North Carolina Newspapers

G H III S i A. 1 Cj. PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY A COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS FOR THE METHODIST EPI3 COPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. RUFUS T. HEFLIN, Editor. VOL. IV NO. 6. RALEIGH, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1 859. 6 1.50 a year, in advance. ORIGINAL For the X. C. Christian Advocate. ' Be nJ Faithless, Lui Bli''!vg." Juiix '20, '27. It is now presumable that most, if not vl the Ministers f our C .uference are on ,.,.-, r sever,-.! fields of labor,and have found these several fields differing wideh in re- sm-ct to cultivation. Much has been done .l much remains to he done. Tint which is cro-.Lu is to in! made straight, the rough smooth, the waste places reclaimed, and the fence is to be repaired ::ud kept in on! condition in order to secure the crop . -. i -iiit the Harvest. Some of the " goo-i seed" juav have taken a wrong direction d inu-t be brought to the line, some have yielded to pride.and much that is su perilous sh uld have the knife of excision applied, some have become cold, or sou red. and need to have " coals of fire" heaped upon their lu-ads and verv many sinners are to be brought into the fold of God. Are these several fields new? No. Have not. re peated efforts Wen made to save souls and to get the church properly alive to her in terest and responsibility long ago in our bounds".' Certainly . but what does mat v . .1 ... .nine Virive urfjue ; -ol mat ruwfi-iui , .. .. j ..... .l,. 5t n-less to nut forth While christians are found want' more. it:g, and sinners want finding, ami church rules to be made bir.di g theje is no gn at work to do. Let then the men of I hid, la boring f.r God and souls.have faith and he. not faithless. Their motto should be, be not faithl-ss. but Wiieving. Here it may be is the difficulty. If the heralds of the cress l,ave not faith, little will be done, and the great adversary in going about will find much prey to devour. But bro ther, let not this old destroyer roam at large in thy field. Others may hot have kept him out. but see to it that he is kept out. So much the more need to be vigi lant. ir he has been used to going where he ought riot. But others may have tried and failed., but must y u fail without try ing ? Sooner T.ct evel:ill(T l.hicl, to nin o cinr ' 1 Iiit more experienced ministers have labored on your Circuit or Station, and j notiiins great was acomplishcl in build- hm excellent menus of grace, from which ing up'the church and getting souls con- I gr,':it P 1 has result, d. and " that it has v.-rrei. Well, that may be7 But do I j a strictly scriptural bais for its support," understand that you are a young minister? h'li t!l:lt il is "t of direct "Divine appoint So much the beUer.it tuny be ; you are the j niont." In these numbers I think it will man for war. so v.-u do not fiirht for your : own glory. Old men are for counsel in mortal combats, but we want men who will fight not parley. Have faith in God ami fight your adversary, not as as one tha beatetii the air." uncertainly, Fight him at all hazards, at all times, under any and all circumstances, and on all sides, for he , , ,, , , . - i " goetii about. right him in town and , . . , , , 1 country, in doors and out, week day and I Sunday. Fight him away from the old, i and from the young. Fight him with spiritual weapons ti 1 he flees give no quarter fight him to he death. Without faith it will be impossible to please iod this year. Visit your people. Talk to them of Jesus and let sinr ers hear, Be dilligeiit and have faith. You may not know which will prosper. this or that. But plant, God will give the j increase. .N.nie ( linstian now, it may be. i needs encourag'-inent. Go and see him. j Some poor bac sliler needs warning see j to it. Some sinner needs io be pointed ; to the Saviour -to the cross. Go hold I him up to it, and it up to him till he sees aud hears the " God of glor die" tor him. Some dying christian ma-need your pray ers and instruction while still lingering on this side of Jordan. Can you forbear see- j ing them aud bidding them f reweil but not tor ever. l..etcve:y preacner tneti do liisdutv. The North Carolina Conference expects it-God demands it. X.,mt is the i w' re faithfu1' was 0I,e of tl,c Tlvinc di timeto begin to work or fight. D:awvour i Iron, which the unfaithful had "gone ..i,. ..!.,... i... 1- " o. ! away." s;iil the common fie. " and be not i'lithless ...... . i i ti l ! but believing ami before this year ends i O J I the shout of victory shall be heard from a thousand ba tie fields, ami though the " slain - f the Lord" be many, they will be fclain to be saved. J. Hillsboro' Jan 29. 1859. For the N. C. Christian Advocate. Poor Living. A Good Methodist minister at the West, ; who lived on a very small salary, was greatly troubled at one time to get his quarterly instalment. He had called on I bis steward a number of times, but had j each time lieen put off with some excuse. : His wants at length becoming urgent, he j went to his Steward aud told him that he j must have his mo iey, as his family were suffering for the necessaries of life. Money ;' replied the steward. 'You preach I for money ! I thought you preached for the i good of souls!" "Souls!" replied the j reward those who have feared me, and minister, 'I can't cat souls, and if I could, j "spake often one to another, shall ye re it would take a thousand such as yours to j turn and discern between the righteous make a decent meal.' (De Bow's Weekly j and the wicked, between him that serveth Press.) ! God and him that serveth not." From the Query ; Are there any such preacher whole it is clearly evident that the faithful fctarvin, nuiuiU'.-i. loving stewards iu the days of 3Xalu.chi frequently mtt for within the bounds of the X. C. Conference? I fear there are one, two, and even more, To all such, let the Advocate appeal. Let suffering humanity appeal. Let the command " The laborer is worthy of his liire" appeal. Let every principle which ! causes, the followers of the meek and love- . ly Jesus, to love their Savior, and to be grateful for the shedding of his precious j blood that they might live, appeal And ! Oh ! may these appeals be not in vain. -. . . . i hen the preacher turns trom the al- j luring calls of fiery ambition and takes up j the cross of his Master, he also becomes a ; laborer for the welfare of the people, whose spiritual interest is his care. j If this le true, is it not the reasonable de j mand of common justice that the people (for the welfare of whom the humble preacher sacrifices wordly honors, and the comforts of this life,) should support him and his family, and educate his children V If the preacher's children are to grow up ignorant and uncared for by the Church, great will be her loss, for these children if educated, will be valuable laborers also for the great cause of Christianity, and esj.ee- ially of our much loved Methodism. It was intended when this article was i cnmnneoil to ilii-oi-t riiilJii- !ifl;ntiori to . - - - - j - - ; the personal wants of our ministers, only, but, as you have doubtless noticed. I have also touched upon the importance of those great and noble moves which are now be ing made by the Methodist Church in the direction of Schools. Let the lay members aid tlie.se Schools and educate the Children of Ministers ; thus mav tiu v advauee the cause of Meth odism and of God. PHILANTHROPIST. SELL C T I O X S . A DIVINELY INSTITl'TF.n MEANS OF GRACE. The institution of elass-me-i ings. though highly esteemed and ably defended by our Church, lias not been assigned that high position as a means of er.-ieo. even by its greatest admirers and sinuiircst advocat-'s. wliich, in truth, it occupie: It is regard- "ri''"-'"" the a.tenttve reader i,.it only that i this institution occupies a scriptural basis. ! but that it is a divinely instituted means of i f-,,RL A divinely instituted means of race is a means of obtaining Divine grace, ! which God lias by express precept or plain i j implication prescribed in his word. Read- j ! imr the Holy Scriptures, henrinf th- word ! ! ......l 1 ..: a. iV . M . . " 1 1 l ! UVUVUCU, l'Il,oe, V, SOCUll, illlU liUri- ' 1 ' - 1 he prayer, the sacraments, and public wor- ' . , 1 ! j .oij;, tut' j'iimci appomieu means oi i grace, having been by express preceptor psalms, and hymns, sjiiritual songs, sing plain implication prescribed in the word of ing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." iod. In this sense it is assumed that the I class-meeting, or an assembling together ! words thus : "Let the doctrine of Christ i fold, the membership of the church of of the Church for the purpose of mutual I dwell richly among you; teaching and ad- j which Asbury was snpejiutendent. had in religious conversation, exhortation, and j oionishing each other iu all wisdom ; sing- creased two hundredfold an unparalleled encouragement, is a Divinely appointed ing with grace in your hearts unto the j increased, to be attributed only to the bles means of grace. Meetings of this kind j Lord, in psalms, hymns, and spiritual j sing of God upon the labors of a devoted were holdeti in the Phnr.di Wow tJ. rio.;. ! songs:" and savs : "The original nliso- ! band. who. with him for a leader, threaded t;.m ,iero...l(i,.,n ,PakiT1., )y , . a, ., .. , - . .. ' , ioj:iivi .'Jiiaei.l lo lilt! OaCKsllUOCn ailll ; faithful members of th- Church, sa-s to the former, (Mai. ili. 7:)"Kvcn from the days of vour fathers ye are gone awav from mine ordinances, and have not kept them ;" and j of the hitter, (verse I'd :) " They that fear ed the Lord spake often one to another." They that feared the Lord were faithful in that from which the unfaithful "had gone away." Hence it appears : 1. That this speaking-often one to anoth- j er, in which "they that feared the Lord" . That the ordinance had been in force " from the days of" their " fathers " else - .1 1 1 1 1 . 1 i. ... they could not have neglected it from that time. And, 3. That faithfulness in this as it alone is spoken of as characteristic of the faithful resulted from, led to, or included faithfulness in all the ordinances. The strong language in which God ex- presses his approbation of these persons and j this service, shows that, in speakin"- "often i one to another," they observed his ordi- ! nance, and that this ordinance was one of i great importance. He, well pleased with ! this mutual conversation, " hearkened and heard it," "and a book of remembrance Was written before him," that he might reward their faithfulness. Hence he said : They shall be mine in that day when I make up my jewels, and I will spare them is a man spareth his own sou that serveth : him." " Then," when I punish those who I have gone away from my ordinances, and the purpose of speaking "one to another," i that they did this in obedience to a Divine ! ordinance which had been in force "from j the days" of their fathers, and that these I meetings were held in the highest estima- j tion by Uim in obedience to whose ordi- nance they were observed. An ordinance 1 once established in the Church by Divine authority continues in force until it is re- ' pealed, but the ordinance observed by those "that feared the Lord'' in the days of i i i r -i ; -uaiacui, wuen mey spaive oueu one iu i another," and neglected by those who from j the days of their fathers had gone away j from God's ordinances, has not been re- peaieii, thcreiore it ts si a in Jarre. These meetings continued to be held in j the Church under the apostles, as will ap- i pear clearly from their epistles : 1. Certain duties are enjoined which ; suppose an intimacy of acquaintance among the members of the Church, which could : be obtained only in meetings of this kind, j "Bear ye one another's burdens." Gal. ! vi. '1. "Warn them that are unruly, ' comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak." 1 Thess. v. 14. "Rejoice with j them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Je of the same mind one to ! ward another." Rom. xii. 15. 16. They ! could not " bear one another's burdens," ; unless they knew each other's burdens. j They could not "comfort the feel le-niind- I'd" and " support the weak." without i knowing who were feeble-minded and who I were weak. They could not be of the ! some mind one toward another without j Wing acquainted each witli the mind of i others. This intimate knowledge of each , other, extending to the state of the mind ; and feelings of the heart, they could only j obtain by frequently meeting and speaking i to each other of their personal religious j experience. Christians may and often do I meet in the same congregation to tike part ! in public worship for years without becom- ; uin aeouaiiited. and thev miLrtit he niem- i i 1 1 ' hers of the same church, and meet in all j the social relations, ; w-rshin excel it. the and in every form of , " one unuer consnlera- : tion. to the end of life, without obtaining ; each that intimate acquaintance with every other member of the church, which is ab- j solutely necessary in order to a discharge j to sit on his horse and to proclaim the gos- of the duties here enjoined. As therefore i I"'1 "t Christ. It would b safe to esti ; duties were enjoined which (uld not be mate, that in addition to lis public labors, ! performed without this intimate knowledge : he made at least fifty thotisind pastoral vis : as they could not have this knowledge j its, and every moment of lis time not spent i without regular interchange of religious j in public duties and privau devotion and j feelings, and as the whole chun-h could i study, traveling and convocation, was oc- n,,t interchange religious feeling without meeting and speaking to each other, it follows conclusively that such meetings ! were held in the apostoliee age. I -- Duties are required which could not have been performed without meeting to- j nr.tlmi- f'nv t.L, c... vc . . ( T 1..-. -....1 iitim-i Mill iiik:. jjfi nil- oiu - . 1 .... . , ot Christ dwell m you richly in all wisdom; ,. i , ... , . "-' uminuii.-imi iw auoincrm Gol. iii. 1(5. Dr. Clarke arranges these lately requires this arrangement, and is ! ' " 1 ' ""uwai ii. tVIIUUIl OI1C j ' another with these words." 1 Thess. iv. ' 18. "Comfort yourselves together, and j i edify one another." 1 Thess. v. 11. ! " Exhort one another daily." Ilcb. iii. j 13 : i. e., regularly, as in Acts ii. 46 : ' They continued daily with one accord in I they required only food and raiment, the temple." " This supposses," says Dr. i and the barest support of their families Clarke, "a state of close church fellowship, j and Asbury was known once to sell some without which they could not have access j of his own wearing apparel, to obtain a lit to each other." " Confess jour faults one i e money to comfort one of his fellow to another, and pray one for another, that j preachers. ail . ye may be healed." Jas. v. 16. They How noble is this example ! Idleness is could not teach and admonish one another, ' wickedness inevitably and under all cir comfort one another with certain words, I cuinstances, a sin. God never made this l"1,uul 1 memseives togeiner, anu cany one another, exhort one another daily, and confess their faults one to another, without meeting for these purposes, nor could they ; perforin these duties daily or regularly without having regular meetings. The irresistible conclusion, therefore.is, that as in the days of Malachi, so in the apostolic Church, meetings were regularly held in which they taught, admonished, comforted, and exhorted one another, con- frssed their faults one to another, and Pra.ved ne for another, that they might be healed, connecting therewith " singing, with grace in their hearts, to the Lord, I psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs." W. II, Leijh. I'Oftiziii;;. The Rev. Dr. Plumer recently deliver- ed an address at the opening of a female seminary at Wheeling, Virginia, in which he made the subjoined among other sensi ble remavks. It deserves the considera tion of a very considerable portion of the poetizers whose effusions are forwarded to newspaper editors, especially the closing sentences. Turning to the Principal of the seminary, Dr. Plumer said : I hope, sir, you'll jiot teach poetry here. I mean what some people call the science of composing poetry. If it will come from some of these youths, let it come, but don't force it. I feel, about the writing of po. etry , something like the Methodist preacher who was giving a charge at a class-meet-in"' about some regulations. While in j the midst of his ch.-re. one old lady let ! slip a shout. Nov" savJ. .f brethren and j sisters, since the subject of shouting has j come up, I'll give you my views of the subject. .Never shout trom a sense ot duty. If you feel that you can't hold in, why, then shout, but not otherwise. I hope, then, that no one here will ever write po etry from a sense of duty. Poetry is de spicable unless it is first class. Poor po- i etry is about the meatiest of all mean tilings. -S tile Jjatin satirist nas saiu, " Neither gods n r men caa endure it." Traits of Bishop Asburj. Observe, first, his Jndi.etry. In one pl ace he gives us a reccd of his habits in these words : "Mv pnsent mode of j nJuct ;s as fojows;o nv !tboutahun- j ,Imj pa?es a dav . USU:,nv pray, in pub- lic five times a day: to preich in the open air every other day; ai.d t lecture in pray er meeting every evening. And if it were in my power I would do :i thousand times as much f r s-uch a gracious and b'essed Master. But in tlnj midst of all my little employments, I fee,' myself as nothing, and Christ to me is all i all." In the forty-fivcfyears cf his labor in America, he preach'd more than twenty thousand sermons, presided over more than two hundred Anuuil Conferences, and traveled about fourhundred thousand miles, principally wihou: a carriage, on horse back, over reals ftr tb. most part poor, from Canada to Gnorgii, and from the At lantic coast to the farthest settlements of the West. In industry and pers vcrr.nee he was ful- v 0lu:" lo " esu.v' :ui ' ! nonrl l.,r ilVfitl tlll nOtl( P:lll4 Siclv"- ' , i . i..- . i . i i ..i i . .... r" -- " l. ! r;s ad Pam conU not Ueter ill,n Ir0,n ! keeping bis r.rrpointnitfts and constantly ! making ne-v ones, so lot gas he had strength ! cupied in giving advice an i counsel to the I ministry under his chaite a ministry, which, when he commence! his actual su- perintendency by being appointed assistant, numbered only ten pers, but increased during his life to seven land red, besides. perhaps, more than to thousand local preachers. The membership when hecom menced, was only one thousand, but when he died, was more than two hundred thou sand. Thus while the population of the country had multiplied cfily about seven- valleys, c'imbed mountains and forded . tu ? th mi i-uuic, . i.-nm uiinv. great and the cottage of the poor, the thick- ly settled city and the secluded log -house of the pioneer, and holding up Jesus Christ as the Sa iour of all men that believe. - For this they asked no wealth nor luxury curious machine, the human body, to lie still, save only at proper intervals to allow the expended energies to rally, and the ex- bausted momentum to accumulate. God never made that still more wonderful struc ture, the human soul his own image to slumber in idiocy or to riot in dreams ; but curbed and trained, under the control of divine love, to survey his works, to appre ciate and admire his wisdom, in knowledge to sweep the infinite range of his dominion, ami in true holiness to reflect his glory. A thousand diverse pathways has he pre sented to his creatures, with a thousand di diverse occupations ; and each and all that are in earnest for bis g'ory, are encouraged by his smile and shall reap their reward. The idle man must be a fool, and is in great danger of being a knave. Who fur nish the recrui s for our grogshops and oth er places of dissipation, as the former wretched victims drop into a disgraceful grave ? The ranks of the idle. Thousauds of young men arc at this very hour reading a pathway that will lead them throngh shame on earth to misery beyond simply because they are idle. And if the effects of idleness are not as conspicuous in the other sex, they are equally ruinous. The idle offer themsfcl- ves a ready prey to destruction, and the ! prey is seized. Another trait in the character of Asbu ry, which demands admiration, is humility. By humility we do not mean a constitu tional diffidence which is no virtue, but i may be a defect, but if overcome bv de j termination as it may be, is nevertheless an ! advantage but that just and consequently luw estimation of his own character, which ! every truly wise and religious person will have Mr Wesley defined humility to be "a proper estimation of oiv s self. ' Haughtiness is a sure sign of littleness ; modesty a constant attendant of true great ness. The truly great can afford to be modest, and are so. He held himself above the petty strifes for office aud station, which disgrace many men even of excel lent ability, and which is positively bane ful to piety, and if general, would rui n the church. The young particularly have much to learn on the subject of ambition, if they would be truly wise and good. An am bition to be usful and even powerful is com mendable, provided that this be sought not as an end, but as a means of doing good and promoting the glory of God, and provided farther, that it does not take on the specific form of desiring any particular ofhee or any particu'ar reputation. Those who set themselves to attain a certain de sirable station generally become criminal ly ambitious and truly idolatrous, and are apt to become unscrupulous and selfish ; but those who determine to improve all their time ami ability properly, leaving it to Providence to assign them their places, are really wise and properly ambitious. This it is to do hatever your hands find to do with your might ; and rest assured, as you strenghen, more arduous duties will be imposed upon you. If, therefore, higher stations appear attractive, act well your present part, and you may yet attain them, but now and ever dismiss the higher stations from your min i it will be time enough to wear their glory when you are able to bear their burden. A political writer has said, " Teach not your children then to shun ambition, Xor quench the flame that must forev er burn. But in the days of infancy, their vision. To deeds of virtue and of glory turn." With a proper allowance we would not object to the counsel : but it would be well to bear in mind that the noblest patriots and the holiest dignitaries of the church have been men of industny and mod esty whose lienors came gradua ly and unexpectedly upon them. Zioiis Herat!. IcatSi of" a Or:ajil 5:msl'ter f Fioi:i 7IsicJona:I. i The Skye correspondent of the Iverson ! Courier, dating October 30, says: "An ! aged maiden lady, Miss Mary MacLeod, j died yesterday at the village of Stein, Wa ! ternish. She was the daughter of the late i Major Alexander MacLeod, by Anne, el ! I est daughter of Mrs. MacDonald, of Kings ; burv, better known by her maiden name. Flora MacDonald a name celebrated in history. Major MacLeod served some time iu America, at the period of the Revolution, as an officer in the Royalists corps ; and his wife shoowed the same spirit, in conveying intelligence to friends during that period of trouble and danger, having on one occasion narrowly escaped while card ing a message sewed up in a button on her dress. After the hos tilities had ceased, Major MacLeod and his family returned to the Island of Skye. They both died theie, and their only daugh ter, Miss M. continued to reside inside in the house at Stein until her death. She has long been iu infirm health, and had nearly reached the age of ninety. She had several brothers, three or four of whom died officers in the army, and all deceased before her. The lonely life of the old lady was relieved by her attention to the poor and distressed. The above announcement in one of our exchange papers induced us to call upon a friend who is probably more familiar with the history of Flora McDonald and her family than any other person in this coun try. He has furnished us tho following particulars ; Annie, the mother of the deceased, bore a striking resemblance to her mother Flora, Previous to the rising of the Scotch before the Battle of Moor's Creek, every precau tion and artifice were resorted to in order to elude the vigilant eyes of the Whigs. A favorite method adopted for bringing the young people together was giving Bails at various places in Cumberland and Moore. At these gathering schemes were canvassed and adopted w hich led to the arming of the Royalists aud their defeat in Xorth-Caroli-na. In the ball room Annie reigned supreme. An eye witness has informed me that she was the most graceful dancer he ever be held, and that he had walked thirty miles just to have her as his partner in the dance. Her beauty and accomplishments won the heart of Alexander McLeod, then of Glen dale on McLennon's Creek in Moore coun ty. (now the plantation of a family named Black.) He joined the Royalists in tie contest, subsequently attained distincsion in the European wars, and rose to the rank of Maior General in the British service. He died some years ago at Stein. The deceased. Miss Mary McLeod hav ing nearly attained the age of 00, must have been born at Glendate. Some of her j relatives are now living in our midst, among whom may be mentioned our towns men, James B. and Henry B. Ferguson. Tay. Otsefv r. From the New York Observer. Eighty Years AgOi Eight- years ago, a young girl just budding into womanhood sat on the banks of the Monongahela, some distance above i Breddock's Fields. She committed to memory' a fugitive piece of poetry called j " Pi ' ui tier's iJnaiH." A short time after j she was much engrossed with other thing, i and the lines she had committed wholly ! vanished from her memory. About sixty years ago, she came to her present homo, when the beautiful plateau now occupied by this town was mostly covered with a dense forest. She was long subjected to the toils and privations of frontier life. Xever during the lapse of nearly fourscore years had she thought of the " Preacher's Dreams," nor had she the least recollection of having committed it to memory. She has been totally blind for fourteen years. Last spring as she was thinking over the ja-t. the Words of the Preach' t's Dream all came back to her mind. She retains them as food for her soul, and repeated them to me a few days since with great fa cility, though she is now bordering on the age of a hundred years. You could not expect the poetry to bo very classic, as, I i presume it was a part of Western litera ; ture, about a century ago. But you will ' share in the gratification I felt in witnes ! sing so aged a person, and one not a pro J fessor of religion, repeating and delighting j in some of iL,- angelical seuiiments ex pressed. Asleep and suml eringas I lay. Alone upon my bed ; My visions were like dreams, They ran into my head. I thought, undoubtedly, The day of doom was come ; And Christ Himself was there, To judge both old and young. The trumpet sounded loud aud shrill, Saying "All souls draw near; Let your doom be good or ill." Then to the place we went ; Satan, too. was there I thought, With scroll both large and full ; All my bad life he brought, ,"o mercy for me there, My sins so great had grown. But Christ for me did intercede ; " What if his name be there, He shall be ever blest ; For if his name be writ Within the book of life, His soul with me shall rest.', Then Chrisf, Himself, did take the book, At once to end the strife ; And 1-af by leaf he did unfold, Till He found my name. In letters lined with gold. Then Satan angry was. Because He lost me quite, And said unto the Judge, " Your judgment is not right." " Oh Satan, you must know, That I for sinners died ; And bore them on the cross, By being crucified." Then Satan angry was. Because he lost his prey ; Exceeding was his wrath, As then he vanished away. Then waking out of sleep, As other sinners may, I bowed upon my knees, And thus began to pray : Th'it I might be i ejwrel, To nuet tha' gr. at ami dread fid day." II. G. C. StenbcmtUe, Ohio, Dec. 15, 1858. Tlic Confessional. The following well written passage by Dr. Wylie on The Papacy, is startling and effective : " There is no better school of wicked ness on earth. History testifies that for every offender whom the Confessional has reclaimed, it has hardened thousands, for one it may have saved it has destroyed millions. And what must have been tho state of that one mind the Confessor's into which is daily, poured the accumulated filth and vice of a neighborhood ? He cannot decline the dreadful office although he were willing. lie must be the depos itory of all the imagined and of all the ac ted wickedness around him. To him i' all gravitates as to its center. Every purpose of lust, every deed of vengeance, every piece of villiany flows thither, form ing a fresh contribution to the already fearful and fathomless mass of known wickedness within him. This black and loathy mass he carries about him He carries within hiin. His bosom is a very sepulchre of rottenness and stench a closet lock and key of villanous secrets. Wherever he is, alone or in society, or at the altar, he is chained to a corpse. The rank effluvia of its putresence accompanies him like an atmosphere. Miserable doom ! He cannot rid himself from the corruption that adheres to him. His efforts to fly from it are in vain. Which way I fly is hell myself am hell.' To his mind, we say, this maw of evil must be ever present, mingling with rll his feelings, polluting all his duties, and tainting at their very spring all his sym pathies. How ghastly and foul must .'oci cty appear to hi.- eye .' far to him nil its secret wickedness is naked ami pen. His fellowmen arc lepers foul and loath some, and he sniffs their horrid effluvia as he passes them. An angel could scarco discharge such an office without contami nation ; but it is altogether inconceivable how a man can discharge it and escape being a demon. The lake of Sodom, daily fed by the foul saline springs of the neigh bourhood, aud giving back these contribu tions in the shape of black and sulphurous exhalations which scathe and desolate afresh the surrounding region, i but a faint emblem of the action and re-action of the Confessional on society." iM':tm of I lie Drunkard's Wife. Sleep enme upon her like a poppy spell, and wafted her silent soul to sweeter w orlds. Faraway from her coll and solitary room, far away from hunger, wretchedness, nnd icars ; fa. away from the keen tortures of maternal sorrow and the despair of with ered love, her spirit wandered in that peaceful dream. From earth, a from a wilderness of ashes, her willing spirit went upon its upward flight, ascending ami as cending. It noared the blue ami -duning arch above, and clapjied its wings for j"v. and felt within it ihe renovated bliss of innocent and unchanging beauty. It felt the calming influence of Mf( music swel ling around it like sunlight Wales upon a summer sea ; it saw sweet ots and green peaceful valleys lying in the rosy light of heaven, as clouds at e vening lie foldi-d up in sleep. On and on her spirit went in calm and holy majesty, amid the shadowy beauty of that pleasant bind. It seemed to bathe in Miss amid bright galaxies of living and rejoicing worlds, and to embrace happiness as its long sought loon. Through flowery pastures, ami falling waters, per fumed gardens, nnd star-lighted -solitudes where the soul of music dwelt and lived amid the sweet echoes of her seraph songs, that mother's newborn soul wandered in its freedom, forgetting all the pangs and tears it had so lately known. Now it pas sed floating islands of glittering beauty where troops of cherubim were worshiping their God ; and from the midst of a ioft bed of twilight flowers arose an angel host of baltcs, soarii.g in their wantonness of joy to higher regions of the azure air, and sing ing their simple songs in harmony togeth er. From all the gleaming lights afar came dulcet harpings of angelic w ings, ami all things ir. that sweet dream-land of beau ty told of the joy which falls upon tho vir tuous soul. The spirit of the mother, daz zled and amazed till now, awoke from its trance of wonder, and cried aloud " My child, my child, and my husband, where, where are they?" and she sank upon a gleaming bed of purple blooms, and front Ihe odorous sighing of the lute-toned air the voice of her child came gladly in reply. And now a joyous troop of star light sor aphs sailed towards her, like a snowy cloud, and iu th midst she sees her darling babe, clapping its little hands in laughing glee, and overjoyed once more to meet her. Oh, what bliss is like the feeling of a mother, when her trusting heart is gladdened by the ruiuru of a child whom tho deemed was lost; and if such joy awake within the soul amid all the harsh realities of earth, how much more so in the spirit's homo, where nothing but the peaceful thought can live, and all earth's grief is banished ? It was her own babe, the bud of hope bhe nursed and tended in tho dark winter of her earthly sorrow, now wearing the same Mni e which gladdened her amid the gloom, but holier, fairer, and freed from all tho traces of want and suffering. The spirit of the mother and the babe embraced each other in the wild joy of this happy meeting, and the mother's spirit knelt before the heaTen-built temple of light which arched above, and offered the incense of its pray ers for him whose wickedness of heart bad steeped her earthly days in bitterness ; but who was yet to her the token of a youth ful hope, and the living memory of a trus ting love. Her earnest ppirit, in the gash of its awakened affection for the child of his bosom, called upon its God to hate mercy upon him, and to snatch his soul from the blackness of its guilt and the im pending terrors of destruction. And tho prayer weut upward, and the angel sung. Dr. E. II. Andre tt-s, of Charlotte, has an engraving of the Lord's Prayer and Ten Commandments, written in a space easily covered with a sixpence. The engraver is an American. Did we not flatter ourselves, the flattery of others could never hurt us. That's so.