, and their ranks are daily
augmenting from the ranks of the Calvinists.
The man appeared to have grown` out of the rec
olleetion of 'the people. The poor man lived,
died;' and no, doubt, was buried; but the place of
his burial was known to no one." The above I
havn:quoted• from Ole report of the Bishop's ad
.one of the daily papers.
,"When"in 'Geneva' recently, I made particular
inquiry upo'n':sOtne of the points whiCh the Bish
oP has brought out, and am of opinion that my
informant was better hooked up, probably, than
those upon whoui the'llfshoP'relied for his facts.
I Salted . upon M. 'Merle D'Aubigne, the re
nowned historian of the Reformation, but the
poc l torbeing absent,, .had an, 4our's conversation
with his estimable wife, whom I found to be a
lady of , fine education and accomplished mangers,
and, also thoroughly informed in all matters 00Q
fleeted with the religious interests not. only. Of
Geueva and Switzerland, but of the, whole of En
v:lN', andby no means ignorant of 'our evangeli
cal plans and progress here in far-off Ameriea.
She Stated that the city was, increasing iti size
and population every year; that there was a steady
influx of foreigners, mainly from Savoy; that the
newcomers ,were all people in humble'life,, who
came, to do the work, of laborers • and to be, ser-
Tantp,in fa,milie,s; that the Genevese'were Mostly
merchants, mechanics, and tradespeople, and they
liforq,unwilling to hire themselves out as servants
orjaborers. • ,Hence the demand. for Savoyards,
wh9! gladly accepted these humble positions.
She stated that the iitcreaid in the papist popu
lation.was mainly, from this source. She said,
also, that the Protestants were holding their own
nil; that the population of Geneva is about
45,00,6, of which 30,00 are Protestant and 1:5,-
000 papist. There are fourteen Protestant
churches ; eight • National, and four, Free; besides
one Lutheran and one German Reformed—the
4,4
fourteen first mentioned being all undtr more or
lesa evangelical teaching at present. Besides
these there are an English and a Russian Chapel.
There, is one, handsome new Roman Catholic
ehpreh and one old one. [I know of none beside
these two, nor do the guide-books tell of any
more.] That the eight National and four Free
churches were carryingi,on Sabbath school work;
and for teachers were egad to avail themselves of
the assistance of the fifty young men, students, in
the theological college of which Merle D'Au
bigne is President., There are some, six or .seyen
hp,n,dred children in the schools fAnd
,the work is
carried on with vigor. The ranks of the papists
then are reinforced in Geneva., much as they
, are
in America, by immigration, and there appears
little likelihood that they will ever be reinforced
from the ranks of the Piotestants. Madame
D'Aubiime' also stated that the papists were still
very considerably in the minority.
The good Bishop evidently 'inquired of the
wiong . parties for the grive of John Calvin. I
had'no difficult whatever in finding the cenie
&lnk, and was taken by the custode directly to
the - spot where the stern old Reformer sleeps: A
little square stone with J. C. cut UpOn it thaiks
the `spot. I asked the custode whether he was
certain this was Calvin's grave. He replied,
with astonishment that I should ask such'a ques
tion--" Certainly, sir, this is the very spot."
HOw do you know it ?" I asked. "We have
the 'records in the Bureau, made on the day of
the burial, giving the number of the plot in the
Most exact manner."
As to Calvin's having grown out of ' the . recol
ledtion of the people, I'saw no evidences of it as
regards the Protestan't' portion of them. The
Cathedral Church of St: Pierre is a grand old
Gothic pile; but the light throUgh the' stained
windows falls not upon a bare stone floor, as in
the papal Cathedrals; but upon a nave filled
with pews and benches, we'l supplied with hymn
books and Bibles. There is no mistaking the
place as a Protestant house of worship. The old
pulpit of Calvin has been replaced by one , of
later date, but the sounding-board„which hung
over the old Reformer's head, hangs over the
pulpit still, and echoes out, each Sabbath, truths
that Calvin helped most effectively to dig out
from the rubbish of the papacy of the sixteenth
century. Beneath the pulpit stands Calvin's old
arm chair, a sacred relic, which will stand there
many a long year to come, and be cherished by
thousands who will never let the memory of its
old occupant die " out of the recollection of the
people."
The brightness, thrift, and energy everywhere
apparent in .Geneva,,strike the traveller in a mo
ment, as very different from anything he sees in
Fiance on the one hand, and Italy on the other.
If he be a Protestant, it does not take him very
long to guess at the cause.
Yours truly, , G. W. M.
Who can but covet the company of them who
keep company every day with God.
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1867.
FROM OUR TRAVELLING CORRESPONDENT.
PITTSBURGH, OCt. 3, 1867
DEAR EDITOR : Since my last I have been
still among the,„Seotch Irish of Western Penn
sylvania, and learning the signs of the times in
this locality and among the Churches. On every
side I find the signs of that Ecclesiastical accli
matization which I referred to in my last, the
traces of the great breaking up of old associa
tions and methods, the surrender of cherished
modes of thought, in a word the shaking of
heaven and earth that the temporal and the per
ishable' may be sifted out from the eternal and
imperishable. The materials of old nations are
being ground in the mortar that the New Nation,
and the American Church of the future may
come forth in American strength and in the
beauty of holiness from the womb of the na
,
tion's 'morning.
Most of your readers haie probably no asso
ciations with that word acclimdtization. They
have 'never been through' that mill; have never
known hew 'Job felt: when he sat on the dUst
heap 'and 'Scraped' hiMseif 'with a broken' plate.
If they 'had ever had that experience they Would
:discern the analogy between the individnel and
the ecelesiakiCal esPerienee, they Would Under
'stand . some What 'of the - heats arid rashes that
break out in the virtually foreign churches that
"surround' your' peaceful New School Zion. ''You
have seen something of them among your neigh
hors of the Lutheran chnrch, in the great'battle
between American Lutheranism and the Would-be
Hengstenberg,s and Kahnises of Amerie,a. You
have seen this old-world rigidity 'on dead issues
among yotir Old School' brethren. But nOwhere
will you find it more clearly defined than among
the Scotch . Irish Presbyterians, Who make several
of the sthaller 'of the fourteen sects into which
the Reformed church is broken up, and that be
cause nowhere is dissent and conservatism asso-
ciated with such rigidity of will. 'This 'chara
teristic is the most prominent feature in their
character. One old- 'elder`-from Ulster once
prayed-; " Gra;nt that - I may i bvalways right, - for
you know I'm mortal hard to change," and he
might have prayed for the whole race and stock.
They,are " mortal hard to turn," and this is the
secret of their excellencies and their, defects as
seen ,even in the nation's history. As Parton
observes, it makes splendid men for posts of en
ergy and activitY, but wrong headed and obsti
nate where tact and skill and ready judgment
are required. General Jackson at New Orleans,
Andrew Johnson as military governor of Tennes
see, were the right men in the right places, but
these two men in the White House showed them
selves as untractable and unteachable as mules,
and I firmly believe that if the first had been
there a t t as critical a period as the second is, he
would have been just 'as , great a nuisance. Some
of your readers will perhaps be astonished to
hear these tto men instanced as samples of ,the
stock, but the 'fact is,, that so much has been said
of the prominence of the Yankee influence in
American History that the r really greater influ
ence of the Ulster Presbyterian has been lost
sight of. Madison, :Monroe, Polk, BuChanin,
(and perhaps Jefferson) are all by, descent of this
origin; as are Webster and Greeley, through, the
Ulster settlers who hrought potatoes and
linen
making to New Hampshire. While'New England
has given but two presidentsto the Union, it will
be seen' from the above list how many Ulster has
-Their character then is marked by a prepon
derance of will and conscience over intellect and
sympathy, in such a degree that we may well
pray that they may be always right, for they are
hard to turn ;—always as right as when they car
ried West Virginia by main force buck into the
Union, crippled the rebel power in Western
North Carolina, and Northern Alabama and
Georgia, antheld Eastern Tennessee amid a tor
rent
of persecution true to the Union and to lib
erty,—right as that one of them who held the
helm of the Christian Commission, and steered
that great charity of the war through shoals of
despondency and flood-tides of rejoicing into the
harbor of peace.
Within that great Allegheny Range, from the
oil regions of Pennsylvania to the Muscle Shoals
of Northern Alabama, they have written in seven
years a record by ballot and bullet., that may well
claim knation's gratitude; nor can we hold them
justly responsible, if, one of themselves has done
more than any other ,man could do to undo;their
work. They will send' Judge Williams east from
Allegheny county with a majority that will tell
Andrew Johnson what his brethren thiak of him.
When the vote of this county was announced to
President Lincoln, he s asked, thinking that he
had misheard: " What State is that ?" and when
informed that it was a county, he,added, " Why
that (10,000) is majority enough for a State."
In church matters the people of this stock are
invincible in their prejudices, and carry over 'to
America all the party prejudices and:petty usages
of the Old World. Their lines of church division
aVe of Scottish and Irish origin. The older peo
ple are mainly natives of Ulster and have mod
elled the churches after transatlantic fashions.
In their eagerness of conservatism they confound
usages with principles, and devise dogmas to vin
dicate Psalm Book and Token. Of the 'sects
which they compose, the oldest is the Reformed
Presbyterian or Covenanters, who would ,not accept
of the revolution settlementof 1688 because the
British government would not "acknowledge the
binding authority of the Covenants, National and
Solemn League." They became political as well
as religious dissenters, disowning the State as
well as the church, and until 1863, no person of
the sect was allowed to take the oath of allegi
ance, - and even then the change was only effect.
ed by a division. This division came earlier in
America-1833—and The Synod seceded from
the General Synod in this issue. The Covenant
ers of the General Synod illustrate the fact that
if a man's face is but set in a right direction, it
is a great change for him. "To vote or not to
vote" was apparently a small issue, but its decis
ion decided the character of the Church in a
thousand points, and to-day it ranks among the
liberal Presbyterian churches of the land in spite
of the strenuous opposition of its conservative
men, requiring an assent only to " the great
principles" of the. Westminster standards and
therefore as a body debarred from union with the
Old School Church: This Church seems to be
pretty nearly , " out of the woods," and pretty
thoroughly '!,acclimatized" to American soil, and
the action of its last Synod in refusing to clisei
pline for transgression of distinctive usages indi
cates that it, is not going back, on its record. Two
prominent and able ministers of this. Church—
Rev. A. M. Stewart and,Rev. W. T. Wylie—have
recently gone bver to, the. New School ranks, the
latter taking his people with, him. , •
The U. P. Ch u rch, not very favorably known
.
for : its treatment of Mr. McCune, is the largest
of the. Scotch Irish bodies and the most energetic.
It is led by a few ; prominent men who have be
fore their eyes a dream of l a great rigid, Presby-
terian church, singing Psalms and preaching
close commiinion,, and standing over the whole
country side by side with the liberal , American
Presbyterian
,church which ; is to arise from the
union • of. the two Assemblies. Hence their Ain
willingness: to come by
,Presbyteries into the
November Convention, as the carefully selected
delegation from their , General Assembly will not
say as many rash things or, union as_would dele
gates chosen freely by the Presbyteries. Hence
too their eagerness to `absorb all the Psalm sina--
ing congregations that they can lay their hands
on, and'the readines's with which they foster and
help on trouble in the congregations of other
bodies.' The preponderance in numbers of their
ministers over their churches, enables them to
bring into the field a large 'number of skirmish
ers to occupy out-posts, and the congregations
are heavily taxed' for funds to support this cru
sade in the interests "of F'saldy and Close
Psalmody
Communion. But there are not Wanting indi
cations that many in the Church are alive to the
fact that this ideal is essentially a foreign one, and
that the Christian conception of a Church is
something broV, titan that oP,a society for.the
dissemination of doctrinal information and the
. .
propagation of distinctive principles, while the
cry of lost souls is in the ears of them that
will listen. The powerlessness of their Home
Missionary work is nowhere more loudly pro
claimed than 'by their own recalcitrants. They
can gather in here and there' in the West a hand
ful of emigrants, but they cannot, work success
fully among the masses of the 'ungodly of their
own land. The sighs of coming storms are
abundant in this Church ; more than one Pres
bytery has thrown down the gauntlet of defiance
to the Assembly in regard to the McCune case,
and demanded a recognition of the truth that
whoever has a right to membership in any church
has a right to that in the U. P. Church; that
the law of Christ is the same for all. On the
Psalmody question, too, there is no unanimity,
and their Assembly will soon have to again defy
.
public opinion in administering discipline or vir
tually abandon one of the principles on which
their Church is founded. Not fifty miles from
this city, a Doctor of Divinity who made Moder
.
ator Nelson's acqoaintance last May, has suspen
ded from privileaes till tried one of his Worthi
est and most liberal , members,—the superinten
dent and sole supporter of a flourishing Mission
Sabbath-school—for the offense of singing hymns
on Sabbath afternoon,art offense strange to say !
which was shared in by his pastor. In this case there
is already a feeling that it would, have been bet
ter to let a man of Col —'s social standing and
determined character alone, but hints of permis
sion to step out quietly by the back-door have no
effect on him. In short, then, the U. P. ideal
has very little prospect of being realized, and
.
there is every likelihood that this church also
will be obliged to take out its naturalization, pa
pers or be rent in pieces. Were it possible to
compose a . Church of
. Scotch Irish emigrants
the thing might be done, but as their children
grow up among the American people, and read
American books and papers, for good or evil they
must and will be Americanized. As it is, this
church, like some others, is but a tunnel, with
immigrants going in at one end and Americans
going,out at the other. . '
The old side Covenanters are a fine specimen
of sectarian success through sectarian seclusion.
It is a disciplinable offence with them to go to
hear a preacher of any other denomination on
any day of the week, even if no preaching of their
own is accessible. I heard of one family of two
maiden sisters, who part at their own door to go
—the one to the.Ul P. and the other to the Cov
enanter church. The latter does not hear preach
ing more than twice a year, but she dare not
enter her sister's church. And this in the name
Of 'Christ. Yet even they have' been forced to
relax somewhat of their sectarianism. '
ON THE WING.
itGV' alñ+
NATURAL TIIEOLOGY
ManAN. The Science of Natural Theology;, or,
God the Unconditioned Cause, and God the Infi
nite and Perfect, as Revealed in Creation. By
Rev. Asa Mahan, D,D., author of " The Science
of Logic," " A System of Intellectual philoso
phy"
This is one of the books which reach to first
principles, and which prove that the sceptre of
philosophical acumen has not departed wholly to
the side of error as some would have .us believe.
It is a clear, logical and searching criticism of
the positions of what may be called the Know-
Nothing pArty in Natural Theology, who, with
Hamilton and Mansell among believers, and with
all the infidel materialists and positivists of our
day, would have us believe that God and super
natural things, if they exist, ' ;cannot be known ;
that the objects of faith are' entirely beyond
the pale of scientific recognition, assertion or in
quiry. This speculative negation.of the know
ableness of God to human !faculties, is almost
',equivalent to. a, denial of his , existence ; and
must tend to the propagation .of atheism, so: far
as kis received. Dr. Mahan • makes: a bold and
able ~demonstration for-a.realiNatural : Theology.
.ge, commences with Analyzing. ,the 'kribviring -fag
ulty and vindicating its: powers; • He then states
the: heistic-position and , proceeds .to argue its
scientific truth. , .in.'conclusion lie treats of the
Material, the Ideal and. the Sceptieil.philosophy
as:opposed to :Realism. , -The , volume is worthy
the attention •of thinkers, asinthe,;same line of
thought with: the recent woris,of...McCosli. An
index i.should,have been. appended. • ' ..• -
ROBERT CARTER at BROS.
BONAR. Hymns of Faith and Hop'e. 'Third Series.
By, Horatius Bou ar.= ltimo., pp. 384.: ; For, sale at
the Presbyterian House.
The writer of these verses needs no introdue-
Lion to` the Christian public. Some of the pre
ductions of his' pen
,have gained an established
place among thp SongS for the Sanctuary. Grace
of language and rhythmical flow, clothe the most
Scriptural and evangelical utteratices. There is
every great variety in 'the metres and subjects
in this volume. Not a few of the pieces are col
ored with millenarian views. Some are para
phrases of old Latin hymns and over a hundred
pages are given to versions of the Psaldis. Mr.
Bonar, however, does not undertake to render the
grand Forty-sixth. In this, if in no other at
tempt on this field, Isaac Watts is unapproacha
ble. The book is bound in bevelled boards, with
red edges.
HERVEY. Meditations and Contemplations. By
James Hervey. To which is prefixed the life of
the author. 12m0., pp. 399.
A re-issue of a once famous and much read
work. If the outwardly active Christian in, this
busy age could be perAuaded to spend some little
of his time in exercises such-as those indicated in
this volulLe, his character would gain a much
needed element of repose and,. houghtfulness.
His mind may be profitably employed and trained
for the exercise under the guidance of the au
thor who was one of-the masters of the art of
Meditation as well as one of: the most.pious, and
lovely characters that, ever lived. , ,
STUDY OF LANGUAGE
WHITNEY. Language and the Study of Vanguage:
Twelve Lectures on the Principles of Linguistic
Science. By William Dwight Whitney, PrOfes
sor of Sanskrit and instructor in Modern Lan
guages in Yale College. New York : Charles
Scribner & Co. Philadelphia : Smith, English
& Co.' Bvo..pp. 488. $2.50.
There are few matters of science around which
so great a charm can be tnrciwn • by competent
writers as philology. At all events, we have
had no treatise, among the many issued in Amer
ica upon this branch of study, so abstract as to
overpass the powers of appreciation and enjoy
ment of the great mass of readers. Mr. Whit:
ney's book is, we think, fully as entertaining as
Max Mueller's, without being 'a whit less thor
ough ; and its scope. is wider. Like those vol
umes this is in substance a course .of lectures,
enlarged and enriched by subsequent reading and
study. Their main object is to bring forward
the principle of growth in language; to trice the
historical progress of the 'great systems of' lan
guage, to show how large a part of our existing
languages is attributable to growth. Mr. Whit
ney denies the position to which many students
of the Bible incline, that languages 'have degen
erated from an original and perfect standard; he
regards their later form as the result of progress
from rude and feeble beginnings in mere roots.
Many questions much debated on the field of
philology Mr. Whitney waives; as that •of *the
absolute origin of languages; and the 'bearing of
philology on the question of the unity of the
human race'. He modestly disclaims for his sci
ence in its present state, the right to 'decide or
judge on such questions, and thus sets an exam
ple which philosophers in other branches would
do well to imitate. He also takes' tie position,
of some importance in a theory of inspiration,
that thought is possible without language. The
book is a valuable addition to the already rich
and extensive list of Messrs. Scribner & Co.'s
publications in this department.
MEDITATIONS OE GITIZOT.
GUIZOT. Meditations on the Actual Staie of Chris
tianity, and on The Attacks which are now being
made upon it. By M. Guizot. Translated under
the superintendence of the ' authOr. Bvo., pp.
390. Published and for sale as'above.
This second series of Meditations will be read
with a far deeper interest than the first, as they
are concerned with the present remarkable Lets
in the spiritual condition of France and Europ e
generally. More than half of the book is o een _
pied with a description of the "Awakenin g o f
Christianity in France," covering the period from
the Revolution of '93 to the present time. Th e
remainder of it is devoted to brief discussions o f
the leading systems of philosophy of the day, i n
their relations to Christianity—Spiritualis m , Ra
tionalism, Positivism, Pantheism, and Material
ism; with a meditation on Skepticism, and a final
one on Impiety, Recklessness and Perplexity.
The whole is written with the limpid clearness so
natural to the best class of French thinkers and
writers; the views are broad and manly, and the
effect must be to relieve doubt and vindicate the
claims of Christianity to the intellectual assent
of men. It is printed in large clear type and is
every way a readable volume.
LIVING AGE QUARTERLE VOLUME.
LITTELL ° St LrviNo AGE. Conducted by E. Littell.
Fourth Series, Volume VI. From the beginning
!. Volume XCIV. duly, August and September,
1867. Boston Littell &,•Gay. Philadelphia :
11Oward Challen.,
,It is scarcely necessary to dc more than to call
attention to this volume, which contains the usual
well selected miscellany from a wide range of
periodical literature not accessible to the general
reader. Many, papers
,of , great value and inter
est—such as Carlyle's ,Shooting Niagara are
guarded from oblivion by,p,he wise interposition
of the editor and especially, being collected in
this quarterly issue. Every library should pos
sess these volumes.
Won.: Manual .of Physical ~Exereises, together
with Rules for Trainincr and Sanitary Suggestions
by William Wood, Instructor in Physical Educa
tion. With 125 illustrations. New York: Har
per Si... Bps. 12m0., pp. 316. For sale by J. B.
Lippincott keo.
This is a very comprehensive treatise in which
no less than ten diffe'rent sorts of physical exer
cise,, from swimminoqo bbat racing, are treated
by an instructor in all these bianches. Full di
rections are given as to the proper mode of con•
ducting the exercises,, including the entire eti
quette and code to be observed in rowing-matches,
base ball:cricket, &e. As calculated to encour
age our youth it manlyexercise and so promote
physical vigor, it is to be heartily commended to
the public.
3(VESIEFS.
Ganties GOBLINS. ' Selected from the Household
Stories of the Brothers ,Grimm. With illustra
tions in colors from Cruikshank's Designs. 808-
ton : Ticknbr & fields. SM. 4t0., pp. 111. For
sale as above: " • •
A selection from the extraordinary fairy tales
of the author, many of which are contrived to
leave a wholesonie impression upon the reader.
The volume is beautifully printed and illustrated
in aoloit.' It Would make a very handsome hoh
day present.
RAINBOWS FOR CHILDREN. Edited by L. liaria Child,
.
with' twenty-eight illustrations. Boston : Tick
.nor & Fields. Sm. 4t0., pp 170. For sale as
This is also a collection of fairy tales, with far
less mystery and grotesqueness than belong to
the German. stories, but with the clearer air and
the practical aim ,of New England from which
we presume they spring., They are edited by
Mrs. L. Maria Child. The volume is handsome
ly bound, and printed,,and has twenty-eight illus
trations, which are fair, without however war
ranting the high ecommendation : bestowed upon
the engraver by the editrese.,
BARRETT. Our Summer at 'Hillside Farm. By Mary
Barrett, author of ,"Shooting at a Mark," "Steps
in' the Upviard Way,"- 'etc. 12m0., pp. 2:56.
Published. by the American Tract Society, Bos
ton, and for sale at Presbyterian book store.
With the history of the sports and employ
ments of an interesting group of young persons
spending summer in the country, is interwoven
the inner experience of one of the company, who
was going about to establish her own righteousness
not submitting herself to the righteousness of God.
The most important lesson of the Gospel is thus
conveyed in a natural and easy manner, the in
terest of, the narrative being dividedly enhanced
by the religious element itcontains.
C. J. G.—Ruth Derwent : A Story of Duty and
Love. By 0. J. G. 12mo. 320. pp.. Boston :
Aweri
can Tract Society. Philadelphia : Smith, English
The heroine of this story is a Vermont lady,
who, just previous to the outbreak -of the rebel
lion, went into Virginia as governess in the fami
ly of aplanter. The interest of the story, how
ever, turns upon matters not directly connected
with the' War; arising rather from the strongly
drawn characters of Ruth, and'Faith one of her
pupils, 'and from the efforts of a proud heart to
bear, Unassisted by grace, the trials of life and to
ward off the softening influences of truth. The
writer's ability in character-drawing is decidedly
good; the story is highly entertaining, and while
the charge against Faith of "preaching" seems
occasionally justifiable, the excellent lessons of
the book are effectively conveyed to the reader.
It is scarcely necessary to' Say that the book is
wholly - in the interest of freedom. It is dedica
ted by the authoress to " her beloved pastor, Rev.
Robert Russell Booth, D. D."
THE NORTH BRITISH REVIEW.—No. XCIII.
—September, 1867.—American Edition. New
York': Leonard' SeOtt Publishing Compaq.
Philadelphia :W. B. Zieber. Contents: Moral
Theories and, Christian Ethi cs;
English
Vera de
Societe,; Concilia Scotke; Carsten Rauch and
his l l atestPoem,; M.. Gustave Dore; The Great
PyrirUld ; Eaily Years Of the Prince Consort;
The Achievements and the Moral of 1867.
--33,,,1L,m