''''''he _7.,.._..,.....-nirriit4u 7:.'''r.rc.;ll),lirriart New Series, Vol. VI, No. 26. Strictly in Advance $2.50, Otherwise $3. Postage 20ets, to be paid where delivered. gmtritan Ittzblittrialt. THURSDAY, JULY 1, 1869 CURRENT TOPICS. —The N. Y. Observer unhesitatingly denies that the necessity exists for such a resolution as that of the last General Assembly (0. S.) on In fanticide. —We are gratified with the announcement on the part of our daily cotemporary, The Press, that it will no longer print reports of those dirty and brutal sports called prize fights. The Troy Times, commenting on our neighbor's excellent decision, says : "Take away notoriety from the principals and patrons of the prize ring, and they would soon cease to care for the manly art of fisticuffs. Newspaper accounts of, the digust ing ' ' that enliven the leisure hours of the ' fancy' are culpable agents in transforming men into brutes." —The friends of the Sabbath are not wanting in faith, but they are not to be blamed for the astonishment, with which they received the news of a spontaneous movement for Sabbath ob. servance, in the very seat and centre of all viola tions of the Fourth Commandment, the fares et origo malorum, Paris itself. The facts are stated in another part of the paper, and are of a char acter greatly to encourage those who maintain that the Day of Rest is God's sacred ordinance for the real good of man. May we not hear of similar movements in the American counter parts of the French Capital—New Orleans and St. Louis,—now that the great exemplar of irre• ligion has shown the way ? —A. statement derived from an abridgement of Llorente's History of the Inquisition in Spain, third edition, has been published by the Edin burg Spanish Evangelical Society, giving a sum• mary of the victims of that bloody instrument of Romish intolerance from the beginning in 1481 down to 1820. The Whole number of victims including those burnt at the stake, burnt in effi gy, and sent to the galleys, is 335,467. Closing the record in 1746, since which date only fourteen have been burned, and 268 sent to the galleys, we have a total in 263 years of 36,154 burnt at the stake. Just about one-third of the whole awful work was done under Torquemada in the first seventeen years of the history of the Institution; when 10,220 were burned, 6,840 were burned in effigy, and 97,371 were sent to the galleys. It took nearly sixty years to make up another third of the victims of the stake; while a full hundred thousand more were hurried to the galleys in the short space of twenty-three years. After that the work flagged, even under the rule of the three Philips; and two centuries, during which the world was moving into the light of the Reformation, were required to equal the seventeen years of Torquemada. If any one wishes to know whether Spain escaped the influ ces that went abroad with the Reformation, he need only read the additional fact, that two hun dred and sixty persons were sacrificed in the last century of the Inquisition, against 114,371 per sons in the first seventeen years of its existence; or the fact that in the forty years before the Reformation 232,650 were destroyed, while in the sixty years immediately following, only (!) sixty thousand suffered. Humanity stands ap palled at the record, and Christianity blushes at the atrocities committed in her name. STEWARDSHIP. "I have read a melancholy thing in the paper to day; a man died possessed of x10o,000." Rev. Wm. Marsh, D.D. The appearance of the second edition'of Mr. Lewis Tappan's Tract: "Is it right to be rich ?.?' with the announcement of a third edition in preparation, naturally leads to the topic of Chris tian Stewardship. For it seems to 'us, Mr. Tap pan's inquiry is irrelevant and, by itself, quite insoluble. It may be answered yes and no, with equal justness. Seeking and cherishing riches for their own sake is mere idolatry; seeking them in the spirit of stewardship is one of the highest of duties; for it is simply seeking en larged opportunities of doing good. Hoarding money with a vague idea of some time doing great good, or with the still worse ambition of doing some brilliant act of beneficence, and thus refusing to do what is within one's power today, is without doubt a great sin; on the other band, the highest motives, the truest , and largest Chris tian enterprise may animate the business man in accumulating Capital for some great work, on which he has set his heart, and which can be brought to pass only as the result of such far seeing plans. We do not believe that there is' a single word in the Bible that can be fairly con strued against the gathering of such riches ; any more than it can be proved that it is unscriptu ral to cultivate and strengthen the mind beyond a fixed and moderate point of attainment, in or der to be qualified for higher degrees of useful ness. Does not rather the passage in 2 Cor 8-11 encourage the truly liberal and such as act under the supreme law of stewardship, to expect that God will largely prosper a business, tlie fruits of which are devoted in all simplicity of motive to His glory? And are not the many.powerful warnings against the gathering of riches to be understood solely of, selfish hoarding, for one's own pleasure or aggrandizernent, or to secure great fortunes for one's family ? In a word, if. we do not regard ourselves as stewards, the whole Bible and the very spirit of religion, natural and re vealed, are 'against "us; but we need very few specific rules to guide us, if we have, humbly consecrated our all to Christ. Judged by this broad and simple rule, do not some of our truly Christian rich men come very far short of their duty? Suppose such should consider the posture of their affairs, if they should die to-morrow? We do not mean the reputed, but the really wealthy. They would leave, say, a, reasonable sum—it were a calamity if too large— to each of their survivors properly dependent upon them. Besides this, we believe in many case; there would be a great sum of money, or large estates, of which it would appear no care ful, Wise, Christian disposition had been made. Some such cases are within the knowledge of every public man, which can be described as nothing less than truly lamentable. Loaded with a mountain weight of unused talents; many Christian men of wealth go to their graves. They have gone on gathering—hoarding—money be yond their own or their children's real necessities, without a single clear Christian purpose about it, until they died. Or the purpose has been so in definite, and the plans so long deferred, that, so far as the management of that reserved part of their wealth goes, their stewardship has been grievously defective. 'Unload, friends„ before. you (lie. Don't go to your graves;—don't risk the going to your graves—with such a talent wrapped up and hidden in a napkin. Put it out to active use for the Lord; expose it not rashly to the manifold perils of bequeathed fortunes. Enjoy for yourself the blessed sight of the good it is doing, and ensure 'a happier reception for yourselves into everlasting habitations. CITY PARISHIONERS IN THEIR COUNTRY HOMES. To our mind, the city furnishes the most desi rable residence for eight months of the year. The country has, indeed, peculiar claims in May and October. But in almost any city, there is enough of the freshness of May to delight one, enough of the autumn gold of October. Neither of these two months is unfavorable to either the work or the joys of city life. In May, one may feel in clined to loosen a little the buckles of his harness; in October he adjusts that harness anew. Dur ing the intermediate months the country is too full of delights to admit a question of preference. In June, earth's summer robes are in their per fection. Then one begins to long to stretch him self on her bespangled mantles of green. The paved court-yards about his city home are attrac tive until then. The strip of flowers, the bits of turf and the solitary trees bedecking themselves in the barrow enclosures, arc beautiful in May. A city " square " is most attractive during the first few weeks, after it has been opened to enthu siastic children who crowd its well rolled , walks. But when, as in Philadelphia, the laden threads of silk begin to drop from the branches, and even the sparrows begin to despair of their work in relieving those threads of their burden of insect life, one thinks pleasantly of trees not haunted by the city pest, and of reaches of turf not guard ed by cautionary notices. Then the temptations, of the country become so strong, that,Sunday by Sunday, the city pastor observes the diminution of his congregation. Familiar faces disappear from the seats. Many of the houses in which he has not failed for months to find a welcome, begin to wear a deserted look. The very life of the church grows languid. Dorcas has dropped her needle or has carried it to other places. ' There is no more talk or missionary . boxes. The " mothers' meetings" are closed; though the mothers who have resorted to them might still be found not far away. The pastor begins to receive invitations to fol low his scattering flock to their retreats. He, is not insensible either to the invitations of friend ship, or to the voices of Nature to which his par ishioners have listened. The pen becomes clumsy, in his fingers. The books, lately so communica tive, seem begging for repose; so they miss him, 15 jui.),69 PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, J some morning, and surrender themselves to idle ness for the day. The swift railway train bears the pastor out of the city. He loses sight of pavements, passes-the last lamp post, forgets his own door-bell. .To a little while he is in a new world. He has been hospitably greeted by the missing ones. He is on 'a vine clad piazia: , •He seats himself in a rustic chair,- secretly wishing all the while to sit on the door steps, like a boy; then finally to roll on the' grais where - yonder maple spreads out its canopy. Ai for the parlor, that is not to be thought of for 'While. Over his head the wrens' arid phosbes fly in and out—, their nests are in the corners and among the vines. The thrushes alight on the strilibbery within a• few feet of him and turning their in-- quisitive heads to one side, examine'the stranger. A hurnniing-bird darts like a winged emerald at a cluster of honey-suckles near by. ,Then's robin ,begins his song upon' wtree so near that the un dulations of the feathers , on the - singer's, throat can be plainly seen. What a contrast to ,the, hurdy-gurdy, whose melancholy tones even the rigors of winter can scarcely suppress; in the, streets of a town ! The evergreens on the lawn stand like -living, tents, impenetrable, indeed, by man ;ibut ,full of animal life,perfuming with richer tinna: cathedral , incense the chambers of allthat dwell therein. The voices. of children come from yonder ; cherry-tree., For the time, the envious birds are afraid to ven ture to the ruddy feast which, loads the branches. They fly about it in circles, or perch on the ever greens to watch their opportunity. The' Nisitor, is bolder than the birds, and deserts the piazza for the cherry-tree. Very likely he forgets his broadcloth and swings himself up with the boys among the branches. Are these the children he used to see in his Sunday school P . Stains on their fingers, stains on their faces, stains nn:their clothes ? Yes ! God bless them stains and all ! Cherry stains are only skin deep. If there are no stains of heart, these are more than excusable. Very likely the minister brings a stain or two out, of that tree. The childrep once fairly. disloageCt6,3tisitor-1 is leeoff s by them, a willing captive 'to see the wonder of the r laee, a pony of marvellous propor tions, and of locks more shaggy than those of the most barbaric hero. Here, too, is the wagon, so diminutive that the parson is tempted to show the boys how easily he can jump over it, wheels and all. The pony surveyed, and a polite invitation to ride declined, there are many other marvels to be inspected, all which are duly honored; though none of them are so wonderful as the works of nature in leaf and flower, a wilderness of which is all around. Least of all the wonders of the day is this: that when the hour arrives for leav ing this paradisaical work of creation and the pleasant society which the leisure of the hour has made so sweet, the visitor goes back to the city with a sigh, and thinks of his vacation with new longing. Very possibly, however, lie asks himself on his homeward way, how this summer life of his par ishioner is likely to affect his piety? Favorably, of course, is the first suggestion. But why "of course', ? There is, indeed, very much in all this which ought to bring the heart nearer to God. If it be true that "the meanest weed that blows" can stir thoughts " too deep for tears," then all this wealth of beauty ought to make one more grateful and trustful than ever. The quiet of these drooping shades ought to be favorable to religious meditation, and to woo to prayer. The invigorating atmosphere ought to brace soul as well as body, and to secure new health for the spirit before the life of the city 'is resumed. Doubtless it does, in many instances. But there 'is always danger that one's spiritual vigor will suffer decline, amid the causes which should promote it. Summer life has its distractions. Even when it is comparatively free'from care, the temptation is to abandon: oneself to ' enjoyment, and to neglect those fountains of spiritual refresh- ment at which the Christian should ever drink. We can conceive, that duty might require, that an exhausted body should for a time be sur rendered to repose. Sleep is one of the first ne cessities which the brain-worker should seek in the country. Repose in the hours not given to sleep, absolute idleness, when the thoughts are set louse like the clouds to float wherever the wind blows them, may be duty for a time. But, when the necessity of repose is over, then there should be an actual invigoration, of every thought and sen timent which can reach'out towards God. As matter of fact, the spiritual forces of .a city congregation gather but slowly in the autumn. Some make of country life, dissipation to both body and soul. This is especially true of those who travel far, or who in fashionable resorts give themselves up to dress and to amusement. The Christian's prayer, when afar from the familiar LY. 1, 1869. closet or sanctuary, should not cease to be, "Nearer my God to thee." How kindly he draws us; as to His bosom, when we touch the ground in its quieter spots ! How grandly he lifts us up as to His thione -when we Climb the mountains! 'The faithful. pastor would take no iracation, did he not hope to return to his people better fitted to minister to them in spiritual things. Is •he wrong to expeci:that they will bring back to the city from summer wandering or from summer home, new zest and new fitness for their religious duties? As for those who are permitted to see the coun try Onlyhy glimpses through all the, long sum ,mer; who breathe the breath of forest and field and sea,lti it*reie only by fitful gasps, we pity' thetn. The poor in the contracted streets and alleys, in-narrow and' ill : ventilated rooms ; we pity them:: Yet it'is not impossible that some of thencr, raised by the cross of poVerty or of some daily trial, may Hie nearer to God than those who feel the pity, 'but fail of the opportunity: Z. M. 11.- THE REFORM AGAINST NATURE. ,While men slept, the tares were sown , by the Wicked One. So, movements fraught with the direst evils may be fairly set . afoot, while we are indulging in a sleepy skepticism about them, and simply saying pooh—pooh Call a movement a Reform; give out, that it is in the interest of a greatly 'wronged class ; cry, " liberty " and " right," and especially associate it with the thrilling and broad question of suffrage, and men are in danger of being swept into it, without Con sideration. Especially those who are sore over their late mistakes in the direction of conserve- . tism, and. who are shy of being; caught in the same pitiful plight, as they were in regard to slavery,and the equal rights of the colored man; such will be found easy material for the new. Re form mongers, that chance to come along And so we may find ourselves fairly adrift on the tide of a most absurd, perverse and calamitous popu lar movement before we-are willino.'to admit its and' importance. Dr. Bushnell's Book : Women's Suffrage, the Reform against Nature; will we are persuaded, do great service in rousing, the religious and moral part of our community, to the nature of the question which is being thrust upon the Ameri can people, not yet done with the great social problems bequeathed to us by the war, and having half-a-dozen . others looming up in the near future. It has the advantage of being the first serious at tempt to grapple with the question in its various aspects; and we cannot but think, that it has set the matter, in some of its more important rela tions, in such a strong light of rhetoric,, argu ment, Scripture authority, and alarming, but well grounded intimations of the future, as to quite settle the minds of many readers. It is the first book; on some leading points of the sub ject, we are satisfied there need not be a second. The title of the Book is its whole argument in brief. The Reform he combats is "against,na ture." It is a deforming; a despoiling of the very region in all nature sacred to.beauty and de licacy and refinement; the turning, of its garden spot to a wilderness; the endeavor to reverse its order where order is most essential to the purity, peace and wellbeing of society. The distinction of sexes is clear; the subordination of the one to the other is equally clear. Nature and the Bible alike proclaim it. To:contravene laws so evident, so fundamental, so sacred, must bring disaster in its train, just as surely as the violation of the laws of health or of gravity. One can t indeed, see many possible good results from putting the ballot in the white hand of woman," in matters relating to education and morals, and in cases where she is peculiarly unprotected by existing laws.; but they are merely occasional advantages of what, on the whole, is overwhelmingly mis chievous. Dr. Bushnell passes very lightly over the fact that women are allowed to vote in some of the churches; a fact very familiar to our own people. To our view, the argument for political suffrage drawn from church suffrage fails in a vital point. Just where it is needed, the analogy gives out. In Christ there is neither male nor female. The church approximates that spiritual state, where the distinctions.of earth are lost ; It is proof of our sense of progress in this direction that, we share, to a limited extent; the functions, of gov ernment in the Church, with the women. But the worldly sphere, in which political contests are carried on, is not Christ's. It has not, be come, it is not beeciming, it cannot become the place where distinction of sex loses its significance. That is a fact of our 'worldly organization -which only heaven itself will set aSide. The usage in the spiritual society of the Church is an inti mation of What heaven will be; not a rule for the Genesee Evangelist, No. 1:206. I Home & Foreign Miss. $2.00. I. Address :-1334 Chestnut Street practice of worldly society. At all events, we must greatly reform and conform to celestial pat terns the scandalous and abominable ways we call politics, before there will appear any reasonable ground for the argument by analogy with Church practice. It-is pretty clear that, so far as the movement for women suffrage has gone, it has resulted in positive injury to its advocates. Not that they have insured themselves in our esteem by the mere fact of advocating it, but that their whole behaviour in pushing the "reform." has been coarse, rude and worse than merely masculine. Their gatherings have disgraced the generic name of man, much more the delicate name of woman. All the confessed intellectual ability of these women leaders, has not prevented a wide-spread disgust at their doings, Nature is already aveng ing herself upon her offenders. Something more, far more, than has been done, must be done for woman. Much as Christianity has achieved in this line, it is capable of doing more; and it is its spirit, not to count itself to have apprehended, but to press towards the mark. Sensible Chris tian women are moving for the Scriptural eleva tion of their sex. Read the following resolutions of an association composed'of the first ladies of New York City, of which the well-known and esteemed Mrs-. Marshall O. Roberts is President. They were passed at a meeting held in that city, May 31, and we believe they "mean business." 'RESOLUTIONS OF THE WOKEN'S EDUCA- Resolved, 1. That one cause of the depressed condition of women is the fact that the distinc tive profession of her sex, as the nurse of infancy and of the sic,k, as educator of childhood and as the chief minister of the family state, has not been duly honored, nor such provision been made for its scientific and practical training as is accorded to the other sex for their profes sions; and that it is owing to this neglect that women are driven to seek honor and independ ence in the institutions and the professions of men. 2. That the science of domestic economy in its various branches involves more important inter ests than any other human science, and that the evils suffered by women Would be extensively remedied by establishing institutions for train ing woman for her profession, which shall be as generously endowed as are the institutions of men, many of which have been largely endowed by women. 3. That the science of domestic economy should be made a study in all institutions for girls ; and that certain practical employments of the family state should be made a part of common school education, especially the art of sewing, which is so needful for the poor; and that we will use our influence to secure these im portant meaures. 4. That every young woman should be trained to some business by which she can earn an inde pendent livelihood in case of poverty. 5. That, in addition to the various indoor em ployments suitable for women, there are other outdoor employments especially favorable to health and equally suitable, such as raising fruits and flowers; the culture of silk and cotton, the raising of bees, and the superintendence of dairy farms and manufactures. All of these offer avenues to wealth and• independence for women as properly as men, and schools for imparting to women the science and practice of these em ployments should be provided and as liberally endowed as are the agricultural schools for men. --The- Directory. of " Religious Services in Philadelphia," in.the Monthly Record of the Y. M. C. A., is not quite complete- yet, as our Winnebrennaria; .Dunker, Mennonite, Brethren of Jerusalem, Cumberland Presbyterian, Ad ventist, Christadelphian, Mormon, Reformed. Mormon, and. Jewish. places- of worship are omit ted. It shows that we are a, city of Reformed. Churches, as the eight branches, of that order aggregate 220 congregations, viz., Protestant Episcopalian, 71; O. S. Presbyterian, 37; N. S. Presbyterian, 31; German Reformed 15 United Presbyterian, 11; N. S. Reformed Presbyterian, 6 ;,a S. ditto, 34 Reformed, 5 ; Independent (or. Duncanite), 1. The Churches of the Puritan or, Pseudo-Puritan order number 50, viz.': Regulari. Baptist, 40 Orthodox Congregationalist, 4; Unitarian, 3•; Universalist, 3. The Methodist branches are but 3, viz.: Methodist Episcopalian, 564 Evangelical Association, 4;. Moravia; 3. The. Quakers have 15. Meeting houses, viz., Hicksite, 8; Orthodox, 6:; Primitive (or Wil burite), 1 (a private house). The Evanglical or Lutheran Church has 22 churches. The Ro- manists have 37. The New Church (or Sweden. borgian), 5. Eight other places of worship be long to hall' a dozen specified sects, while the un specified have some score more. Without count ing these last, however, we have 385 churches and meeting houses within the limits of the in corporate city, or about one to every 2,000 of our population.' The Presbyterian branches (it united) would number SS. As it is, the Episco palians lead. TIONAL 'ASSOCIATION.
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