Driginal CDinntintitatino. LETTER FROM INDIA, THE ERAIIMO SOMAJ. " DEAR BROTHER MEARS :—Some six months ago I gave you a brief account of a lecture in Bombay, by Baboo Keshub Chunder-S«u, the ac knowledged leader of a Society of educated Hin dons called the "Braun° Somaj." The Baboo continues active and persevering in his efforts, and shows no tendency to back-slide from the bold position he has taken against idolatry, caste, and many of the more patent superstitions of the Hindoos. In a recent lecture he advanced his sentiments in words , like these, viz.: " The Brahnao Somaj recognizes the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man as its funda mental principle. What else do we want in In dia, but to break down the thousand partitions and barriers of sect, caste and race, which sepa rate man from man, and bring all unto 'the feet of the one true God? And this the Brahmo Somaj will accomplish. Its membership is, at present, small ; but it is steadily multiplying% The day will come when it will extend -over the length and breadth of the country, and on all sides the name of the Most High will'be chanted with na tional thanksgivings." Urging his fellow coun trymen to enlist under the ba.nners of the Brah mo Somaj, he says : " Are you not impatient , to save yourselves and your &tallies from the curse of moral and. social 'evils? Are you, not impa-, tient to abolish marly marriages and polygamy; to promote widow-re-marriage and inter-marriage; to reform your domestic and, social economy ? And,nabov,e tall, are you not impatient to obtain purity of heart and spiritual peace ? * *. Comm, then, brethren, let us all unite to worship the one true God, and abjure idolatry. Pray ; un-, to him daily; play, with sincerity and humility, and the living God will bless you." ORIGIN, DIVISION, PROCESSION This Brahmo Somaj was organized some 38 years-ago, but on a"basis far below:the principles here advanced. • In its onward progress the. So ciety has been rent into two parties, and the principles and aims;here advanced are those of the minority only. And yet, at their`recent, anniversary in Calcutta, this, mittority ) mustered, in a morning procession, at daybreak, to the num ber of more than 200 Brahmos, while the public interest in the movement was attested by:a great , crowd of spectators. On their:banners were ern-, blazoned, in letters, of geld : " Truth will tri:- nmph ;" " Only the grace of . God availeth ;" ," God is one, without a second." As the procession moved slowly along the principal streets, they chanted Sanscrit and Bengali hymns;,embodying sentiments like the following, viz.: " Come, brothers 1 the weight:or:our sorrow id gone at last, And the name of Ccothresoundeth in thetiV., Who bath faith , he,shallfind salvation;,. There is no thought of caste? . , To scatter error and superstition and the gloom of Bath the'religion of Heaven cometo earth." The special object of the' procession Was to lay the foundatiOn stone of a new Place of worship of the Society. In doing this; the Babe° made a eonsec•ating prayer, and followed'it with a short addess. The first words of .his address were : We have assembled here to lay the foundation of a building in whiCh the ono' trueand holy God will be worshippedin spirit `and in truth." Its closing language was: We place our fervent faith in Him; and we pray • that He May reveal Elis infinite presence in this house of worship, and save from 'sin . and, sorrow the souls of those who come to worship here." SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MOVEMENT These Bralimos do not distinctly recognize sal vation. by Christ alone, and yet they make direct allusions to His holy life and eample, and speak of imitating him by " blessing them which curse us."' Though conscious of tle points in which they fail of coming up to the 'true spiritual stan dard of the Gospel, I cannot but regard their movement with Very great interest: Their Soci ety is, in some respects; a:good 'ciponent of the power and prOgress Of' the Gospel in India; and has itself become power for•brealting down Hin du caste and superstition. They•have 'organized' brancheschurches they Choose to call themH in the Punjab, North-weitßrovinees, and Oth'er parts of India. We need not cherish too san guide hopes of rapid and marvellous results froni the efforts'of these educated young Theists, but they furnish evidence that the labors of hiniihle Christian' Missionaries are • accomplishing "a mighty social and religious revolution in this land, even outside the Christian churches and communities they have gathered'. And their istenee may well incite the Christian Church to more. earnest and persevering etiorth•:•to; bring them, and all these millions of 'idolaters into the. clearer. light and full liberty of the Gospel of Christ. • , ICOLAPOOR - "CIIURCH OF TWENTY MEMBERS Welworild (gladly express our warmest thanks' to the Ufa. children of your Sabbath Schools and the other Mends who continue to remember our dear omission arnilielp us with their gifts and their prayers. 'We find it beyond our power to write to their-individunlly,*aeWe long to do, so litany add urgent are the mission duties whi'ch press upon us constantly. THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1868. We. are holding on to our work far beyond the lire years proposed when we came back to our mission ; but how can we think of leaving these idolaters with no one to care for their souls, or this little band of converts, who have believed through our word ? Including a pupil of Mrs. W.'s girls' school, who was received to church-fellowship at our last communion, we have now a little church of twen ty adult converts and six baptized children. The influence of this church for good is becoming morb manifest, and some of the converts will soon be able.to render us valuable help in our work. But they need the strongest possible Christian influence every day, with unceasing care and ef forts to teach and train them more perfectly in the ways of truth and holiness. Two of my best hours of labor 1 give daily and .exclusively to this work, and the remaining hours are filled with such a pressure of teaching, preaching and eon : - Verging with.those out of the church, that very little vitality remains for the correspondence and incidental work that must not be neglected:. And now approaches our cooler season, when, I long to be sowing " the r good seed of. the kingdom"! in . the regions beyond. But.whenever lam absent, our city. church is unavoidably.elosed,,and.home audiences and worksuspended. NEED OF HELP Do we not need' some strong,. earnest young workers to help us in this field? 'ls it not needy enough and promising enough to justify the out lay ? Is there not some :young mart anti: woman in your churches of the requisite zeal, energy and love to Christ and 'souls to enable them to find the joy of their Hires -in this work? And have you not some single church in Philadelphia, which would:lm richly blessed in blessing these perishing idolaters with such laborers, by fur nishing their support? If not, and they are 'ready to come; tell them not to wait for any guarantees; but, heeding only their "marching orders," Come, trusting in God:' According 'to' their faith shall it be unto them. 0 for more faith ! How speedily might the ChriStian Church 'rise up and possess the world: for' Christ. In the love 'of Jesus and the souls of these idolaters, yours' sincerely, R. G. WILDER. ' Our petty war in Hazaira (Northern Frontier), for chastising the.offending chiefs' 'and tfibes, his resulted in more casualties than occurred - in the whole ".Ab)ssinian picnic;" but the offenders are suing for peace, and there seems every'prob ability of a speedy adjustment of diffieulties. ' Did yon notice the murder of old Synd Thow ajee, lunium of Muscat, last Year;by his wretch ed son, Synd Selirn, thui made his way, through blood, to the petty throne of Oornan ? Vengeance has just overtaken hini;—his chiefs and people 'having risen against him in such force that be has 'had to fly POV hi's life.' One of our recent,public telegrams came from W'as'hington,` lis C., to Bombay in less - than for - - , ty hours. Beveral recent teleg-rams sent from Bombay, haVe reached London during the same day. Isolated and engrossed, as :we are in our daily warp, , we cannot repress our interest in our beloved country.. We watch the pending politi cal and ecclesiastical issues with eaaerness diminished not at all by our distance. W. Kuliipoor, India,, Oct. 22, 1863. REFLECTIONS ON i THE CLOSE` 'OF THE FIFTH DEMIURGIC DAY, OR TUE TERMINATION OP THE; SECONDARY FORMATION' Up to this point the rocks present.the remains of no specie's, Whidh how exists: Those that have been, have all passed away: Their remains and tracks aleue inform us of their, existence, and of what they were. The fact of their.having had an existence, is just as certain as if we had ac tually seen them; We can •no more doubt it, than we can the existence of the roan whose . .trachs we haveseen in the snow:, .All those species:passed.out, of existence long prior to the Adainid'period. No members.of any ;existing species, lie entOmbed• with them. Thus far, have passed • through miles of rocks—the graves of the past, - ;'11 'of which have been deposited since the' original com mand was given, - which 'uplifted' the mountains, and caused the dry land to • appear. They don tain myriads of organic• beings, of almost every form and variety,'•exc'ept manitritilS -and•birdS. Of mammals; there may have been a few marsupials (order of the opossum), and'of birds; only a few rare; gigantic specimens; and yet not - a single specinien of all those Countless Multitude Which now have an-existence. They lived`,l,liey feaSted, l they were happy, and shOived theii Maker's'glory, when , there was no man to praise Him—when,' of intelligences,-only "the 'morning stars sang to gether, and all the sons of God'shouted for joy." • But the close of the Chalk Period' marks the boundarios- of the past. Itiisthe'•!'termination of that period in the history.ofthe.earth's structure, to which the - characterof antignity belongs-I hi the succeeding period, -we shaltfind all the fossils are either resemblances' or types of 'existing or ganic creatures." Bow soleann'the thought! t In the history , of this earth; we have, as it Were, ar. rived at one of the standpoints of eternity. Worn this point let us takeli brief survey. • We look forward ; but Of all the past Animatacreation, there arotintl - us;itnit: only=the knee or death reigns. We turn our eyes up the ITEMS stream of time, and we behold an endless profu sion—a countless variety of species, which was, and is not. But as in following a majestic stream, it insensibly diminishes, until it becomes an in significant rill, and finally you arrive at its source —it is lost, so we ascend the stream of animate life—it is wide, deep, majestic, awful; but it di minishes—we arrive at its source—it is lost, for we have arrived where only God was. Again, by the light of inspiration, we look to the future, and we see that though the day com eth, "which shall burn as an oven," yet the whole earth's future will never witness a perfect parallel to this point in the past. Nol .Glory be to God, and eternal thanks to the Lamb that was slain, for through his atonement, onr existence shall be as eternal and immortal as our Maker's; for, "thanotos and hades having been cant into the lake of fire, there shall be no more death." Hence during the whole ages of' ages L---the eternal future—it can never be said of man, he was, but is not—his whole history is in the past—the earth's rocks contain his : only 'remains. For, though another, a new creation awaits this.earth, when it shall have "waxed old like a garment," yet in that creation,' the saint, instead or passing 'out of existence, shall be perfected in existence, put on the vigor of immortality—"be equal to i the angels," eternally to them, for he was only "made for a little; while lower than the angels." (lleb- ii. 7, margin.). Were it not for God's promises, the rock's would only proclaim degradation and death to 'man ; they would spread' the mantle of eternal night over him ; fionr in the past, he would read his oivn future. But for the light of Inspiration, he would' be justifiedin writing on his own tomb, ".death an eternal sleep." And even noiv, let him rvject that Inspiration,' . 'or 'neglect the sa viour it 'revels,'atid, he rejects' the protuises;' amid they cannot reach hini, and the blackness'Of darkness forever, alone' hangs over hinh• a death work.' than that which at the cloge of the fifth day, blasted all 'eiistences, and spread death every where. It . will he a night of death, a night of eternity that - will know no morning, and no'day' star of hope, for it will be the night of despair: AFC A.. M. STENVAAT% .LETT,EI34.-XXV SILVER : SPRING NEVADA. Preaching the gospel, if , preaehed at all, in a new and.excited mining region like this White Pine District, must needs, be under novel condi tions. This three thousand people have not hurried to 4 lthese far away, mountains in order to ask for, or even listen to the gospel. To obtain a hearing,: Christ's ambassador must push; watch his occasion, use common sense, and be neither, ashamed of his mission, nor, afrnid of imp. , In, a prOious,lettpr, mention was made ,as to the manner of introjpeing,th,e ,G s uspel into the Treasure City.. Four- miles dplyn ,the western slope of, the mountain from this place, and four thousand feet, berow,, frpm,a, romantionoolE of a e,itnyon, flow out a nunAer of bea.utifal, springs. 'Much water is needed in thp v,ariou.s processes of crushin.- the, ore.and extra.ctinc , the silver. There being no 'wafer higher. up the mountain, vari ous quartz mills are here, erectei, or, in process of erection. , Here also a compact, little • 'city of about five, hundred people, has sprung up during the past four months, and on account of its wa , ters has received . the pleasing appellation of • Si tier Spring THE SALOON In this', as in'ahnose CierY town, the ffrst, even seemingly indispensable necessity is a large, long romn;liaving a 'bk. on each hand as you enter, with gambling and billiard -tables far ther back. This at once becomes- thh assembly room of such towns, after the toil and buStle M' the day. Few of the 'miners mid laborers have any conifiirtable plaed'of their' o*n'in which to spend their evenings.' These Saloons are always kept in an inviting condition; comfortably heated and cheerfully lighted: How wise' in their gen eration are fhe children - otthis wOrld! Would that'tkel Operations' of (Air Young Men's Chris tian'Asaciatitiris,' With- their blessed and apprO priate"work could 'extend thus far and potently - `enough, to 'have aireading-room appropriate' library, and heated and lighted every evening. 'lt would, no ddulit, be the'reeins . of saving frinn wreck and ruin'iCores of 'strong men, who are far from , Home, and any former helpful influences, and exposed to ,such fearful teniptationS. If spared to te , visit San Franciscwand our eastern cities, this Matter will , be earnestly pressed upon their vigorous associations , of'Christian young men, SO . that if pOsslble there , may be one 'exalt= ple of a..pleasa.nt ; and , free reading-room in the 1. great American Risen. PREACHING ' This large saloon in `the 'new city of Silver , . Spring seemed `the ' only available place 'for preaching.' On - application; to the proprietor for licens'eV ahsVire fr i Certainly, preach, if you can." 'By e far 'the most thronged evening of the week i' ihese places, is that of the Sabbath. At 7 P. IL and without any previous notice, the , crowd of , talkers,'swearers, smokers,'rinkers, gamblers, and silent lookern-en, was entered.' Walking thiongh the mass to the rear of the saloon, announceMent'was made in a voice load enough to' be heard by all, that through leave of the proprietor I was about'to •preach:: • f`Wait, says one, till I geenAiiiile.'" " Certainly, 'we'll wait." A text was then taken, and without any delay or formality my message was delivered. The money was presently gathered from off the ta bles, the drinking stopped, the talking ceased, cigars were put out; and a quieter and more at tentive audience, minister never had. Bread thrown upon the waters. These rugged, intelli gent men, if rightly approached, will listen. to the story of the cross. When through, inquiry wasmade as to whether the way would'be opened , for preaching at an other time. The proprietor answered ;. " When ever you please to come." Before closing, a man standing in the crowd says; " Mr. isn't there going to be a collection ?" My reply was, that I came to preach without any thought of money, - " But, Mr., you would' rit,obj eet to a collection, would you ?" " Certainly ; not." , Through the crowd he started, hat in hand, into which the coin jingled most encouragingly.. When through, he came to my . little stand table, and with aloud rattle emptied uponjt the contents of his hat, saying, " There, come again and preach to us sinners, for we need it.", 110PEWELL 0111M011. MESSRS: EDITORS :—A heavy calamity 'has fallen upon Hopewell Presbyterian Church in this village, in the loss on Friday morning last, at 2A. M., of our house of worship by fire. It' was'a fine old church, ia which the late ienera' ted and beloved Rev. John MeCampbell, D D., had preached for many years. What now adds ,to the heavy burden of the calamity is the fear, not without 'much circumstantial evidence, that the-CliniCh"wa§'fired 'b'y an incendiary. Mien first discovered, the fire was outside in the -open veStibule, funr reMoved from the 'stoves or _chimneyi. During the previous' two days, a Teachers' Institute, numbering nearly fifty teach ers in connection with the 'State Free Common School Syste'm had been in Session'. • Shall we arise and build ? Our necessity and our desire encourage us.'' The sympathy of all good men in the community likewise assures aid. }fence, assured that, God will help thoSe that , • help themselves, our'' purpose is already well' formed, not 'sit in the ashes of despondency, not to be crushed by any of the influences which may have wrought our temporary overthrow, hitt,' chastened by the permission of Him who loves `us, to pray 'and labor so that speedily our loss shall be made our gain. Trusting' th'st:this-notion tally 1)413p0.6.3z for us the sympathy and prayers of 'Many reiders' of the PRtsErrittiA.N, that we may be sustained in ,this hour of sore trial, we are yours, "`CAST De*N;BUT NOT DESTROYED." Tend.; Dec. 1808: rtitr(fo tairtt pitec!a . Publishers will confer a favor ,by,mantioning the prices of all books sent to this Department. • HARPER A: BROS. J. Ross BROiTNE, perhaps' the greatest tra yeller even of the locomotive Americans, has just given the public another of his inimitable volumes, this time . upon the _Apache country, in,clu.ding Arizona and Sokora, with notes , on the Silver Mining Regions of Nevada. Such broad inex haustible humor and good spirit's, were surely never before combined with such powers of ob servation' and description. Much valuable and . quite novel in fin:May.Bn on these out of the way peoPle and places is given; on the Indians and' .111eXici;Os; - on the original discoverer's and miners; on. extraordinary natural phenomena, and wild and'i•etuarkable adventures; all in an unfailing strain of vivacity, sometimes not tree froM a a• trace of coarseness, and yet with no purposU in consistent with good morals. The illustrations, novel, interesting and well executed, appear en almost; 'every page. 1.2m0. cloth, bevelled, 535 pages, $2. LippincOtt. • Du CHAILLU, the, African Explorer, onei of the smallest of full grown men,' says it the close of his new book, that he " will always be happy to call himself the boys' and girls' friend:" There is a great heart in that small body, which can compass the perils and lhardships of the explora tion of the vast wilderness of .Equatorial Africa, with its strange, and monstrous beasts, and bring to light animals that had been' hist to sight for eighteen centuries, and yet, turn without effort to, tell his story in the most familiar terms to "Young people." This last is the aim of his ' 4 W.no LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR," just published by HAR PER & Baos., and which with its numerous, large and spirited ,engravings, will prove one, of the most charming of juvenile books. 12m0., cloth, gilt, bevelled edges, pp. 237 $1.75 - . Lippin cott. cAtouroN LANAHAIt. THE PARALES OF Otat LOuto explained and applied, by Rev. Fratieil Bourdillon, M. A., is" an Ailieri6an reprint of an English boolc=---a sort of thing very common in the trade. And it hai `this merit—that it is well worth republication. The M. E. Tract Society have issued it in handsome shape, the print, paper and binding being ex-• tremely well-suited' to general use:' 'lt does 'not 'pretend to theracholarship of Tidnch's notes ache Parables, but in a clear, simple, eatircest ivky; it g ives all modern results. The author writes tensely, often originally and always spiritually. Among many similar works this will never fail to attract notice, prove interesting and do good. THE GARDEN OF SORROWS; or, The Ministry of Tears, by Rev. John Atkinson, consists of nineteen essays, or, perhaps, meditations, on the sorrowful things of earth. The style of its com position is that of ordinary sermonizing—adapted more to 4,he ear - than to the eye. In consequence, it rather lacks condensation. It frequently causes one to feel that certain moral reflections were put in as "paddiug.." It shows a straining after ef fect—not in the poetry,. but . lin the introduction of it. And this effort appea'rs, too, in the typo graphy, for large and small. capitals and i italics Ire numerous. On the other hand, tinted paper and beautiful press work, 'ns .well as the-real thought and true Christianity of the book will doubileSs secure it, a welcome in the homes of grief. 12ino. pp. 203. A. M. STEWART 2mo. pp. 327 RELIGION AND THE REIGN OF TERROR ; or, The - Church during the French Revolution—from the French of Edmund de Pressense, by Rev. J. P. Lecroix, A. M. M. de Pressen:6'o name is sufficient: to stamp this >history with approval even in an abridged and translated form. A care ful thinke'r and keen - sttident of times arid men, he has taken a dark page.of the story .of Chris tianity and cast light upon it t . From 1789 to 1802 there was an hiatus in our religious know ledge of France. Evil then Came uppermoSt and ,it is, connerninw evil thate we lave been best in formed. But underneath all, and in spite of false forms of faitfi, religion still survived. And al t ough the , record must , bb Tor. the'ldbot part .one% of Romanism and not of a . purer system, 'this re cord is calailY and iviilymarle. M. de Pressens6'S love of liberty, and love of France have not in terfered with his love for Christ, and he who would look upon that desperate struggle for hu man rights with a deare iditincyr why it failed, cannot have a better 'guide. Out' of such chaotic masses of right and wron,g this skillful and en thusiastic author has built' a structure which re produces, for the first tithe:the inner forces of the conflict. And when we have added that the book in type and pages resembles a, volume of "D'Aubigne's Reformation in the time of Cal yin," we have said enough to bespeak purchasers for it. 12mo. pp. 416. FROM SEVENTEEN TO THIRTY, is the Title of a Lecture addressed to the Young Men of London, by the venerable Thomas Binney, and here ex panded into a small volume. It is a most de lightful offering of Christian thaturiq, experience and sympathy to the ,young. it is based upon the history of Joseph-, and it handles that precious portion of Scripture with freshness, spirit, and wholesome practical aims. Few more suitable books can be found , to put into the . hands of young men, going abroad into active -life. THE LITTLE CRIPPLE one of MRS. S. C. HALL'S Stories, illustrating and commending manliness in boys, especially a§,endUring misun derstanding and 'as subjected•to:pecilliar trials. It is printed ixt verY,large type and well illus trated, with a handsome illuminated cover. New York: Carlton & Lanahan. - TDB STORY OF A DIAMOND just reissued by the AMERICAN SUNDAY,SCIIOOL UNION, relates much:that is iritereStiti& aini - Valuable about the private and sociai - life Of the Egyptians, and the difficulties in the way of missionary effort among them.' It is presentedunder the form of a story of various adventures supposed to have befallen a diamond and told by itself, adevice which must add much to its popularity with the children. 1,6ra0., pp. 295. Illnstrated. FANNY IHOHT MAN'S CHOICE, by Mrs. MARTHA E. BERRY,. isa temperance story just issued by the American Tract Society, New • York. Poor. Fanny Lightman, at a time of great reli gious interest, instead of.coming out on the Lord's side, linked.her, fortunes with a . reformed drinker, who also refusedto make Christ his refuge, and the result was a life made , wretched by the return of the ,hissband• to his ,drinking; habits, after a very few;years of sobriety: "ITh`e lesson is a: most salutary and needful one; and,ist,presented in a way AA interest,and affect the reader. The book is handsomely printed and illustrated. 18mo., pp. 343. J. C. GmutiouEs & Co.; live ; added. to their dxc'elletit stock of' puliiicatrons; Asti- TON; or, Conquered Faults," By Mrs. C. Y. Bar low,'already populdi as the author of Helen Mac l'Gregtif.` It is- a. 'good' hook for the 'household, presbiating'tiaits of chafanter'ivhieli children will readily recognize as and holdihg, up the only true Seriptuial- way of conque`ring Beautifully printed' and illustrated. 18nao., pp. • NOTHING BUT LEAVES IS one of Miss 11. 1 3 - AicKEEVER'S very best stories. It shows the contrast betieen pretentious, empty professioli and the beau l tiful and powerful reality of humble piety. The story is skillfully constructed, the scenes varied,,and the wholevolume full of in terest, ( especially to young readers. IGcno., pl' 232. ELEANOR'S= LESSONS, by. BlissiS. G. CONNELb: Author oVtCarl's. Homer is an loriginal, ingeni ens and; instructive Istorys. the .lessons being such as emphatically to reprovg the hasty and ccoso-
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