frrightat Coannitintitatirot,s.
ENTERING SWITZERLAND BY THE
MERLON.
From the note book of our Travelling. Correa-
ponden t.
The Simplon Road over which we were cross
ing the Alps is a fine, wide, hard, smooth road
all the way from Milan to Paris; never less than
25 feet wide and never so steep over the moun
tains as to require extra horses. We had five
greys attached to each stage; one on each side of
the tongue, and at the right, a third horse, cur
iously hitched to the running gear, while two
pulled in front. They were not fine horses at
all, but heavy plodders, not as round and hand.
some as Rosa Bonheur's by any means—but not
thin nor badly kept. The drivers did not shout
gee up nor " gcelang" as our drivers do, but
those horses understood French. " Tirez" (pull)
was the word that accompanied the cracking of
the whip. When we went over the Mt. Cenis
pass six weeks before, we had had two horses and
ten mules attached to each stage, the road being
so steep that all their strength was required to
draw us up the declivity. The drivers wear a ,
uniform of dark blue coats trimmed with red
braid, scarlet vests, blue. pants, covered with
black oil cloth froM the knees down, and black
glazed hats with low crown and broad brim.
The fear of steep 'roads and' baulking horses bad
deterred us from having a private conveyance in
both passes; but we have since learned that
these private carriages are constantly crossing,
and that no risk whatever is to be feared. It is
far more profitable to go iha carriage, or "voiture
particuliare," as they have it, as you can then
stop and enjoy the fine sights; whereas, these
stupid stage drivers seem to hurry past the best
views, and rest provokingly long where there is
nothing at all extraordinary to be seen. They
stopped a full hour for lunch, where there was
nothing. to see; not to rest the'horses, for they
changed them; while at dinner, in a splendid situa
tion, we had scarcely 20 Minutes. ' At some of
the grand passes they drove like Jehu in great
haste to make up lost time. The stages are nar
row, seats for four only inside, two more in the
coupe, and two up behind on the outside.
CRAGS AND WATERFALLS
As the scenery became more grand, we climbed
up to the top of the stage, where we joined two
of our New York friends in singing, "On the
Wild Chamois Track," and we sung it with a
gusto as we had the crags in sight among which
the chamois and the hunter often threaded their
perilous way. .
The rocky sides of the valley were becoming
more rugged, while the view was closed in'ahead
of us by, rough mountain sides, thinly covered
with pine, tamarack and spruce. Waterfalls
trickled over the sides of the rocks, sometimes
in slender threads, and again in pretty leaping,
dashing °shades, which we could trace a long
way up the declivitY, either by their silver thread
among the rocks and underbrush, or by their
white, milky foam as they rushed over the bar
riers that opposed their noisy path. Sometimes,
from over some rocky shelf far up the mountain
side, a beautiful cascade would leap out, descend
perpendicularly for three or four hnndred feet,
the lower portion breaking up into diamonds of
glittering spray, and falling among bushes or
underbrush, would be entirely lost to view, long.
before reaching the level of the road: Most
beautiful of all Alpine pictures were those bril
liant waterfalls, whose final flow we seldom could
trace. We knew they came from some distant
snow bank or glacier far above us, for,, as the
road wound round a turn in the valley, the high
er peaks became visible, and among them Illy the
everlasting beds of cold, white snow, reflecting
the sunlight as brilliantly as though they were
beds of solid silver.
We filled our drinking cup at, a little thread
like cascade that came rippling over a ledge of
rock at the road side, and refreshed the parts
with ice water as cold as we could possibly drink
it. At another time we climbed down the roadside
and filled our cup in the roaring Doveria, in
which trout fishers were endeavoring to lure the
speckled beauties with their deceptive flies. The
water was clouded, white, milky-looking; but
cold, though not' extremely so, as the little
glacier stream above had been.
ALPINE FARMS
Far above, the road across 'the valley, we no
tice one of the little cleared patches of green
among the pines, with high, steep mountain sides
hemming it in on three sides, and the precipitous
rock in front reaching down to the valley at our
feet. A. little chalet shows the patch to be a
farm, and hay ricks over a freshly cut meadow
show what the Alpine farmers have been at.
We see something Moving' away. up 'there. What
can it be ? Our opera glasses are brought out,
and we descry two or three children romping
with a couple of dogs among the hay ricks. We
wonder how in the world the children keep from
tumbling down the precipice and breaking their
necks,—hoW they hold on to that steep hill side
and romp around as they do.
We are 'reminded - that'll° hill side is as steep
when you' getto it, as 'it 'appears when you are
at a little i distance away, and what looks t() us as
slanting as the Foof,o'f, a house, may be really
comparatively level. : Quite a lesson this for
good people who are apt to borrow trouble ahead,
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 1869.
and for care-worn folks who are continually
crossing bridges before they get to them. How
those mountaineers live up there in the cold win
ter, we can't imagine ; how they can ever get a
doctor up there when any of them are sick, or
how they can possibly earn a living from that
little patch of a few acres, and then how impos
sible for the children to go to school.
Presently we pass at the roadside a cube of
rock as high and square and regular as one of
our rows of houses, and several hundred feet
long. It lay between the road and the river.
High up the mountain side, nearly a mile
away, we saw the square . shelflike hollow place
whence it had slipped out and come rolling down
to its present position. • 'With. what thundering
roar must it have turned and tumbled aniirolled
its ten thousand tons down that steep declivity;
The thought reminds its of. Milton's fight among
the gods, wheri they hurled mountains a 6 eaeh
other.
ROW TO MEASURE A 11IGH • CLIFF.
We now pass a ledge of rocky wall, perpen
dicular, somewhat concave, following the bend
of the stream as it curves 'away, from us. The
wall forms the opposite side of the. valley. , 'lt is a
bare rock, quite smooth, without a 'shrub or tree
on its surface for a mile or more along the creek,
and how , high ? Heights and distances are very
deceptive in these lofty regions I knew,' but made
'up niy!mind that , the• bold perpendicular• wall
Was 2,000 feet at least in height. It was truly a
sublime sight, all taken in at one view--a , wall
of such dimensions. I asked my New York
friends how high they thought it was After a
scrutinizing look, one said 600 feet, the other 700. •
I said 2,500 feet or at least 2,000.. They laughed
at the idea. " How do you figure it up ?" I
asked. " Well," ,they reply, " set Trinity church
steeple right against it.• Begin at,the base, down
there, by the stream; and the top of the spire.
would reach that, seam. in the rock, over there,. a
little higher than our level. Now begin; another
Trinity church steeple at that line and the •top
will: reach to the top of the rock. The steeple
being 300 feet makes 600, the height of the
wall." To this they both agreed, and urged the
utter impossibility of my estimate. I replied,
" How high do - yea call those pine trees down
here below us in the valley,?"".We were looking
down upon their tops. We all agreed to about
80 feet. I then directed them to other trees a
little further off up the, valley, •a,nd near the
edge of the precipice. They were about the
same height, 80 feet. ,We noticed a little higher
up the , edge of the precipice— , •half a mile off--
were others, which we all agreed were about the
same height, 80 feet. Similar trees were' found
further up the edge, and leaning over
,the very
top of the rocky wall,,their green boughs show
ing clearly against the sky—" all'about the same
sized trees," they admitted "80 feet." These
last trees were no larger in appearance than the
size of your hand. I asked them how many of
those 80 feet trees, way up there against the
sky, could they set, one under the other from the
extreme top down to , the roaring Stream below
our feet. " Fifty, easily," was the reply. "That
will make 4,000 feet, gentlemen," said I, ¶' 1500
more than I want." They admitted I was right,
and knew better how to measure these immense
heights in the'clear air of Switzerland than they
did.
.
We have just passed a stone bridge of a sin
gle arch; spanning the valley, carrying our road
to the other side of the Doveria. It looked so
light and airy, when we first saw it down the
stream, that we wondered how it could support
its own weight over the deep chasm . .
There were no wheel tracks over it, showing
that men, and mules, and mountain goats were
about the only animals .that followed the steep
windings of the road, as it led among the crags
beyond, connecting 'the scattered hamlets on that
side, with the outer world. G. W. M.
ADDRESS OF REV. DR. ADAMS BEFORE THE
OLD SCHOOL ASSEMBLY,
On Wednesday. May 26th.
MR. MODERATOR :—Lest it might be supposed
by any that my colleague and myself are the
bearers of some special 'overture from the As
sembly which we represent, it will 'not be im
pertinent to premise that the appointment un
der which we serve was made by the General As
sembly of the last year. It is, on our part, a
continuance of that interchange of' fraternal
courtesies which was inaugurated several,years
ago, but which is now drawing to a close; for I
am awed by the thought that this is undoubted
ly the last delegation from our Assembly to
yours, as interchange is now to giie place to in
terblending. We remember with delight the'
visit of your delegation to our Assembly last
year at Barrisburgh, their kind words, their
genial spirit, their noble bearing, while -eur
hearts are still glowing with the fervent elo
quence of your commissioners when addreSsing
us two days ago; for all of which we thank both
you and them.
Though my connection with the Presbyterian
Church has exceeded thirty years, this is the
first time that I even so much as looked upon the
General Assembly of your branch of the Church.
With.particular men among you, I have formed
intimate, and, I trust, immortal friendships;
many of your names—pardon me, Mr. Modera
tor, for mentioning your own among them—be
long to the common scholarship of the country;
while I can truly say of the men with whom I
have been associated in the negotiations of the
last three years, that to me their faces will ever
shine as did that of Moses, though it may be
added that, in their Christian modesty, "they
wist it not themselves."
To give first impressions, it strikes me that
I am not among "strangers and foreigners,"—
that you have the true, indescribable but unmis
takable Presbyterian look; gravity without aus
terity, dignity without dulness, or if I may ac
commodate the descriptive words of Sir John
Denham, written two hundred years ago—
Though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull;
Strong, without rage; without o'erflowing, full.
It will be remembered by some present that
shortly after the division of the. Presbyterian
Church into two bands, our own branch, not
having the most delightful associations with
General Assembly as then administered, and
wishing to put into form that idea of its func
tions which had been propounded by many of
'the fathers of the Church, that it should be
more of a bond of union among Synods as local
Assemblies, and less of a supreme, long-armed,
legislative power, inaugurated --wisely or un
wisely—the system of Triennial Assemblies, and
for the conduct of any business which might re
quire action in the interval a , committee was ap
pointed called the '" Committee ad Interim."
. Though a young Man at the time, I had the
honor to be a member of 'that Ceminittee. It
It may also be remeMbered by some present that
in. subsequent Assemblies of your own it was
quite common facetiously to, refer •to this Com
mittee of OUTS as the "COMMITTEE AD INTER
MENT;" a pleasant and'witty mode of expressing
the conviction that'we are dead. Ours was not the
first instance in which premature• burial his been
arrested. I. am. reminded of that immortal pas
sage in English literature, familiar to all nurse
ries, which describes, a, certain motherly person
greatly grieved because of'the death of her favor
ite dog: ,
So she went out to-buy him, a coffin,
When she name heel( she found him a laughing
Mr. Moderator, Nye are not , dead. We have never
had any idea of dying. ,How could we die when
we are vitalized by the spirit of Presbyterianism
and byall the memories and traditions of Presby
terian history ? It is very common for those who
migrate from the Old World to the New, to be
,taunted with; the rawness and recency of their
• origin. If there is any virtue
,in historic lineage,
all such have as indefeasible a right in, every
thing which constitutes the glory of Britain as
those who still hold the ancestral cliffs. In"like
manner, we, as a. Church, .are..no foundlings,
blushing at the bend of illegitimacy yin. our coat
armorial. All good and great Presbyterian names
are our common property. 'Your Alexariders,
McDowell, Rice, Miller, are ours, as our Rich
ards, Skinner, Barnes,, and Smith, are yours.
Chalmers, the Browns, the Erskines, are ours.
The Confession of Faith is' ours. The old, Cate
chisms are ours. Presbyterianism; in all its
bravery and scholarship and fidelity, is ours, as
truly as theirs who ever have lived on' the hills
and heather of Scotland. , ,
We have nothinc , to report concerning our
branch of the Church but the special goodness of
Almighty God. We•do this, not in pride and
exultation, but, we trust, with true gratitude for
the past, and bumble, dependence on Him for the
future. All our organizations for Church. work
are cor4lete and: efficient. Special reference
may be made to our Home Missionary work,
which has been greatly prospered. Our receiiits
for this object are, I believe, considerably in ad
vance of your own. There are many of these
topics of which, in other circumstances, we might
speak it length ; but,it,will be expected that I
come at once to that subject Of Re-union; which,
at this -hour,-occupies all minds and hearts.
By this time we must all be convinced 'how
much easier it is.to break than to mend, ; to , tear
than to, heal. , The hand of 'n child may break
off a branch froth a rose -hush, imt to re unite it
to the parent stock„and cause 'it to grow fibre to
fibre, bark to .batkr,lso that there shall be no soar,
is .:a divine art; to be accomplished only by:a Di
vine power. In what has. been •done already, we
can see the signs of some working which is not
altogether of man. No man, no set: of Men en
eithr side' can 'take to th'emselves the 'credit 'of
that movement which has already advanced so
far towards ; its' consummation. For- myself, I
can honestly say that when, informed that • my
name was put on the Joint Committee, magnani
mously inaugurated by your Assembly at St.
• Louis in 1866; I had Very little faith in.:tlieSno:
cess of what was then projected. .'.l see before
me my friend and brother; Rev. Dr. Beatty,
Chairman of your own Cothmittee of Fifteen,
who, at the first meeting of our Joint Committee
in February, 1867; told' us that he hoped fr'em
some summit in the upper World one day to .look
down -upon. this -Re-union--a. consummation
which he did not expect to see on the. earth.
Day before yesterday,.in-lis address to our As
sembly, he expr,essecl the belief that, this blessed
issue was nigh at ..11and. I• 'need not fall ‘back
upon the etymology of Uanie, which I have
no doubt is derived from. the Latin .Beatus, to
find reasons for congratulating him on lisitappi
ness this day. ' In nothing is the good hand of
God more conspicuous. than in the delays; and
doubts, and hinderances which had. their °H&j.'" in
honest convictions.. The solution of a doubt is
oftentimes the strongest confirmation of truth.
I may apply to a good cause 'what Robert Hall
has said of meritorious character—it rites supe
rior to opposition, and draws lustre from..re
proach. The vapors which-gather about .the
rising sun and follow it throughout the, day, sel
dom fail, when evening comes, to form a magni
ficent theatre for its reception, and to invest with
variegated tints and a, softened effulgence the lu
minary which they cannot hide.,
It may not'be impertinent to say that, as we
know, pr nothing in your condition as. a. Church
which should lead you to , seek this Re-union on
your own 'account, so there is nothing in our con
dition which; for our own sake' merely, makes it
necessary that we Should be united.' You are a
strong and venerable
, Church, needing no !woes
sion of strength or nnthbers. We are, young,
vigorous, and flexible. To,.s. remarkable degree
'we are homogeneous and uriited. We have no
jealousies; no roots . of bitternesi thoughout our
large communion. So far as I.know,*e have no
questions before u.-1 which are likely to divide us.
Slavery is dead. Slavery-has killed itself . ; 'in
these United States, artil all the : people have
said Amen. Theological'polemics are behind
us. So far as we are concerned, it must be'COn
fessed we enjoy this condition of things :mighti
ly. We trust that it will not be regarded as an
offence if we are disposed to compare ourselves
with the herdmen of Isaac, who digged a well,
and when the berdmen of Gerar strove for it.
called it Esek— Contention—and passed on ; and
they digged another well, and when they strove
for that, they called it Sitnah—Hatred--and
passed on ; and digged a third well, which. they
called REHOBOTH—Room. Having dug our new
well Rehoboth, and finding its waters sweet and
abundant, rejoicing in the liberty wherewith
Christ maketh us free, there is no nedessity, and
we have no wish for our own sakes merely, to go
back to that which is past.
But there is a ground on which we have come
to believe that re-union is desirable, peeminent
ly desirahle..lt is a consideration higher and
grander than the interests of either branch, the
good of the whole country, and the • extension of
the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Evangelism is
better than 'ecclesiasticism. Our common Christi
anity is nobler than any zeal 'for' partizanship.
As we' have been taught by our . common sys
tem of theology, that God foreordains whatso
ever comes to,pass, making_ even the wrath of
man to praise Him, we may suppose that each
of these distinct bodies may have had its mis-
Sion, and' so is' now ` prepared to benefit the .other
in a new 'conilination ; as 'streams, impregnated
With.the qualities of the different soils through
which they run, flow, together and: tturify each
other the• gentle effervescence of contrary
qualities. I suppose you will consider it as no
affront if you are regarded as the special conser
vators of orthodoxy. Adopting the same Con
fession of Faith with, yourselves in all honesty,
we will not shrink from being considered as the
special advocates and representatives of liberty.
Circumstances have created these' distinctions.
YOu will not think it strange, while you. hold
steadfastly to your orthodoxy, that, we should
magnify.and assert qur liberty. , .We' have found
it necessary to emphasize the fact that, within
the , bounds of our common system of 'doctrine,
'there is room for liberty. As' there always have
been, so there always will be differences of opin
ion in unessential particulars among those who
are agreed heartily in the great essentials of the
same historic system. My excellent friend and
brother, 'Rev. Di. Musgrave, when addressing
our Assembly, tiro' days ago,' as
,your' Delegate,
said' emphatically in his admirable"eloquence,
that he rejoiced in the name of Calvinist;.. a
;name in which we rejoice also; but we have
never supposed that
. in order to vindicate one's
.title to'thatlionoretlSPpellation, every one of us
should go through the world like the iron -man
Talus in the drama, with :his flail-.thushink, on
the right hand and On she aeft r all who differ
from us in permitted shades of opinion. . ; .You
and we together insist upon the free play of ,forces
within the range of 'our common self-preseribed
limitations. You - are called Old School; we are
called. New School. When I' say that:all the
novelty, all',the innovation; in, theology which we
,represent consists- in getting rid of superstitions;
using the word according to its exact etymology,
to denote those thinks impesed Upon theology
which are not of its substance,-='-humen tradi
tions and , philosophies,. which' have attached
theinselves to what divine, like - barnacles to a
ship, so , getting Pack more rand more to. the old,
simple, primal, granite,,eternal facts of ReYela
'tion,—perhaps it will appear
,'not altogether im
, possible'-to reconcile the ideas of New and Old
Ilin truelarmontand. unity.. Upon this point it
is not - necessary to multiply words, on our part,
especially
,as : we, recall the generous act of your
last Assembly, in amply vindicating . our ortho
dox.y by that deliyerance which,.of your own ac
cord; was' entdred upon your :minutes, and, for
which we render you,,in the name of all, truth
and fairness, our sincere, thanks.
,Should, this reunion, be, consummated, there
are two things, Mr. Moderator, which as it seems
to me, will 'be 'of immense importance; and of
-which I would presume to speak a word, without
appearing •to drop.into the strain of, professional
homiletics. ~The first relates to the mode ,in
which, from . this time, onward,, we are , to
,treat
one another. Nothim , b is so longlived and invet c
ate as prejudice—professional prejudice,' party
prejudice, sectional prejudice. While holding
to freedom.of speech, the utmost.freedom of the
Press,, can any candid man
,deny that the Church
and the country are both suffering at this hour
from the misTepresentatiOna of a partizan Press ?
'We have had enough' of parvanimity—let us
pledge ourselves now to :=a noble magnanimity.
Let 'my right hand forget its cunning, and, my
tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I
write or speak one word which shall tend to re
°kindle old prejudices; revive old issues or excite
distrust and Suspicion ,in this critical hour of
- healing. If any man is disposed .to do this, to
give heed to idle rumor, to propagate rumors
and suspicions
,fitted to,,make divisions, just
when the tissues are beginning to knit them
selves together into "a 'new confidence, we have
inspired authority for the direction to' math that
man. What , a noble opportunity especially; ,is
theirs who, advanced in years and having a.vivid
memory of former times, veterans scarred in,past
conflicts, men whose honest convictions are 'al
ways to' be honored, 'May so take the lead; at this
new era, in the .conquest of personal prejudices
and partialities as that they shall secure the love,
,gratitude, and honor of a new generation, and
go to their rest at the close of life with. the ben-
edictions of a united Church. What the 'coun
try needs now most of all, and - the Church also,
is the restoration ofointelligent confidence be
tween all its darts, .:North and Sough,: East and
West. Let the educated men of the, conntry,
especially our ministers and elders, cultivate
more of intercourse-ind 'acquaintanceship; and
they will bindthis„whole , land into compactness;
the roots of the willows. by the .water-courses
give firmness to the sect. If. our Union is to be
based' oh confidence and honor then honor must
be whole-hearted. We cannot mix clay and iron
And gold together.
TheSectmd; thing is . the wisdom and.the neces
sity of .engaging immediately in.,larger Anterpri
sea of ~Christian eyangeliSm., This is the,true
method,of liyertingthoukht from obsolete ,ques
tions, and preVenting new' diviSiOni bectiae'''of
minor and - subordinatematters. "Doth theirild
ass- bray when he lliath.grass,'Or flowethl , the ox
over his fodder The- truei'way Art, arrest , all
,senseles,s br,§,yinks t and lovrings4s to fill heart and
hands grand and_ Argent yferk': We are
ninchlinPreised on our side with the paramount
'necessity ofJevangeliking our 'cties'incl new ter
ritories, believing that Presbyterianism has pe
culiar advantages for this vast achievement. i n
our late national struggle, manifold were the di
versities of opinion in regard to men and mea
sures, but these were all compelled to follow the
one grand purpose to preserve the national life,
and integrity. We read in the Apocalypse of
certain forms of life destined to annoy the Church,
that " their power is in their tails." No matter
how many tails a serpent may have, so long as he
has but one head he will be able to glide through
api thicket, every caudal extremity forced to
obey one capital tractive power. It is the attempt
to put these diversities in the foreground—geing
snit were tails foremostwhich ensures either
stoppage or dismemberment. Let us make sure
of true unity by undertaking great things for the
kingdom of our Lord. Our Theological Semina
ries should be more liberally endowed. The
scholars of the Church should be provided for
more generously. As thank-offerings titi God, new
churches should sprint: , up all over the land.
Now is the time for splendid action. We have
been skirmishing only, using squads and detach
ments- Now . for the , bugle-note sounding for an
advance along the whole line.
Having drawn an illustration from the wells of
Isaac of different names; it occurs to me that
there was a. sequel 'to that history which justifies
.tt farther analogy. In dais new encampment, Je
h,ovah, appeared unto Isaac and, said, "I am the
God of Abraham, thy father: fear not, for I am
with thee, and will thee and multiply thy
seed." ".Then Abimeleeh went to him from
Gerar. - and Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phi
chol the chief captain of his army." And Isaac
said unto them, " Wherefore come ye to me see
ing ye hate me, and ..have sent me away from
you?" And they said, "We saw certainly that
the Lord was with thee "—anticipating that fine
-formula of IreilMll9 l "where the Spirit is there
is.the Chnrch," in distinction from the ecclesias
tical formula, "Where the Church is there is
the Spirit" "we saw certainly that the
Lord was with thee; and we said, Let there be
now an oath betwixt us and thee, and let us make
a covenant with thee." "So they made a feast,
and
,did eat and drink together "; and the last
well which was , dug there was called BEERSHEBA
—the well of the oath—for there those who had
been at variance sWare one to another in a bless
ed covenant of amitrand peace. "Then Israel
sang this -song." Shall we, ere this week is past,
sing it,i hereon_ Murray Hill, by the side of our
new well? "Spring up, 0 Well; sing ye unto it:
The princes digged the well, the nobles of the
people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver."
So.they journeyed "from the• wilderness to the
top of Pisgah." •
Pisgah ! with what blessed-memories and hopes
is: the : name associated., Shall we stand awhile
together upon this mount of vision and look
around us ?' 'There is one temptation to which we
are exposed-at this hour, and that is elation. So
much is said of the excellence of our standards
of 'doctrine and ,polity that we are in danger of
exalting them unduly, forgetting that they are
but instrumental to that which is higher and
nobler. Leighton says that the devil is alert in
watching for full and;satisfied -souls, just as pi
rates look out for ships which are heavily freight
ed, letting the empty pass unmolested. If we
shall be , tempted to pride because of our numbers
and wealth and ecclesiastical strength, we shall
be in imminent peril. Believing as we all do that
our. Church-System is suborditiate to Christianity,
let this memorable week be distinguished by the
birth of a purer and loftier type of spiritual reli
gion.
Pisgah! how is the word associated with hea
venly visions and hopes. How small in the pre
sence of 'death those distinctions of which we
make so much in," the 'pride of life." What dif
ference can we imagine there is now between
Krebs and Brainerd, Erskine Mason, and James
W. Alexander, and all those who have been wel
comed by the Lord of glory to His presence out
of these two separated . Branches of the Church
on earth? Bow, are we to account for that phy
siological fact which, has so,ofteu come under our
professional notice, that as nature dissolves itself
into its simplest' elematS, the moral affections
come forth with utmost tenderness and power?
Some:twenty years ago, when our partisan Feju-
Aices were in ,their first heat and strength, I had
a neighbor, eminent for his scholarship and for
'his legal reputation and office, who was so thor
oughly impregnated with theological partialities
that he could , regard me only with cold distrust
:and suspicion. :: For. years our intercourse was
confined to the most, frigid forms of civility. He
was seized by painful and fatal illness, during
which, at his request,' I frequently visited him.
Not a word ever passed bet Ween us pertaining to
different schools and'systems. We talked of " the
common salvation." , All that was rigid mid' , ex
elusive disappeared. Everything that was sweet
and tender and gentle came forth. How often,
did he 'take my hand' and kiss it over and over
again in fondest affection. The intellectual gave
place to the moral—the simple affections of the
heart: asserted their supremacy.. Why should we
defer till the process of dissolution that union
which is sure to be at last through the medium
of Christian love ? "All myrtheology," said that
sweet saint, Dr. Archibald Alexander, when wait
ing and listening for the footsteps of his Master,
"is reduced to this brief compass—the faithful
saying, worthY ',of all, acceptation, that Jesus
Christ came into the world to save sinners."
My dear Mr. Moderator pardon my prolixity,
and accept the most cordial, fraternal, and Chris
tian salutations for yourself, and the Assembly
over which you pieside;from those whom we have
the honor , to represent. = God. bless you and them
in all, things! God blesp, all brunches of the Fres
!--Tterian Church.! God bless all. true Christian
,ministers and men; if all who; in every place,
call
'upon the name of Jesus'Christ our Lord, both
theirs and ours !" Au this day of gladness, be
cause of the reunion of tribes of Israel, let us
chant together the jubilant words which the
Spirit of God has made ready for our use, "
Je
rusalem is builded a city that is compact to
gether. 'Pray-for the peace of Jerusalem. For
my brethren and companions' sakes I will n ow
say, Peace be withinkhee. Because of the house
of the Lord our God I will seek thy good."
Satan's vilest , ministcrL,put on the face of
saints, base pleasures assume the mask of love,
Eclipses of faith takeV
ttie ane of enlightenment
'and an antipathrto the 'atiindritent puts on the
the semblance of a strictzegard.for morality. —
Huebner in Lange.