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AtilvocA.
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PRES BY TERIA. BANNER
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terl onrian Banner. oI. V Vi No. 41. I
" ONE THING IS NEEDFUL:" "ONE THING HAVE I DESIRED OF THE LORD:" "THIS ONE THING I DO." WHOLE N
Advocate, 01. XIX, No. 38.
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MeKINNEY O Editor and Proprietor.
IN ADVANCE.
iginat tat%
Acrostic.
est brother thou art gone;
of us must follow thee;
ter shalt thou here return.
;his sin-cursed world to he.
'lly scenes with thee are past;
eternity has come;
we all with thee at last,
ler sin and reach thy home.
dog in the nrrrow way
Is world of sin and woe,
• shall f forget the day
thou didst tow'rd me bestow
since thy name's been dear,
find hard trials here.
dune 15th, 1857.
e Bresbyterion Banner and Adyneate
The Divinity of Christ,
'on su poicis P—John viii : 53.
back 1827 years, and enter the
;le during the Feast of Taber
,s our astonishment at the gorge
, of wealth and splendor gradually
behold in a spacious court, on, an
lilt provided, for those who instruct
One who speaks as never man
crowd are all attention, and
tadly ; but certain Pharisees and
the Law, occupying conspicuous
im agitated. Theiinterfupt. his
, ver and anon, with impertinent
Id angry contradictions. He pro
,elf " The light of the world." .
Lse him of falsehood. "Thou
Jo rd of thyself," say they, "thy
not true." He'offers them free
the galling yoke of sin. "If ye
i my word, ye shall know the truth,
, th shall make you free." "We
. in bondage to any man," they
Thou art a Samaritan, and halt a
He promises eternal life—" If any
p my sayings, he shall never see.
" Now we kqow," they exclaim,'
of derision and triumph—". Now
that thou halt a devil. Abraham
ad the prophets, and thou sayest if
,ep my sayings, he shall never taste
Art thou greater than our father
who is dead ? and the prophets are
makest thou thyself ?"
,hat same Being who addressed
le in the Jewish temple on the
the feast of Tabernacles, 1827
still speaks by the reading and
of his Word to the children of
offers light, liberty, and life, to a
enslaved, and dying world. Some
e proclamation as glad tidings, and
he offer with joy; while others,
' to say, the great mass of men,
Light because their deeds are evil,
it bondage, and trusting to the
the old serpent—" ye shall not
—treat it with indifference, if not
it and scorn. The language of
at toward its Author is, Who art
makest such extravagant preten
' hom makest thou thyself that
est to enlighten; emancipate, and
us ? This then is the question
Jesus of Nazareth claim to be?
was really and truly man, is
evi
was born of woman, was nourished
er's breast, passed from infancy
ildhood and youth, up to manhood,
.d mind gradually developing in
ry way. The child grew and
ng in spirit. "He increased in
• in stature, and in favor with God
He was subject to all the physi
ties to which humanity is heir.
drank ; wore clothing, and sought
ffered from hunger and thirst, cold
was wearied, and needed rest; he
he smiled; was sorrowful, and had
of rejoicing ; fasted and prayed ;
sickness and pain ; his back was
th the scourge; his head was
thorns; his hands and his feet
with the nails; his side was
th the spear; his soul was wrung
h; he bowed his head in agony
; his body became stiff and cold
That he was an extraordinary
lily admit. And that he was a
God, few upright thinking men
,3nt day deny. But he claimed
• he claimed to be God as
God-man—a being in whom
natures, the human and the
.erc united in one person; in
second person of the adorable
A veiled under a human form,
sly united with a human soul—the
nd the Creator strangely joined !
is evidently implied in his claim
Messiah. Take a few passages• in
'estament, which the Jews uniform
peak of their Messiah, Him whom
ters expected 1800 years ago, and
y are still expecting to come. "His
.h," says Micah, are of old, from
7." " This is the name," says
"by which he shall be called, The
Itighteousness." " His name,"
" shall be called Wonderful
The Mighty God, The Everlast
, The Prince of Peace." " Thy
exclaims David, in the language of
" Thy throne, 0 God, is forever
a sceptre of righteousness is the
of thy kingdom.' Surely he, whose
firth are of old, even from everlasting,
, me is Jehovah, The Mighty God,
mlasting Father,* to whom the Holy
mompted David to ascribe in adora
only a righteous sceptre and an
ne: throne, but the absolute title
be none other than the self-ex . ist-
Oty and eternal One F It is plain,
that He whom his enemies called
'mile, but whom we love to call our
iu claiming to be the Serpent-bruiser
) Eve ; the Blessing, of Abraham;
ofJacob ; the Prophet, of Moses;
of lialaam ; the glorious, everlast-
Kinz, of David ; the Ruler, of
the lloly one of Israel, of Isaiah;
oh, of .1 eremiah and Zechariah ; the
Tian, of Daniel; the Shepherd Prince,
iel; the Signet, of Haggai; the SavioUr,
liah; and the Sun of Righteousness,
Malachi predicted shoUld rise upon
urch with healing in his wings—in
ig to be Him of whom Moses and the
:ts thus wrote, Him that was to come
Father of eternity—a Ilebraiem for der
—the Messiah thereby claimed to be truly
God.
He permitted himself to be worshipped.
The wise men of the East, guided by a star
to the place of his birth, fell down and wor
shipped him ; a leper came and worshipped
him; a certain Ruler worshipped him; the
woman of Canaan worshipped him; the man
whose sight had been restored by washing
in the pool of Siloam believed and worship
ped him; the mother of Zebedee's children
came worshipping him; the sailors who be
held him walking on the troubled sea amid
the howling of the storm, and supposing him
to be a spirit cried out with fear, when he
entered the ship and the wind ceased, came
and worshipped him, saying, of a truth thou
art the Son of God. When he first appeared
to his disciples after his resurrection, they
came and held him by the feet and worship
ped him; and from that time until he as-.
cended to glory, oft as they met him, they
paid him the same honor. In every instance
he received the homage as his due. No
mere man, acting under Divine authority,
would have dared to do so. Cornelius • at
tempted to worship Peter ; " Stand up," said
Peter; " I also am a man." The Lystrians
were about to pay Divine honors to Paul and
Barnabas. Did they allow it? No. They
rent their clothes and ran in among the peo
ple, crying out, "Sirs, why do ye these
things 7 We also are men of like passions
with you, and preach unto you, that you
should turn from these vanities unto the living
God." No angel, no matter how bright or
how near the eternal throne, would dare to
do so. John, in eestacy at the brightness
and glory of the New Jerusalem, twice pros
trated himself to worship the angel that had
showed him those things. "See thou do it
not," exclaimed the angel; "Worship God."
Our Saviour himself lays down the rule—
" Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and
him only shalt thou serve." In permitting
himself to be worshipped, did he not thereby
proclaim himself'" The Lord our God 1"
This is also implied in the prerogatives and
attributes which he claimed. To mourning
penitents he said, " Be of good cheer, thy
sins are forgiven." He consoled those who
wept over the graves of departed friends, by
assuring them that he was "the resurrection
and the life ;" that the hour was coming
when the dead should hear his voice and
Jive. He forewarned the Jews that to him
the Father had committed all judgment; that
the day would come when the Son of man
would sit upon the throne of his glory, and
before him should be gathered all nations, to
be judged, separated and doomed. He
claimed power overhis own life—"l lay down
my life for my sheep; I have power to lay
it down, and have power to take it again.'
He claimed to be omnipotent : " I give my
people eternal life, and none is ableto pluck
them out of my hand;" omniscient—" know
ing all things;" omnipresent—" Where two
Or three are gathered, together in My name,
there am I in the midst of heni:" `"Le • r
am with you alway even unto the end.of the
world." Self-existing and eternal'; he calls
himself the "I Am," the title assumed by
him who Bindle to Moses from the burning
bush. But He who is clothed with author
ity to forgive sins, to raise the dead, to judge
the world, to kill and to make alive—He
who is almighty, all-wise, everywhere pre
sent, self-existing and eternal, must be God.
EMI
Lastly, how else are we to understand his
claim to be" the Son of God," especially since
he so drew the parallel between the preroga
tives of Father and Son, as to force upon
us the conclusion that they are the same in
substance, equal in power and glory? " All
men should honor the. Son even as they
honor the Father." "As the Father hath
life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to
have life in himself." "He that hath seen
me, hath seen the Father." " I ate in the Fa
ther, and the Father in me," &c. Indeed he
positively asserts the equality—" I and my
Father are one." The Jews so understood
him. They inferred it from his assuming
the power to forgive sins. "Who can for
give sins but God only ?" They persecuted
him, and sought the more to kill him, because
" he had not only broken the Sabbath day,
but said that God was his Father, making
himself equal with • God." Again, they
took up stones to stone him. Why? "Be
cause being a man thou makest thyself'
God." They charged him, before Pilate,
with blasphemy. " We have a law, and by
our law he ought to die ; because he maketh
himself the Son of God." Had they not
understood him as using the title in an in
finitely-higher sense than that in which
it is sometimes applied to good men, the
claim would not have afforde the slightest
ground for the charge. His disciples so
understood him. Matthew called him Eman
uel, God' with us. Thomas, convinced by
the print of the nails and the wound in the
side, exclaimed, "My Lord and my God."
"I saw the Lord," said Isaiah, " sitting upon
a throne high and lifted up, and his train
filled the temple. And above it stood the
seraphim. Each one had six wings; with
twain he covered his face, and with twain
he covered his feet, and with twain he did
fly. And one cried to another and said,
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the
whole earth is full of his glory." John
-says that the Being of whom the prophet
thus spake, and whose glory was thus dis
played, was our Saviour. Yes, the beloved
disciple considered that Jesus, on whose
bosom•he was accustomed to recline, not
only a God,' but the God' that created and
upholds all things. "In the beginninc , was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the word was God ; the same was in the
beginning with God. All things were made
by him, and without him was not anything
made that was made." Paul not only calls
him the Son of God, the brightness of the
Father' s glory and the express image of his
person—the image of the invisible God, the
first born of every creature, by whom were
all things created that are in heaven, and
that are in earth, visible and invisible, whe
ther they be thrones or dominions, or princi
palities or powers, who being in the ibrm of
God, thought it no robbery to be equal with
God—but called him expressly God manifest
in the fish, in whom dwelt all the fullness of
the Godhead bodily the great God, even our
Saviour who loved us and gave himself for
us; God over all, blessed forever. Finally, he
has been so understood by the great mass of
those who have been called Christians down
to the present day. Such facts we think
prove conclusively that He whom the Jews
called the Nazarene, but whom we love •to
call our Savionr, though in fashion as a man,
claimed to be the only living and true God
PUBLICATION OFFICE, GAZETTE BUILDING, FIFTH STREET, ABOVE SMITHFIELD, PITTSBURGH, PA.
FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, JULY 4, 1857.
if it is possible for language to express such
a claim. JAY BEEM.
Hew London, lowa.
For the Presbyterian Balmer and Advocate.
Religion:
OR, LETTERS TO A FRIEND ON THE DOCTRINES AND
DUTIES OF THE BOLE
Letter IMlL—Nature of Regeneration
Whereas I was blind, now I see.—JonN ix : 25
MY DEAR FRIEND :-I will proceed with
what I have to say on the nature of regen
eration. I have spoken Of it as a spiritual
illumination. The regenerated soul can say,
whereas I was blind, now I see. John ix :
25. Hence in xegeneration there are new
and clear views of Divine things.
'There are new and clear views of sin.
One great reason why so many take up with
a false and' delusive hope, is because of their
very defective views- of sin.. This shows
that they hale not been taught.by the Spir
it, never been regenerated ; ; for in regenera
tion the mind is enlightened, and it sees sin
in its true nature and deformity. The en=
lightened soul regards sin as an infinite evil,
and abhors itself on account of sin • and its
great desire is to be delivered sin;
And having such views, it can find relief
only in the blood of Christ; it flees to the
Cross for safety, and here only can it find
relief and deliverance.
Hence in regeneration there are new and
clear• views of. truth. In that Divine illu
mination spoken of, the Spirit takes of the
things of Christ, and shows them unto the
soul, and causes it to see them.—John xvi:
13-15. He guides into all truth, gives
such views as were never possessed before,.
so that the renewed soul ,is able to have
some right apprehensions of all the great
truths pertaining to the scheme of redemp
tion. And it is because of this, as we may
perhaps see at some future time, that a
knowledge and love of the truth is one of
the best evidences of regeneration. . For
the present, I only say that in regeneration
new and clear views of truth are imparted
by the Spirit, in his illumination of the un
derstanding, " enlightening our minds in
the knowledge of Christ"—Short. Cat.,
Ques. 31.
Hence, in regeneration, the Spirit gives'
new and correct views of ourselves. By
nature we are ignorant of ourselves; we
have very defectiie views of our sinfulness;
and we have little or no realizing sense of
our ill-desert on account of sin. But con
viction of sin precedes and follows the
saving illumination of the mind ; and we
look upon ourselves as hell-deserving, and
justly exposed to God's eternal wrath and
curse. Arid thus oppressed and burdened,
we cry, What must I do to be saved ?
Acts xvi : 29-31.
And then new and correct views of Christ
are imparted. We see now, and feel our
-need of .him_; . we _know we must perish
without him; and we are enabled to see in
him a fullness and sufficiency to meet our
wants. We see that he is adapted to our
necessities ; that his salvation just meets our
ease ; in a word, that he is just the Saviour
we need; and we see, too, that he is not
only able, but willing to save ; that he in
vites us to come to him just as we are, and
promises to receive, and bless, and save us ;
and hence that he is not only willing to
save us, but willing to save us now--yes,
now!
And having' these views of ourselves as
sinners, and of Christ as a present and all=
sufficient Saviour, we are enabled, by Di
vine grace, to renounce ourselves, and re
ceive Christ •as our Saviour, and put our
trust in him for salvation. So that regen
eration leads to self-renunciation and to
trust in Christ. The very first act of the
new-born soul is faith in Jesus Christ; just
as soon as there is spiritual life, there is
faith; and where there is faith, there is
justification; and where there is justifica
tion, there shall be glorification; so that re
generation, as it is the infusion of spiritual
life, so is it the beginning of eternal life.
The new creature in Christ Jesus is an im
mortal creature; it shall never die ! Its
growth may not be uniform; at times it
may languish; it may even seem almost
dead; but it is immortal; it shall never
die I As Jesus Christ declares, 'Whosoever
liveth and believeth on me, shall never die.
—John xi : 26: For it is written, Whom
he did predestinate, them he alio called, or
regenerated; and whom he called—called
effectually, or regenerated and converted—
them he also justified ; and whom he justi
fied, them he also glorified. There is,
therefore, now no condemnation to' them
which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit.—Rom.
viii i 1, 28-30.
Thus, as to the nature of regeneration,
we see that it is a 4 / real change, from na
ture to grace ;" an inward change, yet, mani
fested outwardly; a great change ' a vital
principle; the beginning of a new life ; at
tended with new views, and feelings, and
exercises; new ends, aims, and efforts; new
joys, fears, and sorrows; new hopes, and
prospects • old things are passed away; be
hold, all things are become new.-2.
Cor. v: 12. Charnock on Regeneration,
published by Presbyterian Board, page
100, &c.
What I have to say of the Agent in re
generation, the means, and the end or de
sign of it, must be reired for future let
ters. At present I will only ask one question,
and it is a question which demands your se
rious consideration • it is this : Have you
experienced this change ? Have you been
born again ? I hope you have; but remem
, her. two things :
First. The doctrines advanced in these
letters are not human opinions. I say they
are not human opinions ; they are the teach
ings of God's Word; they are the true say
ings of God; truths which are to judge you
ir
and me at the last day. I uld deem it
worse than trifling to addre 'on these let
ters
merely to amuse you human spec
ulations, to present fine-spun theories, or to
speak about things which pertain only to this
world i or about evils which have no very
near relation to yourself, and truths which
concern not your immortal destiny. What
I would impress on your heart is, what
God's Word teaches. I say, then, the doc
trines of these letters are the teachings of
God's Word. It is the Bible which teaches
both the necessity and the nature of re
-1 generation. It is , Jesus Christ who says,
Ye must be born'again. It is an inspired
Apostle' Who says, Of His own will He be-
gat us with the word of troth.--John 7;
Jas. i : 18. •
Second. The other thing to be remem
bered is this : these matters concern you.
They have erelation to each and every one;
they concern you,
individually and person
ally; and you should make them , a matter
of personal interest and -attention. They
concern you, my friend, you; you, just as
much as if you were the only person, man,
woman, or child, in the world; they concern
you, my friend, you! Y'ou, you must be
born again ! The necessity rests upon you!
And from the nature of, regeneration, ,you
see what that necessity is,; yell see ,What the
change. is which you nivt eiperience, in
order to be saved And-Zwith this full be
fore you, realizing your Orsonal interest. in
the matter, what the char'
cessity of it; with all t
this question come right
heart, Have you expert
Have you been born'
hell depends upon the .w..,
or- damnation is involied; ,l. aeatn,
reader, heaven or hell; ;with these before
you, answer the question. Are you a new
creature in Christ JesUs? Have you been
born again ? These are the words of Jesus
Christ : Except a man be born again, he can
not see the kingdom of God ! Ye must be
born again! Have You been born again ?
—John iii : 3-7.
I hope you can answer this clueition with
comfort and satisfaction: But it is well to
examine ourselves, and see that our hopes
rest on the Rock , of Ages. Enough, how
ever, for this time. I have more to say.
Till I write again, adieu. Read John ix :
and 2. Car. xiii : and Hymns 197, 287, and
199.
May I ask the favor of a letter.frorn you,
as to your present views, feelings, and exer
cises ? I hope you will thus favor , me.
Farewell. Yovus, TRULY.
For the Presbyterian. Banner and Advocate.
Malawi Presbytery.
This Presbytery met in Mansfield on the
16th of June, and the following items of
business are thought !to be of general inter
est
Messrs. James R. Burgett, James Fred
ericks, and Geo. Grabam, students of, the
Western Theological Seminary, were licensed
to preach the Gospel. '
Mr. 3. W. McGregor'was ordained to the'
full *oil of the Gospel Ministry; and in
stalled pastor of the t ehurch of Mansfield.
The. Rev. Henry H4rvey preached the ser
mon, the Rev. Wm. Hughes presided, pro
posed the constituti l eital questions, and de
.
livered the charge to the pastel., and the
Rev. J. P. Caldvrell delivered the charge to
the congregation.
The pastoral relation between Rev. J. M.
Dinsmore and the church of Mount Pleas
ant, was- dissolved, and this church was de
clared vacant.
- The follo*ing teiOlirtions were unani
mously adopted by Presbytery t
Resolved, That we consider the testimony
of the General. Assembly (0. S.) on the
subject of slavery, from the beginning of
that body in 1789, up to the present, as one,
and uniform, (when rightly understood)
against the slave system as being of Divine
right, and of perpetual continuance ; or that
those professing godliness should volunta-. •
rily avail themselves of the privileges of the
slave laws for their own profit or indulgence,
and against the ceasing of desire and effort
for the complete deliverance of the Church
and the world from the system and its ef
fects; and inasmuch as there appears to be
an increasing disposition manifested in
Southern authors, presses, and speakers, in
and out of the Church, not only to justify
slaveholding in' certain circumstances, but
the slave laws which authorize them to hold
them; we wish it; therefbre, to be under
stood wherever our testimony may go, that
we will not tolerate any retrocession oflprin
ciple from that heretofore prOmulged by the
General Assembly, from time to time, on this
subject; that instead of the Church retrac
ing her steps on this subject, she ought to
be, with more earnestness, expecting the
consummation of the period, when every
yoke shall be broken, and the outcasts of
every nation shall rejoice in all the privi
leges, civil and religious, which it is the de
sign of the Gospel to procure.
Resolved, That we are pleased with the
plan of the Ashmun Institute, designed for
the liberal education of colored men, and re
commend it to the favor and patronage of
our people.
In view of the exhausted condition of
the Treasury of the Board of Foreign Mis
sions, Presbytery adopted the following resa
olution on that subject.
Resolved, That this Presbytery earnestly
recommend, in accordance with the recom
mendation of the General Assembly, that
our churches be called upon, at an early
period, to take An extra' collectiOn for the
Board of Foreign Missions, to meet the
debt incurred by that Board in the enlarge
ment of , the missionary work during the
past year; and that the agent of Presbytery.
be directed to address all the pastors and
church Sessions on this subject.
3. P. CALDWELL, S. C.
P. B. As the Stated Clerk is the Pres.
byterial Agent on this subject, he wnuld
take this method: of addressing the pastors
and Sessions' on this subject.
The amount of indebtedness of the Board
is $ll,OOO, the first time in all its history
that any thing of the kind has occurred.
It is hoped then, for the honor of the Board
—of this Presbytery in carrying out effi.-
ciently its own action—and for the love of
souls, that all' our churches 'will respond
promptly to this recommendation of Pres
bytePleary.
se trensmit immediately your contri
butions to the Treasurer of Presbytery, at
Ashland, O. 3. P. CALDWELL,
Agent of Presbytery.
THE HUMBLE Holtm—Are you not sur
prised to find how independent of money,peace
of conscience is, and how.much happiness can
be condensed into the humblest home ? A
cottage will not hold the bulky furniture
and sumptuous accomodations of a, mansion,
but if Goa be there, a cottage will hold as
much happiness as might stock a palace.--
Rev. C. HaTailion:
Iris' a matter of faith not to trust to that
which the'eye Beath, but that which the
word promiseth. •
From onr London Correspondent
The Fine Arts in England—Their Prosperous Con-
dition—Art Treasures Exhibition alManchester—
lis Unique Character—A Visit to the Royal Acad
emy of Paintings and Sculpture—Suggestive Stat
ues, Portraits, and Historic Scenes—The Bearing
of Art on Morals and Religion—Architecture and
the New Reading Room of the British Museum—
)(talc, Oratorios:' and .Operas in England—Dr.
Livingston and the Freedom of the City—Mock
Elections inTrance-Colliaion between the Priests
and Popular Feeling in Belgium—Their -Short
lived Triumph—The Scotch Presentee ultimately
Reected 2 -Deputation to 'the Ilree Church:—lts
Remarkable y P.rogress-The Grand Duke Con
stantine—Commerce, Money, and War.
The FINE ARTS (including under that
title Music, Architecture, Statuary, and
-a Hite,
iVall. ll 4 16 r L e- very flourishing condition in
'otetir tutt , - 4 , , ...:-, reoak traction iforsallifort ,
4' '' ' ' ' ' Ak e t . ' ''.'''` '. - ` " 241 :-.' '*' I a itirdvaniMitla ireposin., togetb__ ii ,
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...- !.. ,a.
......, . , ~,., ;....
I- lore g orions. , may not_ ~..
write . at
...
;$ $$ e
'foeuirodralvdtt:!lss,_u
and refinement have for centuries been grad
ually accumulaAing•Art Treasures, not mere
ly by government purchases and splendid
bequests of eminent:private collections to the
National Gallery, but also and chiefly by the
purchase, either from London picture-deal
ers, or on. the Continent by noblemen and
gentlemen, of some of the finest and rarest
productions of the Old. Masters. But these
treasures' were. alike Tidely diffused, and
comparatively unknown, being family heir
looms, or accessible only to a favorite circle
of friends.. At the time of the World's Ex
hibition of 1851, several noblemen in Lon
don threw open their mansions, particularly
the Duke of Northumberland, and the re
cently deceased and accomplished Earl of
Ellsmere. I remember going through the
halls and rooms of Northumberland House,
in 1851, with much interest and pleasure.
But the present Art Treasures Exhibition
has this novel peculiarity, that it brings to
gether in One grand building; the scattered
gems ofi art possessed by individuals, begin
ning with the Queen, and embracing all
who, like her, have been willing to lend their
pictures, for the occasion.
And so it comes to pass, that whereas our
"National Gallery," or our "Vernon Gal
lery" in London,' are not to be compared
with the collections at the- Louvre, or the
pictures in Italy, and other Continental
States, England is found to possess- and
produce, for popular admiration and instruc
tion, as well as for the etimulus of the artist
or amateur, a collection of treasures such as,
brought under the eye in one place and at
one time, give us an idea of an amount of
artistic " wealth untold," of which we never
dreamed as indeed our own.
Manchester is not the ideal of-a place for
such an exhibition, but probably it was
chosen for its being more cheaply accessi
ble to all parts of the United Kingdom, than
the metropolis. Besides, in Cottonopolis,
Art and Literature have warm, wealthy pat
reriii, and - the 'Exhibition is likely tw be a
great .success. ' 'Facilities are giten by the
railroad companies for, popular access to it.;,
I visited, last week, the, Annual Exhibi
tion of the Royal Academy. This is a year
ly spectacle of what our sculptors and artists
have been doing, and of what the English
School of Art is, accomplishing--.--always full
of interest. It remains open for several
months. The pictures, (many of them,) are
purchaseable; and to show how art is pat
ronized, it was 'stated the other day, at the
annual dinner of the Benevolent Artists'
Fund, that the sales this year were not
much less than £30,000.
Walking through the different rooms of
sculpture and painting, I met' various ob
jects very suggestive. The statuary room
is small: some figures are full length, others
are marble busts; but, as a rule, both are
beautifully executed. There is a repose
about statuary which, to me at least, is very
sublime and impressive. It has something
of the solemn beauty that speaks to the soul
of him,
Especially is this the case, When parental
love has called in the aid of the sculptor to
perpetuate the form, and likeness of lost ones,
such as meets my eye in "the posthumous
marble group of two of the children of
--." Dr. Livingstone's bust is here,
much more faithful than the painting of
him in another room, which last almost made
me angry with the artist who has failed in
giving the world "assurance" of the "man,"
as he is, in his noble simplicity of char
acter. '
Here, too, by Bally, is an exquisite pair of
full-length figures of " Adam consoling Eve
after the evil dream," (Paradise Lost,
Book V.) Models, also, of the statues of
Chatham and Fox, intended for Westmin
ster Hall; the Welsh "Baiir a fine ideal
of one of the patriot clais whom Edward'''.
ordered to be put to death, and whom Gray,
the poet, represents as crying—
.
“ Ruin seize thee, ruthless king i
Confusion bn thy banners wait."
The " Massacres of the Innocent's " a marble
group, is worthy of the subject—the mother,
the child, the murderer and the sword up
lifted—each is perfect in its expression.
Here is a bust of , the late Lord Raglan;
another of the late Joseph Brotherton, M.
P., who was so well known in the House of
Commons for his advocacy of short sittings,
and the rising of the House at, midnight, at
farthest. Here are actors, artists, poets,
authors. Among the last, are the bust and
medallion of our poet-laureate, Tennyson,
telling of a true and great man. Here, also,
is the medallion of Thomas .Carlyle, the
great- thinker, but alas ! the great skeptic,
warring with the Bible, with all that is
amiable, pouring fierce scorn, indiscriminate
and unrelenting, on what, he thinks "shanis,"
and believing in nothing. Ah ! his'aspect
here is stern, severe, almost - appalling, from'
the indications of the play of " inner fires"
of wrath beneath that grim surface.
Once he loved the old faith of his native
Scotland. He has rescued Cromwell's
memory also from the misrepresentations of
partizan history, and Puritanism with him,
once the grander glory and preserving
leaven of the past. May he be yet brought
out of that slough into which he' has fallen !
Let me not forget the bronze Statuette of
your own immortal Washington; and then
leaving the Sculpture Room, let us ascend
the grained staircase. Here is a grand per
speetive of three 'great rooms filled with pic
tures, and all, of them _hung -with laste and
judgment, under theay " T best light& Th ere r
, • , ~h , " ',, 3 , t^ i‘ ', ,il •'.
LONDON, June 5, 1857.
LOU
" Who hath bent hint o'er the dead,
Ere the first day of death is fled."
are side rooms also, devoted to architectural
plans and drawings, as well as to water-col
ors, &e. I may not dwell upon the twelve
hundred pictures, embracing every subject,
including portraits, such as that of G-eneral
Williams, the defender of Kars, and of Dr.
Adler, Chief Rabbi of the London Jews.
This last picture made me sad for that na
tion, " scattered and peeled," and'still hav
ing a veil on, its heart, of which the Rabbi
is a type. There are paintings, also, of the
Queen and Prince Albert, and likenesses, in
military costume, on horseback , of Mr. Dal
las, the American Minister, of Mcalm
tack, one of the discoverers of the North-
West Passage, and of Dr. Cooke, (a noble
likeness) painted by MaeNee for the Presby
terian. College, Belfast, of which the veteran
antagonist of Arianism is the. president..:
Landseer, the great animal painter, ex
hibits 'a large . picture of Highland red deer,
KitAA; - )osir \er
ing mi
length of Summer scenes—English land
scapes, the glade, the brook—nor of house
hold sketches, nor yet historical paintings,
save to refer to such as " The Burial of
Charles 1.," and the " Field Conventical"
in Scotland's "killing times;" or to " Christ
with the Woman of Samaria," " Peter the
Great in the Dock-yard at Deptford," and
The Pilgrim Fathers;" "Departure of a
Puritan Family for New England," with the
kneeling figure of Robinson, " with watery
eyes," (as Governor Bradford's journal has
it) "commending them, with most fervent
prayer, to God."
I go next` to " The National Gallery," in
the same building, which stands , open to
rich and poor alike, without entrance fee,
and in which are the old masters, English
and foreign. Pictures by: Teniers, Cuyp,
Poussin, Leonardo De Vinci, Rubens,
Corregio, Claude, Rembrandt, and Vandyke,
meet the eye of the million, on the walls,
to say nothing of West's " Christ Healing
the Sick." Many of them have sacred sub
jects, though not a few are tinged with Ro
mani= and Mariolatry. Some of the best
modern pictures were,sent away to Marlbor
ough House, in Piccadilly, to be added to
the " Vernon Gallery," some time ago.
I have written far more than I intended
about Artistic Exhibitions in England. The
question arises,
," What bearing have these
on morals ?" The Bishop of Manchester's
prayer at the opening of the Art Treasures
Collection, had a petition that "it might
refine our tastes! A strange petition,
surely 1 Yet religion ignores not art, or
any thing which human genius produces, if
the glory be given to God the Giver; if the
intellect and the heart be not injured, but
rather cultivated; if the tendency be not
demoralizing, but, purifying ; and if innos
cent recreation be afforded to those mentally
or physically overtasleed. And, there is
much of all this, I trust, in the present con
dition of art, And in the feelings .of its
patrons. _Not that these thinks...will ever. be
substitutes for, the Gospel, or be the cure of
man's sins and sorrows. But bringing
'tributes to Christ, and teaching great moral'
lessons to the thoughtful and the thought
less; stirring the heart with noble historic
reminiscences, by the pictured stories of
martyrs, reformers, patriots—even these
things tend to do good, and speak forth to
all, the animating word, " Excelsior !"
The New. Reading Room of the British
Museum, is one of the greateSt triumphs of
architectural skill and taste. It is circular
in form, with a mighty dome overhead,
equal in leftiness, save by a few feet, to that
of St. Peter's, at Rome. Galleries go
round the building, tier after tier, giving
access to the books which in .myriads are
placed there, each bound and gilt-lettered.
Besides desks and tables at which librarians
stand to attend to the desires of the read
em, each reader has a separate seat for him
self, with every facility for taking notes and
extracts. The beauty and gracefulness of
the whole structure are extraordinary; the
eolorine• b and painting by the celebrated'
Owen Jones, admirable. Crowds of rich
and poor have been passing through the li
brary, to inspect, it, ere it is
. opened to the
literary public. The cost is £150,000.
Taken as a whole, the British Museum is a
glorious structure and its' contents most
precious. The Nineveh marbles are now
beautifully arranged; and while the, world
lasts, will testify to the retributive justice
of the great Governor of Nations, and to
the truth of his "sure word of prophecy."
As to Music, as one of the fine arts, never
was it, so extensively cultivated in England,
as it is now. There is to be, this' Summer,
a " Handel Festival," commemorative, in
its character, of the great composer, at 'the
Crystal, Palace, at , which his best. Oratorios
are to be sung by the most eminent profes
sionals, and a chorus of probably , one thou
sand voices. 'As to the lawfulness 'of Ora
torios, I say nothing, save that the professed
ly religious world is divided; some 'earnest
Christians—like Lord Shaftsbury, in a re
cent conversation I had with liim--holding
and maintaining, from their personal con
sciousness,- that the '.effect is eminently de
votional, And tends to subdne us, and to
melt even the careless. Others, like Cecil
and Newton, among the dead, and Dean
Close, among the living, condemn the Ora
torios, on the ground that they must, be sung
by persons, some of whore are notoriously
immoral, (stage players, &c.,) and that, as
in. "The Messiah," a great crowd is col
lected to draw entertainment from a re
hearsal of the 811fferine of the Son of God.
I am persuaded that the majority of the
Evangelicals are opposed to Oratorios. But
surely the time may come when " The !
Messtah" may become a, glorious outpour
ing, from sanctified multitudes, of homage,
faith, andpenitence at the feet of the Re
deemer, and to the glory of God the Father.
As to' Operatic Music, ". Trovatore," and
Traviata," are all the rage, and the tri
umph of Veidi, as a composer, is unparal
leled. But there is positive 411 hero.
the latter Opera, the heroine is a fallen one;
and as she dies of consumption, by slow de
grees, her sweet singing and beautiful acting
make the charm which is se, potent. Vice,
indeed, is veiled; but is it the less danger
ous? The Qdeen has never once given her
presence or countenance to either of these
Operas.
DOCTOR -141 1 11NOST9N was,last week, pre
'
rented with the freedom of - the City of.
London. In his reply, he indicated the
probability of trade and commerce penetra
tittg, ereiong,the heart of Africa ) and that
Philadelphia, 111 South Tenth Street, below Chestnut
By Mail, or at the Office, $1.50 per Year, I SEE PROSPECTUS.
Delivered in the City, 1.75 "
the abolition of the slave trade would
be the result. Ile made mention, also,
of the vast productiveness of the soil, and of
many fruits quite unknown in this coun
try. One article, a specimen 'of which he
produced, was "quite new to commerce.."
This plant has a fibrous tissue ; it is a sub
stitute for flax, and an eminent London firm
says that when prepared it will be worth
,E,50 or £6O a ton. All this is hopeful,
while'we do not forget Dr. L.'s own words,
" The end of the geographical feat, is the
beginning of the missionary enterprise."
The MOCK Er, onoNs in France, for
Louis Napoleon's mock. Legislature, are about
to commence. The Government sends to
Prefects and Heads of Departments a list of
candidates, and urges them to use every
means to insure` their election. The Times
asks, what would England say if the Queen
attempted such a course ? , And then, in
its. lal] lowerful, way, yet under the veil
n MO% API
-t-t •
will have it so, and that s e is not
tented, as England would be. Somewhat
dishonest and treacherous to both parties, is
this style of writing, even while declaring
in favor of constitutional liberty on the
whole. •
The French Republicans talk of bring
ing forward Cavaignac, and others; as oppo
sition candidates. But the effort will be
'followed by small results, when corruption
and systematic repression spread their net
work over the whole kingdom.
Iw BELGIUM, there has been. a :collision
between the priests and, the people, which
may be followed by important results in fa
vor of Protestantism. The priests have
always been the bitter` foes of the constitu
tion. But, as they could not get rid of it,
they moved the masses, by superstitious in
fluences, to -elect a Chamber which gave
their
. party a majority, and put their abet
tors into office, as the Ministers of King
Leepold. " By the law, as it has stood since
the revolution of 1830, priests could not re
ceive bequests and will-making (at which
in Ireland and elsewhere they have always
been such adepts for their own good, and
that of Mother Church,) was absolutely for
bidden them.
The cry was raised of the poverty of the
convents, and the hardship that people,
when dying, could not leave their property
to be disposed of as they pleased, without
State interference: And so, by a majority,
they carried, last week-after a tumultuous
opposition—a virtual repeal of what may be
called a Mortmain Act. Whereulmn the
people at Brussels; at Antwerp, at Ghent,
and elsewhere, of the middle class, gathered
in threatening crowds in the streets, and
some of the Jesuit clergy fled. The Pope's
Legate also was insulted at Brussels. Seeing
the danger, the crafty Leopold, only too glad
to have the opportunity of quashing a
measure which he detested, dissolved the
Chamber. Thus the priest party are com
pletely upset in their calculations; and not
only will they never dare to propose the ob
noxious change again, but they have made
themselves hateful to multitudes. All this
savors more of a political and secular strug
gle, than a spiritual one. But it is a token
for good. ,And the Evangelical Protestant
Church in Belgium will not fail to take ad
vantage of it. Much prayer should be
offered on behalf - of Belgium, whose soil
has been watered not only with the blood
of hostile armies fighting and falling there,
but by that of some of the most renowned
and precious of God's martyred servants.
In reference to the CASE OF A PRESENTEE
in the Scottish Establishment, referred to
in my last letter, and whom the moderate
party in the Assembly had succeeded in de
claring eligible, it gives me real pleasure to
record, that this disgraceful vote was vir
tually repealed by the success of another, by
which it was resolved to take` the evidence
of ministers, and others, who knew the real
state of the parish. The result was that the
objectionable presentee was set aside by a
majority of thirty-six. Thus the Evangeli-
Cal party in the Establishment has
its reputation.
The FREE CHURCH ASSEMBLY has re
ceived Deputations from the Irish and Eng
lish Presbyterian Churches, as well as from
the Church in Canada. M. Monad gave
an address to the Assembly on the state of
religion in France. Religious persecution
still "continues there, to a certain extent. The
progress of the Free Church is remarkable.
At the Disruption, it numbered. four hun
dred and seventy-eight ministers. It has
now eight hundred and one ordained minis
.ters, and eight hundred and eighty-one con
gregations. In the first year, the Sustenta
tion Fund amounted to £68,704; it has
since increased upwards of £40,000. Then
it had not a single school ; now it reports six
hundred and seven schools, and fifty-seven
thousand scholars. Then its country ministers
had no homes'; now there are five hundred
and thirty pleasant Manses. Then the For
eign Mission funds were £4,949 ; last year
they.amounted to £14,470. Since the Dis
ruption down to May, 1856, there had been
collected £3,902,000, or an average of
£300,000 a year, 'for thirteen satcceEsive
The GRAND DUKE CONSTANTINE has
paid a brief and private visit to the Queen,
at the Isle of Wight. He remained but a
short time, and in the Royal Yacht took a
short excursion with • the Queen, amid the
thunders" of a royal salute from the ships in
Portsmouth harbor. He was conveyed with
all honor to Calaisi and thence departed to
Germany.
TRADE is much disturbed and depressed,
by the constant drain of money to the East.
About one million sterling is to be dispatched
to-morrow, to India and China. The war
in the latter will likely be but a local
irrel: J. W.
A SUMMARY OF RELMON.—There is no
salvation but by the free mercy of Goal no
mercy, but through the mediation of Christ;
no interest in Christ except by faith in him;
no justifying faith but that which works by
love and purifies the heart ; no love to
Christ which does not include love to' his
people, his example, his precepts no genu
ine love to, his people which does not influ
ence a man , to do good to them, as he has
ability and opportunity.
la ONOE we are sure God hath ,done
a thing, there is no room left to dispute its
equity:
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