Crattspintlinttf.
A LAY SERMON,
[Tile following article concludes the address of
an Elder, of which a part appeared in the last
number of the AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, un
der the caption, " Working for Christ." A
quaint writer has declared his entire disbelief in
any conversion which does not go far enough to
reach the pocket; and such seems to be.the Eh
der's opinion also, although he does not express it
so emphatically.. There is, of course, a vast
amount of Christian benevolence in our commu
nion, which flows through other channels than
the CoMmittees of our General Assembly ; but,
nevertheless, it is also true, that, with rare ex
ceptions, those who give most liberally to the
causes recommended by the Church, are the same
persons who contribute most liberally to all other
worthy objects.' All true. Presbyterians should
endeavor to do (heir full share towards sustaining
the organizations which our Church has created
and commended to our foStering care ; and we
therefOre: beg all the readers of this paper to pe
ruse' carefully, and to ponder "prayerfully, the
somewhat startling statistics which are here sub
mitted for their consideration.] 3. G. B.
No. 2.—GIVING FOR CHRIST.
The reports made to the last General Assem
bly, which met in Rochester, N. Y., May, 1867,
show that there are in our communion 1,560
churches, containing 161;539 - communicants.
These, together with the members of
, the con
gregations who are not commiin icants, contributed
in the preceding year to the six great objects
specially recommended by the General AsSembly
to our benevolence, as the most efficient means
of doing our work for the evangeliiation of the
world, as follows, viz
TO Thome Missions, $117,793 or 73 Cts. for each.
'Foreign Missions, 110.725 or 68 4,
Education, 20,770 or 1.3 "
Church Erection, 19.335 or 12, "
Ministeriai Relief, 9,482 or ' 6 " -
Publication,, 8,128 or ~5
The whole amount given by the entire,Church
to theie six objects in the year, was equal to one
dollar and seventy-seven cents for each church
member ; which is less than one days' wages of
an ordinary laborer in our cities, and, less than
half a cent a day for each communicant. Com
ment is useless, for these figures speak louder
than words. Well might a clergyman say, " It
would be hardly worth while fur the left, hand to
know what the right band, doeth, in the case of
a great many of oar people. If the injunction
were removed, the right hand would have noth
iag to reveal" It must always be' reinembered,
when we talk of averages, that there are some
meuibers in every congregation who do their full
duty, and many others who approximate to- it.
But inasmuch as a part give five, ten, twenty or
fifty times the church average, it necessarily fol
lows that a large number give little or nothing,'
The last command of the Lord' to his disciples
before his Ascension, was, " Disciple all nations,"
" Preach the gospel to every creature." Elsewhere
he has said, " Give and it shall be given unto
you," and again, " It is more blessed to give than
to receive." In view of the above statistics,
would it not seem as if a great many in our com
munion repudiate the commandrirent, and disbe
lieve the promises 7
If all of us, rich and poor, would follow Paul's
injunction : " Upon the first day of the week, let
every one of you lay by him in store as' God has
prospered him ;" or if at the beginning of each,
month, or quarter, or year, we should do the
same; thereby recognizing the right of the Lord'
to a portion of what he has given us, would not
many be ashamed of the insignificant amounts
which they now, contribute ? Can it be possible,
that because our Lord praised the poor widow
who cast two mites, her little all, into the Trea
sury, some people believe that there 'is a special
blessing only upon, very small contributions P It'
would seem so, from the number of pennies and
half dimes, in the boxes, and from the factalready
stated, that the contributions from our whole
communion 'to these six great objects of Church
benevolence, only average the beggarly pittance
of less than half a cent per day, for each member.
There are probably not many members of our
communion so poor, as not to be able to give ten
cents a week to these objects without inconve
nience; and yet this is two and seven-tenths times
as much as last years' average for the whole
Church. If the poor should give thus .of their
poverty, and all others proportionally as God has
prospered them, the aggregate, including the
sums received from non-communicants, would fill
the church treasury; and if accompanied by the,
faithful prayers of the givers, would enable the
organizations appointed by our Assembly to aid
in,the evangelization of 'the world, to move for
ward to triumph like an army with banners.
Some years ago, a congregation 'in the State of
New Jersey, determined to pay off a debt which
was burdensome to the church. The wealthier
members were called upon first, and others after
wards, until every one had been visited who was
supposed to be able to give even so much as five
dollars, and yet only one half the required sum
had been thus obtained. The poorer classes were
then invited to' join in the effort, by subscribing
'weekly, for a year, as much as they thought they
-co,uld,spare for this object; and the result was
that the poor had the honor and privilege of pay
ing as much as the rich, nd the debt was can
-celled. Many who did nut feel able to give five
Mass at once, knew that they could give ten
- cents 'a week, which at the years' end is more than
the other. Let none despise the day of small
things;
There are only twrithiirclies in America 7 the
.Roman Catholics and the Methodists, who under
•starid fully the power of "littles," and these have
a larger proportion of the laboring classes than
any others. By the systematic arrangements of
the first, through priests and' confessionals, and of
the second, through class-leaders, large sums are
$236,238 or $1.77
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 1868.
collected from the comparatively poor. There
are many fine houses in our cities, where the Irish
Catholic servant girls give more towards- the ex
tension of what they suppose to be the gospel,
than is given by their wealthy nominal Protes
tant employers for the advancement of a purer
faith. It behooves us to remember that strange
and terrible denunciation, uttered of old by De
borah and Barak : " Curse ye Meroz, said the
angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabi
tants thereof; because they came not to the help
of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the
mighty."
Paying our pew rents; is not in any Berme s
matter of. Christian benevolence. Our pews are
contrivances for our personal comfort, and our
pastors are selected for our special , edification.
If we must have beautiful architecture, luxurious
cushions, frescoed walls, costly organs and scienti
fic musicians, we must pay for them as for other
' luxuries ; and we should try to do it ungrudging
ly, and yet at the same time without suppOsing
that a high pew rent is ii , c"'deodatid;"—Which
may be substractecl-from our, allowance for. char
ities. • .
My, own opinion, is, that . every Church, should
be free from debt, and should own ''a comfertable
, and convenient parsonagd. If, in addition to this,
each church were endowddiWith a!sum sufficient
to pay the salaries of, pastor And. sexton,:mad to.
cover the cost of Sunday-schools,, music, gas, fug,
dilapidations, and that unpleasant item, " Sun
dries," we should gett - coinfdrtably rid of pew
rents, weekdy, colleetious, and special-calls for
. • 1 e.-
painting, repairing, acid `beautifying our place of
worship:- s Thb eniagregation 'wotild -be able , thdn
to devote' alb their means , Mid energies-to the as
sistance of less % favored churches,' and te.aiding,
more effectually the great work of evangelization,
in connection with which so many blessings are
promised. But we must take filings as we find
them. Ordinarily a church has no fixed income,
except the pew rehts, and unfortunately-therm-is
too often a ,mortgage upon the -building,' the in
terest.of which must be i ,:punetually i paid. Th,e
expenses . l. have sPoken of Are our own. private
expense.s; . as rritioh lo as stopping leaks in our'
roofs' at home" repairing our own broken 'windows,
or paying our own:housei-xent. I , cannot point
you to;any, blessings appcifically promised fordo- ing these particular things. In the days, of Peter
; and Paid, chnrch 'inertgages, as well as gas, or
gans and Sunday-sehbot libraries were unknown;
and anthracite :fuinacesi were' not , required in
Palestine,- but. _nevertheless I am sure,; from gen
eral,gospel ; principles, that blessings, always fol
,low duties performed, and I,c,an easily find,a.
nunciation, if we neglect them. "If any pioiride
'not for his own, and specially' for thoSe of his
own hod* he hath denied .the faith; r and is'Worse
than an ,infidel. I take it to,be strictly true,
that, paying our due share, of the necessary ex
penses of our place ef -wership, is a most imPor-,
taut way'of providingfor our own, and for those'
'of our own house.
It is hardly necessary-for me to remind you,
that the same .gospel which!enjoins Christian lib
erality, also glories in the fact, that to the
,poor
the gospelia:preached.. My remarks on these,
and all kindred. subjects, refer to those who hav,
not to those who have not. - ThOse who are not
able to pay full. church rates, or• any rates, wells
welcome' here as the richest of the.land, and ,need
fear no discrimination in their reception. "Bath,
not. God chosen the poor of this world,, rich in
'faith, and heirs of the kingdeni which He hath
promised them that love Him." •
= And now, speaking as the World speaks, what
do we get for this annual investment? -Instruc
tion from our chosen teachers, for ourselves and
our families, on matters which are as much .more
important than all earthly culture, as the soul is
more important tha:n - the ; as eternity is,
more important than time. Those ofgis'Who have
children at schools or colleges,
_do. not
hesitate to pay for the, secular education. of. each'
one of them,: four times as much as we are charged
for the pesi t which represents the costof public
religious instruction for ourself and' fainily at
,home; and yet this last, is•the'only kind of.know
ledge, that we cannot afford. to dispense witli4
upon any consideration.
I have dwelt, upon- these two points—,,Chris
tian benevolence,- and the support of our own,
place of worship, because they ,involved' duties
too Often overloOked; notwithstanding 'their im
portance. And yet they can be measured by any.
one for himself, if he. understands the rudiments'
.of arithmetic. .I :once asked a scof f ing Universi
ty
P,rofessor, who was sneering at Christianity, if
he believed - any thing ? He replied " yes, I be
lieve the multiplication table."" .- &me Christiin,
professors-have notlet reached even:his standard
of faith. They are sticking fast in subtraction
and .redly:tfon, to say nothing:of vulgar—very, vul
gar fractions.
Suppose we turn over a new leaf, amt follow
the adVine given in flank matters byGod—hitn
self : " Brin d ye all the tithes into the store-honse;°
that there may be meat in my house, and -prove
me now herewith saith the Lord of hosts, if I will
not open the windows of heaven, and pour out a
blessing, that there shall not be room to receive
it." There is God's pledge, made to tho Iskael
ites, but applicable to the hurch in every age.
Can we demand abetter security for our invest.
meets, than the solemn promise of ,the Lord of
Hosts ?
AN OLD TRADITION.
After the Israelites had borrowed sundry jewels
of the Egyptians, and had been led out of the
house of bondage, with a high hand and out
stretched arm, the successor of Pharaoh sent a
demand to, Moses for pay, or for:the return of the
borrowed jewelry. Tradition relates that Moses
as a rejoinder made out an account against.. the
Egyptians for the services exacted.
a of the Israel
ites for the period of 430 years, nd, deducting
the claim of Pharaoh, ; demanded the balance.
Upon the same principle, how stupendous the
claim the freedmen of the United States, can
h onestly, make out, against their task-masters and
oppressorsd.
WE usually refer the poor to God's Provideace,
and it isjust this Providence that refers,theavto us.
SOME hope to be saved'hy a faith' ivhich does
less to theca than the faith of devils. Ja. ii. 19."'
FROM OUR TRAVELLING CORRESPONDENT.
CHICAGO Dec. 1867.
DEAR EDITOR :—lt was in the gray of the
early dawn that we bade farewell to beautiful St.
Paul and its hcopitable people, and set out on
the return. When we passed Mendota we had
left the true Minnesota itself, and were again
running over the bare prairies. A strong wind
was blowing, and as often as the course of the
train turned the window we sat at, away from
th*e.sun, it was instantly'eavered :with frost. The
ride was utterly•dreary, broken only by the new
and ugly towns that have sprung up in a night,
like Jonah's castor-bean (" gourd" in. our ver
sion.) In six of these, , towns . _ . there is no relig
ious organization of
. any sect whatever, in others
no iegUlar- services, lit others still -Ed -resident
.minister.
It was night when we reached the Mississippi
at North Macgregor and now came the tug of
iwar to get from the lowa to the WiSconsion'aide.
W4ii had. ceme up !by boat,- . burdttring our stay in
Minnesota the river:bad frozen. The accommo
' dations t furnished by the .-Railroad,were, scanda
imperfect. We first. had scrawl:4-7
ladies and all—some twenty feet, down, a steep
bank covered' with 'ice snow, when at
Jest we reached theriedgeoflithet ice; `we had to
wait sonic fifteen minutes liecalise " they dare not
trust too many pn, once," W,e, had
just,come out*: oars. heated up to„ the highest
endurable' point, and there we . .stood in the teeth
of 'a prairie wind that - went through one' like's.
'knife. Whew at lase we Were permitted to start
,for the<Yiee-boat,:the,.Mily pathway Was a 'single
plank, some five,inches, viride,, and, when, ,at ,to
end of twenty, yards, of 'found that. we
had as muck farther to gO oVerthe slippery blaek
ice. Just here, 'as' if to soothe the nerves of the
• ladies 'in our party, one venturesome stranger
" cut.a spread-eagle" in beautiful-style. At last,
by holding,en to each others ,arms,.more by, sli
ding than walking, we reached the ice -boats,
which consisted of fiat-boats extemporized into
sleighs. Thelsupplrof horses had run out;
the mule assigned to us - hadta second boat at,
taohed'to him, "to ptillythe first eke" we were
told. We serambledinto our seitti; plain rough
planks nailed' across thefboat i which was Utterly
devoid of anythino. to protect the
and' started; -slowly a`nd 'Carefully. 'We' Wound:
lironnd 'and' round among the unsafe places' in
1 the ice, which Wentocrack ! crack I crack ! at
every step, until we reached the eastern side of
Ithe river where the ice was stronger, and then
I proceeded on our'ride of an , hour up streatnito'
Prairie du Chien,- in the teeth of it wind that ,
'would flay a Wolf. Suhh cold: I hope neirer
.endure &rain. The only'lredeerning trait , was ,
that the 'chilling
was•not: local : we were , chilled
from heart to finger-tips in the' most imputial-
Blitlniost things have an end and. at Mat
the lights'on thelduffs showed twit we were at
our destinatiOn. We climbed up flight after flight
of 'stairs and in it few minutes found ourselves in
one of the best 11 It. hotels in the whole -Tenn
try,. ,If, anyfreader-should i wish or ,be compelled
to gc:),to MinneSota, " pray that Jour flight be not.
,in the winter." ‘. And yet this I am assured is .
,on‘ly - a taste of what the prairie winds are and
.can do. Dr. Patterson, (0. S.) of Chicago, told
me that some years ago, he and a ministerial bro
ther had'to ride quite a distance aurbss" the prai
'ries to tend, an ordination at Mt. Vernon, lowa.
A good while•,beforethey reached their ..destina
tion, they' were unconscious of the possession of
.either hands or feet. Before ; they came to the
farm-house where they were to put up;' they had
to cross a creek, but the drifted snow could
not see the bridge. The elder who was driving
got out and. felt finding:it; 'called out
.to Dr. P. to drive on. He found however that, he
could not lift the whip, but aMg,ed Lb Make .
some sound that started the 'h in orse in the • direc
tion of his master. When they reached the
farm-house the two ministers had to be lifted out
of the sleigh and carried into the house. They
were aslivid as corpses and had to be kept a good
while in a cold 'room,' hefore being brought near
the fire. One of these, the late Rev.'J. W. Mor-'
risoa, of Moon; never got over the effects
of that ride. ,
,Another night's ride brought us to Milwaukee,
and then we came to Chicago by the morning
train, seeing soinethitig of the 'country between
the twomities. As the road runs near, though
not in sight of Lake Michigan, we could hardly
judge of the 'character of this part of the State from
what we saw. The country was rolling and well
wOoded and the towns seemed thriving and push
ing, ahead. Milwaukee itself seemed to be a very
beautiful city, and has the reputation of being
one of the most beautiful in the North-west.
Chicagoans are very, jealous of it, as indeed of
every place on earth except New York. Tbey,tell
story to the effect that a Chicagoan being in
Milwaukee and, observing that the draw-bridge
was.closed, emarked to one of the : citizens "Why
you don't .seem to be doing much business up
here." " 'tell you" was the answer. " we are
doinr , just as much-as,y,ou are in Chicago. Why
that bridge was open only the day before yester
day."
Chicago looks more home-like to - us now after
being away from it, and we feer'some compunc
tions for possibly not having done -Nice to it,
before. The people are behind no place in the
West for kindness and hospitality. We ft shall
always have very pleasant memories connoted
with our stay, but it would take a very strong,
sense of day to make us live here.
We .cannot agree with those, who predict-an
indefinite continuation of its marvellous growth.
Its position as the connecting point between the
East and *hat was once. the West, but is now
" the Interior," accounts for its past, bitt as the
Interior itself develops in resources and
,becomes
no longer under - the necessity of taming, corn.
into pork - for the Eastern market, the nupor
tance of Chicago must diminish. Its R. R. mo
nopolies are. also on the decline, and the' Missis
sippi - Valley. R. R., which is far more needed
than the Union: Pacific, will, when completed,
give the finishing stroke. The St. Paul and
Lake Superior Rciad" will turn the grain trade
into othei. channels, and as St. Louis recovers
from the effects of_ the war, much of
.the business
that ha.d.come here will returp to it.
The openin g ; uP.of new and promising outlets
for scoundrelism, such as Julesburg and Chey
enne, has improved the moral character of the
city, but there is still room for improvement.
There is one place where liquor is sold for every
sixty of the inhabitants, but one of the local
papers notes it as an omen for-good, that the mar
riages already equal the divorces in number.
This of course is exaggeration, but as the•lax,tex.
number over 300 for the current year, it may be
inferred that there is a screw loose in social mor
als here. ON THE WING.
.PENNSTIN I AN.T.A. COLLEGES AND REUNION.
tETTRIV ISOM REV. DR. TUSTIN.
Washington City, D. C., February, 1868
EDITOR OF THE AMERICAN P,ItESI3YTERIAN,
Rev. •and , Dear Brother =The arrival of the
AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, always. , a welcome
visitor, has•reminded me of an obligation which
your kindness has imposed upon thelfriends of an
Inititation with which I arn:conneeted. As the
oldest niember, if I mistake not, of the Board:of .
Trustees of Lafayette College, and feeling a lively
I I interest , in its prosperity, I wasinuch gratified, as
I have no doubt all the friends i of the Institution
were,.at, the editorial notice which appeared in,
- your columns a few weeks since, in relation to its
'present, condition and future prospects. Having
- occupied, the, position of President of the Board,
in the darkest Period of the Institution; Whpn
thelat 'gar of - ilope was fading from'the
bf Peeithfl -can testify how nearlYit
preached the ;point. of transfer, ,to some other de
-floral/47004;os; theAess, w,elcome. destipy, of entire ,
abanqpnment,.. j jky .a -traip o a f providences . which
it would be eriminal,to disregard, it,has,nnt only
been deiii;eied from the 'fate which seemed 'jai- .
vitgble, :but; through the , princely liberality ; of
,several citizens of Pennsylvania, accompanied by
the blessing of God upon the, untiring and 'stie 2
IcessfuT labdrs of its noble President, it las. been
;plabed upon a'footing which makes it a" fiiinii(i
•able rival of dig- best InstitatiOns,
• of the land.
With a:Boald. • of Trustees activelialive to the
interests of the Itistitntion, and FaCiitty
dantly, qualified'to meet "all the -requirements` of
their" high and responSible- 'positiOns, Lafayette,
'bids fair td fulfil. thp expeetations- of.its most, ar-.
r dent and •enthusiastic friends. "
I !,
_When, the: several: branches of our " Sacramen
tal
.
host,'! shall become Waited as they soon will
be, iiniesS'pcinie of Dis'cord shall' heat'its
' . lflamino o -toreh'inio our - gradual iy • approximatiha ,
1 - ranks, .and` -the; -Presbyterian element - - shall be. e
•coricenkrated i ;tlp9n',..Te,ajityet4 in ,:the Ea:sera sec-.
Lion: of P'en nsylvania, and Jefferson in the Weste7k,
lithe lieaVy,liattallionshf ignorance and infidelity
Ivrill"liaVe'to.he aria -.- a "doing" - to titaitt6in .
, .
entrenchments; =much more to attediptl any
'farther .aggressiie demonstration L upin ; even the "
outposts of the Redeemer's, kingdom. A,•nd why,
'should: not this he the Cashl Why „should the
friend's Of truth and morality weaken their forcei
`contention' and division, 'Why Should this
`Holy Alliance he deferred, and thus furnish ';the ,
enemy with..time and opportunity to utr,engthen,
thoir...position in. the. good old
,Commonwealth of
Pep - -
If ever there was . a 'dine
.denOininations were called upon 'to loie 'sight' of
. 1221.71(0.-And , unesseritial differences,the. present
is the hour in which such sacrifices. are loudly.
called for. The enemies of Christianity are, avail
ing of every facility' to diSSeininate
:their hurtful and ruinous sentiments.. .
In this view of the subject, I regard, the. re
sults °rt./blurry-a Union Cpnven,iion Philcmgel-,
pida, as possessing an interest. and. , iniporta.nce
of which 'the church has no adequate conception.
And would almost as. soon think - of speaking
against the scenes and results. of .the 'f‘Driy - ofi
Pentewst,?:- as to be found uttering .eicpres,sions,
ofydic.ale,or. hostility against the .developnients
of that Convention. The conversions in the one
case were, certainly almost as'remarliable as those
in the other': -' Very truly yours, • °
• SEPT.Latui TudTibt:
FROM AN OOPASIONA.L WESTERN,
RESPONDENT.
STEUBENVILLE, OHIO, Feb. 21, '6B
I notice - 'ma'hy tokens of life and improvement
here. The construction of the - magnificent
brido-e over. the Ohio at this point for the " Pan
Handle" a. a. is destined to exert an important
influence here. It is said to have cost over a
4 ,
million `rind
a half of dollars.
Y..M. C. A
In different parts of the. city_ many new build
ings have gone up within a year or so., To my
_
mind, however, the most interesting is the new
, .
brick block on Market street, consecrated as it, ip
is V.
by containing the.
-rooms, of the Young ,Mens,
Christian Association. I have not seen any
rooms fOr such a purpose anywhere that have
struck, me more favorably. Overlooking, as they
. ,
.
do, some of, the most beautiful views in the city,
they are fitted.up with great neatness and take.
There is nothina. “loomy or repulsive about
'them but much to make them light,
airy and
attractive.. ' Several large cases of valuable mine
rals, shells, and objects of interest in natural his
gory occupy a part of
,the rdom. Two respecta
ble libraries—one befokgina toile city as such,.
he other to the'public scriools--find'•act appro.
aVte.hotne here. A number of large oil paint
in 4p & _engravings, can d' beautiful engravi, handsomely framed,
. ~„
adornAe walls,,presenieeby prominent citizens„
NewspAiers and periodiials of different kinds in
profusioNare found 'on the 'tables, by no means
1 exclusiVelligions. The ministers
. of all
_dp
-1 nominationpeinto be
. tlipronglity enlisted in,
the enterprise; and lia.V . e a ,rooni partitioned off
1 tor theirrainisreasSociation"Ureetings. ,What
surprised' rue; no little, was the announcement'
that Raipt Waldo,' ergot' was to lectuirdunder,
•the,-,auspiees of,•the . ssocialion, not of .course
• with any i dispositi,o9 Veader.se him, but indicat-,
ing, as I regardit,,a wise iiberal4ca.teulat'ed to'
secure' the synipithyl and do-operation of all
'classes of the community,, , , But , the beat point, I
.saw was .thatla:dies:svere.admitt e d to the , ptivile—
ges.of' the rooms. lt,vias :early in the evening
when- I called,_und but few Persons had come in.,
but among them I noticed'the mother:in-law and
wife of a prominent clergyman of the place deep
ly interested in reading. In another place a
young man was showing a young lady, perhap s
his sister, more likely,hisagetheart,some M the
attractions of•the plaFe. Ah, said I, here is the
way to make Young Men's ChriStinn Associatio n
rooms attractive. Why should it not be so in
other places? Possibly it may be, burta me the
idea was novel. Are we not too fastidious about
such matters? The community trust y oung
people together at balls,, at parties, at concerts,
at the theatre—why not at such places as these
rooms are--oinay*::;i:nd : ought. to be? - Verily
the childrep i i : of, world ~ are ; wiser than the
children of
FEMALE SEMINARY
But ',must hasten on to say that Prof. Wye
k-off of the, Female Seminary who seemed to be a
prominent man at the rooms, was kind enough to
show me over the. Seminary, and especially over
his own department, that of Natural Philosophy
,and,citi9inOV„y-. I was. c.harnied with- the ana
-1 plicity einellence of S. , me of hia apparatus,
much of it_constructed, by..hiniself—appropriate
I —suitable; and a , ll the-better for its zhe.apness, ass
i shOwincr his, classes how in their schools, as teach
ers, or in their country or even cit'y'homes, they
coiii&theiiiselives ennsltuet apparatus ' thoroughly
illustrating.the sulifeces :they, wart studying; the
-.very; perfection-of Willing, ~as.. l it ;seems ".to me.
,For variety and, l iislattiition Juive„raFely_secn any
thing of the sort which pleased me more. It is
just such suggestive insiiiicf.fne t iht'io't:only our
girls, need bizt:'oar hoYi arid-Young Alen as well.
_I was delighted "to find ',thin: SeminaryL=perhaps
,the, oldest junder l the, original founders. in the
,whcde land,, maintaining in 4111.. vigor tlie,charac.
ter it has had through parts, of the West as a
first 'Class institution,' fdr,' thiiirdt 'a' century.
iDr. 4 and MA. Beatty stilFgive itlthair loviro- over.
sight: and earn.: :Long luay they life spared to see
of,,theirlaith,
.144140;11_41e, energy and
far-aightietbiess flourish._
Mr. M r s., Reid, the 'prdent, principals,
,themselves ieedmillishetrie'achers; take the deep
est interestiti the institution, End' haVe introduced
many new-fenturesp is. a :large • gymnasium and
other matter,s.tending to,the,heaitlkand comfort
`of thepupils.,, The view pfhe 9y30, from their
portico, is one of the . finest on the river, *and well
,repays a dall at the Seminary." ' "
'Such institutions-Are the- - gttirrof ., the land.
Very. many:of otirlemale miiisionariesito foreign
lands - and.,the wives - of ministers-of the gospel in
:almost.every State t rit th . 9,,Union,hav i e here oh
tarred their education, qnil a few- of them have
here forind the Saiiiiiiri“iThiiinligh education, at
the,lowest.possible priee'llandiespecially for min
isteralAaughters; and to-raise IV pious teachers,
seems, to, nave been a prominent ,oh,ieet, from the
beginning of theschiX)l,:. irerylew.seminaries in
the land havetniemore reAlize these objects
than 'this one. letter ...is too long now,
, and .11 elose by Saying that'at this time there is a
very, interesting ,workrofegrace, going on. This
`however is by no means Atncominori, as. ; hut few
seminaries in the bind baie been More 'blessed in
this respect. VIATO it
Colgtegiftuitarist-L-Revvra s are reported at E.
•• ol.,ciuth, Mass:. With. between 80 and 90 conver
sions ; itarircia,ami ataizau,toi - -; in,..,,a
-rford,, with* 80 'converslOnS, inany . oC tbeni heads o:
fariailies-atid men of infttienee;xthe 8. , -church par
ticjpating; and in..the Yermout ..-so43em, School at
A tterhury, where nearly thir:ty boys are '
awakened.
=The Appleton - St`. ehureh LoWell, has voted fur
one service:andi Sa 6b aih'S eh oo i in place of the second
service.;---Three4iftha,of the Congregational churches
in'kaine, are morn or lesS .dependent on charitable
claSs at Ando
received a dal{ tb.lthe :,.Preslaytekiari church
in Wilpdhp.m, N. ,tl.- 7 - 4 series, of daily religious
Meetings is now in' tit.ogres4 the President's lee
iture room at Yale College,.held-from to 7' o'clock
qn. the eyeriing:`, t'OniTuesday eveoing, the respective
;classes I:Ave:heir ; two meetings.--Rev, J. L. Dud
14Y, Of MiddletoWn; is invited to the pastorate of the
'Plyinbuthiehurch-in Milwaukee. Salary :$4000.
,The: Protestant , Methodist a churph in Georgetown,
Fairfield County, has voted to Vm
ecoe Congregation
ail.-j-CR6v. 'EE. A. -McVailand and ' - "thiity-three mom
'hers have withdrawn from the. Fifth Avenue church,
in B,rooklyn„and,formed a new ; ;prganiiation, acting
on adVide"of 'recent council: This
. prevents the
trial announced to come-uftli-The , Purrtan church in
.that city is,.experjenciog -a revkyal, and many have
been,converteilA church of eight members (freed
meit); With"an M: A. terichbr
p astor, was or
ganized.. ate Davis .Lake,` l, Arkansas - ,.ec 16th ; the
first ithe State.-.—A church of twenty-two freedmen
was recoghized the result of the
labors of an A. M. A. naiSsioliarY.--E. and N. E. of
Chattanooga; within a - circle' 'of 50 rniles l in diameter,
are seven or eight Congregational churches, with as
re
aggregate' einbership, of sortie — seven hundred, the
result of the labors :of a Con'gregationalist pastor,
travelling for his .health. They are loyal, anti-sia
very, and supplied with - pastors., and'form an Associ
ation.'
Baptist.—,Rev. J. A. Spurgeon has resigned 11.5
ministry at Corpwall road Clu' , lpek N p ttin g
England, to become do-paStoi liTs;briptier at
the Tabernacle.—Rev: A. J. Sage - htis commenced
his work as pastor f or the Fourth .church, late
Jeffrey's, Philadelphia;.—The first annual report of
the - Conttnissititt of the'Baptist'dhurch Extewiiiiii in
Philadelphia,. says :-- , -`l;With -our; appointment we
received subscriptions, ter the,. proposed object
amounting to s l 4,226..CKfirst work was to enlarge
the subscription to $20,000: . The Commission stun
up the year's: work as:Tollo4vst: The purchase of a
lot free front debt, on the main street of the eizy,
the oraaniztition of \ it.'neiv'eltitrch 0r940 meinher•';
and -the cornrueneenient oE giodd chapel. ANA
more remains, to be done. estimated that
during the last six
‘ zears, over two hundred thou
sand people Bare been' adiled to the population of
PhiladelPhia--which addition is nearly equal to the
whole .prese,nt population ot .Boston, with its On
Min - tired,Thlsvast population have not
brow ht with them here mingle meeting-house, and
additional prevision
we, as a denomination•
have made for them, is two new churches,"
Presbyterianism in India__A Calcutta corres
pondent' of the Weekly Review writing Dec. 23rd oh.,
says :—.".The Free Church congregation have
iroottsly.fixed 'on the Rev. Mr. Don as succesor to
tliedate Thisi,:will. leave the mission
staff - somewhat weak: ..Dr. Robse i n, the med:e: ll
missionary; has resigned, and. acCepteti the p
.rilent of Profesior 'or Litertituie in. the P-resideacY
,College—a pogition his talents and attainments enii
:nerttlyqualify 'him for. 2,4 Rev..tLal Behari
the, Minister of, the„patise ch.urCl.i,here, the on)
self-supporthr native, convert church, in India, has
also, resigne4pd accepted head mastership of a
large. ; 44 , --BP l i)Ana It is pa in tnl to
Tose men like 411Psei, thlt4e,likult,ts not theirs; they
-have simply, done : an ae_4, of:. piy. they Diced to
themselves, and t it : egtai - ply w ought, to stir up . the
Churcli4:49. l l4 l 3tO Inakg, more.adequate provlslint
•Ibr the uaajp,qp4p9A . of thlia.e.Ogysend here to e , '" -
tend, amidst numberless causes of discouragemeh t,
against a people deeply rooted in heathenism."