North Carolina Newspapers

PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY A COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS FOR THE NORTH CAROLINA CON FERENCE, M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH. RUFUS T. HEFLLN, Editor. IUL.KI.GIL f EUESDAY BIPTEHME H mt. H 0 a Year, i?i Advance t IS r r v l-vt-rv leaf i-verv the X. C. Christian Advocate. Soon I JIu.it Die- )f tii o forest that fills to the ;ound, nat is laaini' and And a: '.:nd;. the tr.iiisieii SOtitiU, Kemind mo that soon I mu.-t dip. ence of every sweet x.very ; roC20, lap; i;rh, l'-rv Viii.ur that darkens And e "i-y dear i Kemii:d me it wiiiir with its sad, fleet- ' v the cerulean sky. .incut that Hies swiftly by, that soon 1 must die could not pass over it on 'wheels. But we replied tbat we were young Ameri ca, and go over it we would, if we should have to take our vehicle to pieces and toat it over or round the places where the road was crone. Having left drooping jrs y w;tu her father, we employed a clever tellow, a Air. Hunter, an oia stager' well acquainted with the road, to jro with us, and Laving procured iOrae tools for working our way, if need wc set out a little after 7 o clock. A. M., with the determination to go through ere stopping. Go through we dulating country meets the eye, overj which luxuriant eorn and green grass ' wave. A rich farming, grazing country is this. Of Jonesboro' and the Valley of Va and the route via Lynchburg and Pe tersburg in my next. C. T. JONES. Evercttsrille, Aug. 29. ! did after hard toilinsr, reaching Jones Th. The AlKl iU'W Ml t decline he iiiir:i,t f the i bat suifuseth vhellower, uu at the day's dying about an hour after dark. The hour; ih. earth seeking drops of the patterin sliower, : :.;ir.J we that soon I must die. The beautiful snow, as it melts 'neatl: the Tii.: silvery streams tliat to oi l ocean run; An 1 the fast hiding heauis of the stars and the moon. K'jisin 1 me that soon I must die. The voie? of the past as it steals on mv 'J'iu close of tuoh day each month and each year: The marble, the mattock, the shroud :.u l the hier. li.-niiud me that soon I must aie. For the JST. C. Christian Advocate. Hail Road on the Sabbath A Nation al Sin. I l.e impressed in til Oh merciful hraven! May AV'ith the truth, that ere 1 my l.reast Shall weaiv in I eating and rest I That soou very soon J must die ! A. W. M. heart in seek its Jons: Original. boro' road I cannot describe it. Land glides in two places had taken away a part of it, in one place, not leaving space enough for a carriage to pass. Mr. II. said he could drive on the face or an inclined rock, close on the edge of the chasm, down which the road had tumbled. Well, he did, by whipping the horse on the lower side, a la j elm. j lie passed the danger by a hair's breath. We were not riding then. In j r, ! other places the road was washed away, gone; yes gone, leaving interminable beds of rocks, immense and little, of granite and quartz. For miles we wound our way over the right bank of , Toe river, a beautiful stream, clear al most as crystal, about fifty yards wide. ; Wo could see the bottom in 10 or 15 feet water Mr. II. informed us that . he had gigged fish, settled on the boi : torn by the rocks, at the depth of 12 or 15 feet. He, and a friend of his, he j assured us, teok 70 out of one hole, at Pagan Greece had her feast days, her sacred days, her days of joy and song, of sacrifice and worship to the Gods. Heathen Rome had her Sa turnalia ; her days of feast and na tional jubilation ; her days made sa cred by ostensible worship to the deities who protected her common wealth, or gave her arms success in war, or crowned her eagles wit't the glory of her hundred victories. The wild and warlike north men, the rude and reckless Scythian, had too, their days in which the altars of earth and stone smoked with the incense that went up in honor to Odim and Thor. F ranee, in her hours of blood and dark ness, where the rights of religion were violated with a reckless audacity, where the ordinance of the church was spurn ed by the heel of infidelity, when the law of God and man were alike tram pled under foot by the minions of war, even infidel France could not do with out her decades in which to hold her ence. Perhaps you will not regard it as a trespass upon your kindness, if I ask you to say to your readers that a supply of the work will be found at Goldsborough, during the approaching session of your Conference. I have recently closed a very inter esting meeting at Shepherd's, King and Queen circuit. It lasted ten days and was honored all the time with the cheering tokens of the presence of the Great Head of the church. Twenty four whites and two colored persons professed conversion,, and the church was greatly revived. Yours in Christ. JOHN B AYLE Y. Essex, Va., Sept. 14, 18j7. For tho N. C. Christiah Advocate. Educational Meeting. WiLKsnoao', N. C, Aug. 4th, 1857. Pursuant to previous npDO'Htaient, a large and respectable uuuiber' ci the citi zens oi Wilkes county assembled m tne Court House, on Tuesday, the 4th day of August, lho, to take into consideration the Educational interests of our county, and especially to form a County Educa tional Association, in aceordanje with tho plan proposed by the State Educational Association. On motion of Dr. A. A. Scroggs, Chair man of the Board Superimendants for Wilkes county, L. J. Becknel, Esq., was called to the chair ; and in acordance with a provision of the Constitution to be offered for adoption, all the members of the School Board of Superintendants, School Teach ers, Committee-men, Magistrates, and Min- one momma For the X. C. Christian Advocate. A trip to the Mountains. fishing spell. Think of that : rrirrinr fish in 15 feet water.and j tak'ng 70 at a time ! Nor were they minnows and little perch, but noble i horse and jacks. In one of its tributa- After a sojourn of several days, we ries, a large creek, running down from left Ashville with regret. We shall : the Roan Mountain, which loomed up never forget the beautiful and grand j to our right, he informed us that the scenery with which it is environed, and ' speckled trout abounded, and that he j the kind and bountiful hospitality with ; could carry us to a place where they which we were received and entertain- : would bite as fast as we could bait the ed. By the kind invitation of Bro. ; hook and take them off. Oh, how we Vance, who was going to New York to wanted to turn aside and spend a day purchase goods, we took a seat in his or two in the sport of taking in or pull private conveyance to Jonesboro,' ing out rather, and feasting upon this Tenn. We meandered along the French . best of fish. But old Time in her swift Broad, through splendid farms and by j winged charriot, said nay. What say fair fields of grass and clover, abound- ! you to making up a party next summer ing with fat cattle, for a few miles from j to go over and take a few of them ? Asheville ; thence turned to the right, ! At length, Ave crossed Baney River, taking the main road to Burnsville,the just at its mouth, a bold clear stream, County seat of Yancy. We passed in running down from the Black mountain, sight of the famous Reem's creek camp ; which we had left far behind us. The ground, at which, a session of the Hols-j two form Chucky river, clown which ton Conference was held a few years j our route lay for twenty miles, occa ao. A camp meeting to ta come uff :Uua)ij ;--.---;- , anrno. monntain ! there in two or three weeks, to stay j overhanging the water, would drive us and attend which we were earnestly so- away. This is the prettiest stream ofi joint stock company take the remain festival scenes and recreate the wasted isters of the Gospel, were iivited to come energies of her citizens. Nature, alike with reason, revolts at the idea of do ing any thing with a day of rest and repose. The bodies of man and beast need the hour of rest. The mind needs it. Above all the soul needs it. God has made the day of rest and given it to us to all men. He has made it to be a holy day that we might feel the sacredness of the obligation holding us to a faithful observance of it. As a people, we acknowledge the ob ligation of the holy sabbath, and yet we profane it openly, publicly. We virtually annul it by a legislative ac tion, implicit if not explicit. We ac complish more than infidel France to wards its actual annihilation. She repealed it by the action of her house of chambers sitting in public council for the nation, and went forth in a des perate consistency to plead it under the law of the national curse. We do what ? Our legislative bodies pass laws for the construction of rail forward and take seats as numbers elect of our County Association. Whereupon, a large and imposing delegation, representing almost every School District in the county, came forward and seated themselves. After the meeting was organized and the members seated, the Chairman of the Board Superintendents offered a few re marks explanatory of the object of the meeting, read a letter from llev. C. II. Wiley, State Supcrintendant, and at once proceeded to nominate permanent officers for the Association, the following being du ly elected, viz : Col. Peter Ellen, President, llez. Curtis, and M. A. Parks, Vice do., Alex. Chatham, llecordiug Secretary, Wm. 31. Barber, Corresponding do. After the election of the Board of Offi cers and the President had taken the chair, the Chairman Board Superintendants, af ter a few preparatory romarks, submitted the following preamble and Constitution, which after being read and explained, wa3 unanimously adopted, viz : vv e, the undersigned, in order to pro- licte J. i water, surely in the world; 70 or 80 Wcrk in our charge, and loved ones at ; yards wide, in some places 100, clear j home, whispered in our ears, no. This ; almost as the morning light, rolling at ! is a beautiful, rich, broken country. ; a rapid rate B roKen 1 T 1 over pebbly sanas ana 1 1 t m nite ana nedges oi roads, and other public works, the leg- ! mote the cause of Education, and especial- the people of Wilkes couns- by main tain- road is built, ti;e i in? a regular and frequent personal mter and then what ? I cuurse with each other, by concentrating seven davs in our energies anu euorts, a:ia by eliciting, err, l 1 -1 v- 11 11 iowianuer woaia exciaiui, ; uuumeis ui Olountainous !' and, after being jolted j quartz, making music to the silent lulls over interminable rocks, and carried j that wave their evergreens above us, as up and down hills at an angle of thirty j if grateful for the ceaseless stream. A i intie oeiow tne moutn oi i:aney river would i we crossed to the leit bank, down which we descended below the Emory Iron intolerable j Works. We crossed the Iron mountain of the low on this side of the river, some half mile 1 1 degrees, occasionally, or tuirtv-five porhars, fortv and forty-five, wish for the dull plains, the almost in terminable, and certainly sand-beds, and fair forests ing two thirds ; the trains start to run, They run six days no the week. The sabbath is thus annul led, repealed and annihilated just as actual;, by christianized America, by Methodist, Baptist, Episcopal, Presby terian North Carolina, as it was by in fidel France, in her darkest and most devilish days. Who will deny it, with the facts before his eye3. Who will say, when they see our trains rushing by our public depots, on a track built country. Well, every one to their own from it, the summit of which, forms the by the public monies, chartered and taste, as the old woman said, when she : dividing line between North Carolina j stocked by our legislature in public dive me the nure air, i ana xennessee. ror tnree miles we - ! 1 ,'11 , i . 1 iif.r t ho Iifvintitn Klin- wonr. lin m rhpv nnn hurhpr.Td :vr, mnrrrh v-i, niv- "I' n 7 Th kissed her cow , , i lime scenery ot the 'hill country. ne when we reached tne crest, we were second dav, early in the afternoon, we ' nearly 4000 feet above the level of the reached the residence of Col. McElroy, j ocean. Grand, sublime was the scene fatherin-lav.- of Bro. Vance, where : that broke upon the eye m every direc ts a few lours repose oi a pleasant nigut s tion. .Mountain alter mountain luted sleep wonderfully refreshed us. Col. j their granite brows, or bald peaks, or MeE. lives in a cottage in a narrow val-: evergreens wreathed above each other, lev, surrounded by low mountains j until some mighty one shut out the hi'du perhaps, you would call them. view by kissing the blue cf heaven. The pure cold air came down from them Just on the line dividing the two States, soon after niht-fall, which made us a dilapidated log hut showed that some ! , - , r- - i - i , ill.: i . i i I : l ! , j . i ii i . or a Jsovcmner nigni m naieigu. oucuau ouen uiipeneu wuu uie amuiuous thin The nner night m llcv. Mr. Wheeler, a Free-Will I motive of living in two States at once Baptist, had appointed a meeting to be i or perhaps by a had one. Blackberry holden at the Col's, that night. Of this j briers growing around it were stunted. vvp were very "lad : for we wanted to i and the berries were small, rrreen and c.-.a nr.--, ri-i- -:itinn .Yjithereci trom the iiard. Uesccnumcr on tne other s hills and gorges of the mountains, and to hear a. -native preacher. Quite a A respectable congregation came out on i. horse-back. clever looking set of folks. 1 he preach er of that church attended. The sermon was well meant, and affectionately de livered, but well it was a nondescript. A f-w Methodists were out : Col. E. and family are members of our church. The two churches divide the communi ty. Where is it that Methodists go not? Where is it that they do not share with every denomination in the glorious work of gathering souls into the fold of Christ V What valley or gorge or moun tain site or top, what plain or prairie vast, or sea shore nook, what river bot tom or swamp, hamlet or city full, where immortal souls dwell, where they have not gone and gathered trophies to the cross of Christ f Brighter must be the crowns cf the Wesleys and their sons in the rrospel when Christ shall UOliiO LO ide, we wound on the rock ribbed sides of the mountain, round the heads of deep gulches and ravines, one on tne verge id on foot ; a plain, hardy, I of precipices, down which it made the heau diazy to look and the bottom of our feet ache ! He who is ambitious to travel the roughest road this side of the Rocky mountains and who desires to see the wildest freaks of nature, and some of her grandest scenery, let him travel the road from Burnsville in Yan cy, to Jonesboro' down the Toe and Chucky rivers, over the Iron mountain and through the Greasy cove ! The land in places, along this route is very rich. The larger portion of it is too broken to be successfully tilled. The hardy sons of these regions, how ever, fell the mighty trees and till the sides of the mountains, where they are so steep that a lowlander would have to rest oft, simply walking up them. Why, one gentleman, when asked, how he planted his corn on the side of the mountain, replied, 'I shoot it in with a shot gun !' How do you till it ? 'I goes round about three miles, and comes over the top ad tie3 a rope around my waistc, fastens it to a tree and lets my self down and hoes it ! !' But GO, and 75, and 100 bushels of corn to the acre, and a yield of wheat, oats potatoes, &c, in proportion, amply repay them for their toil. There is not much wealth however, till we get within 12 or 15 miles of Jonesboro.' Hero the moun tains dwindle to hills, and a sharp un- :ht nuke up his jewels. no road irorii voi. .ueriiiuy a, t-i miles W t of Burnsvslle, to Jonesboro,' is thirty-four miles, and runs through the most broken, wild country.perhaps, that any road traverses in N. C, or Tcnn. 'The road was in desperate con dition from recent hard rains. Indeed on souio of the mountain sides, over hanging creeks and rivers, or deep orges, a part of the road wa3 gone, washed away, had bidden down into the depths b'.iuvr. We were told that we council for the State, that we do not as actually annull tho holy Sabbath of Jehovah as did infidel France? And yet we are a christian people, we go to church, we say prayers, we preach, we sing, we say that the Bible is the word God ; that Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, will not look upon sin, that He will utterly destroy that people and that kingdom that will not serve him. We mean what we say, and say what we mean, when we say that this is wrong, it ought not be. We, as a peo ple, must repent and do better. Our public leading men ought to set us the example in this matter. They ought to come out and say 'we can do with out this desecration of the holy Sab bath, we are resolved to do without it.' A little thought, a little reflection, is all that is necessary to convince any reasonable class of thinking men that it is decidedly and palpably wrong, and that it ought at once to be aban doned this Rail Road travel on the Sabbath- J. F. PEARSON. Ilillsboro', N. C. For the N. C. Christian Advocate. "Marriage as it is and as it Should Be." Bro. Heflin : It was very gratify ing to me, as the author of the book bearing the above title, to find that it suited your taste, and that you believ ed that it is 'destined to a wide circu lation and a permanent demand in the trade.' If you should prove to be a true prophet, in this case, one of the most ardent prayers of the author will be fully answered. It affords me pleas ure to state that thus far, the book has sold well, where it has been tried; and it has been very favorably noticed by the religious and the secular press. I have also received private letters from persons, previously unknown to me, expressing thankfulnesa for the benefits that they have derived frjpm reading the work one of them from a lady, a member of the Presbyterian Church, connected with one of the first families in Virginia. I regret, however, to find that but few copies of the book have thus far been circulated within the bounds of the North Carolina Confer, collecting and diffusing aaiong our fellow citizens, useful and important information concerning our Educational and Common School systems : Do hereby form ourselves into an organization to Le called the Edu cational Association of Wilkes county, M". C, and adopt the following Constitution, viz : Art. 1st. This association, in concert with others, shall stand connected with, and be auxiliary to, the Educational As sociation of the State of North Carolina. Art. 2nd. The officers of this Associa tion shall consist of a Presicent, two Vice Presidents, a Corresponding and Record ing Secretary ; each officer to be elected at the regular annual meetings of said associ ation and to serve one year, and until his successor is chosen. Art. 3rd. It shull i? Uty of the President to preside at the regular meet ings of the Association, to call extra meet ings of the Association, &c, &c. In his absence either of the Vice-Presidents may assume his powers and perform his duties. Art. 4th. The Corresponding Secretary shall conduct the correspondence of the Association. lie may also act as Treasu urer, making a yearly report, of his receipts and disbursements, and perform such other duties as are necessary. Art. 5th. The Ileeording Secretary shall keep a faithful record of the Consti tution, By-Laws and Proceedings of this Association ; shall preserve such papers or documents as may be committed to his care ; shall prepare and transcribe such pa pers or items as shall be deemed useful to publish in our public journals, and per form such other duties as his office de mands. Art. Gth. The Board of Superinten dents of our Common Schools, Teachers, Committee-men, Magistrates, and Minis ters of the Gospel, residents of the county, shall by virtue of these several officers, be entitled to become members of this Associ ation, and all other persons friends of Ed ucation and our Common Schools, who may wish to co operate with, may become mem bers by a vote of a majority of the mem bers present, at any regular meeting, and by signing this Constitution. Art. 7th. Ten regular members shall constitute a quorum to transact the busi ness of the Association. The Board of Su perintendents, of whom the Chairman shall be President, shall be an executive com mittee to select and prepare business for the Association at its regular mce ings. Art. 8. The regular annual meeting of this Association shall be on the 4th of Ju ly, (when not on the Sabbath,) in each and every year, at which meeting new offi cers will be elected. Public addresses, Lectures, kc, shall be prepared and deliv ered ; also, the Chairman of the Board of Superintendents for the county, shall pre sent a full report of his yearly operations, embodying facts iu regard to the condition, progress aud results of our Common School system in this county, with such other in telligence is he may deem proper for the occasion. Art. 9. This Association shall elect not less than three nor more than ten delegates to attend the regular yearly meetings of the j State Association ; and in order to ensure an honorable and prompt representation in that body, the members of this association pledge themselves to each other to contrib ute something towards defraying the ex penses of our delegates while in attendance upon the yearly meetings of the State As sociation, and also to aid in defraying the expenses of persons who may be called trom a distance to deliver addresses, Lec tures, &c, at our own annual meetings. Art. 10th. All meetings of this Associ ation shall be public, may be opened by prayer, by any minister of the gospel or otner suitable person. Art. 11th. This Association may pro vide a code or By-Laws, not inconsistent . 1 .1 n ..... wna tms constitution, and may alter or amend the Constitution at any meeting by a two-third vote of all the members present. The Chairman then offered a few re marks upon the subiectof having our Com mon Schools, regularly opened by reading a ehapter from the Holy Scripture, depre cated the inattention which had been giv en to this matter, and urged the elevation of the Bible to its proper position in our Common Schools ; and announced that to facilitate this project, arrangements had been made through the liberality and chris tian benevolence of the American Bible Society at N. Y., in conn ection with a small appropriation by the County Board, whereby a copy of the Bible and ten cop ies of the New Testament bad been dona ted to every School District in the county, and he invited the committees from every district to come forward and receive the Books and preserve them for the uses and purposes designed by the grant. The Chairman farther stated that he was making an effort among the Teachers to raise a "Teachers Circulating Library," advocated its claims and urged the co-operation of the association and all friends of Education in this enterprise. All the Teachers and a good many of their friends subscribed, and the prospect is encoura ging to raise a good Library. After a hasty discussion of some other matters of minor consideration, the Associ ation adjourned, to meet again at the call of the President. PETER ELLEN, Pres't. Alex. Chatham, Sec'y. The Standard, Register, and Spirit of the Age, Raleigh, are respectfully reques ted to copy. Note by C. H. Wiley, Sup. Common Schools. The above proceedings were held before the issuing of a circular from my office with suggestions as to the form of a Con stitution for District and County Educa do this; but the boys can make all right ! We are not to be understood as teach ing that our young men are to wholly eschew the higher doctrines and claims of Christianity ; what we mean is this; let the matter be first understood,before it is preached, cr before an effort is made to preach it. Length of Sermon. When any peo pie put themselves to. the trouble to go two, three, or four miles to preaching they should not be sent heme with a talk of fifteen or twenty minutes in length thirty or forty minutes will an swer very well. But rather than preach too long, and thereby weary the hear ers, let them return to their homes,say ing, the sermon was entirely too short. Whenever they say this, they want more ; but when the words, too long too tedious too tiresome, and fcuch like are heard, take care, there is death to religion at hand. Circumstances and occasions alter cases; but, by all means, uie young preacuer snouia cartiuily avoid the habit of preaching long ser mons. Let him make out his case, in due time, and be sure to quit when ho is done, if not a little before ! Manner of Preaehinq. Let long exordiums be avoided, borne men s in troductions are larger than their ser mons like a little house, with a very large piaza In delivering the divine message, let the preacher be perfectly natural m enunciation, natural in ges ticulation. The idea is this, let the theme, the state of heart, the language, the enunciation, the gesticulation and all, harmonize. A low, dry, insipid manner is equally injurious with an overstrained and re dundant effort find the medium. Let solemnity and earnestness mark the en tire service. Avoid carefully avoid every attempt t ridiculous wit, in the pulpit. God's message has to do with deathless souls, and its influence upon the hearer must tell upon his endless destiny. How carefully, then, should lightness, bombast, vanity, and such like, be avoided by the messenger of peace. Young brethren, let your preaching be such a3 you will not fear to meet before the judgment-seat, when all eyes shall be open, and all ears listening for the forthcoming sen tence. The scriptures should have a prominent place in the introduction to the sermon a portion before every ser mon, unless another discourse follow immediately; then let the reading of The Scoffer Sile.sed. nr rf.v. c. n. sre ugeon or i.oxno.v. tioual Associations. The friends of the j the Scripture lesson go before the first movement were in correspondence with me, and it is their desire to have their associa tion similar in character to that which may be formed. As they have embodied the Spirit of U3 y auiresuoua, I bavo bet thought it important for them to hold another meet ing to adopt the extract forme sent out. I would further add that an important Li brary movement has also been begun in Wilkes, and from reliable information I may predict that two hundred dollars will soon be raised to lay the foundation. It is for the benefit of Common School teach ers, on the plan several times recommend ed by me; and I sincerely hope that the energetic and successful action of the local school officers of Wilkes will be soon imi tated iu many other places. discourse Exhortation. Be sure, young men, to cultivate a talent for exhortation. Do not bind yourselves so closely to system and method as to lero no ruum for warm and forcible outgushings of heart in the form of exhortation. Do not despise orneglect system, in preach ing; but keep alive the re3 of exhorta- tion. Herald of Truth. . Four a Minute." Advice to Young Preachers. Read this very carefully, brethren we mean the young preachers of our Churcll. We shall furnish you sundries, for your consideration. Selection of Texts. Some young preachers, who are a little vain, in making a selection of a text, are almost sure to choose some very singular or mysterious passage one that it would take a Solomon or St. Paul to explain and enforce. The result is, they are crippled at the outset of the services; for the announcement of the text be trays to the audience a want of discre tion and christian prudence. If, in such a case, a young man has anything like preach in his discourse, the sermon and the text must disown relationship, lie sure, brethren tostcor clear of this rock, by se7ecting plain texts such as you can expound with some facility. Subjects. While it is desirable that the young preacher should select as his text a plain passage, it is also prudent that the subject of discussion,tobe found ded in or raised from the text, le suited to the audience, the occasion, the cir cumstance and the preacher his age, talent, and experience. How we have suffered under lame essays from the in experienced, in bungling efforts to con vince the world that the peculiartics of Methodism are Scriptural such as the possibility of falling from grace, and christian perfection. These should be studied by the strippling, he should strive to understand them,; but he should not attempt a set discourse upon them till he is pretty sure that he does understand them. Doctrines but poorly understood suffer greatly in the hands j of the mere novice. Hnce, we think our young men should mostly confine themselves to first principles, in preach ing, and leave the settling of grave questions to the wise and experienced. How apt our boys are to launch upon the turbulent waters of controversy! Baptism has to be set right by them ! the doctrinc3 of grace, of the highest mold and character, must be lucidly presented ! Others may have failed to Under this caption, the Michigan Christian Herald, a Baptist paper in the Northwest, criticizes the recent ceremony, performed by Re 7. J. M. C. Breaker, of Beaufort, South Carolina, of baptizing two hundred and twenty-three colored converts in one hour and three minutes, or at the rate of nearly " four a minute." We had noticed in some of our Bap tist exchanges, quite a chuckling over this exploit of the Beaufort Minister, as if it settled once for all the whole question respecting that we livo in a fast age an age of steam and electro-magnetic telegraphs we did not dare to pronounce the feat utterly im practicable. Wo protest, however, against the implication, that the Apos tles were guilty of the indecorum of such a precipitate, hurried admmistra tion of the solemn ordinance of the Gospel ; and in this we find ourselves supported by tho judgment of the Michigan Baptist Journal. Were the Apostles, too, " running against time?" Were they trying to show how many could be baptized, whether dipped or otherwise, in a minute : Another question we are tempted to ask If the converts on the occasion referred to had been whites instead of blacks, is it probable that they could have been despatched with the same speed " at the rate of nearly four a minute ?' Would intelligent, respect able whites have consented to be a par ty to this experimenting with them and a Gospel rite ! South. Pres. Clerical Celibacy. Our readers may remember the sin gular case of an Irish clergyman (the Rev. Mr. Beamish) marrying himself some two or three years ago, the va lidity of which was acknowledged by the Court before whom the question was brought. An apperl being taken, the decision has been lately affirmed by a majority of six to five judges. One of the minority, Judge Keog, a distinguished Romanist, in delivering his opinion, made the remarkable ad mission that "down to the seventh century, bishops and priests did marry, nor was celibacy strictly enjoined till the year 1076." He added, however, that " there was not a single case in which a priest had married himself without the intervention of another priest." Banner of the Cross. Let rne tell you a ,cry. I have told it before ; but it is c striking one, and sets out in a true liht how eruilj me will be brought, in' times of dan ger, to believe in a God of justice too, though they have denied him before. In the backwoods of Canada there resided a good mini.ster, who one even ing went out to meditate, as I.aac did, in the fields. He soon found himself on the borders of a forest, which he en tered, and walked along a track which had not been trodden before by hiui : musing, musing still, until at last the shadows of twilight gathered around him, and he began to think how ho should spend a night in the forest, llo trembled at the idea of remaining there, with the poor shelter of a tree into which he should bo compelled to climb. On a sudden he saw a light iu tho distance among the trees, and imagin ing that it might be frrra the window of some cottage where he coald find a hospitable retreat, he hastened to it, and to his surprise saw a space cleared, and trees laid down to make a plat form, and upon it a speaker address ing a multitude. lie thought to him self, " I have stumbled n a company of people who in this d.n-V forest have assembled to worship God, and some minister is preaching t. 'bem at this late hour of tho evening, concerning the kingdom of God and hia righteous ness ;" but to his surprise and horror, when he came nearer, .o found a young man declaiming against God, daring the Almighty to do his worst upon him, speaking terrible things in wrath against the justice of the Most High, and venturing most bold and aw ful assortions concerning his own dis belief in a future state. It was alto gether a singular sceno ; it was lighted up by pine knots, which cast a glare here and there, while the thiok dark ness in other places still reigned. The people were intent on listening to tho orator ; and when ho sat down, thun ders of applause were given to hira, each one seeming to emulate the other in his praise. Thought the minister, " I must not let this pass ; I must rise and spfak ; the honor of my Gud :ml his cause demands it." lie feared to spt-ak, for he knew not what to say, having come there suddenly ; but he would have ventured, had not something else oc curred. A man of mid -le age, hale and strong, arose, and ' .ning n hi staff, he said, " My fi lot. is, I have a word to Hpeuk to yon u igbt. I ain not about to refute any f iho argu ments of the orator ; I ' all nut criti cise his stylo ; I shall nothing c-m. corning what I believe ., Lt th'j 1 J.is phemies he uttered; but 7. sh.H suply relate to you a fact, and aft -r I iiavo done that, you shall draw your own conclusions. Yesterday I walked by the side of yon nvcr ; I saw on its floods a young man in a boat. Tho boat was unmanageable ; it wu going fast towards the rapids; he could not use the oars, and 1 saw that he was not capable of bringing the boat to tho shore. I saw that young man wring his hands in agony ; by and by ho gavo up tho attempt to stive his life, kneeled down, and cried with deporate earn estness, ' O God, savo my soul ! If my body cannot be saved, save my soul !' I heard him confess thr.t he had been a blasphemer; I heard him vow, that if his life were spared he would never be such again ; I heard him implore the mercy of heaven for Jesus Christ's sake,anal earnestly plead that he might be washed in bis blood. I These arms saved that young man from the flood ; I plunged in, brought the boat to shore, and saved his liff-. That young uan has just now addressed you, and cursed his Maker. What say you to this, sirs ?" The speaker sat down. You 12a j guess what a shudder ran through the young man himself, anil how tho audit ence in one moment changed their note3, and saw that after all, whilo it was a fine thing to brag and bravado against Almighty God on dry land, and when danger was distant, it was not quite so grand to think ill cf hiia when near to tho verge of tho grave. We believe there is enough conscience in every man to convince him that God must punish him for his sin, and that in every heart the word3 of Scripture will find an echo, ' If ho turn not, He will whet His sword." A well Governed Stats. Where spados grow Lright, and idle wordf grow dull ; Where jails are empty, and vrl.tra barn aro full ; Where church-paths are wiih frfquent feet outworn, Law cnurt-yardi vreody, wilent aid forlorn ; "Where doctors foot it and where fruier ride, Where are abounds andyoutii in multiplied; Wher these signs arc, thty dearly i'id!cute A happy people and well nov.'riied State. I.,n't Hack tuk.Uamies. It i wi-ly re marked that when '. .ibi' xr Ukon out ri limr in their little eart.. it n ttle tlifin cruelty to push tir o l,r.A cliild, like n jrrown p-rn rpnder a rido healthful, i mother, or nervant, as th not pw.-hed befor. IV' and baby carts, will ': sava tneir little om;! oia kwards. A irii t. in irdT to dra-rn hfbiiid the .in: muj be, and i i.jr vf bi' '' i-i, .a ft i and . ie. 17