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JAMES ALLISON & CO., Proprietors.
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Over the Rapidan.
The advance of the army across the Rai
lan and its return without fighting a gret
auk, have given rise to a good deal of r(
lark, much of it taking the form of criti
ism and censure. It is not my business t
Wend the movement. But I have beet
mg enough in the army to know that nt
Irson, who is not in the counsels and se
.ets of the Commander—and these, I im
;inc, are very few—can form a judgmen
his movements that is worthy of muol
thence. The conjectures of many arm:
•iters, on that point, are about on a lave
all Confederate currency. In no place ii
more true than here, that one may see
id not perceive; hear, and not under
nd. A man may be able even to say
nni(6 vekli et quorum magna pars fol—
iose seen it, all and patioipated init all—
Id yet, like him, romance, a good deal, ii
tie narration, and still more in his opinions
.s for the great public, who were fairly se
1r beholding a battle, I shall . leave it tl
,en. Meade and the army, to make thei
ipology for not affording them the enter
lining sight.
1 t struck me as an evidence of solo ,
,trategie skill, that the army was led aoros
the Rapidan in such a way as to render thi
orniidable preparations ,of the enemy fo
weventing it, almost wholly useless. Thi
WI Corps, to which the Reserves belong
tossed in a quiet, secluded place.. I had t
curiosity to see the pontoons laid. I wens
trward for this purpose, and was not
fttle surprised to see our line of skirmish.
rs quietly advancing up through the field,
n the opposite side—the work was don'
rapidly. •No opposition was encounterei.:
This unexpected crossing of a. corps, o
',heir flank, obliged the enemy to fall bac'
•oin the fbrds above, where they bad strop,
'orks.
Once across the river, we entered "th(
ilclerness." The reader may put as mud
reariness into his conception of the wil
Aerness as his imaginationi can convenien tl3
supply. In this waste, which, I had almost
said, is a discredit to the nineteenth cen•
;ury, the army advanced ten or twelve
Ailey, leaving the extinct town of Chancel•
tot - vine—historical in both senses—on the
lel t. Near the close of the second day
After leaving camp, it reached Locust Gro;
church, near which our cavalry.were,
the time, sharply engaged with the enemy
'hey were dismounted (their horses beink
:ft in an adjoining field), and were fight
4g with wonderful fierceness and persist
gicy in the woods. The Reserves were
rmmediately put in, for their support, and
ionic of them were engaged. The other
liviiions of the Corps came up on the
louble•quiek, heated and panting with the
in, and took their assigned places. , Night
Arew on, and the conflict ended. DurinE
the night the lines were so near, that eon•
iersation could be heard from one to al
ether.
We had but one badly wounded man. Ii
ias well we had no more, for our hospita:
accommodations were poor. The establish.
)ent, indeed, was an itinerating one, owittE
the changing of the positions of the
army. First, it was part of a house neat
,he church that being filled with the
'ounded of the cavalry; then it was moved
,mile back; next morning, two miles fur.
,hcr back; in the afternoon, four miles tc
he right; Sabbath morning, a mile for.
'art], to the rear of the Division ; and
:ouday, back to the place we left on Sab.
path morning. Adequate reasons demand-
Id these numerous changes. The location
if Friday night was in an old forsaken
souse, evidently the resort and very pow
'bolter of cattle and swine forsmany a year .
Tot h ng remained of the house but a huge
Ihimney and its fire-place, and two-thirds
of the roof with the corner timbers that
tpported it. Our poor sergeant, With the
buttered shoulder, was kept warm by beinE
laced, on the stretcher, close to the fire,
id surrounded by pine branches, to keeT
the wind. After a few hours in the
Ixt stopping place, amid rain and mud
id dense fog, we' left it in good time to es.
'pa a dash of rebel cavalry which de.
molted from the fog into the opening, and
ire met on the ground we had left by a
idy of our cavalry.
On Sabbath, as I have said, the hospital
close to the rear of the Division to
.ioh it belonged. Here the battle WOE
)eoted to be fought. The enemy's liner
defence were in sight of ours, and vers
tar; a valley, and Mine run, were be
teen. Every thing that could be dont
tr the care of the wounded, was completed
,s we lay down to sleep, it was with the
01 expectation that the conflict was to
ten, with an attack on the rebel lines, at
our o'clock in the morning. This impres•
lion, and the assurance that we should have
tur share of the enemy's missiles, was not
if the nature of an anodyne. But weari.
less maintained its claims. Fitful sleep,
aternated with waking thoughts. Mid
,ight; and all was still, save that the tent
!loth was flapping in the wind, and an
Iffteer who had come in, sick, was tossing
in his straw bed. and talking, deliriously, of
its home, of the march, of the Pamunkey.
o sound of battle yet. Awake again.
holing the hands of my watch, it was a
ivarter to four. A prayer for our 'poor
soldiers, lying out in the bitter . cold wind ;
for their souls; for their success in the
lonfliot; for Felt the hands again, on
making: half.past four. All still. Day.
ight; breakfast; eight o'clock, Boom,
room, boom ! the heavy artillery began,
let no assault. Occasional firing, for an
our or more, and the fighting was over.
I have no doubt that the reasons for this
muse and the retirement of the army, were
mificient. Troops, as brave as ever fought
battle, deemed the withdrawal of our
forces a measure of the highest wisdom.
Perhaps the following facts may justify
their opinion:
The army, at its farthest advance, was
over twenty miles from its depot of sup
plies. A. wilderness, with few roads suita
ble for an army, but with passes available
for small bodies of light troops, extended,
in the rear, to the river. The weather had
become intensely cold. Death, from expo
sure, would have been the fate of the
wounded. Houses, for their shelter, there
wore next to none The enemy, driven
back from. the Rapidan, had secured a very
strong position for defence, on a range of
hills behind Mine run, in which stream the
water was raised, by dams, to .the depth
of three or four feet.' Their works of de
fence were 'numerous, and their forces
large. A victory would have cost many
lives, and a defeat would have been ,disas
trous... For these reasons, the order to re
cross the Rapidan is judged to have been a
For the Presbyterian Banner,
Pte.t-5 . ....1.. - tr...teriztist, '''7:li:Ht.Tititt,,
VOL. XII. NO. 22.
triumph of humanity, and, no less, of mili
tary wisdom. Nor is the expedition deem
ed a failure; as it indicated the spirit and
energy of our army; anti moreover, which
may have been its principal object, occupied
the full force of the wily and persistent
rebel General, which, otherwise, might
have been thrown into the trembling he
lium of the Western conflict.
The retrograde movement was as skilful
ly conducted* as the advance ; half of the
forces and trains leaving in the morning,
and the other half in the evening. Thus
each.had the roads free and open, and no
loss or annoyance ocetrred: It was my lot
to accompany the second portion, in the
night march. The roads were filled with
trains, preceded and followed by columns
of troops, moving steadily forward. 'The
guards, hospital attendants and others on
foot with the trains, were obliged to pink
their way through woods.and bushes, at the
roadside. This was not difficult to do, after
the moon rose—about 10 o'clock. Fires
were kindled all along the road,. and kept
up by successive travelers drawing around
them, for a few minutes, • warming., In
some places the fire extended over large
spaces" in the woods, giving abundance of
light.
To conolude; a march of eight or ten
hours of the night brought us to our halting
plane, in a condition of mind and body not
disposing us to quarrel with a blanket bed
on the frozen ground, this aide of the Rap
idan. ' J. F. IIIaLAKEN.
For the Presbyterian Banner
Archbishop Hughes in Purgatory.
MESSRS. EDITORS :—The soul of the
Archbishop, though he was preeminently
just, good, and , holy, seems to faro badly in
the world of spirits. And if it be so seri
ous an undertaking to extricate a spirit
which had .arrived so near perfection, we
need not be surprised that multitudes of
the common sort, cost very large sums of
money before the prayers of bishops, priests,
&c., become effectual to drag them from
their fiery torments ! The prayers and
masses offered for the Archbishop's soul,
seem tq be gratuitous, " without money and
without price," on the principle, I suppose,
that it is .all in the family But let some
old Catholic sinner who had died' the pos
sessor of a few hundred thousands, get into
their clutches—then " circumstances alter
cases," as the ,old copy saith. Verily he
will not come out thence until he, or some
one for him, has paid the uttermost far
thing. But we must continue our search
for the Archbishop.
1. " The fire of Purgatory," says the
Catechism of the Council of Trent, "is a
place in whfch the souls of just men are
cleansed by a temporary punishment in or
der to be admitted into their dental coun
try." " The souls of just men are cleansed
in the fire of Purgatory." But the New
Testament as authorised by Bishop Hughes
himself, tells us : " The blood of Jesus
Christ edeanseth, U 8 from all sin.-1. John
v: 7. What need then of any cleansing
in fire 7
Z. Bishop MeOloskey and the Pittsburgh
Catholic, inform us : "We do not claim
for him or any other man * * exemp
tion from human frailty and human infirm
ity ;" and° these, they think, have left
" some stain upon that great soul to be ex
piated, washed away, before it shall be
pure and undefiled, so as to be made worthy
to enter , into the presence of God." Hence
they " pray for the repose of his soul."
The Archbishop must be " washed" in the
flames of Purgatory in order to remove
certain stains which " the blood of Christ"
has not effaces} I And thus he will be
" made worthy to .enter into the presence
of God." But adiriitting these "human
frailties and infirmities" to be sins, why can
they not be cleansed by the blood of Christ
as well as all other sins ? The apostle
John, as we read in the Doway Testament,
speaks of "Jesus Christ, who bath loved
us and washed us from our sins in his own
blood."—Rev. i: 5. What need, then, for
the Archbishop to be washed in the fires
of Purgatory ?, For my own part, if T can
without hesitation, trust all my other sins
in the hands of the bleased Redeemer, to
be " washed in his own blood," I should
think it very absurd to question the effica
cy of the same Divine - method of purifica
tion for " human frailties and infirmities."
' 3. I have very serious doubts, moreover,
in regard to the efficacy of all these prayers
for the dead Archbishop. The Council of
Trent says that " the souls of just men are
cleansed in Purgatory." But the Scrip
tures teach us that "the just shall live by
faith," i. e. faith in the blood of Christ.
If a just man be a peison who possesses faith,
living, active, heart•purifying faith, that is
enough—he dOes not need anything more
or better than " the blood of Christ which
cleanseth from all sin." "He that believ
eth shall be saved."
4. I have very grave doubts of the effi
cacy of these prayers for Bishop Hughes
for another reason. The subject of prayer
for ourselves and others is mentioned - in
the Scriptures several hundred times.
Hardly, anything is more common.- But
except one obscure passage in the Apocry
phal book'of Maccabees, which the Papists
call Scripture, who can point to a solitary
text which speaks of praying for the dead ?
Surely this notion of prayinc , ° " just men"
out of Purgatory, could not have held so
large a place in the minds of inspired men
as it seems to hold in the Ronaish system.
"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.
Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest
from their labors; and their works do fol
low them." "For to me to live is Christ,"
says Paul, " and to die is gain." "I am
straitened between two : having a desire to
be dissolved, [to depart in our version] and
to be with Christ, a thing• by far better."
And so in very many similar passages, the
death of the just is referred to; but we
never hear of their crying in the priestly
manner, "Pray for us—pray for usr after
we are dead!
5. &monists argue the necessity of
these purgatorial fires as " a satisfaction to
the justice of God" for venial or small
sins, or a transitory punishment and a meri
torious expiation for sins not deserving
eternal punishment. Thus Pope Leo, in
his Bull for the jubilee of 1825, speaks of
those who have " departed real penitents in
God's love, but before they had duly satis
fied by fruits worthy of penance for sins
of commission and omission, and are now
purifying in the fire of Purgatory," &c.
And they think they find some counte
nance for this impious denial of the
sufficiency of Christ's satisfaction for
all sins, in the temporal sufferings which,
even " just men " meet with in this life.
I concede that "whom the Lord loveth he
PITTSBURGH, WEDNESDAY, FEB RUARY 17, 1864.
chaateneth, and scourgeth every son in
whom he delighteth." But where is this
said to be a meritorious expiation for sin ?
These "light afflictions" may be sanctified
to the spiritual improvement of the soul—
but it is only as a fatherly chastisement,
not as a punishment or expiatibn. But
the Council of Trent tells us, "the fire of
Purgatory is a place where the souls of just
men are cleansed by a temporary punish
ment;" a different thing entirely. The
whole is a priestly fable, originating in an
cient heathenism with its Tartarus—and if
not very " beautiful and consoling," it is at
least' quite profitable to those who work the
machinery.
6. But if punishment be the object, and
this is due as "a satisfaction to Divine
justice," what is the use or the piety of
so much praying ? Would it be morally
right to pray that a murderer, for example,
should not be pinished as much as he de
serves ? Should he not be compelled to
render• condign satisfaction to offended
justice ? Surely the contrary would make
the petitioners partakers of his crimes. If
I could persuide myself that the Arch
bishop is in purgatory, and that it serves
him right, I should be afraid to pray for
his escape, lest I should- be found to aid a
sort of - scape-gallows in evading merited
punishment. And especially if the fire be
absolutely necessary to cleanse and purify
his Reverence .T. - should say, hands off !
lie needs it all to fit him for the society of
the pure, therefore let justice take her
course.
7. But I forget. Pogo Leo, in his Bull
for 1825, says : "We have resolved * *
fully to unlock that sacred treasure com
posed of the merits, sufferings and virtues
of Christ'and of his virgin mother and of
all the saints, * * * and succor is
afforded out of this heavenly treasure
* * * to such real penitents * * *
as are now purifying in the fire of Purga
tory," &c. The Pope says he had unlocked
this vast treasure ; and I have never heard
of his turning the key upon it. This
makes it all clear as a sunbeam. The
Archbishop's praying friends satisfy Di
vine justice by heavy drafts upon this bank
of supererogation. These Romish "saints"
were so with better than- they ought to
have been, that they left a large stock of
holiness over and above that they them
selves needed ! The Pope unlocks this
"sacred treasure," and the faithful check
it out in the shape of " indulgences " for
" the temporal punishment due to the Di
vine justice." The whole thing works
like a charm; and " his. orthodox faith,"
"his irreproachable life and rare virtues,"
"eminently displayed in the principal•work
of his life, the salvation of his own soul"
—these well washed in the fires of Purga
tory and helped out by large drafts upon
the overplus of certain Romish saints, &c.,
render the case - of the Archbishop not - so
bad after all.
8. But, Messrs. Editors, before I agree
to trust myself to this " old method of
paying new debts" and " satisfying Divine
jiatice for past sin," as Pope Leo hath it,
there are two or three qiiiiations I should
like to have answered. Is it perfectly oer
tain there ever liVed numbers of such per
fect Romish saints, and that they .left in
store a vast treasure of holiness and virtue
to " satisfy Divine justice" for their
short-coming successors ? Is it perfectly
certain that "holy men of old who spake
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost,"
ever made any such pretence for themselves
or others—Paul, for example, wile says he
was " the chief of sinners,' • and " less than
the least of all saints ?" " Can I be per
fectly sure that the Pope keeps the key of
this " sacred treasure," and can distribute
it at his pleasure ? And is it perfectly
certain that prayers, masses, &0., for the
dead, is the right way to get possession and
apply this." satisfaction due to Divine jus;
tice," so that the process of "purifying in
the fires of Purgatory," as. Pope Leo• ex-
pressed it, shall be greatly hastened, and
the happy deliverance speedily achieved ?
Is it absolutely certain that the virtues of
one man can ever satisfy for the crimes of
another mere man'?
On. the whole, if the Archbishop has
taken this course " to be made worthy to
enter the presence of God," it appears to
me to be not only a very circuitous and
difficult route, but worse than this, it is
obviously crowded with pits and bogs and
impassible gulphs,- and its general direction
is so obviously downward, rather than the
opposite?' that it is much more likely to
land him where " the rich man" of the
Gospel terminated his career, than in
Abraham's bosom. I have faith in the
sufficiency of the blood of Jesus Christ to
cleanse from all sin; the only "merits and
virtues" which I want to "satisfy Divine
justice" are those of Him "who bought
us with his blood ;" and the , only prayer's
in which I can place the least confidence
for the repose of my soul, or from which I
can hope to derive any benefit after death,
are the intercessory prayers of " th; one
Mediator." These will furnish, true'" rest
for the soul;" and I want no "old-wives'
fables," that savor far more strongly of
baptized Paganism, than of vital Chris
tianity. Dusins.
For 'the Preeterian Banner.
totters to Bible-Iton and Patriots.—No. 4.
GENTLEMEN . :- - A
joint resolution of
Congress was passed March 1, 1845, to an
nex Texas, which was intended eventually
for four additional slave States. The Mex
ican War grew oat of this measure. From
the results of that war, another compro
mise was made in 1850, which created a
new Fugitive Slave Law. The subsequent
transactions in -regard to the -repeal of the
Missouri Compromise, and the judicial de
cision to permit slavery to go North , of
36° 30, are all fresh in your memories, and
,were all intended to favor the slave inter
est and extend the system which our revo
lutionary forefathers and ecclesiastical fore
fathers had repudiated as iniquitous.
It must be said that there was a practical ig
noring of the previous action of the Church
in some of her branches. The want of ao,
tion on the part of the General Assembly
of 1836, and that of 1845 were not in spirit
in accordance with former sentiments ut
tered by that body. The Episcopal Metho
dists divided on the subject; and eventu
ally the New School Assembly in .1857.
Religious periodicals were generally silent
as to the evil that had been acknowledged to
be such by the South as well as the North
in former years; but some upheld it. A
truce was declared by a kind of common
consent, for the sake of a peace, which has
been followed by a terrible war. The
slaveholding South felt themselves much
encouraged to believe thatetheir system was
patriarchical—Divine. The writer asked
a gentleman from the South, in 1856,
" What do you think of slavery now ?"
He replied, "We once thought that if
God find the Bible were against us, we had
better give it up ; hitt a Professor in • the
University of Virginia has written a book
which has convinced uti that it is right, and
we are going to bold on twit." Ministers
of the Church, and branches of it, "have,
with Congress, helped to aid sentiments
and usages which emboldened the South to
think of extending slavery, which has
brought on war.
In the meantilne,.the State rights doc
trine of John C. Calhoun and the deter
mination which he expressed to. Commodore
Stewart as far back as 1812, to ruin the
Union if they could not rule it, were ma
turing. Visions of acquiring Central
America, parts of Mexico, and Cuba, were
before the minds of , ambitious Southern
men. They formed ..Golden" Knight Cir
cles, relied Upon a portion of the ziorth to
sustain them, as they .formerly had done,
and, thinking that Iforthers racii were
cowards, prepared f*-43ecessioni and, if,
need be, for war. A.4s i rge• portibn of the .
Southern people were not prepared for
these measures ; but 'Y bloody and deceit
ful men" amongst them, fabricated all
manner of falsehoods,rand persuaded some
to join, and others were forced into war.
What the lying tongue could not accom-.
plish, the bayonet effeool.,
Gentlemen, on the *aeration of a min
ister of the Gospel wlko labored in Vir
ginia, I state the origiii;of the john Brown.
raid. This minister was sociable• with men
who held certain meetings, and they told
him that money was sent on from South
Carolina into the North-eastern part of
Virginia, and men ,were there engaged to
go and feign to be abolitionists, and use the
money to collect a party to. attack Harper's
Ferry. They succeeded in deceiving mis
guided men, so that there might appear to
be some ground of controversy with the
North, and have the appearance of justice
before the world in further efforts. most
-of
the preceding view of fatits, most
-of Which are fixed history, we see that men
in the North—civilians and ministers---.-
lent themselves to the South, without in
tending such results is have taken place;
but have partaken of ' sins, which have
brought about calamity. 'True, some of
these statesmen may lave never felt with
Thomas Jefferson, as expressed in his
letter (dated August 25, 1814,) to Ed
ward Cole, Esq., when he said, " I had al
ways hoped that the younger generation,
receiving their early impressions after the
flame of liberty had been kindled in every
breast, and it had becoine as it were the vital
spirit of every American "—but may have
always justillhd oppression. All ministers,
even in•the North, have not believed with
the Rev. Dr. John H. Rice, as 'expressed
in his letter to William Maxwell; Esq.,
(both of Virginia,) when he said, " I am
most fully convinced that slavery is the
greatest evil in our country, except whis
key ;" .buthavnhelped4y writing, speak
ing and voting, to change the:;sentiments
of the. : South, ; and to involve ~us in civil
war. Some such: nwstill believe that-the
Bible sanctions American slavery. Their
belief I must examine. lam your fellow
COUNTRYMAN.
Letter from a Delegate of the Christian Com-
Min . oll.
CEATEANooctE, TENN., Jan, 18, 1864
MR. JOSEPH ALEREE, Treasurer Chris
tian Commission, Pittsbirgh: —As the
Christian public i s doing a great work in
supplying money and stores for the relief
and comfort of the noble men who 'are gal
lantly fighting our sountry's battles, it is
but natural that - a very 'general desire should
be manifested to•obtain inforination respect
ing•the work of the Christian Commission
and its results. With a view to gratify
this desire in part, I address you a few
lines.
I, and brother Whitehill, who accompa
nied me, set out for our field of labor on
the last day of December, and early on the
following Sabbath morning arrived in Lou
isville. Here was plenty of work to dO.
Here are hundreds of sick. and wounded
soldiers in tlte 'hospitals in and around the
city. Accepting the invitation of a,good
old Methodistschaplain, I preached in Hos
pital No. 18, to a goodly Amber of sol
diers, and ladies, who I am informed, fre
quently attend the religious services in
hospitals,, and do much to relieve the mo
notony of life there.. Many of the ladies
of Louisville are making a noble record for
themselves, and will live long in the grate
ful recollections of many a poor sufferer
whose misery has been relieved - and heart
cheered by their kind and gentle attentions.
Would that this could be said of all of
them ; but secession proclivities on the
part of some of them are by no means hid
den, and the advent of a squad of rebel
prisoners_ presents a coveted opportunity
for displaying their sympathy' for the
" Chivalry.'
Monday morning -comes and we prepare
to start for Nashville. •We proceed to the
depot and are just in -time to be too late.
We must spend, another" day in Louisville.
We need- not be idle, however. Back we
go to the Rooms of the Christian Commis
sion,-arm ourselves 'with books and tracts,
and-start-out. My lot is to guto Hospital
No. 3. I pass in. A very large room -is
lined with neat, clean cots, and a long din:
ing-table extends up the middle. Some of
the-cots are ocetipied. Igo - and-talk with
the men one by one. Books and tracts•
open the way op access to them. Not a
man of them maitifesta a feeling of unkind
nese. Some of them are ripe Christians";
others who are not, manifest a strong desire
to become Christians, and ask to be prayed
for. Yonder at the other end of the hell,
an Irishman is becoming quite excited on
some subject, and uses very bad langtage.
Conscience whispers, Go and' speak to that
man. The voice of.conscience: is- heeded ;
a hand is laid on the shoulder of. the offen
der ; a kindly word is spoken ; the sin is
reproved; &slight touch of the crimson of
shame tingee his cheek ; the fault is eon.
fessed, and_ he is drawn toward >me as a
new-found friend.
On Tuesday morning we departed for
Nashville, and arrived safely in the
,even
ing. A stranger coming to Nashville can
not fail to BS surprised at, the great activi
ty :of this city at the present time. The
streets are literally crowded with Govern
ment wagons engaged in the transportation
of stores. Soldiers meet you at almost
every step ; and the stirring, strains of mar
tial music fall upon the ear.
Soon after my arrival in the city, I was -
shown a beautiful and costly priiate
deuce, which it is said the Secession Aris
tocracy of Nashville intended to purchase
and present to Jefferson Davis, when this
city should become the capital of the South.
ern Confederacy. From present appear
ances it will be a long time before Jeff.
takes possession.
It had been my intention to proceed at
once to Chattanooga, but when I arrived at
Nashville there was great need of laborers
there, and it was decided that I ;should re
main at least for a time. Let me say, by
the way, that no delegate should come to
the field expecting to follow his own plans,
or, consult =his own preferences. Delegates
know nothing of the wants of the field un
til they arrive;, and then the stations as
signed to them may be very different from
what they expected 'and desired. There is
no help for this. Delegates should come,
not as Outstare-seekers, but as workers, and
they must.work where they can labor to the
best advantage. Some delegates have been
a gbod deal disappointed in consequence of
this 'change of their original plans; but
every man who really comes witha' desire
.46 filo gOodriloon , sees thuneeessity for syste:-
matie work, -- -and, ;.1 .
cheerfqlly acquiesces.
&And but admire the good management of
Rev. E.' P. Smith, the General Agent at
Nashville. While willing and anxious to
gratify the wishes of the delegates, he
never loses sight of the interests of the
Commission, and so controls the work as to
accomplish the greatest amount of good.
I was assigned to the Convalescent Camp
in the suburbs of the city. ,To those who
have never seen arp, extensive encampment,
the sight ismovel and pleasing. It's laid
out with the regularity of h city—streets
crossing at right-angles, and the, whole en
campment divided into wards regularly
numbered. The appearance of the camp
on.the; morning of my first visit was beau
tiful. The day was clear, but the ground
was frozen like a rock. All the encamp
ment looked neat and tidy. As I walked
through the 'streets of this city of tints,
and saw the blue smoke curling from their
tops, the poles, tent-pins, and cords, I could
not but think of the holy, men of other
ages, who dwelt in tents and worshiped
God . in tabernacles, and the fervent desire
of- my heart was, that some in this encamp
ment shouldprove to be men of Nike faith
with them. I was - not altogether . disap
pointed.
A,pleasant surprise awaited _me in the
very first tent which I entered. Two
young men from the immediate neighbor
hood in`-which some of my friends reside,
greeted me :with a hearty Welcome. The
meeting was the more pleasing, because it
was , entirely unexpected. Cite _.of them
proved to be a most valuable assisetmt4thile
I remained in the camp. " He - is not only a
soldier d i ps country, bearing five honora
ble marks of valor, but what is far better,
he, is a soldier of 3 - esus Christ, and is not
ashamed of his profession.
A chapel tent had just been erected a
few daysteford My arrival. I listened to
firsttsermon preached in it Brother
Elijah H. Filcher, of Ann Arbor, Mich.,
was the speaker, and .delivered a good,
clear Gospel Ammon to air interested audi
ence of "soldiers.
I was to be his successor, and immedi
ately set about making arrangements for
systematio daily work. In the forenoon I
visited from tent to tent, distributed read
ing matter, and conversed with the sol
diers; in the afternoon I preached ; in the
evening we met "for prayer. Our church
call would sound strangely to an unaccus
tomed ear. It was not the sweet r -silvery
tones of the church bell, calling men to
gether to , worship God; but it was just as
good, perhaps. better. At two o'clock the
big drum thundered, little drums rattled,
and the- clear, shrill notes of the fife min
gled with the 'sound. It was a fitting call
to stir men's -sours and rouse theth from
apathetic coldness. Soon from all parts of
the encampment men flocked to the little
chapel. They pass in and are comfortably
seated on boards and boxes. Worship be
gins. I have found : - that the best way, to
interest soldiers is to encourage voluntary
exercises of singing and prayer. If some
of our prayerless professors of religion were
present at one of these precious meetings,
they might well be put to shame: "-Will
some brother lead in singing ?" seldom
fails,to bring forth, a speedy response, and
some familiar hymn is , suno , with an unc
tion and fervor truly refreshing. Then
call on some one to pray, and one will rise,
and in a tone of the deepest humility, will
say, " Let us try to pray." Such were the
exercises from day. to !lay. The good taste
and judgment which many of the soldiers
display in selecting hymns suited to the
sermon or exhortation, is remarkable. If
the speaker happens to refer to the spirit
ual' conflict in whichthe Christian must en
gage, he is immediately followed by some
one:singing : ,
"Ain 111 soldier, of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb."
If the duty and necessity of watchfulness
is .pressed upon them; another will lead off
in the well known lines
".A charge to keep I have,
A God to'glorify,
I confess that I never enjoyed religious
services any - tivhere as much as I have en
joyed those among men most of whom many
'regird'as being almost beyond the reach of
religious influence. I was very soon im
pressed with the importance of forming a
Christian Association among - the soldiers of
the Cotrealescent Camp. The attempt has
been "successful beyond my expectations.
When I left the Camp to proceed to Chatta
nooga, thirty-five men had joined the As
13omation, and the prospect is fair fora very
large increase of. members. Men from al
most all the Evangelie,al Denominations
have rformed - themselves into a band of
.brothers, on the broad basis of our common
Christianity. Thank God for hiti gracious
presence with the soldier& Yours, very
truly WILLIAM . DICKSON.
A plate-kunter in Prussia having asked
Frederick the. Great for• the grant of some
rich Protestant bishopric, the king ex
pressed. his regret that it was already given
away, but broadly hinted 'that there was a
Catholic"abbacy ethis disposal. The appli
cant managed to be converted in a week,
And to 'be 'received` into-the bosom of , the
Church . ; aftel which he hastened to his
friend the king, and told - him how his con
science had been eblightened: "Ah !"
ex:Claimed' Frederick; "how terribly unfor
tunate! - I have given away the abbacy.
But the chief rabbi is just dead, and the
'Syriagogne is at my disposer; suppose' you
Veri-tto JAW ?3''
WHOLE NO., 594
EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENCE..
JANUARY 22,1864.
FROM LAwcasuris, in the house of Dr.
McLean, the worthy Moderato:. of the
Synod of the Presbyterian Church in Eng
land—with his church in sight on the top
of a neighboring hill, in the heart of a dis
trict made rich in times past by cotton
spinning—l address to you' my present
letter. Id this immediate locality lived
two bachelor brothers, .the Messrs. Grant,
of Scottish birth and blood; very rich and
very generous. My host was connected
with them by marriage, and vividly recalls
their sayings :and doings in 'his table-talk.
They were the " Brothers Cheerible " of
one of the best works of the famous writer,
Charles Dickens, who was wont ofttimes to
repair to their house and receive their hos
'pitality. So was was it also with Charles
Harrison Ainsworth, who was a native of
this district, and is famous for his " Lan
cashire Witclies",- , -in which he embodies
in the conversation of different characters,
the Lancashire dialect with great -power—
aieWell as many historical romaiiees, such
as " Th9„.'l l eiver of London." On the other
side of the corridor ' which tile
door 'of the room ivhere I write, is a room
where Ainsviorth was wont, when visiting
here, to write.
The distress in Lancashire is, I am sorry
to say, returning in a measure at least, and
is • likely to continue for some time. At
Preston and Blackburn, some mills whiCh
were working several days in week are
now entirely , closed. Of course this arises
from the scarcity, and consequent dearness,
of cotton. For what used to cost from 3 id.
to 6d. per pound,lanst now be paid from
Is. 6d. to 20. - Finest cotton is still dearer.
This week, in the office of a large spinner
in Bolton, I saw beautiful cotton, the price
of which was close upon 3s. per pound.
India is contributing more . cotton every
month, but much of it is adulterated, or
spoiled. Frequently it has been weighted
by sand or dirt mixed with it, and that
fraudulently. The Bi4zils, Egypt, and the
West Indies, are likely in turn, with'lndia,
to furnish a full supply, and if the Ameri
can war last, India and Egypt especially
will be greatly enriched. As it is, vast
sums flow thither. Bombay merchants and
perions at home who were sagacious enough
to believe that the American struggle must
last for some tirne, and who consequently
speculated largely in cotton, have made, or
are rapidly acquiring, large fortunes. The
price of cotton at Liverpool: is high, and
would be higher still, but for the agitated
state of Northern Europe, and the in
increased rise in the Bank. of England rate
of interest--eightper cent.
Those towns in Lancashire which before
this cotton crisis had other trades, have not
Suffered at all so severely as those to which
cotton was everything. Iron works 911
foundries and wholesale - shoe manufactixr
jrig. have rescued other towns from collapse
ind ruin. It is very sad to look out of the
windows of this house, and to see the tall
chimney stalk of a cotton factory which
hap not been Worked for more than two
years. This has partly arisen fitnt the
want of _synip . athy, and the absence of that
readiness to incur loss which others liave
shown, on the part of a millionaire cotton
lord. Such eases, however ' am the excep
tions, and not the rule, for, as a ekes,
the millionaires have acted nobly toward
their "hands,' and Lancashire has con
tributed to the vast Relief Funds a larger
aura than the whole of England besides.
THE RE.TQIOINPS of the nation have
been general in connection with the birth
of a Prince—the father and the child be
ing t'he second and third in succession, to
the throne. Old people recall the contrast
presented in 1817, when the Prince Regent
(afterward George 1V.,) was regarded with
dislike by large bodies of the people, and
when the Princess Charlotte, the hope and
pride of the nation, with her new-born son,
perished in an hour. The wail of sorrow
at that time was loud and universal. There
was really no heir to the throne, after the
Regent, but one of his younger brothers.
The Duke of Rent, the father of' Victoria
was not then married, and all looked dark.
The aged George 111. was alive, but his in
tellect was irrecoverably gone. What a
start onward and upward has England mor
rally, socially, and religiously, made since
that dark period ! Queen Adelaide, the
wife of William IV., was a true Christian
woman. She purified the British Court
circle, and it has been kept pure ever since.
Victoria came to the throne, and with her
husband she so ordered her household and
set: such, an example as has told on domes
tic life with an influence beyond all human
estimate or calculation.
" CALVIN " was the subject- of a recent
lecture in Exeter Hall, by the .Rev. E. L.
Garbett, a very able Episcopal Clergyman,
who holds Calvinistic views, and defines as
well as deferids them, and also the whole
system of truth, with singular clearness
and power of logic. " The - history of Cal.
via " he said, " might not be so romantic
as ;hat of Luther; but in moral grandeur
it was not inferior. It revealed a temper
more calm and.constant than Luther's, and
an influence which extended over a larger
sphere, and secured for Europe more pro.
gressive results. The state of incipient
change in which 'Zuingle and Luther
found society, required other- treatment
than the cautious policy - of the one, and
the distinctive work of the other.
" With all his vigorous intellect, Luther
never worked out to a perfect theological
issue ' the fundamental doctrines of his
creed. - Consubstantiation is weighted with
all the difficulties of transubstantiation,
and with some of its own in addition.
The movement of the Reformers needed a
theology. Without it, the Reformation
could not havi survived. Calvin contribu
ted this gift!'
, As to the death of Servetus, the lecturer
said it-was contrary to the just. liberties of
man and the spirit of the Gospel. It is
utter arrogance to occupy God's place to
ward the human 'conscience; butit must
be remembered that Calvin's prosecution
was not on account of a difference of opin
ion,-but because Servetus was to him a
blasphemer. In this question Calvin was
entitled to be judged in the light of his
own age. 'So lamentable an act must also
be viewed in the knowledge of Calvin's
doctrine of the' Divine sovereignty, a doc
trine to which he sacrificed his own life
by an unresting and prodigious enely of
body and soul. " Dismissing the shadows
from such a character, and remembering
his purity, his self-sacrifice, and his mental
_grasp, we may well desire more •of such
men as Calvin. ' -
TEE MEmotas of the Rev. Di. Andrew
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Reed, of London, written by his sons, has
been published. Besides being eminences
a preacher and a pastor, he was preemi
nently a philanthropist. Orphans and Id
iot Asylums were foemded and fostered by
him, and are now affording relief to thou
sands. A short time ago, his old congre
gation at Wycliffe Chapel contributed 200
guineas; after sermon, for the Asylum for
Fatherless Children, Reedham. A gentle
man has offered to give 1,900 guineas for
the removal of .a building debt of .f. 14,000,
on condition, that 5;000 guineas additional
be raised.
Du. NORMAN MIEOD, lately lecturing
at Glasgow, said that there are no less than
seventy-give officers of the Guards who aid
in' the work of visiting and relieving the
poor of London. They belong to a sepa
rate Society for that purpose, and are fore
most in going day after day to relieve the
poor in the most squalid districts.
The Scottish Episcopal Church Society
—Traetarian • in its tendencies—seems to
be very, unpopular,with its own lAy-11101410-
A recent collection, was made (attempted
rather) in the Ohirloh of St• John Bales
"ton. The feeling of the congregation was
sufficiently indicated by the amount put
upon the plate, which. was one penny; and
that panny t it is said, was contributed by
the incumbent himself!
The Ecclesiastical Commissioners are
asked, by many Liverpool people, to abol
ish pew-rents in churches in densely crowd
ed districts, as endowments have lately been
secured to them, and as " both here and
'elsewhere, the humbler classes are practi
miry shut out from the ordinances and ali
enated from the practice of religion by the
system of pew-rents and exclusive appro
priations, which, unhappily, so generally
prevail."
THE FIFTII Winter and Spring series of
Theatre services in London is now in pro
gress, and the attendance of the masses is
.very great. Last year one hundred and
fifteen services were held, attended by 161,-
850 persons, making in all, from the com
mencement of this effort, 559 services, at
tended by 855,100_ pernons. %Extra Thea
tre services, besides the foregoing, are
being held this Winter, and these reach
the " very poor," and a large portion
of the outcast population. William Carter,
formerly a Master Chimney-sweep, is a
powerful preacher among those classes.
He occupies the Victoria Theatre every
Sunday night, and addresses a great multi
tude. The writer was present at one of
these services. Carter has also tea-meet
ings, to which he gathers nnavies and other
seperate classes. One tea-meeting had, as
the title to admission, that the applicants
should have lost their character; and the
applicants admitted were numerous. As
tonishing influence for good is exercised by
this man.
The: Brittania Theatre -and St. Sames'
Hall are also hired for seperate services.
The Rev. Newman Hall lately preached in
the Brittania, to a vast audience. Next
evening, on the same stage, Tom King,
with his Champion belt, and hired to fill
the theatre by such an exhibition, appeared
" in the dress which he wore on the field of
battle, when he conquered the Benicia
Boy 1" J.W.
BREVITIES.
Pass not judgment on thy fellow till thou
halt been in the same predicament; say not
of matters that are incomprehensible, that
thou canat comprehend them; neither say,
When I shall have leisure I will study, lest
thou may never have leisure.
"Ilan you read Paine's Age of Reason,
sir ?" said a person to Robert Hall. " Yes,
sir, I have looked over it." " And what,
Mr. Hall, is your opinion of it, sir ?"
" Why, sir, it's a- mouse nibbling at the
wing of im archangel, sir."
It we we work upon marble, it will per
ish; if we work upon brass, time will ef
face it ; if we rear temples, they will crum
ble into dust; but if we work upon immortal
minds—if weimbue tam with principles
with the just fear of God and of our fellow
men—we engrave on these tablets some
thing which 'will brighten to all eternity.
Systematic Baal= co.—" I think," said
the Rev. John Brown, of Haddington,
"this having a distinct purse for the Lord
is one of the most effectual means for mak
ing one rich. I have sometimes disposed
of more this way than it could he thought
I was capable of, and yet I never found
myself poorer against the year's end."
A lad was at work in a field. A man who
was working in an adjoining field said to
him, " You 'keep- very'-steadily at work."
Mader is' watching me;" was the reply.
God's eye is ever upon us: He does not
watch us with an unkind eye. Far from it.
He watches and waits to see if we will not
turn from sinning to holiness, that he may
bless us. His eye is ever upon us. Let
us do nothing, then, that is adapted to dis
please him.
Practical- wisdom acts in the mind as grav
itation does in the material world : combin
ing, keeping things in their places, and
maintaining, a mutual dependence amongst
the various parts of our system. It is for
ever reminding us where we are, and what
we can do, not in fancy, but in real life. It
domnot permit us to wait for dainty du
ties, pleasant to the imagination; but in
sists upon our doing those which are before
Am.—Helps.
Unburied Dead People.—There are many
dead people in the world who are not yet
buried. There are thousands who have
been dead many years, and do not know it.
When a - man's heart is cold and indifferent
about religion; when his hands are never
employed in doing God's work; when his
heart is never familiar with his ways ;
when his tongue is, seldom used in Tower
and praise; when his ears are deaf to the
voice of Christ in the Gospel; when his
eyes are blind to the beauty of heaven ;
when his mind, full of the world, and has
no room or, time for spiritual things—then
a• man is dead.
To trust in God when our warehouses and
bags are full, and our tables spread, -is no
hard thing ; 'but to trust him when- our
purses are empty, but a handful of meal
and a oruse of oil left, and all the ways' of
relief- stopped, herein Ilea -the wisdom of
a - Christian's graoe. Yet none are exempt
ed- from this duty; all are bound to ac
knowledge their trust in Him by the daily
prayer for daily tread ; even those that
have it in their cupboards as-well es"those
who want -it;_the' richest prince as *Ole 'as
the Meanest beggar. WhateVer year wants
are, *ant not faith; and you - carnet. want
suppies.
El