Cfjt ftamilg eitttle.
SUBMISSION.
ruts saith the Lord, " Thy days of health are over!"
A id like the mist my vigor fled away,
Till but a feeble shadow was remaining,
A fragile frame, fast hastening to decay.
way of life, with all its blooming flowers,—
Tho joys of life, in colors bright arrayed,
The hopes of life, in all their airy promise,
1 6tvw them in the distance slowly fade.
Then sighs of sorrow in my soul would rise,
Then silent tears would overflow my eyes!
a warm sunbeam from a higher sphere
Stole through the gloom and dried up every tear;
k this thy will, good Lord ? the strife is o'er.
Thy servant weeps no more.
" Thy cherished flock thou !wryest feed no longer!"
Thus said the Lord who gave them to my hand; •
Nor even was my sinking heart permitted
To ask the reason of the dread command. •
The shepherd's rod had been so gladly carried,
The flock had followed long and loved it well;
Alas! the hour was dark, the stroke was heavy,
When sudden from my nerveless grasp it fell. .
Then sighs of sorrow in my soul would rise,
Then rushing tears would overflow my eyes I
But I beheld Thee, 0 my Lied and God;
Beneath the cross lay down the shepherd's rod;
Is this thy will, good Lord? the strife is o'er.
Thy servant weeps no more.
Never aghin thou Mayest feed thy, people!"
Thus said the Lord, with countenance serene,
And bade me lay aside at once, for ever,
The robes of office, honored long and dear,
The sacred mantle from my shoulders falling,
The sacred girdle loosening at his word ;'
I could but feel and say, while sadly gazing,
I have been once a pastor of the Lord.
Then groans of anguish in my soul, would rise,
Then burninglears would overflow'ly eyes;
But his own garinent once was torn aminiy,,_
To the rude soldiery a soil and prey;
Is this thy will, good Lord'? the strife is o'er,
Thy servant weeps no.mori.
" From the calm port of safety rideiy severed,
Through stormy waves thy. shattered bark; ninsti go,
And dimly see, naafi:the darkness sinking
Nothing but beaNen above i and depths below!"
Thus said - the Lord; add. thrOugh a 'wink sedan
Of doubts-and fears my spirit toiled' in — vain.
ah ! many a dote went forth of,liope inquiring,
But none with olive leaf returned again!
Then groans of anguish in my , soul would rise,
Then tears of bitterness o'erflovved my eyes!
Yet through the gloom the promised light was given ;
From the dark waves, I could look up to heaven!
Is this thy will, good Lord? the strife is o'er.
Thy servant weeps no more.
Thou shalt find kindred hearts in love united,
And with them in the wilderness rejoice;
But stand prepared, each gentle tie untwining,
To separate at. my commanding voice!
Thus said the Lord ! he gave as he lead promised ;
How many a loving heart has met my own !
But ever must the tender bonds be broken,
And each go onward, distant and alone!
Then sighs of sorrow in my soul would rise,
Then tears of anguish overflowed my eyes;
But thou bast known the bitter, parting day,
From the beloved John hast turned away.
Is this thy will, good Lord? the strife is o'er.
Thy servant weeps no more.
Mowaa.
THE GOLDEN TEXT.
The minister of Isley sat in his study late
one Saturday night, a weary, disheartened
man ; he had . just finished a week of arduous
duties and harrassing cares, and had not
expected to preach an the next day, as he
was suffering from a severe cold; but his
anticipated help had not come, and his ser
mon was unwritten, and himself in anything
but a devotional frame of mind—for minis
ters, after all, if they are 'ambassadors of
Christ, are very human. Their physical na
tures are often weak, and their spiritual
condition is not always perfect, even with
the Divine help they constantly implore.
On this night Mr. Redmond : leaned his
aching head on his study table, and almost
wished he were not a minister, that he
might at least provide his family with the
comforts they so much needed; that so
much would not be expected of him, and so
little given in return. Ho was not even sure
that he had the sympathy and prayers of
his people; ,they were so distant toward
him, he felt strongly tempted to have no
service on the next day in the church,' and
so excuse himself altogether.
But was that doing. his Master's work ?
No, he oould not prepare a written sermon
at that late hour in his present depression of
spirits, but he would talk to the people af
fectionately from the pulpit, as a father to
his children. He *petted a Bible to select a
text, and chose-the first his eye refited on :
"Bear ye one another's burdens." And nev
er had he spoken so impressively as he did
on that day ; neverhad the relation of pas
tor and people seemed nearer to him,, or his
sacred office of more enduring beauty. He
spoke of the saintly fellowship of Christians
upon earth, and his heart was in what he
said. His people had only respected him
before—that day they loved him. There
were some narrow-minded men in the con
gregation; one of these sat the next day in
his comfortable home and talked with his
wife over yesterday's sermon.
"It seemed to me Mr. Redmond felt bad
ly," he said. "Kitty, I've been thinking
over that text, and about concluded to bear
bis burden a little. I've got a sight more of
that smooth hickory wood than I can use
in two years, and I'll give him a couple of
cords. I think that will help a little."
Kitty said, " Yes, do,': and mentally re
solved that when pork time came .a snug
ham and some sausage meat should find its
way to the parsonage.
Somehow the woo was accompanied by
a barrel of flour, the gift of another mem
ber, and shortly after a real donation visit,
made the - minister's home a happy one for
ti k at winter, so that he was able out of his
small salary to spare the means for a few
needed books.
But that was not all the good that text
did.
John Collins was a night watchman at the
great warehouse of Barker & Co.; he Was
poor, and his wife was sick, and do what he
would he could not make ends meet. There
was a trifle of money coming to him from
a past employer, but it would not be due
until three nibilthg. If he could borrow that,
it would make him straight again. But
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 1868.
where could he borrow it ? His companions
were as poor as he. The minister might
lend it, for ho had been a good friend to
John, but he somehow thought Mr. Red
mond needed all the money be got. Mr.
Barker, his employer, was rich and would
never need it, but be was close. John knew
that. However, for the sake of his little
Melly at home sick, and his wife a pale suf
ferer, he made bold to ask, standing by the
rich man's comfortable desk and twirling
his rimless hat, and telling his story plainly
and pathetically. Mr. Barker heard him
through, and looked at him from bead to
foot, and " I cannot help you " was on his
lips, when like an inspiration came Sunday's
text to his mind, " Bear ye one another's
burdens." As be counted the money out
and gave it to the man, " Yon have been
honest and faithful in the past, John," was
all he said, "be so in the future."
Mrs. Weston had never thought to in
quire into the circumstances of the woman
who did her washing, standing all day at
that wearying work. But that Monday,
when she went into the kitchen, , and saw
the bent form swaying to and fro over the
steaming suds, she thought of her as a wo
man and a sister,, and by a. few questions
learned her whole history, a very common
one—a widow with %Ur little children.
Mrs. Weston gave her some warm clothes
for the children, and proinised to call and
see her, and encouraged her by kindly
words. -
"Oh, ma'am," 'she said, "it's not the re
gular washing I mind, but the ladies never
think, a they putthings in when I. am just,
finishing, for me to wash and starch, and if
they see I'm likely to be done early; set
me scrubbing the floor, sq, as to get a day's
work out of me. It's a long day to. the
children. The baby doesn't mind it, for the
others amuse it ; but sometimes they don't
have a bite to eat till I get home—that
, .
makes it so hard !"
And Mrs. Weston resolved never to be
guilty of such thoughtlessueEss again. "Bear
ye one another's.burdens," yet rang in her
ears and softened her heart.
It had been a great wonder to the people
of Mr. Redmond's church to see the old mi
ser, Thomas Fulton, come up the aisle.upon
that Sabbath. It was a still, greater wonder
when they heard he had sent, to the alms
house for his daughter Mary and her crip
pled boy. Had the pastor's sermon touched
that flinty heart? Under God's grace it had.
" Can I ever be so discouraged again ?"
thought Mr. Redmond, when he heard of its
influence. "Surely the angel of deliverance
Was near me on that night !"
There are other parishes in which that
text could be preached from with good "ef
feet There are other hearts for it to reach
and touch. It has a universal meaning; for
.wherever toiling, weary humanity is, there
should be learned the golden text, "Bear
ye one another's burdens."
MINISTER'S WIVES.
If God gives a good wite to any man, that
man ought to be the minister of the Gospel.
None so much as he needs the support and
help of 'a - good and true'womate. No man's
wife- needs to be so much of a woman in the
true and full sense of the word. And yet
how often is it ,otherwise. I speak not from
a stand-point of criticism and fault finding;
but from the side of the, mtnibter, and de
siring tot say the very: best r carrpfoi• xhiiiis
ter's wives. Brethren of the - sacred desk,
hoed many of you dare open the closet of
your heart to public gaze, how many - of you
have not a skeleton hid there?
But I speak to the young—let the dead
bury their dead—their mistakes cannot be
rectified, yea though they seek bitterly with
tears. Young men looking to the ministry
—but one thing is of more importance than
the choice of a companion, and that is your
own salvation. Pause; think, study. The
woman you choose will, increase or hamper
your 'usefulness; will be wings to your soul
or a dead weight. You have no right to
fancy yourself strong enough to lug along
such a dead weight and make advance up
the steeps of perfection in spite of it. Better
have a balloon than a lamp of lead. Use good
sense and prayer in choosing, and leave the
rest to God.
Good sense will tell you that she ought
to be pious. It is not enough that she be
converted, barely inside of the death-line.
She must be a decided Christian, heartfull
of love to the Master and the;-good cause.
Only with such a heart can she counsel with
her husband, with him devise measares46e
Zion's good, stand by him with her faith and
zeal when the rest leave him to work alone.
With a soul wholly enlisted in the cause,,slie
can reach many her husband. cannot. She
must have the decided Christianity that will
leavepo room for question. So decided that
it can stand by itself. Often her husband
will be from home for days and weeks; and
she must keep burning the sacrificial fire
on the family altar, lest haply the minister's
home and little ones are left prayerless and
godless in his absence.
She must have a mind, a degree of culture
is absolutely necessary. No more does the
chameleon take the color of the bark it
rests on than we receive the impress of
minds with which we are in daily contact.
An intelligent woman will stimulate thought.
An uncultured mind cannot appreciate in
tellectual intercourse,, and this deprives the
minister of what is absolutely necessary to
keep thought active, mind vigorous. Ido
not mean that in seminary routine she must
have committed so many problems in geo
metry, skimmed over rhetoric, touched as
tronomy, and be able to locate the constella
tions, 'looked at botany, and know the lan
guage of a hundred flowers—this is not cul
ture of mind. A woman may have done all
this and be the most insipid; brainless doll.
Wherever and however she came by her
culture, she, must be able to grapple with
stern thought, to look with an understand
! ing eye on the great waves of tumult heaved
1, up threateningly on humanity's ocean by
the mighty winds of God. The questions
of the ages must not be Samsonian riddles
to her. The books on her husband's library
shelves must not be all Greek and Hebrew
to her; but she must know how to use the
product of other minds for the growth of
her own.
She must have a discreet tongue. It will
add infinitely to the comfort of them both
and the congregation. Woe be to them all
if the mechanism by which it is swung
works so perfectly as to be a near approach
to perpetual motion. Woe to all if she re
peat some half uncharitable opinion of a
neighbor expressed to her without the cau
tion not to repeat. Trouble to herself, husband
and people, if "they say" is a glib, conven
ient phrase to introduce the latest bit of
scandal, without shouldering responsibility..
Trouble,confusion and final rout to the
minister whose wife does not know how to
let other people's faults and failings alone.
She must be a good housekeeper. Pardon
so homely a trait in the ideal—it is really
essential. Your wife must be neat and
cleanly, never indifferent to personal appear
ance, never guilty of the; sin of)ieing slat
ternly. These are so common thlngs that I
would• not mention them if observation, had
not made me wise, but what I-aim at . more
a
especially is economy—ability to keep com
fortable house on say 'B5OO a year. The
average of ministers' wives must keep within
those figures. Some make twice as much
conffort with the amount: others do. Any
one can keep a good house on s2,ooonr $3,000
a year; but only a few on the' pittance doled
out to the minister.
Many other things she must have and be,
but I only want to provoke thought, and I
leave you to complete the - Model for your
self.—Lutherari Observer.
FRETTING JENNIE,
Little Jennie, fretful
Sitting in a tree,
Worried at the binzing
Of a bumble-bee;
Said she bad a headache,
Wished it would be still;
KneW it buzzed on purpose,
To defy her will. '
Buzzing bee was happy,
Busy at its work,
Gathering stores of honey—
Never thought to shirk;
Never thought of Jennie,
Fretting in the tree ;
It was such a happy,
Busy little bee.
Jennie grew more fretful
When it answered not,
Said it was really hateful—
That was what she thought.
• Still the bee kept, buzzing,
Glad its sphere to fill,
Discontented. Jennie
May be fretting still.
Are there not some Jennies,
Boyevand - girla, you know,
Who fret at others
Are not slack or slow ?
Forth to duty, children
Like the busy bee
Minding not cross bee,
On her fretting tree.
JUST ONOE.
Somehow, I can hardly tell in what way,
we began in our Sunday-school lesson lately
to talk about theatres and theatre-going.
One of my boys asked me if I thought it
was wrong to attend a theatre. I told him
I did, and gave my reasons. Then came
the question.
"Is it wrong to go just once, to see what
it is?"
I said I thought it WAS.
" But many church-members do go," was
the reply. *" They say they go to see what
the evil is, that they may warn others,
though I guess they have as much cariosity
as any of us, and go because they like it."
"All this does not make it right," I said.
Robert looked into• my face with ,a ques
tioning look, but said nothing.
"What, is it, Robert ?" I said, " for , T see
a question in, your eyes."
"Well, teacher, if you won't think it im
pertinent, I wanted to ask if you ever went
to the theatre."
I stopped a moment ere I answered this
home-thrust—stopped, thinking how happy
I was that I had been so little tempted in
this respect. At length I answered
- "No, "I never went to a theatre, and I
never mean to do so. I don't believe I shall
be - sorry in heaven!'
" I'm glad of it," Robert said.
" Glad of what ?"
" Why; glad that you have never been to
the theatre. If you had said 'yes,' after all
your talk to us, it would __have done me no
good. I should have thought, I'll
go once to see what it is like, but now E pro
mise you I never will go, God helping me•"'
How thankful I was that ID A feet had
been kept from the way of evil. More than
ever.l.felt, if theatre-going is a sin, then it
is wrong for me for all, to go just once."-0
S. S. Times.
In a recent pastoral, nishop Arthur Cleve
land Coxe says:,
" When I see the tawdry fashions, the
costly vulgarity and the wicked extrava
gance of the times, I feel sure that thous
ands of American women are strangers to
the first law of refinement—simplicity in
manners and attire.
" When I see that thousands of American
women read the most shameful romances
and the most degrading newspapers; fre
quent the vilest dramatic entertainments and
join in dances too shocking to be named
among Christians; I feel that Christian
matrons are becoming too few, and that
civilized heathenism igt• rettirning -to - the
fields we have wrested from the Indians.
" When I read, daily, of the most ungodly
divorces and of crime against social purity
and against human life itself, which are too
gross to be mentioned more particularly, I
feel that too many of our countrywomen are
without God in the world, and that radical
reforms are necessary in the systems of ed
ucation on which the young women of
America are dependent for their training.
" When I see thousands of households in
which young girls are reared tor a life of
pleasure, without reference to duty, I can
not wonder at these results, nor at the mis
ery in which they involve families and COM
munition. Sow the wind and reap the whirl
wind I
"As a Christian bishop; therefore, I make
my appeal to you, Christian women, and
ask you to begin the - reformation, by faith
fully bearing your testimony against all
that tends to the degradation of your sex,
and the more so, when such crime is not
only Winked at; brit receives countenance in
circles which ought to be exemplary."
REASONS' FOR' GOING TO COLLEGE.
.AnoiT fifty thousand young men in these
United, States are• students in colleges.
About one fortieth of the entire male pop
ulation, between the ages of fifteen and
twenty-one years, are enrolred on the
college-hdoks. Not more than two-thirdi
of these complete tlie coinie of study
upon which they have entered, so as to be
the alumni of a college. In this' esti
mate we do not include the students in
academies, high-schools, and seminaries,
which embrace perhaps as many more of
the same age,
but we confine our attention
to colleges. Nor do we , include in this esti
mate the great body.of students of medicine,
law, and theology, but simply under-gradu
ates. We find here an army of at least
fifty thousand - strong. '
Perhaps a hundred thousand young men
are now deliberating whether or not to "go
to college," and for the advantage of this
great multitude of young men is this arti
cle written.
To answer this question, consider a few
facts. These facts illustrate a principle.
In Laninan's -Dictipriary of the United
States Congress, published in 1864, the names
and short biographies of three thousand
eight hundred and ninety-two men (if we
count aright) are given, who have been
members of the United States Congress,
from 1789 to 1864. Of more than one thou
sand of them it is expressly stated that they
were educated in college. About as many
more are said to have been well educated
(probably some of them in college), and of
many no information is given except the
date of their office and the States ,which
they represented, the fact whether they
were educated or not being unknown, while
a considerable number reached their honor
able position by the repiitatien acquired in
military pursuits. Colleges are
. now more
numerous relatively to population than for
merly, and we are - sure,,from a careful in
vestigation of the matter, that ennsidera
bly less than one in a hundred of the men in
the country have been graduates of college
Following the general average, therefore,
less than one in a hundred of the members
of Congress should have been educated in
college; but the fact shows more than one
in three, perhaps nearly one in every two
This fact deserves attention.
In like-manner, according to general ave
rage, only one in a hundred of our Presi
dents of the United States should have been
educated,in college, and it would not have
been strange if as yet not one such person
had been chosen ; bat in fact, of the fourteen
men elected directly as Presidents, all . but
five were graduates of college, and three of
the five non-graduates owed their influence
to their reputation as military leaders ac
quired in war, and the fourth, Abraham
Lincoln, not able to go to college, surmoun
ted difficulties by hard work, and made him
self a statesman and an orator, and to a
large extent a scholar. Five out of fourteen
is the number educated in college, instead
of one in _: a hundred! The lame thing
would be found true of governors, judges,
and other such officers.
Again, take such a book as Allibone's
History of Authors, and as you cast your eye
over the catalogue of distinguished names,
observe that nearly all of them have been
educated,, in universities.
v All preachers,
physicians, lawyers, teachers, and editors,
at.least, should have systematic education
equal to that obtained in college.--.E. 0
Haven,' D.D. •
CROWDING.
I never heard it myself, but they told me
out in Illinois, that on still nights you can
"hear the big potatoes scolding the little
ones for crowding so." The little fellows
are growing, and there is no room for them
all in one hill, and so the big ones scold, and
bid the little ones keep, still. Ido not be
lieve all of this story, because potatoes have
no mouths, and cannot talk. They have
eyes, and if they had mouths they would
scold if they could, for potatoes do get ter
ribly crowded sometimes--crowded all out
of shape.
There is a good deal of crowding, and
worse than crowding, going on all around
me.."'4 hill of corn came up beautifully and
grew a foot high, and then stopped and
turned yellow and died, all because there
was a maple tree that crowded it and took
away its'imP and sunshine. The other corn
stalks a little way off saw it, and said it
was a sha,rne 'for that great big, tree to steal
a living away from a little corn family not
six weeks old'! But when those scolding
corn-stalks were grown up, I noticed that
they spread out their blades and drank up
the sunshine, and would' not let the little
turnips grow between their rows! and a
squash .vine got so mad at the corn
stalks that he came up, and. ran away be
yond the, outside Tow of corn, before he'd
stop to. finish out a big leaf or grow a blos-
som,
and then he stopped and grew so rich,
and fat, and big-leaved, that not a leaf of
clover, nor a blade of grass could grow, ho
covered all the ground so.
There is a crowding and a quarrel going
on in my garden all summer long. • The
thistles quarrelled with my strawberries, so
that I had to go out and hit them with a
hoe, and then they would not keep still for
more than a week at a time. Then my
hens crowded on to ray corn, and do all I
could' they ate it all up, leaving me not an
ear no, not a kernel. The cabbages did
well until after frost ; then a neighbor's cow
came to gnaw at them, and leave them
nicely white and open for bugs to creep in.
So my cabbages got crowded.
In the woods the large trees keep the
little ones from growing up. In the waters
the big fish eat the little fish. In the air
the hawk catches the little bird. On
land the cattle eat up the growing grass,
and by-and-by, men eat upthe cattle. That's
the way it is and always has been in this
world. The stronger crowds the weaker
and uses him up.
Once a mad elephant came rushing along
a village street in India, knocking down
the' village bamboo shanties, pitching men
into the air with his, tusks, and slapping
dOWn the women into the dirt with his
trunk Suddenly he 'stopped little baby
in, the very middle of the street, looked at
him, picked him up tenderly,, and set him
in at a house door safely; and then went
raging along , down street again.. Wonder
ful ! beautiful.? to see such a monstrous crea
ture so kind to a little baby.
A doctor in _England had a fine, large,
black dog, larger than any dog anywhere
around. One day, he broke hie leg- The
doctor set it, and took care of him until his
leg was quite strong again. A month after
ward this great big dog, fat and black and
curly, brought home' a little sore, red-eyed
doggy, running on three legs, and showed
him to the doptor to be cured ! Wonderful !
beautiful 'to see a great hearty dog helping
a; poor, lame, half starved cur 1 It is better
than crowding or quarrelling.?
Once 'I knew a tall, stout, good-looking
man go to a picnic withi at least eight little
children, six woinen, and some boys and
girls. put up a swing between two
trees, a long, swing, and then for hours he
stood. there, giving all the boys and girls,
and all the women and children splendid
swings—away up in the air. He worked
so hard that he could hardly keep awake
long enough to get home, and 'the next
day his arms were stiff and sore. But ho
is one of the best men I ever knew. - He is
so very strong that he helps everybody and
so very kind that he never crowds anybody.
He does not scold the little potatoes for
growing, and he says we - that are strong ought
to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to
please ourselves. And when I tell him that
everybody crowds everybody in this world,
he says, we don't belong to this world, but to
the kingdom of heaven, where He that is chief
is servant of all. I've a great mind never
to crowd or quarrel. any more !—Little Cor
prat.
A BABY SOLILOQUY.
lam here. And if this is what they call
the world, I don't think much of it. It's a
very flannelly world, and smells of pare
goric awfully. It sa. dreadful light world,
too, and makes me blink, T tell you, And
I don't know what to do with my hands : I
think I'll dig my fists in my eyes. No, I
won't. I'll scrabble at the corner of my
blanket and chew it up, and then. I'll holler;
whatever happens, I'll holler. And the
more paregoric they give me the louder I'll
yell. That old nurse puts the spoon in the
corner of my mouth in a very uneasy way,
and keeps tasting my milk herself all the
while. She spilled snuff in it last night,
and, when I hollered, she trotted me. That
comes of being .a two days' old baby, Never
mind, when I'm a man, I'll pay her back
good. There's a pin sticking in me now,
and if I say a word about it I'll be trotted
or fed, and I woald rather have catnip tea.
I'll tell you who I am. I found out to-day.
I heard folks say, " Hush, don't wake up
Emmeline's baby ' That's me. I'm Em
meline's baby," and I suppose that pretty,
white-faced woman over on 'the pillows is
Emmeline.
No, I was mistaken, for a chap was in
here just now and wanted to see Bob's baby,
and looked at me, and said I " was a fanny
little toad, and looked just like Bob."
smelt of cigars, and I'm not used to them.
I wonder who else I belong to. Yes, there's
another one—that's " Ganata." Emmeline
told me; and then she took me np and
held me against her soft cheek and said,
" It was G - anma's baby, so it was." I declare
I do not know who I do belong to ; but I'll
holler, and may be I'll find out.
There comes Snuffy with catnip tea. The
idea of giving babies eatnip tea when they
are crying for information! I'm going to
sleep. I wonder if I don't look pretty red
in the face ? I wonder why my hands won't
go where I want them to?
ANECDOTES OP DB. WAYLAND.
[From the Life published by Sheldon and Co.]
"Yon remember the dialogne between
George the Third, I think, and the elder
Pitt. Mr. Pitt deserve my confidence,
and you shall have it.' Sir, give me your
confidence, and I will deserve it.' The king
had the best of it. It is so with the public.
If a man deserve confidence, he is sure,
sooner or later, to have it."
Having been informed, that, in one of
the inferior courts of Providence, innocent
persons arraigned for alleged misdemeanors
were sometimes convicted and sentenced be
cause they were unable to employ counsel,
he conferred with a competent lawyer on
the subject, and requested him to appear for
the defendant in any such case that came to
.his knowledge, promising - to 'assume the ex
pense of such proresSidnal service.