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0 THE FtOWERS COUEUTION PllUnJlI) TV1EKLY BY A COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS FOR THE NORTH CAROLINA CON ?ERENCE, M, E. CHURCH, SOUTH. RUFUS T. HEFLIN, Editor. Vol. II..-So. 25. 81. 50 a Year, in Advance. WHIMSY ST a n 'V n it a t1 ir (Original For the X. C. Christian Advocate. "An Educated Ministry." No. 3. to jrorius. The flourish of trumpets with which you entered the arena, your use of Bish op Pierce's name, and the endorsement of the astute Editor of the Richmond Advocate, led me to suppose that you were an antagonist "worthy of my steel ;" but as I followed you through your first letter, doubts disturbed my mind about the correctness of that con ception, and since reading your second epistle the illusion has entirely ed; and I am now convinced" that you are a mere tyro in theology, and that edu cation whhdi you define to be " the ap plication of reflection, observation, ex perience, study in preparing one for duties which require intelligence as well as principle to have his mind disci- plined, nourished, fostered,"his faculties well developed." Judging of your mental caliber by the merits of your second letter, I seriously doubt wheth er our good Bishop will be inclined, notwithstanding your endorsement by Dr. Lee, to spread the regis of his pow erful name and protection over such an undisguised imbecile ; but would, were he to speak out, order you back to Jer rico to the seminary, (as you seem to think that is the place,) and direct the pure Professors to lay your " head un der the hydraulic press of a theological course" and keep it there "for three years, if not four, and then send you v v.... tice. Ifyouareayoungman,Iwon-'carefulia aer at me sen conceit tnat nas promp ted you to a task so far beyond your intellectual grasp ; but if a middle aged one, then I commisserate that weakness which time itself has had no power to cure. But perhaps you have taken as your motto " Omne ignotum pro mag nifico." Every thing unknown is es teemed great, and acting upon this principle, you hope to " become popu lar in proportion to" your " extrava gance." V hile I do not consider your second j effusion worthy of serious consideration, , ' stated, been induced to enter the list j with you, it is proper that some notice j should be taken of it. I shall, there fore, reluctantly proceed to examine 5fTe of your sayings. You begin " In order to sift the subject thoroughly from some of the mo3T- troublesome prejudices which have encumbered it, I propose the direct question, Has God rejected education as a qualification for the work of the ministry ? Has he not rather en couraged and enjoined it?" Here, in stead of "the direct question," you have raised tivo "direct questions,"' which materially differ in their charac- tor nil d annlication. There is a con- fusion, a mistiness about the first ques- j tion which renders it difficult to arrive : at your truo meaning. W nether this ; was intentional on your part, or the re- suit of the absence of that education hich leads to "the application of re-1 necuon, is uu-, ixV p. u w-.- tuTmeSSgoul f ymVL'a'n one thing, o? you may mean something else. If, however, you mean to ask, Does God reject men from the work of the ministfy. because they are educated t fy you to pro the whole literature of our Church. If this should be your meaning, then so far from sifting the subject from a " most troublesome prejudice," you are endeavoring to "sift" the " prejudice" of your own mind into the minds of those who affiliate with you, and to create a prejudice where none has hith erto existed. But, if you mean (and 1 suspect this is the case from your se cond question, " Has he not rather en joined it ?") to ask, Has God made education a condition, " a qualification for the work of the ministry ?" I reply yo ; and defy you and all your abet, tors and endorsers to prove it. This is the question which you are bound, ac cording to your premises, to discuss ; the proposition you are required to prove. Had you stated " the direct question" plainly and definitely, I should know how to meet it, but in its present ambiguous form, there is diffi culty in doing this. The difficulty re ferred to lies in this: I may do you in justice by attributing t) your language a sense which you did not intend to convey; for though your subsequent remarKs leim iu vununu un, m vun viction that you maintain that God re quires a previous process of education " a thorough education," as you term it, to an entrance into the work of the ministry, still I am unwilling to believe that even a Methodist " theological ap prentice" can be guilty of such con summate " silliness" as to uUer such an opinion. For fear, therefore, I may misjudge your opinion, and misstate your real meaning on this particular point, I will drop the first question for the present. Your second question requires no such delay as your meaning seems pret ty plain. The question run3 thus "Has he not rather encourged and en- then 1 have only to say, I have never VirV", . heard such an opinion advanced; and first, and in proof that this is your .i.r nLn0 nno f,-om meaning I will proceed to notice what joined it V While, I have intima ted, this question is more definite than the former, still it is not without a cer tain degree of ambiguity. To my mind it smacks somewhat of the charac acter of the response given by the Oracle to Crcesus in these words " If Coesus cross the Bilys, he will overthrow a great empire." But what empire will be overthrown ? His own, or that of Crcesus ? Ah ! that was to be deter mined by the results. By using the words " encouraged and enjoined" you no doubt fancied that you had left to yourself the means of an easy egress, j should you be too closely pressed by an j opponent. It would be a reflection on j such a " ripe scholar" as I suppose you j to be, to insinuate that in using these ! words you did not understand their ! true import, since a mere tyro in En- j gii&h literature knows that they differ j as widely as the poles. If you will not consider it an implication of your learn- J ing, I will give Mr. Webster's defini- tin of these words : " Encouraged Emboldened, inspired, animated, in-! cited." j " Enjoined Ordered ; directed ; ad- j monished with authority; commanded." j Now, words so dissimilar in their sig nificance could not have been used in j such a connection by a scholar, without some ulterior design ; and hence I con. ; elude you used them for your own spe cial convenience to aid you in esca ping from an uncomfortable predica ment. I fancy I see you while com. posing your profound epistles to Bish op Pierce. When you came to the " sifting" process, something whispered in t Mind how 8tate your ; propositions; tor if the use ou are not very vour language, some one of those who, though they stand on the true scriptural and Meth- j odistic platform, you are endeavoring to convict of advocating an ignorant 1 ministry which, by the bye, you know j is not the fact, will get after you with i the rod of truth, and will not leave a ! sound spot in you.' Thus premonished ; you write the first question, and after reading and re-reading it, you smile and say, ' Well, that will puzzle the most ' ascute of their company.' Again you wrirp H:ia hp nnt rn thpr nfrnr rrni ftm, .oine(1 it r This done s, loquize thus with yourselt, INowin case one oftho3e -extremists" should take . , , f j t .nioine(1. ' ordered,' 'commanded ;' where has God, either in his Booh or his works commanded that men should he Jte- i cated before they enter the minis- j try ? Show me the place.' What ! then ? Why, I will reply, did I not I precede the word " enjoined by the : word "encouraged," which means "ani- j mated, incited :" and to this you will not object. Possibly, you may consi der me one of th second class of " ex tremists" referred to in your first let ter; if so, I will say, not so fast, my j rood mend ; let us understand distmct- lw Toil Tnr:i.Ti bv this word " (n- cJourafTe(1-'for I presume you will not hQ he temerity t0 advocate the sense of d enj0ined. Do you mean I that the a(rent ig M animatedj incited" byGod t0ek and obtain what you can education preparatory to preaching itne (josspei v (jr ao you mean that 1 ! miated, incited to make hun- elf , a " Peef th not.to ! be shamed ? . If this is what you in- :nu "S1 wJlu uuc inere 13 P you consider proof of the soundness of your assumption. You quote the memorable passages of 1'aul which begin thus " JNot many wise men after the flesh,'' &c. After which you propound and undertake to answer the question " It is asked, why did God ever call the unlettered to the work of the minis try ?" Your answer is somewhat elaborate, seeing the matter is so satisfactorily dis posed of by the Apostle himself; and you will not consider me wanting in respect when I say, your construction has not im proved the Apostle's assertion. You re mark Reversing the usual order of things, he chooses the foolish to confound the wise, and the icr-ak to overpower the strong;" and as an illustration of your discovers', you cite the cases of Jehosha phat and Gideon. What "usual ord-r of hinss" yu refi r to I am unable definitely to determine If von mean that " on. er I of things" which obtains among men, th ti a moment's reflection would have satisfied you that the who!-; economy of grace, from the promise in Eden, to the fiat that will set the world on fire, is, what the worldly leise w uld esteem ' reversing the order of things ;" but if you mean that that pro ceeilinn r.f the Almighty was a reversing the orcVr of thinjrs" as supervised and car ried on by Himself, I ask leave to differ witli you, not only in abstracts, but -in toto. Need I remind you that the Prophet Daniel, when describing the beginning and pro gress of the Messiah's kingdom, speaks of it as a "stone cut out of the mountain without hads," and which " became a great mountain and filled the whole earth?" And that Zecheriah solves the mystery of its diffusion and triumph as follows "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of host" ? Here we have a mystery unfolded in, and unfolded by a mystery the super-human success of the Gospel is inwrapped in, and walled by the preternatural character of the plan of hu man salvation. That plan was the product of the Eternal Word ; and its grand con summation its commencement, continu ance and completion, is to be effected by MicmilQimr t ia tnr thot -irrm nro the ever pervading and manifested divini-1 Bibles and Testaments put in circula rs of its divine Author. " For after that j tion in this State,, in the last eight in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom years, I cannot determine with exact knew not God, it pleased God by the fool- certainty, but I suppose the number to ishnca of preaching to save them that be- Q Detween eighty and one hundred lieve." S;ys Dr. Clarke, It was not by tjl0Usanm K I can ascertain the exact the foolishness of preaching, literally, nor , T , . i.nft on f:ir ivea er of God to the salvation of them that be lieve." At the time of our Saviour's advent was found among the " heathen wisdom about natural things ; that is, philosophy ; and wisdom about God: that is, divinity. But the world in its dit inity, could no;, by wisdom, know God could never by their learning, wisdom and industry, find out God." The great desideratum was t " find out God ;" this could not be met by their wisdom of philosophy or divinity. They possessed this wisdom in a very high degree, and yet the world " by wisdom knew not God." An entire revolution was demanded, rnd God by reversing " the usual order of things," met the desire and supplied the want of the world by the " foolishness of preaching." The work divine, and the workmen divinely appoin ted. Such was the fact in the beginning, is now, and shall be unto the end. Says Mr. Arthur, " The call pre-supposcs grace, or the moral qualification, and implies a gift, or what may be called the mental qualification ; for to call without imparting a gift, would be leading an unarmed sol dier into battle. Him whom God sends to any work, He quulifks for that work." It seems to me that you mistake the na ture, design and operations of the Gospel. Know you not that its every element is Divine 'I That its design is to turn the world upside down when it will be right side up ' And that its operations, as view ed by the world, and those " who are wise above what is written," have always ap peared, and still seem to be turning the i contrary way 1 Take the proper stand I point as here designated and you will pos sibly discover that what you denominate a " reversing of the usual order of things (viz : the appointment to the ministry,) for: a special object and a limited period, is, as rn;iy be learned from his H ord and his , , , 7 7 4, 7, W'rk, the. established order, the unalterable law of His kingdom; and that to impugn that orler and deviate from that law is to fcn'ncr nm-niTiMnn nn1 imh;UMr nnnn tho Church. Yours, JlfSTUS-FACIO. Virginia, June. For the N. C. Christian Advocate. American Bible Society. Rev. R. T. Heflin, Bear Bro : In my last I intimated that I would say something in my next about Bible UlSUlUUl.iUU lit ilui in vunviiu-. -"J in this State. Seventy two Local .Bible Societies, besides a number of Bible Committees, have extended their ope rations to every County in the State. I have visited every County in the State, (except four,) two of these Coun ties have been supplied by Bible dis tributors ; and the other two have been supplied by private effort among them selves. I have visited every County below the Blue Ridge, from once to nine times. In all these Counties Bi bles have been distributed freely to all who wished them. The principle car ried out in distribution, has been, to sell to those able and willing to pur- destituter;1 fiiBSSfaufijJryLaJle Societies in the State have employed Bible distributors for their respective Counties ; others effected the supply by private and personal effort on the part of the friends of the Bible cause. Oth er Counties have been supplied by Methodist Preachers, who have mani fested great zeal and performed a large amount of labor. Multitudes of Bibles have been distributed in this way. Private individuals have also manifest ed devotedness in this work. Some County Bible Societies have employed Tract Colporteurs to carry the Bibles and supply the destitute, and paid them for their work. In a few Counties, it would be well to employ a bible distrib utor, where the work of supply has not been thorough. In some Counties ri sin six hundred dollars worth of Bi bles and Testaments were disposed of ; and in others four hundred dollars worth, and in others three hundred dol lars worth, and in others two hundred dollars worth ; and in very few less than one hundred dollars worth. We endeavor to keep a depository of Bibles and lestaments in all the Counties, when we can get them - taken care of, so that those who need for themselves and families, and the poor and destitute may be supplied. Many of those who keep these piles of dusty Bibles dis pose of from twenty four dollars worth to the amount of one hundred dollars worth, per year. So that you see, Dear Bro., there is more propriety in keeping of these piles of dusty Bibles, scattered over the State, than you at first thought or imagined. In our es timation, it is a matter of primary im portance to get the people to think so ! much or the xJible, as when they are destitute of it, to enquire arid seek for it, and supply themselves. If this can not be done, then take the Bible to them. This has been our plan of ope ration from the beginning of our efforts in the State. In the past eight years there have been rising fifteen thousand Families, who were destitute of the Bi ble in this State, supplied and most of them gratuitously The number of l . l i l ii a . H ij i A u 7i 1 UWh tW as 1 Know, no person nas ctci ueeu jb the world j but by that Gospel which they ? h(j called (mortd) foolishntss : which was, in j " ... p n u 1 p. ;,,J' e n, nn.i nian th mw. for it. A large amount of Bibles and ov rne loonsu ureacuinsr. mat uuu oc primary business for more than eight it tQ thia operat;on they may wish. years past, has been to have the lible , gome publish their proceedings in the , T , ' - , , Testaments have been sent to this State through my agency, for gratuitous dis tribution, amounting to several thous and dollars, besides large old debts, contracted for Bibles distributed many years ago and never paid for, have been cancelled. Th old debts have amounted to thousands of dollars. You speak of thousands of jdollars be ing collected in this State knd sent to New York, while the Bible is withheld from the destitute here, Mr, Editor, I think this is a great mistake ; and cal culated to do great injury to the Bible cause. I have not the data to decide this question exactly ; but my impres sion is, that when you deduct the inci dental expenses of car-ying on the Bi ble operations in this State, that North Carolina has received much more from the Parent Society than she has ever paid. If possible, I v ill ascertain the exact state of the matter and let it be known. You ask, Dear BrO., why an account of the operations of the A. B. Society, is not published in the papers of this State, as well as the operations of the A. Tract Society. To this I reply : First we never follow in the wake of the American Tract Society, in any sense of the word. They are a self created monarchy and do as they please. We have nothing to do with the A. T. Society in any shape or form, and I hope never will. Secondly : The American Bible Soc:ety have an ortran of their own : The Bible Society nnrd. This 5a rmhlishwl vnrpsslv ! tQ aH e ft knowledge ()f its i r .i condition and operations here they , . 1 . , ,, ,, are 8Pr,j"1 heJore the World. About j twenty-five thousand copies of this pe- ! riodical are published monthly and scattered over the land from East to West, and from North to South. One copy of the Bible Society Record is sent monthly to each Life Director and member of the A. B. Society ; and three copies to each auxiliary of the Society, and one copy to each Bible Committee ; and it is also sent for 25 cents per annum to any person who wishes it. Thirdly : It is the duty of papers not. In my next, if possible, I will let you know more definitely what the State has received and what she has paid. Yours, in christian love, D. DERWELL, Agent A. B. Society. Pittsboro', June 1st, 1857, For the 5. C. C. Advocate. EDUCATION. Bro. Heflist: I have but one more argument to adduce h favor of mixed schools, and that is tha necessity of the case. Owing to the sparseness of the population m un auctions ot the coun- try and most villages, it is impossible to sustain schools with competent teach ers, in any other way. I ask, are boys and girls to grow up uninstructed, or at most, partially instructed, because of an unfounded and ill-timed prejudice, ori ginating in a spirit of exclusivenes3, for which, the masses of our free coun try should have no sympathy a pre judice that ignores the laws of God as indicated by His Providence, contrary to sound reason, and destructive to the highest and most cherished interest of the great body of a sovereign people ? No; let every parent in our broad land arise in the might of united and ir resistable strength, and declare it shall not be ; let public opinion on this sub ject be changed, and let Methodist ministers and Methodist people take the lead in it. Be not afraid of the consequences. The thing is right ; be not afraid to advocate it. What though Young America may call you an old fogy. What though one family in your neighborhood may refuse to co-operate, and by its influence, or its wealth, or its powers, oppose your plan, or endea vor to thwart your efforts; what though the offsheot of modern nobility may sneer at your daughter for going to school with her oivn brother. I ask you, the parents, the great body of the people, shall the opinion of one man in a neighborhood, or of one class of men in society, form the rule of pro priety and impropriety, of right and wrong ? Shall the children of the Church-your children grow up un taught, and thus have less advantages than those who have the ability to sus tain their exclusiveness, and thus be their inferiors because you cowardly yield to an unjustifiable prejudice ? Down with it ; trample it under your feet. The cause of your country,the wel fare of yojir church, your duty to your children, the interests of a common hu manity demand it. ; patriotism, philan thropy and religion urge it ; every in terest of Church and State, social and domestic, demand the education of the masses. This cannot be effected, only through the establishment of mixed schools in every neighborhood, and that minister who does this in every congre gation of his charge, shall have done more in all that is essential to the wel fare of society, than had he built a col- lege or foundel a university; for, of thede we already have an abundance I now, to effect this object, suggest A FLAN. Let every Minister present this sub ject to every charge ; explain to his people the practicability and necessity of every neighborhood's. having its own school, as a part, and parcel of its real estate, to be as permanent as its soil, and as perpetual as its successive gen erations of children. Are there then families in the community who intend to educate their children? Induce them to calculate the cost of sending abroad to school, and if they will spend one half of that sum in assisting to employ a teacher at home, then our children will be better cared for, and every child in the community can be educated. But suppose all in the neighborhood are poor, and none are able to send abroad ; yet, the scheme is practicable, if there be one dozen children, in. the neighborhood. A parent may not be able to pay from 100 to 300 annually for the education of one child, yet he could pay fifty for one : and 12 times 50 are GOO a sufficiency, with the aid of the free school fund, to keep a school for the year. Let parents be taught the importance of this thing ; urge upon them the importance of regarding the education of their children as one of the necessaries, the chief necessary, of life equally so with meat and bread and a commodity not to be had, always at the same price, but varying with circum stances ; yet, one that must be had at any price. Verily, 1 do not believe that there is a neighborhood in all our State so poor, or so dead to its duty or its privilege, in which the Minister, with faithful effort, may not find ability and create a willingness to support a good school for boys and girls ; and no Minister with the vows of his ordination upon him, can plead justification until he has, at least, made a faithful effort to bring the means of instruction with in the reach of all the children in his charge. As regards the teachers to be em ployed in these schools, I think the fol lowing order should be observed : If but one can be employed, and a majori ty of the pupils are under twelve, it suouiu, uy ail iiieu.ii, uc nuuii.u,'i, over this age, no difference what the sex of the pupil may be, it should be a man ; out in every instance in wmcu the number of pupils will at all justify it, there should be both a male and fe male teacher in the school ; r.nd m an increase of the faculty, the female ele ment should predominate. J. II. BRENT. June 1st, 1857. To be continued.) For the N. C. Christian Advocate. Reading Sermons. Bro. Heelin : If you will give me space, I will say a few words to your readers, on what I consider an impor tant subject y the reading of sermons by our preachers. W liCli We gO HJ UllUllli, -rrc ovjiont the preacher to preach; and the point to be considered is this : Is reading a discourse preaching ? I think not,for the following reasons: If reading a sermon were preaching a sermon, then any one who can read, could preach; and this would dispense with the necessity of a divine call to the ministry. Every Christian admires honesty ; and no Christian can honestly borrow that which he is unable to repay. But ministers who read sermons, instead of preaching them, frequently borrow the thoughts and language of other men, without acknowledgment, or the power to pay back to the authors, that which they have taken from them. lie who tries to pass for more than he is worth, loses his influence to do good ; but ev ery man will believe that the preacher who reads his sermons, is endeavoring to shine in borrowed plumage. He who cannot preach, should be honest with his congregation, and not attempt it. I do not wish to be understood as being opposed to reading sermons in booKS at home, ouch reading is in structive and profitable. But I do think it is in bad taste, and injurious to him self, for a preacher to read his sermon in the pulpit. No Methodist congre gation will aceept it as preaching. It may be argued that to read a written sermon in the pulpit, may pre- ventsuch mistakes as the preacher might fall into, through lapse of memory. but a few brief notes would serve the purpose, and leave to the preacher the advantages of extemporaneous speak- , and the help of the Holy Spirit for the occasion. If preachers who have the good of souls at heart, will trust in God, and use the abilities which He has given them, they will be far more useful than they can ever be by the dull, dry, me chanical process of reading a manu script. My own observation has led me to these remarks ; which are submitted in all kindness, without any design to give them a personal application that could by possibility, be offensive to any. C. L. Remarks : We agree with C. L., that as a general rule, it is injurious for the preacher to read his sermons to the congregation All ministers, especially those who arc young, should write out sermons, in full ; but they should neither carry them into the pulpit, nor memorize them. The process of writing, mingled with faith and prayer, will imbue the heart and mind with the subject ; and the preacher may safely trust to the impulse of the moment for appropriate language to express the thoughts, of which his mind will be full. And yet there are exceptions to this rule: there are subjects and occasions which justify the preacher in adhering to hi3 cart-fully prepared manuscript; but these exceptions are few and far between; and should be admitted with great caution. We are here tempted to illustrate a useful thought by an incident which we have heard related of Rev. W. Closs. We are the more free to give the inci dent, because Bro. Closs is distributing himself over the Conference t provide means to educate the .reachers' daugh ters, and in all likelihood, will not see these remarks. But should they meet his eye and give offence, why we will see him at Conference. In some of his wanderings, Bro. Closs stopped to spend the night with a certain 'Gams' on the road-side. It so happened that a sprig of a preacher in anothor church, whose ministers read their sermons, enjoyed the hospitality of the family on the same evening. Inflated with lm clerical dignity, and encased in a profound contempt for Methodist preachers, he engaged in a conversation with Bro. Closs, part of which was nearly as folllows : Strange Preacher : 'Mr. Closs, do vou Methodist Preachers ever write out your sermons : Closs: 'Yes sometimes.' Strange Preacher: 'Well, Mr. Closs, please tell me the reason why you do not read your sermons ?" Closs : Tor the best of reasons ; be cause we can preach them.' The whole matter, in a nutshell, is this : a preacher should not read his sermons, unless he is unable to preach them ; ami if he cannot learn to preach t i i sermons, lift nau better turn ins atten tion to some other avocation. But this 1, . .1. 1 1 . 1 . - f . avAAntirin nl- ready noted. The practice of reading sermons is not sufficiently rife in the N. C. Con ference, to justify any further notice of iz in our columns, at this ume. A word to the w.ise &c.' Editor. jrdrrtintui. From the Nashville Christian Advocate. Death ofMrs.Sonle. Mrs. Sarah Soule, wife of Bishop Josh ua Soule,. died at the residence of her hus bnnd, seven miles from this city, on the 27th ult. Mrs. Soule hao just entered her seventy-sixth year. Moit of her life she had enjoyed excellent health, yet fur the last few years she had suffered much bodi ly puin. For several months her afflictions were intense. All however, she bore with uncommon foniluJi;, oti1 e-rinood iiiuolt Christian patience, showing n heart resign ed to the will ot Ood. W c have seldom seen an aged Christian so cheerful, and so free from all disposition to fretful ness or rc pmings. &he retained ncr vigor ot mind in a most remarkable degree; iudced she seemed to ba'c lost nothing of the strength or vivacity of her intellect. Only two days before her death, we saw and conversed with her : we fouud her calni cheerful, happy, full of faith and hope, and awaiting with patience and joy the summous that should call her home. The funeral ceremonies were performed on the 28th. A number of the neighbors collected at the family residence, where re ligious services were conducted by Dr. Ste venson, who read from the Holy Scriptures and announced an appropnate hymn, and Dr. Sehou, who delivered a brief address, and, after singing, offered prayer to God. The scene was solemn aud impressive. fler remains were then conveyed to the Mclvendree Church, and were met by a solemn assembly ot sympathising friends. Here the burial-service, as contained in the Prayer-lJo"k prepared by Mr. Wesley for the Methodist EpUcopol C lurch, by special request ot the Bishop, was read by Dr. fcummers : the hymn, 'Lo ! the pris'ner is released, Lightened of her fleshy load: "Where the weary nru at rest, She is gathered home to God !' etc., was beautifully and impressively sung, aud prayer was offered by the Editor of the Advocate. The corpse was then taken to the City Cemetery,aud the concluding services being performed, was deposited beside the dust of her daughter, Mrs. Vandyke, who a few years since passed to the spirit-land. The whole scene was solemn and deeply affect ing. The aged Bishop, who had lived with his beloved wife more than fifty years, submitted to this sad bereavement as a Christian hero, subduod by the Grace of God, saying, Thy will he done! One very impressive feature in the services at the grave wss tho singing of the following beautiful stanzas from Charles esly s great funerabhyum, beginning, 'Come let us join our friends above:' 'One army of the living Uoa, To his command we bow; Part of his host have crossed the flood, And part are crossing now- 'Ten thousand to their endless home This soleain moment fly. And we are to the margin come, And we expect to die. 'O that we now milit grap our guido ! O that t'ie word were given ! Come, Lord of boats, the waves divide, And land us all in heaven 1' The Bishop joined in singing till be reac-ed 'wearetothc margin come,' when, overpowered, he stood with flowing tears, and seemed to look over into the promised land, knowing that he himself would soon 'cross the' flood,' and join her who had been his 'old companion in distress.' No funeral-discourse was delivered : this was in accordance with the expressed wish of tho deceased, who desired to b-i buried with the simple forms of the Church, without any ostentation, without any eulo giuur It is not our intention at present to write a biographical sketch of this excellent t woman : we leave this to others more fami liar ftith her history; but we cannot cioso this brief notice without bearing testimony to her many virtues. She was a wwnaa. of strong mind, general information, and industrious habits. Above all, she was a Christian, and died in full hope of glorious immortality. Threo of her surviving chil dren aud one sistir were permitted to bo with her to eoothc her in her last bickucss. "Plow Deep to Find the Gold." The following song, savs the editor of the Ohio Cultivator, we remember to have seen in an English journal somo years since ; but it is well adapted to this country at the pres ent time : Plow deep to find the gold, my boys ! flow deep to lind the gold! The earth hath treasures in her breast lTnnieasured and untold. Clothe the mountain top with tree, The sides with waving grain ! Why bring over stormy ea W hat here wc may obtain. O, Britain need not bring her bread From countries new or old. Would she but give the ploughshare speed, And depth to find tho gold!. Earth is grateful to her sons. For all their care and toil ; Nothing yields such large returns As drained aud deepened soil. Sfience, lend thy kindly aid, Her riches to unfold ; Moved by the plow or mvod.bj ppade, Stir deep to find tho gold. Dig deep to find the gold, my boys ! Dig deep to find the gold ! The earth hath treasures in her brcat, Unmeasured nnd untold. A Child's Eloquence. We give tne rouuu ing ua uuu mi. it, Baker, of Texas : During a revival in a sweet lit tle girl, named Sarah, went home fall of what she had seen and heard. Sitting at table with the family, she asked her fath er, who had been to church, but was a very wicked man, whether lis ever prayed. He did not like the question, aud in a very angry manner, replied, 'It is your mother, or your aunt Sally, that put you up to that, my little girl.' 'No, papa,' said tho li'tlo creature, 'the preacher said, all good peo ple pray; and those who don't pray, ain't going to heaven. Pa, do you pay '(" This was more than her father could stand, and it a rongh way, ho said, 'Well, you and. your mother, and your aunt Sally, may go your way, and I will go mine.' 'Pa,' naid the liUle creature, with sweet simplicity, 'which way arc you going!" This ques tion pierced his heart. Jt flashed up n him that he was w is in the way to death. He started from bis chair, burst into tears, and immediately began to cry for mercy. Within a few days be was a happy convert and i believe will appear in hcav n as a star in his little daughter's crown of rejoi cing. Write Plainly.. The Iron llcgistcr repeals good ndvico to those who write for tho press, which has been given time and again ; w-a republish it, with a faint hpc that it may do somo good. Scribblers, pray have mercy on ua; Some people write a very beautiful hand so beautiful that you cannot read it ! Wo received a letter this week, of that char acter. The marks were faultlcs; tho curves and tho loops were graceful, but a 'PhUiV delphia lawyer' could not make out what it said ! Wc frequently see similar penmanships, and must say it is an unmitigated nuisance Why will not people write p'uioly those th it can ? Write with good ink ; and not make t and e alike, n and u, a and o, I and t, and so on ; and why writo cap ital I and J both like I? Dot your i's, cross your t's, bo very careful in making every letter of names of peftons, places and things ditirutly ; and if you are wri ting for the press, or auy paper of consid erable length, leave off all Jlourithe these are wearisome to the pri ter's flesh. A Word of Advice to Young Men. The Ohio Farmer in some sensi bio remarks on women's rights, has. ths following para graph : We would beg to suggest aaot'acr right which we think & woman is entitled to, ajid that is, to have something else beside flat tery and nonsense talked to her. We would venture to remark to our yung men, that a sensi Jc young lady is at least as sensible as a fool of a young man ; perkaps, in some cases, even more so. Don't think yourseh disagreeable, if your face is not always spoiled with a smirk, a moustache or a sim per. Tho laughing hyena is not the beau ideal of every young lady. Tako our ad vice, and venture to talk good sense, in good grammar, and with a natural voice and countenance, to the first young lady you meet; it is her right to bo addressed in this way, and it i your right and duty to do it o
North Carolina Christian Advocate (Greensboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 18, 1857, edition 1
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