frriginat e,orrs,sptrullfatf. SIN AND SUFFERING IN THE -UNIVERSE. Letters addressed to the Hon. Gerritt smith, of Peterboro. New York. BY ALBERT BARNES. LETTER IL !lON. GERRITT SMITH; MY „DEAR SIR:--In my former letter, in ref erence to the extract which you had quoted from me, as expressive of my difficulties respecting the existence of sin and suffering in the universe, I made two remarks: (1) That the facts cannot be called in question; and (2) That these facts have no necessary connexion with any theory of phi losophy or religion. I proceed now to say (3) That no sufficient or satisfactory solution of these facts had been pre seated to my mind. (a.) It Aid not seem to me to be a sufficient explanation' to refer these things to Chance. I believe in a. God. Besides, there are too many marks of plan, of system, of design, in the ar rangement, to make , that explanation alloWable. Moreover, there is a remedial system existing, which is not easily traceable to chance. The ar rangements, for example, for healing diseasee— lying at the foundation of the whole science of medicine, as well as the „plan of redemption, seems to me to be anything rather than the pro duction of chance. . (b.) In like manner , italid l not seem to me to be a proper and satisfaetory explanation of these ilihiga to refer them to .Ptca. As in regard to the former onlution, so it is' in regard to this. I believe inra God, and theidea Of a God is inconi patible with the idea of .Fate,, as it is with the idea of chance. Beside% there are evidences of human freedom or liberty in the world, which are not reconcilable 'with the notion of Fate, for nothing is plainer2than that thestate of things on earth ies,everywhere connected with voluntary human ageacy. (c,) X. could not fin& an explanation of these t . ' ' di cul les in the supposition that God could not prevent Sin ''arid suffering, Or •that he chichi not create an order of free agents so that- they would not sin. see ,no reason to doubt that he has done so in the case of unfallen angels, and I would . hope and .believe that he has done so, in regard to the inhabitants of far i diseant worlds. I 'cannot 'belie4e"that 'angelic hein,gs , are kept frbm physical &ice, or that they are act properly freep i caa I , doubt that. the j'edqeme . d in heaven wzll. be forever secure from all danger of apoetecy,, and that their ` security'from sin will be in entire consietenc:yWlth their freedom. I knOw not.why the SaMething Might not occur on earth.' At any rate, it. cannot he.denied or deubted, that God, when he made man, must have forseen all that would occur, and must brave known that if he created' hiM, he, would fall and would bring this woe,` and ?Uhl; 'and danger' into the world. Bat it must be admitted that there was no neces sity laid on .God to create at all, and, therefore, 110 : reef s it,y for the letroduction of aip, and misery into the world. Yet, under, these circumstances, God chose to create, man with the 'certainty that he would' fall into sin ; that is, he chose to per mit the introduction and prevaience•of sin and woe.on the earth, rather than not create at all. (d.) The idea that God resolved to introduce sin and misery a as a mere act of will anclukove reignty, by an arbitrary' decree--ordaining his own creatures to sorrow and death simply to show his poWer, and because he chose that it shoul&be se, did not seem to me to be an admissible ex planation. I, am so made that I could not em brace such a view of God. I see nothing in the Bible to' demand such a sehition. I could not reconcile'this With fnyidea,s of God. , I could tee no explanation of the difficulty if this *ere so. I could see, I thought, that the real. difficulty, could be, augmented by such a supposition, for s l ushtiod could be neither adored, honored, *orshipped nor loved. (e.) The theory that sin is the necessary Means of the greatest good—a theory adopted by many—did not seem to me to remove the diffi culty, nor to be true in itself. What good, if any, could come out of the permission, of evil which could not have been secured in another manner, has never been shown. But if iy.be al leged that there have been displays of the divine character, as the result of sin, which could not otherwise have been made, still it is not easy to see how it was consistent "With benevolence, or with any proper view of that character, to permit or to introduce the crimes and woes of this world and of the world to come, in order _that that character should be displayed. It would be diffi cult, and I think impossible, 'to show that it would be proper for a sovereign to allow design edly thc'existence of murder, treason, and rebel lion, with, all the woes consequent on them, to spring up under his reign when he could easily have prevented them, 'in orPer that his own character might be displayed either in pardon or in punishment; „still more difficult might it be to see how it would .be q proper for a father to allow his own child to fall into habits of vice or to ex perience suffering, in order the better to display ]fig OW& dharacter, either of clemency or of Jus tice. It is easy, indee I, U) understand how, whemsin, treason, murder or rebellion have been committed, the character of a just and benevolent sovereign may be exhibited by the infliction of panishrdent or by' an ad of pardon ; or how, when a fault has been co omitted by a child, the character of a parent may be displayed in a man ner; in which it could not, have been, if no such fault hadbeen committed, but the difficulty is to See how all this' could have been permitted or introduced When it might have been 'eaffly pre irehted, or 'how' arrangements could have been made for it as a part of a plan, in order that the character Might thus be displayed. • ; - ienuld not find as explatiation of the 'difficulty On 'the supposition that this has been titifibia#lls''come into the system, because God peefeti holinesh, evil to good, misery to 1 think that , all men are so made that they thandt believe this. At least, I am go iniade,aind.' there is evidence that' this has beeu the general judgment of mankind. It is clear, moreover, that whatever might be the fact in such a case, even if it should be true that God THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, JULY 9, 1868. does prefer sin to holiness, man would not have been made with this conviction on his mind, and true also, that the world would not have been made as it has been—for there are innumerable proofs in the faots that are constantly occurring that God hate g kin ; that he seeks to check and restrain it; and that he intends to punish it, and not to bestow his favor on those who persevere in committing it. This theory, therefore, I think, no one could adopt. lam not aware that any class of men, however much perplexed they may have been on the subject, or however wicked they may have been, Ave in fact adopted it. (g) The theory that moral evil is inevitable from free agency, as friction is unavoidable in a machine, and that it is better to create a world of free agents, even with this inevitable result, than not to create a world at all—as it is better to 'make a watch, a locomotive, a steam engine, or a wagon, with this inevitable result, than not to make them at all, seems to me.,to be as little satisfactory in explaining the difficulty. I was aware, as you doubtless are, that this theory has been held, and that it has been most ingeniously defended by one, at least, of the master-mindi of this country. Yet it is difficult, after. all, to see how the ,divine power is necessarily limited in this manner. Tor there have been Minds oreated, in great numbers, with 'great , ' , powers, and with perfe:ot freedom, where this result did not follow, as the v,Rfallen angels of ,light, and, as I believe, the inhabitants of far-distant worlds are; and it is not easy to see why this might not have oc ciirred in our world as well as elsewhere, or why if this eiad'could be attained •so to speak, without friction in,`other Worlds, it might. not have 'been Bemired in our own. Besides, if a watch or loco weave cannot be made without friction, it, does not follow that God could not make, a mina that would not go wrong, and that without any viola= tion of the principles of liberty. ••• (lt.) In like manner, it did not appear to. me that it furnished a solution of the difficulty, to refer it as you have done, to the free-will of man. I Shall have occasion to allude to this again; when I come to examine the solutien which you propose, and Which you ask - me to adopt. I need not say to you that this is neither a new nor, a modern solution of the difficulty. It, is found in, all the old theological writings , of a certain . school, and enters largely into systems of mod ern philosphy and theology, 'and is probably that which is entertained by the mass of men, so far as they have any opinioaon the, subject. Irieed• not remind you of . the beautiful form in which it has been expressed by Millon.:. " They, therefore, as to right belonged, So were Orrekthd; nor can Justly accuse Their maker, or their making or their fate, As if, predestination ‘ over-ruled Their will disi.osed lsy absoliite decree Or hfghtfrireknowledge; they.themeelves decreed Their own,revolt, not, I, if I foreknew, Foiektio*ledge had no'hiflheuce on their fault, Which had nO lasn ptoved aertaint'unforeknown So without least , impulse or shoAop of; fate Or aught by me 'immutably fbieseen, They trespass, authors to themselvel; in all. Both, what they judge, and what they choose ; fo,r so r forined them free : and free they must remain, Till they enthiall themselves ; I else Inuit change Their nature, and revoke tha-higlk, decree, Unchangeable, eterhal, which ordained Their freedoni; they thernselves-ordained their fall.' —Paradise Lost, Book Third. . It is sufficient 'low for my'purpose .to remark in regard to this solution, that it cannot be shown to be a necessary violation of freedom to exert such an influence as to keep beings thus endowed from sin; since there are numberless such`bein i gs who are thus preserved i 'and since such beings are entirely conscious of liberty, and the more so,, the more holy they are. Moreover, unless we admit this principle, it is impossible to see how those who dial' be saved can have any ie. curity of permanent happiness or holiness in heaven. If to restrain them there, so as to make it certain that they will not fall into sin, is ne 'cessarily a violation of freedom, it is impossible to conceive how there can be any security of holiness or happiness there, or how God can promise it to'Men. BeSides; if the: certainty that one will not' ein is a violation of freedom, it is impossible to conceive that God himself, can be free, for it must enter into all our conceptions of the divine character that he is unchangeably holy. Why may not creatures in this respect; as in other respects, be made in the "image of Gods?" (i.) A solution of the 'difficulty is not to be found in the ancient Persian system of religion, subsequently assuming the form of Manicheism : —in the idea that there are two original and' in dependent principles—good and evil—in the universe-struggling with each other. This sys tem was, as you know. at one time embraced by Augustine to relieve the difficulties in ,regard to the introduction of evil into the world, which pressed on his mind —the difficulties to which I have already referred, and which he felt, per haps, as keenly as any man that has ever lived. I will confess to you that this system has more plausibility to my mind than most of those to which I have referred, and I have often looked at it in my perplexities, with anxious 'inquiry whether there 'might not be in it an element of truth which might'relieve the subject from em barrassment; and even now, if I were compelled to abandon the Bible and its teachings, I should be more likely to embrace this than any form of infidel philosophy to which my attention has been directed. I would embrace this, system rather than that of Spinoza. I would sooner be a,Manichean than ,a Pantheist; I would sooner follow Zoroaster than Comte. (j.) ' lt remains to say that I have not been able' to find a solution of my difficulties - in the doctrine of Universal Salvation. I could not' embrace that system, with my views of the pro per rules of interpretinc , language , without giv ing up the Bible altogether. The Bible does not' teach the doelrine of the solvdtion of all meri. It can never be made to teach that doctrine by a proper interpretation of language. If the Bible teaches anything clearly; if words have any meaning; if there are itly proper rules of in terpreting language, the Bible teaches t,he doe trine of the ete6tl puribihnient of the 'wicked, and it cannot b'e'tnade to teach otherwise. You have referred to iny creed, as if I held some pe culiar views on the subject, But I have no pe culiar creed. I hold j,u,4 what the mass of men have held; what ninety-nine men out of every. 'hinidred have held; what all men—Christians and infidels—except the small class who call themselves Universalists, have held, that the Bible teaches that the wicked will be punished forever in the future world. I take the liberty of saying that the doctrine of the future eternal punishment of the wicked is not expressed in stronger or plainer language in the creed to which I have expressed my assent, or any creed held by any Christian church, Catholic, Greek, or Protestant—in the Ileidelbur.• catechism, in the Thirty-nine articles of the Church of ng land, in the Westminster Confession, or in any particular creed of any Congregational church, than it is in the Bible. Nay, in almost all these creed's, the doctrine is stated in the very words of the Bible; and if you could Convince me that the doctrine is not taught in the Bible, you would at the same time, and by the very same process of reasoning, convince me that it is not taught in any creed in Christendom, and that it is in fact held by no class of mankind. If I *ere, therefore, to reject the doctrine of the future punishment of the wicked, I should not be a Universalist trying to hold on to the Bible. I should become, at , once an honest infidel, and would reject the Bible altogether. The infidel is the only consistent Man. I think in the view which I take of the fair interpretation of the Bible, that I see the reason why there are so few avowed Universaliete ,es compared with the ac-. tual number of inftdelein our country, and why; it is so difficult to keep , up the system of. Univer salism as an organization. The number of per sons in any community who een , kle made to be-. lieve that the Bible inculcates the ,doctrine= of universal salvation ~ p r!,u,st always, be small ;, the number of those who, for various causes, reject it altogether, may be and probablywill be , much larger: Of the two I wonld be one of the latter; and so •the mass of men do judge, and always wild judges Whether Z should' obtain any relief in this re,spect, in ,snch a course, or by adopting the views which you counsel me ,to embrace, may perhaps be'seen in what I have yet to say. Such were, arid'are, the difficulties in my Mind on this great` subject. Intiny next letter, I. shall consider an expla. nation which you, have offered in regard to these difficulties. I am, with great respect, truly yours, ALBERT BARNES. REV. GEORGE DUFFIELD, D.D. BY REV. C. P. W.114Q, Pasior of the First Presbyterian Church of Cailisle, Pa. In the deathof Rev. George Duffiehl,.D.D., of Detroit, Our Church has lost another of her leading and representative men. The particulars of his de: ceaseliave!nOt yet reached us, but we' are inform ed that he had:juste officiated in weldoming to his congregation-and city:the Convention of Chris tian Associations in the United States and Cana da, and:was. finally Struck down' :while taking, part in its prOceedings. It would scarcely have been' possible for him to have met death: in circumstances pig r e conformed,to his own, express ; ,ed wisleiand fonde,atiieSires of his friends. , A few teeks reViouify almost in anticipation of such event, he had Visited the congregations to' Witipithis earlier laboiS had been given, deli: he'finly Wad Underly,bidden :fhrewelt . to -numer ous frienglis , :wbose - faces he, had not ; seen for many. years,, nd ,attended the meeting of the General Assembly over wifose`predecessoi he had presid ed: He' had ieached. the seventy-fifth year of his life, and the fifty-third of his ministry. His in firmities were just sufficient, to remind him that his course was about : teiminate, and yet were not so mimerous,or, so, painful as to give sorrowto himself or his friends. With''peculiar fitness it could:be said of him 'as a man and a minister : "Thou hast come: to thylruve in a full age, like, as a shock of corn cotneth in his season." The family to which he bplonged has been dis tinguished for the number and the excellence of its ministers . It combines the blood a the Huguenots, the Covenanters and. the German Protestants. As might be well anticipated it has sent forth no • friends of arbitrary power in the State, or of exclusiveness and extreme conservat ism in the Church. His grandfather, Rev. George Duffield, was a chaplain in the Colonial Congress, pastor of Pine St Church, Philada., from 1771 to 1790, a zealous champion of liberty among the peo p, and prominent promoter of revivals and liberal prineiples in the early periods of the Church, and for a considerable time the Stated Clerk of the General AsseMbly.. His father was for a number of year's the Register and Comptroller General of the State of Pennsylvania under the administra tion of Governor Thomas McKean. His early education he received in the University of Penn sylvania from which he graduated in 1811, and his theological' Studies• were commenced' during the• autumn. of the same year in the Theological Seminary of the A,ssociate Reformed Church under Dr. John M. Mason. He was licensed to preach when he was about twenty-three years of age by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, and in July, 1815, was invited to preach in the Presby terian church of Carlisle. The impression of his first dipcourse in that church was deep and lasting, and the two parties• which had for some time been, Contending with much bitterness there., unit ed soon after in calling him to be their pastor. He commenced his labors among that people in the following December, but so great was his hesita tion on account of the inconsistency between his views of m dorine and ecclesiastical usage and those which• had long prevailed among seine of the 'ministers and Churches of that region that he deferred his ordination eight months. There was something in the freedom and universality with which he offered a Saviour to all men with. out condition or reserve, which seemed td many of his brethren novel and objectionable. In the controversial teehnics of that day he claimed to be a marrow man," that'is, one- whose views of the Gospel call. were presented ,in z a book then much discussed, called "The Marrow of Ditinity." While it was admitted that he was in the habit of 'preaching the "`Five points of Ualvinism" in their sharpest and most offensive angles, he at tempted to make these consistent with a perfect human accountability under : the divine law and the full sufficiency of the Atonement of Christ. As he always denied that' his views, on these subjects underwent any essential change during his •subsequent ministry.' We suppose we May dis cover what his preaching then was, from the " Statement Of True Doctrines, adopted by the minority of the Assembly of 18374" of which he haKthe reputation of being the principal author. He however never hesitated to avow that " he might more than once have changed his mode of presenting and illustrating the great truths of the Calvinistic system, inasmuch as he always preferred the language of common sense to that of technical and scholastic science, and carefully discriminated between Scriptural facts to be ac credited and received by faith, and the philoso phical theories by which men have endeavored to explain them." There is no evidence that his brethren hesita ted to receive and ordain him to the work of the - . ministry. It was not however until the following February that he became satisfied of his duty to settle, though he continued to labor zealously in Carlisle; and he was ordained and installed there, on the 25th of September, 1816. The struggle which he maintained for a number of years against worldly amusements, the manufacture and use of ardent spirits, the exclusive use• of the psalms in public worship, and a general laxness in the administration of the sacraments, can haid ly be appreciated at the present time, when the principles he y advocated have so completely -tri umphed in our church. Sustained as he uniform." ly was by a devoted session, and ; accompanied, manifest tokens of the divine favor, his church increased' under his labors and became one of th'e' most influential in the Presbyterian connection Of •that day. During the eighteen years and a half in which he anstained the pastoral relation there; six hundred and ninety-seven persons were added ,to its communion, by Profession and two hUndred' by 'certificate, 'certificate, being, an avarageof about forty persons each year. •In the early part of 1831 eighty-four, and in 1834 , seventy-eight,first professed. their faith, in ,Christ. The revivals through which the congregation., passed were in every instance in connection with the ordinary means of grace. Sometimes the number Of meet ings was increased during the week as the state of public feeling called for them, and neighbor ing pastors, were palled in ~to. h is.assista.nce. The• individual to whom he more, frequently applied than any.' other for such aid was the Rev. Dr. Dewitt of HarriSbuig, who had studied theology under the game admired preceptor, had commenced preaching in a neighboring , con gregation near the, same time, and now heartily co-operated with him in all his measures. Among the students' connected with Dickin son College then principally under Presbyterian influence and patronage,. more than forty-five were either converted or received their religions impressions from his preaching, and became min isters in the Presbyterian Church. Some of these were also partially instructed in theology, scrip tural exposition and the Hebrew )anguage, and are now among the most honored of the.ministry in both brandies of that Church. It was in the year 1832 that, he ;published his views of spiritual life in a volume upon " Regen eration." That — ev - etydicpression in that work would.have,been defended : by.its,,anthor., ei r, his friends; in Aubiequent::times, will - not IA tiain tained. He was accustomed to , such: peculiari ties of religious thought and illustration that, large classes of thinkers would not be likely to adopt his precise diction. And yet the general views he then professed, have been embiaced by no small portion of his ministerial brethren. He was among , the very-first whii.had: to pnclnre_the_ public opposition of a:large party,in the Presby terian Church, and which finally resulted in its diVision. After a protracted and painful trial fin' heresY in his own-congregation, by the. Pies bytery of which he was a member, it ,was deci ded that his book did indeed contain the errors charged against him, but that in view of the ex planations which he gave of them, he ought not to be any further censutted..than to warn him against such speculations and expressions as might impugn the doctrines of our Church: The —Sy disaPproved of ,this decision as inconsistent with itself, but nothin g done further was against him in the ecclesiastical courts. In consequence, however, of disagreements and parties formed in his congregation, a second church was set off, in the year 1834, by Presbytery in Carlisle, which after 1837 adhered to the Other branch Of the Presbyterian Church. Although in the very midst . of these . agitations a powerful revival of re ligion was experienced, during ! which the largest accession ever made to the communion of that congregation was made, he appears to have felt inclined to remove to another pastotal char,ge. On' an invitation to become the pastor Of the Fifth Church of Philadelphia, his connection with the First Presbyterian Church of Carlisle was dissolved in. March, 1835. After preaching there for a shoit time, he removed to New York City, to take charge of the Broadway Tabernacle, His residence, however, appears to have been short in both these cities, for near the year 1837 he found his last and, longest pastorate in De troit The State in which he now took up his a,bode was then in its infancy f and he was called upon to have a, large share in its ecclesiastical affairs. The church of which he then became pastor has since become "three bands," each as effective perhaps as the original body. Every year his influence in the Church ,has apparently increased, and even those who once thought it I right to oppose him, bear testimony to the purity of his motives and the wisdom of many of his measures. His views on the " Prophecies, of Scripture," and on the "Wine Question," have been of course subjects of honest controversy, but it is remarkable that he lived long enough to be appreciated in both 'branches of the Presbp terian Church. His peculiar character' ns been clearly 'impressed upon each of the congregations and even the district of country, in which he longest ministered; and none who knew him well would withhold from him the concession that he was a man of uncommon intellectual power, of remarkable theological acumen and 'historical learning, and of clear sagacity in ecclesiastical affairs. His preaching,, especially in later years; was peculiarly evangelical and profoundly spir itual. - He took great interest in the conversion 'and training of the young. .His people were in the habit of saying that his' special excellence could be seen, only when his subject was the Per son and Glory of Christ. He was a decided ad vocate of the Re-union movement just so far as he perceived that, the two branches of the Church bad confidence in each other. Every minister of the New School who lived in the time of . the division, contended that there were no val d rea sons for that, separation, and of course he ,must believe that a re-union should take place the mo ment when our brethren, who differ Worn us i ceaSe to suspect us of important er'ror's and can IPe in peace with us. Without evidence of this change in our relative position, those who went through the severe ordeals Of 1837 can have no expecta tion of good results from our coming together. He was in thehabit of saying that the answer to the whole question of Re-union depended upon this simple matter of fact. May much of the spirit of these earlier men of God, now so speedily passing away, descend upon their successors! Never was it more needed, and we fear it is too little prayed for and cultivated. We look not that it should pursue the same modes of action or of thought, for each age must have its special peculiarities and duties, but our only hope for each generation is in the resurrec tion and continuance of the same general spirit. Note from Rev. Dr. Heiffenstein, of German ,town. [As already stated, Dr., Duffield removed from Philadelphia to New York City, where he had charge of what was known as- the Tabernacle Presbyterian (afterwards Congregational) Church. A stirring chapter in Dr. .DutEeld's history in connection with the commencing Anti-Slavery excitement of the time might be written. In regard to an interesting event of his pastoral life, at that time, ,pr.-Helffenstein writes as follows:] GER*ANi‘OWN, June 29, 1868 REV. Z. W. MEARS; D.D.: Dear Brother: In referring to my journal, I find that the union between the, First Free, Presbyterian Church, of which I then was' pastor, and the Second Free PresbyteAah, or Tabernacle Church, under the pastorate of the ilev. Dr. Duffield, was consum mated on the 15th of April, 1838. The union had been preceded by a day of fasting and prayer, when the churches came together for the purpose of seeking- divine direction in reference to the contemplated change. Its accomplishment was immediately followed by a protracted meeting, condueted by.the pastors, with evident tokens of the Divine presence. The seats in the Tabernacle were free, and the Spacious building, accommodating above three thousand, was usually well filled. Services were held three times on the Sabbath, the pastors preaching alternately. • The Lord's Supper was administered monthly, and seareely a communion occurred, at which there were not large acces sions. The failure of my health compeling me eventually to leave the city, my resignation was soon followed by the resignation; of my esteemed colleague, to whose. eminent ability and faithful ness as a servant of Christ it, affords Jae 'great pleasure to bear testimony. Yours trUly, J. HELITENSTEIN REV A. H. STEWART'S LETTERS. VI. Off the Golden Gate, May, 1868. RELIGION ON THE VOYAGE. The religion of Jesus is practical, at least in theory—an every-day business—in, and on, and about, its possessor; in no case is to be, nor can be separated from its professor. Beautiful this, but difficult , in its workings. When oti board, and off for a voyage of twenty three days, I found myself in a mixed; condensed crowd of twelve hundred persons, of all °ham_ ters, beliefs and unbeliefs. Hardly an error broached since the flood >but had here its profes sor and advocate. Should an introduction be attempted, or wait for arrival on the Pacific coast to commence my proposed Mission labors? Not one on board had ever before been seen or known. None seemingly knew aught of myself. Alone in a crowd; the loneliest of all lonely places. As the 'most retired place in the world to live may be in the heart of a-great city. An entire day'-was thus spent alone and lonely; after which, a desire for acquaintance-, was felt, and an opportunity looked for to obtain the same. Standing on deck near a number of passengers, beside whom a'squad of children w ere collected, a gentlethan remarked to another, as he pointed to the children, "Bond, here is material for your Sabbath School efforts." "Yes, Hawley, fine field this; but who is to preach to us on the voyage ; do you know any clergyman on board ?" "Thanks, gentlemen, for these words 1" at the same time giving them my name, profession, and ecclesiastical connection. Both these men are doing business in. New York, and live in Con necticut, and go to California on business—one a Congregationaliit the other a Methodist. We were presently as intimate as though our ac quaintance had' been from boyhood. Acquaint anceship extended fast. Net a few dear children of God have been found on various errands wending their way to the land, of,Gold. The first and second Sabbaths of our voyage I conductedomaided;public worship, in accordance with our simple Presbyterian formula—preached in the capaCious cabin to a large, attentive and wonderfully mixed. audience. On the' third and last Sabbath I again preached at 10i A. M. After service the Purser said to me, it was ex• pected I would have read the Episcopal service; remarking very kindly, it was a rule of the Com pany it should be read once each Sabbath. My reply was that against the thing itself I had no special objections; but had the effort been made, in my awkwardness ;from inexperience, it would haVe 'been for edification neither to churchmen, dissenter or unbeliever. An expedient for an evening service, novel in its character, set the matter all-right. Davenport, the Actor, on his way to San Frart,eiro, to fill an engagement, read the service, only needing a little prompting here and there from the Purser, in order to find the various tiegionin4s-, middles and endings of the complicated service. When this was concluded, a missionary to diparkfrom.the General Assembly (0. S.) preached, and•your correspondent closed the service.' 'Strange combination in the public Worship of God ! the celebrated actor certainly read the service better than I had ever before , heard it from. lips of bishop `or inferior clergy. If aught out of place appear in the matter, it , must be laid to the charge of the Company's ar rangements and the extra demands of the Prayer Book. ALL THING' TO ALL MEN A ministerial attainment-in the fitting practice of which Paul was justified in boasting "I be came all things to all men, if by any mean" might gain some." The .mest difficult perbap9 of all clerical: attainments: .On - a long roYazte and crowded crew is the best imaginable ' place
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