gri g inat i!Zrlmuttititaticlts.
LETTERS FROM THE HILLS. V.
The Equatorial instrument which occupies the
central room of the edifice, and which the Uni
versity inherited from the society, is not so rare
of its kind or so remarkable as to call for any
special description. The facility with which it
may be moved, the nice arrangements for accu
rate observation, &c., can only be appreciated by
a parson on the spat. A long slit in the revol
ving dome gives ready access to any point of the
sky, and opens easily even in the most frosty
weather by an apparatus devised by Prof. Lang
ley himself. It is worth mentioning that the
lenses of this and the transit instrument suffer
from the all pervading smoke, which settles in
the form of fine particles of carbon uprn their
outer surface. As the gentlest removal of this
will abrade their highly polished surface, it is al
lowed to remain as long as the instrument can be •
used without cleaning.
In the third room of the observatory, occupying
the right wing of the building, the Transit In
strument and the astronomical clock are the most
interesting objects. The former is so mounted on
two pillars of solid stone that it revolves in the
line of the meridian of Pittsburg, and sliding
doors open in the roof above and in both the
back and front walls, to give the observer access
to the sky. Its axles are brass cylinders turned
with the greatest possible accuracy, and the
heights of the supporting pillars are as exactly
equal as human ingenuity can devise. Yet so im
perfect is man's best_work, that deductions have
to be made in every observation for the inaccu
racy of the axles, or else the observation must
be repeated after lifting the weighty instrument
by a screw, and reversing the positions of the
axles. The mean between these two gives the
correct datum so far as these are concerned, but
beside other deductions—known to astronomers
—a deduction must be made for the uneveness
of the height of the stone pillars. If even the
light is falling on one more than on the other,
it expands and throws the instrument out of the
perpendicular. How much the error is, must be
ascertained by the use of a spirit level, which as
it may not be accurate itself is reversed in posi
tion, and the mean taken between the two ob
servations. A very slight error in the position of
an instrument, makes a very great error in deter
mining the transit of a star. Other deductions,
for instance, must be made according to. the alti
tude of the star above the horizon, as only,stars
at the zenith are moving in orbits which appear
to us as great circles.
The Astronomical Clock in this room is one
of Frodsham's best, imported from London, and
is of course the most accurate time-keeper in the
whole city, yet not accurate enough for astronomi
cal calculations without a deduction for unavoid
able errors. Let us explain : The pendulum is
the clock. Get that right, and all the rest is but
seeing that the wheels have the right number of
teeth, and the weights or spring is wound up at
the proper time. But " there's the rub." How
to get that right. A pendulum of a given length
in a given medium, will always swing exactly the
same number of times a minute. But with
every change in the temperature of a room, the
length of the pendulum and the density of the
medium varies. (1). With every increase in the
heat of the metal of which it is composed, the
pendulum grows larger, the centre of oscillation
falls lower, the motion is accelerated. To meet
this difficulty the pendulum is constructed with
a hollow tube of just the right diameter, which
is filled to just the right height with mercury.
The heat which lengthens the pendulum itself,
expands the mercury, causing it to rise in the
tube thereby increasing the weight in the upper
part of the pendulum and keeping the centre of
oscillation fixed. Such a pendulum keeps time
which is perfectly correct for every purpose ex
cept for an astronomical calculation, while our
common pendulums make the clocks go faster in
winter, and slower in , summer. (2) The motion
of pendulum is slower in a rarified than in a dense
medium. Any one who has lifted a bucket of
water up through the denser water of a well,
and then through the air to the well's mouth,
will see that this is true. But every increase in
the heat of the air makes it rarer and thinner, and
tends to increase the speed of the pendulum.
For this no corrective has yet been applied in
practice, but if the pendulum, were made to move
in a perfect, vacuum, i. e., were all air taken out
and kept out of the clock-case, it would be free from
this drawback.. As it is, a deduction has to be
made in astronomical calculations, according to
the density of the air as indicated by 'the baro
meter.
But this difference is so slight that the clock
is accurate down to the finest period of time of
whieh we ordinarily make any account, while
common, clocks, without self adjusting compensa-
ting pendulums, are by no means so. Of course
such pendulums cost too much for every private
person to have one swinging on his kitchen wall.
But in fact one is enough to regulate the clocks
of a whole city. By a very simple telegraphic
arrangement, a wire may be run from one of these
accurate` clocks through house after house, and
dciwn street after street, until the whole city
•
Would - tick i n unison, and with less than half the
trouble we now have, we could secure perfectly
accurate time, from the worst clock in the city,
e., if it had the right wheels and they would
run. Perhaps the cities of the future will lay in
time, as they now lay down gas and water, and
men shall look to their private time-pieces with
the same confiding faith with which Philadel
phians look up to 'the tower upon the State
House. In England already, the Railroad clocks
all run by the clock at the Greenwich Observa
tory. The Chicago University's Observatory are
trying to have the clocks at the many Railroad
depots of that city regulated by their astronomi
cal clock, and unless the selfishness of private
jewellers, and the sacredness of their vested rights
prevent, that lively young city will have the
honor of inaugurating a great reform on this con
tinent.
I spent nearly two hours on this Allegheny
hill, and they were two of the most profitable
and pleasant that I remember. When we came
out of the Observatory, and before parting from
my very kind Mentor, we looked down towards
Pittsburg, below us. I say - towards not to, for a
dense cloud of murk and smoke was spread below
us, through which only the Vrighest chimneys
and the tops of the spires thrust themselves
heavenward. The wind was blowing down the
Ohio valley, and miles away the Dixmont Hos
pital, at Bellevue was invisible. In an hour
after an adieu to J. S. T., I was on the way to
Philadelphia. ON THE WING.
PRESBYTERIANISM IN BOSTON.-11.
Presbyterianism in Boston has a history in the
past, which runs back within almost fifty years of
the first settlement of the city. The first Pres
byterian church was gathered as early as the
year 1687. It was composed of French refugees
who had fled from France, and had taken up
their abode in Boston upon the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes, by Louis the XIV., in 1685.
It had an existence of about fifty years, and dur
ing this time, bad, as far as can now be ascer
tained, two pastors. Their first minister, of whom
we have any record, was Rev. Pierre Daille. He
held the pastoral office until his death, which oc
curred on the 21st of May, 1715. He was dis
tinguished" for his earnest piety, affable manner,
and exemplary life; and his death was much la
mented by his church. His successor was Rev.
Andrew Le Mercier, who continued to be the
pastor of the church, until it had so far diminish
ed in members and wealth, that it ceased to exist.
This church does not seem to have been dis
banded, at any time, but to have gradually died
out. Mr. Le Mercitir, like his predecessor, was
a man of fine character, and of acknowledged
ability, and was particularly noted for his interest
in all philanthropic enterprises.
This church • was modelled after the order of
the Reformed churches of France. But owing
to the distance by which it was separated from
other churches of the same order, it was of ne
cessity an independent Presbyterian church, and,
as such, could not have differed much from the
Congregational churches as they were then con
stituted. It was the custom then, not for all, but
for most of the Congregational churches, to haire
one or more ruling elders, who performed duties
similar to those of the same officers in the Pres
byterian church. But in connection with this,
it must be remembered that the consent of the
church, expressed or implied, was suppos6d to
accompany the action of the ruling elders, and
was, , probably, in most of the churches, considered
necessary to make their action authoritative.
Whatever may have been, the sympathies of
individuals, ministers or church members, there
were at that period, no Presbyterian churches . in
Massachusetts, in the modern sense of the word ;
i. e., none of our churches held that a number of
churches, assoCiated together, had, in their asso
ciated capacity, any jurisdiction over single
churches, or any. power either to govern or to
discipline the churches or-their members. They
did not hold to a Presbytery over the church.
The Congregational churches were all a unit,
with 'reference to the independence of each
church. But from the beginning, the name
Presbyterian was applied to many of our minis
ters and churches. The reason of this was be
cause many, of our ministers and churches held to
a Presbytery within the church itself, composed
of its teaching and ruling elders. Such ministers
and churches were called Presbyterian, to distin
guish them from others who rejected the idea of
a Presbytery in the church. The name Preiby
terian may have been often used, without dis
crimination, and applied to any Congregational
church, but it had its origin in the reason that
we / have given.
When the French refugees came to Boston,
they were received by the Congregationalists as
their brethren in Christ, and treated with kind
ness. Upon the organization of their church, they
were permitted to worship in the town school
house, free of all expense. They worshiped in
this place for a number of years. 'Their services
were always conducted in the French language.
Though cordially received and welcomed, they
labored under some disabilities. While the Con
gregational church had good will toward them,
and did not wish to oppress them, it was deter
mined not to encourage them in building up a
church differing from its own. The Congrega
tional was the church established by law, the
State Church, and a Presbyterian church after
the model of the French church, would be simply
endured. It could not receive the same patron
age and favor as if it had been Congregational.
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1869.
We need got be surprised then, when we learn
that this French church did have to suffer a little
persecution. Like all other dissenting churches
they had to contribute to the support of the es
tablished church. In 1704, after having wor
shiped seventeen years in the school house, they
bought a lot and petitioned the select men of the
town for liberty to erect a meeting house upon it.
Their request was denied. The select men judged
it to be not convenient to grant the same, since
they have the free liberty to meet in the new
school house, as they had for some years past
done in the old, and that being sufficient for a
greater number of persons than doth belong to
their congregation." The erection of a house of
worship would have rendered the permanence of
this church more probable, and that was, without
a doubt, the reason why they were not allowed to
build it. But this unreasonable obstinacy on the
part of the town authorities after awhile gave way,
and twelve years later, in 1716, they were per- ,
mitted to build for themselves a meeting house.
The precise time when this church became ex
tinct is not known. Their house of worship was
sold to aCongregational society in 1748, and it
had not been used by them for several years be
fore. But Mr. Le Mercier styles himself " pastor
of the French church" as late as 1753. Viewed,
as this church was, with distrust by the establish
ed church, always conducting the public services
in the French language, receiving no accession
by emigration, and isolated from all other church
es of the same order, we do not wonder that as
its original founders passed away, it ceased to
exist. AXTELL.
MISSION SCHOOLS, AND THE REFORM
MOVEMENT IN INDIA.
One of the Reform leaders a native of this
city, Kolapoor, a very gifted young Brahman,
whose course I have watched with great interest
for sixteen years. Intent on a thorough educa
tion, after reaching the limits of his opportuni
ties here, he took a note of introduction from me
to the Rev. Dr. Wilson, Scotch Free Church
Mission, Bombay, studied for a while in their
Institution, then in the Elphinstone College, be
came a graduate of the Bombay University, and
is now Professor of English literature in the
same University. His stupid old father—a
Brahman of the straitest sect, is private minis
ter to His Highness, the rajah here, and shows
special zeal in cursing his noble son for his Re
form principles, is ready to discard all natural
ties, and to tAat his 'son as a vile Mahar, not
withstanding his high position and University
honors.
It were easy from the details of this case, and
this whole Reform movement in all parts of In
dia, to deduce a mighty argument in favor of
Mission Schools, and the grand system of work
ing upon the masses by educational agencies, in
stead of expending the energies of. missionaries
and the funds of the Church, in comparatively
futile verbal efforts for the conversion of indi
viduals. Religion is a personal matter between
each immortal soul and its Maker, but the most
valuable individual converts are won to Christ by
this very system of acting on the masses by the
force of Christian education. A most happy il
lustration of this fact has just occurred in the
baptism of 'a young Hindu, Dr. A. S. Jayakar,
by our Irish Presbyterian brethren at Ahmeda
bad. This young Hindu was fJr years a pupil
in the College. Department of the same Scotch
Free Church Mission Institution, Bombay; then
went through a regular course of study in the
Grant Medical College, and took his degree
from the - University; then going to England, he
studied for a time in the best Institutions there,
passed the prescribed examinations, and returned
to India a member of the covenanted Medical
Service. He has now at length yielded to his
convictions of the truth and professed his faith
in Christ. From the brief statement he gave at
his baptism, it appears that he lost all confidence
in Hinclaism, while studying in the Mission In
stitution years ago, and, for a time, embraced in
fidel views; but at length became convinced that
the Christian faith, and that alone, meets the ne
cessities of sinful man, by providing an atone
ment for his sins and a Mediator with God.
Hence he says: "Believing, therefore, that the
Christian religion - is true and divine, I now
make a public profession of it, and my prayer to
God is, that others similarly convinced, may ac
knowledge Christ as the Son of God, our Teach
er and Saviour, and follow His instructions."
I have no doubt there are thousands of intelli
gent, educated young Hindus " similarly con
vinced," who have not yet courage to imitate
this young man in openly professing Christ be
fore their countrymen. But here is our special
hope for India. This large body of educated
and convinced young Hindus, constitute a kind
of shield between such converts and the cruel
persecutions of the more superstitious Hindus,
and we may look for increasing numbers to break
away from their ranks, and, like Dr. Jayakar,
boldly profess their faith in Christ. For this re
sult we look and work and pray in hope. Cease
not to help us with your prayers. In the ser
vice of the Gospel, yours sincerely,
P. S.—Our mission work is progressing in all
departments to the limits of our strength, but we
„grieve unceasingly that we have not a stronger !
missionary force, larger pecuniary means, and
a more effective educational agency whereby to
bring the intelligent youth of this stronghold of
idolatry under Christian teaching and influence.
w. •
REV. A. M. STEWART'S LETTERS.-XLVII.
This was spent at Lake Tahoe, on the borders
of California and Nevada, nestled away on and
in the Sierra Mountains.
Our mission at White Pine ended with the
last Sabbath of September. The nearly four
months' stay in that strange land, was rugged and
laborious, yet full of interest—the pleasure of
hopeful toil—and was left with not a few regrets.
Preaching the gospel in regions entirely new—
extending the kingdom into regions beyond, has
in it a satisfaction, which to be realized must be
felt.
The Sacrament of the Supper was dispensed
to the new organization in White Pine, on the
Sabbath before our leaving, and thus, for the
first time, in all that vast region, was the death
of Jesus commemorated according to His dying
command. Previous to its celebration, twenty
one persons were added to the communion of
the Church. The season was one of earnestness,
pleasure and profit.
If this material be referred to a second time,
it is because of its prolific abundance along the
travelled ways in this rainless land. The amount
of pulvirized alkaline earth along the one hun
dred and twenty-five miles of staging road be
tween Treasure' City and Elko, on the railroad,
would not be easy of measurement. It is the
great inconvenience, the choking discomfort on
this otherwise pleasant journey. When hurried
through by the jehtz drivers no one could tell the
nationality, the color or fabric of dress belong
ing to the traveller. The dust could be scraped
off each one by handfuls.
These along the Central Pacific Road for five
hundred miles through Nevada, have not sprung
so rapidly into importance as many anticipated.
Not a few, as yet, are only stopping-places, with
the railroad buildings the only ones there. No
settlements nor adjacent mining sections as yet
exist to afford increase to these. Towns cannot
exist without houses nor houses long without
people. A few places are slowly growing into
importance and present hopeful mission stations.
This town was of more apparent importance last
year than now; being an immense lumber re
gion. From here were drawn nearly all the ties,
and material for bridges, station houses, &c., fo?
five to six hundred miles of railroad, stretching
far into the treeless regions of Nevada and Utah.
When the road was completed;the demand large
ly decreased. Mills stopped, employees were
idle, many have left, and the former bustle of
the place is no longer seen. Another cause for
present deadness no doubt is, that the railroad
own half the timber land on .each side of it for
twenty miles, and government the remaining por- '
tion, save what has been settled. All owners
have forbidden farther trespass on the timber.
At Truckee, we left the railroad and took stage
for Tahoe City, at the Northern extremity
of that romantic Lake, and fifteen miles from - the
cars. A stage road has been opened, at much
labor and expense, and leads all the way up the
Truckee River, which is formed by the outlet of
the Lake.
A more delightful and romantic ride it would
be difficult to find, in a world of travel. To us,
who had been for four months in the treeless,
rainless, springless, grassless regions of Nevada,,
the pleasure was almost overpowering. The
river, which discharges as much water as the
Schuylkill. in an ordinary stage, is followed up
the whole fifteen miles. The waters all the way
come rushing, dashing, foaming, eddying down—
the high projecting, ever varying mountains—
the enormous pine and fir trees with considerable
under shrubbery—the autumn tinges atthe close
of September, together with a dreamy sunshine
hunting its way down through the entangled
pine boughs—all combined to make a scene of
solemn, majestic, sublime grandeur.
On our way up to the Lake, we stopped for
half an hour at the only tenanted house between
the railroad and the Lake, where an enthusiastic
Yankee, within a grove of beautiful young pines,
and where crystal fountains flow from the moun
tain side, has undertaken the artificial raising of
spotted trout for the market. The operations
were started two summers since, and he has now
houses and ponds of two year, one year and
three months old fish. In the oldest pond were
hundreds, even thousands of fish about a foot
long and weighing about a pound. When we
approached their limpid dwelling, hundreds on
hundreds of the beautiful creatures swam to
wa'rds us,.and struggled which could get nearest,
tame as chickens huddling around their feeder in a
poultry yard. It was a most interesting sight.
The man is certain of making money by , his ope
ration. He expects to sell several thousand dol
lars worth next season. He says fish can be
more easily and cheaply raised than pigs or
chickens. His fish are fed on curd 'of milk and
beef's liver. We wish him and his faniily abun
dant success. Of Lake Tahoe in my next.
R. G. WILDER
Kolapoer, India, August 14, 1869
FOUR DAYS' VACATION
JOURNEY HITHER
RAIL ROAD TOWNS
IGMME!
TROUT RAISING
—The Bishop of Moulins, in the center of
France, has recently asserted that the Boman
Church has always "abhorred blood," and that
it has always•been careful-to prevent Protestants
from being persecuted in the exercise of their
worship !
.A. N. STEWART.
TIIE GLORY OF SERYICE.
Thousands of miles away, in an old Germ an
town, Dorcas Hicks is thinking to-day of the
dear friends whom she has left at home, and some
how her thoughts will take to themselves form
and substance. And after resisting for a time
the impulse to send these thoughts homeward i n
tangible shape, she has at last put on her writing
spectacles, and let her meditations have their
way.
September is more than half gone.
.People at
home, have come back from their summer travels,
and are settling down into the accustomed
~ : rooves
of winter work and winter enjoyments. It g i ves
an absent one a pang akin to home sickness, to
think of church-services, and church•work, and
church-fellowship begun again—yet it is pleasant
to feel that there will still be something left to
do, when the time comes to step into one's place
once more. There is always work to do for th e
dear Master, if we only look for it with ready
hand and willing heart.
But I am afraid we do not always realize that
it is not enough to do the work—we must do it
for the Master. If the offering of our hands be
not consecrated by this spirit, it cannot be accept
able to Him who claims our whole lives as His
own, by every right of creation and redemption.
And how it may comfort us in our frequent
dissatisfabtion with the results of our labors, and
in the knowledge that our best efforts are so weak
and imperfect, to remember that if there is but a
sincere,` oving desire to serve Him whom we re
joice to call Master, our service will be accepted
and blessed—yes, more than the gr6lest work
done from no such motive. It is nothing new or
original that I have said, but is it not good to
have old truths constantly brought before us, lest
they hide away 'somewhere, in dark corners, and
are not readily to be found 'when the need comes
to use them ?
An old truth has been brought home to my
heart to day, by a Scotch clergyman, who preach
ed in a large church, one half of which is de
voted to Catholic, and the other half to Protes
tant worship. His subject was the duty and the
glory of service for Christ, and as he dwelt upon
it with great simplicity and force, it seemed to
come into my heart with peculiar power. And
in thinking of it afterwards, I felt that we too
often fail to realize the glory of such service. We
fail to recognize and improve opportunities of
serving. Christ our Lord in the person of our fel
low creatures:, There is too often a feeling that
dignity must be maintained, and rights defended,
and that too much service for others might en
danger these. We forget that our blessed Lord
said : " Whosoever of you will be the chiefest,
shall be the servant of all," that Re " came not
to be ministered unto, but to minister." The
more we serve others, then, whether by active
work, or wily by kind words and unselfish acts,
the greater, according to this standard, we are—
the more we are like Jesus. It may give us no
grandeur or importance in the eyes of the world.
No one may know of our service as such, though
hearts here and there may be helped and cheered
more than we ourselves know, by our loving words
and acts. But the service is rendered; the like
ness to our Saviour is increased; and the blessing
promised to all work faithfully done for Him is
secured. Is not such ".greatness" worth seek-
A habit of such service, so formed that it be
comes part of• our nature, is a precious possession;
but let us not feel that because it does not come
easily to us, it is therefore unattainable. It is far
easier to some people than it is to others, to serve
their fellow creatures. For some the manner of
service is so clearly defined, that they must shut
their eyes intentionally if they would avoid seeing
it. Such is the care• of a mother for her child,
loving attendance of children upon parents, or
the affectionate ministering of husband and wife,
each to the happiness and comfort of the other.
But many a one must seek the service which is
to produce the likeness to Christ, and bring
down His blessing. The seeking will never be in
vain, however. If it be earnest and honest, the
work will be found, the smile of our Lord will
rest upon its performance, and the reward will
not be withheld. DoncAs HICKS.
—The Semaine Catholigue, of Toulouse, gives
the following comparative statement of the num
ber of members of the _various religious sects of
the world 1 'Roman Catholics, 208,000,000 ;
Greek and Rustian, 70,000,000 ; Protestant,
66,000,000.; Jews, 4,000,000 Mohamedans,
100,000,000 . ; Brahmins, 68,000,000; Buddhists,
180;000,000; followers of Confucius, of Sincto,
idolators, &e., 152,000,000. The Catholics are
distributed in tWe following manner in the four
quarters of the globe; In Europe, 147,000,000;
sn. Asia, 9,000,000; in Africa, 4,000,000; in
America, 46,000,000. In France, according to
the official census of 1866, the population under
the, head of religion is thus divided : Catholics,
37,107,212; Calvinists, 515,759; Lutherans,
386,759 other Protestant sects, 44,353; Jews,
89,096; neither Christians nor Jews, 1,400; not
classified, 22,786., [This is a Bomish` estimate,
and must be taken with considerable allowance.]