1
MIL mtTfJn
VOLUME III.
OXFORD, N. C., WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 1877.
NUMBER 1.
From the Church Union.
THE OF SAB.ETATli>l\
ASO H2i\i\EKPAUTIE»lN TilSE
EAST.
BY L. S. MUR.'
(Son of the Governor of B'
In the East tiie
circled by religion ."..eius. VVe
see this in the siuipi ' meeting nf
two persons, in the street. They
co'ivev^in a form ot prayer—
an earnest wish that the other
mav ■ enjoy peace. Throughout
the Bible, this ^blessing forms the
staple of salutation. Salem or
Shalum means peace. The Bedo
uins of our time have the same
idea embodied in their salutation.
The Arab meets his friend witii
" May God grant you a happy
morning;’’ “ May God grant you
Ilia favors;” “It God wills it,
}'Oii are well ;” “ Mat’ your shad
ow never be less.’’ The difference
here is very considerable,*accatrd
ing to the rank of person saluted.
The most common mode is
merely laying the right hand on
the bosom, and a little inclining
their bodies; but, when to a
person of great lank, they bow
almost to the ground and kiss the
hem of Ids garmetif. Inferiors,
out ot deference and respect, kiss
tlie feet and knees, or the gar
nients of their superiors.
Oriental dinner comprises
about thirty dishes. Soon after
the first dish comes lamb, roasted
on the spit, which must never be
wanting at any Turkish or Arab
banquet, ’rhen follow' dishes ot
solid and liquid, sour and sw'eet.
in the order of which a certain
kind of recurring chatige is ob
served, to keep tlie apitetite alive.
'I’he piliau of boiled rice is always
the concluding dish.
The externals to such a feast
as this are these : A great rotind
plate of matal with a plain edge,
witii three feet in diameter, is
placed on a low frame, and serves
as a tatde, about which live or
six people can repose on rugs.
The left hand must remain invis
ible ; it would bo improper to
expose it while eating. The right
hand is alone permitted to be
active. There are no plates, or
knives, or forks. 1 he table is
decked with dishes, deep and
slniilow, covored and uncovereil;
tnese are continu.iiU' being chang
ed, so that little can be eaten
from each. Some remain longer
—as roast meat, cold ‘milks, and
gherkins, and are often recurred
to. Before and after dinner they
wash their iiands. An attendant
lave kneels W'lth a metal basin
liand and a piece of soap
on a iitlle saucer in the other.
Water is poured by him over the
hands of the washer from a metal
jug; over his arm hangs an ele
gantly' embroiJred napkin for
drying the hands upon. If a
Turkish or Arab Slieikb, Effendi,
or Emeer, invites, he always
MAX't’HKW AKIVOi.l>>l!i
TAtAG.
I am not about to say anything
of this fascinating Eiigiish writer
and his theory wiiicii has not
been said already, and better said
than 1 can say it. Ills jiapers
aie en- ypim ‘(Julture and Anarchy’liave
been widely read in America.
The great beauty of his pure
Englisti, and the masterful way
ill which he handles his subject
have won liim many admirers
amongst u.s. 1 don’t see how any
one WHO thoughtfully reads his
writing's can think of him, as
many of his fellow-countrymen
appear to do, as an impractical
dreamer in ids theorv of reform.
But much as Mr. Arnold’s works
delight me, I am constantly sun
slide of one vital error in the then
ry of “ Culture ” which he
preaches, and preaches with such
beautiful power. M^’ apology for
writing iUese few words must be
my conviction tliat, amongst
many of the most intelligent peo
ple—the leaders of thouglit
amongst us—this theory of his,
with this one great mistake in it,
IS gaining growing acceptance.
And it has a plausibility almut it
—this tlieorv of culture—which
renders it most easy to fail to see
the mistake; and, this accepted,
no words can tell the mischief
that may be wrought. So every
word, hnwevei imperfectly spok
en, woich serves to make the vital
error of the theory clear, has
S'tdicient apology for its being
person becomes graceful aiid at-
tiactive down in the little sphere
of h.is daily life, not by laboring
for grace and attractiveness as
ends sufficient in themselves, but
by setting other ends and higher
befor iii.il, and laboring for them
—bv trying to be kind, and
helpful atid gracious of heart. So
a man attains this thing tliat has
such powerful winning in it for
our author’s mind, and for all our
mind.s, ccmoleteness and round
ness of fully developed character
and life—not bv thinking of that,
and setting that, as it were, in the
eye of all his life, but by losing
sight of that as a chief aim. and
aiming at pleasing God, and con
forming liimsell to God’s will
instead.
If religions people, as Mr.
Arnold alleges, do not verify tliis
bv tiiuir lives, if Oiiristiaiis iu
general do not exhibit, as the
fruit of their religion, such growth
ami eimohling of character, such
ever-increasing ap|)roach towards
perfectness, tlie answer is that
this is tlieir fault, not the fault of
tlieir faith. The only sure basis
of perfect character—the only
root out of whicli the “sweetness
and light” our author labors foi
ls acceptance of that
■’I'
or
in one
sends a servant to call you at the
This servant often
proper time.
repeats the very formula men-1
tioned in Luke xvi 17, ‘Tetuddulu
el asha haden—Come, for the
supper is ready.”
The fact that this custom is
mainly confined to the ^ wealthy
and to the nobility is in strict
anreement with tbe parable.
O
“ It is a great evil, not to be
able to bear an evil.”—Bion.
iMr. An.'fdd holds that the pri iie
dut\‘ of'm'an—the “ mie thing
rfbedf d” for him—is self perfect
ing—an harmimious developnieiif
of his nature upon all its .sides,
lie concedes to religion a place
ill hislory—the place ot develop
ing to its perfection tlie moral side
of man’s nature. But that, lie
says, is not the vviiole of man ;
he has other sides besides this
iiioial side, whicii must get their
perfecting in other ways; tiie
man who is only religious is a
narrow man, incomplete, one
sided, is not rightly ctuiceiving
the higli end for wliich his life
was given him, is not doing his
first duty. In a word, religion is
a mean.' to an -aid, in this t'neory.
Self-culture—the attain.neiit of
self-perfectiies, is the end; being
a child of God, a (Jhrisiian, is one
of the means iielpfui to that end.
Presented as Mr. Arnold pre.sents
it, tiiis doctrine has a marvellous
fascination about it for many
minds. It sounds plausibly. It
has a look of innocence, and a
g.irb ol goodly attractions. But
there is a place of vital weakness
ill it. “ He can not serve God
and Mammon ;” and Mammon is
self, whatever the role in whicli
that self mav array itself, or by
what name it may call itself—
even thougii it take so seemly a
name as seif perfecting, or ‘sweet
ness and ligiit,’ iu the phrase our
author hives to use. ’I’lie truth
would seem to be that this attrac
tive thing—-a rouudetl ami perfect
human character and human lite,
—mav only be had, like manv
another comely' and beautiful
tiling that oar hearts wish for, by
ceasing altogether to think of it
or seek it as our chief end, and
by lending our endeavors to an
other end higher than that, A
can come-
chief aim—tliat “one thing need
ful,” which religion [iroposes to
man. Here, it appears very' con
viiiciiigiy to me, is the weak place
ill the tlieorv of Mi‘. Arnold, and
of tlie followers with him of the
tlieorv of culture. Because I be
lieve that manv are growing to
tliink of life and the phiios.iphv
of living mucii as Mr. Ariioid's
woi'ks teach the matter, I have
ventured these few words on the
subject. As lie puts it, the imilter
states ilself to me only as Culture
versus Ueligioii ; and God, I be
lieve, lias planned the true pbil-
osopliv of life for us all.—AT. •
rjIE ttl riJ.AL. Oi’ I'SJK TEMPEE.
that day had be to takeoff and
put oti bis eight articles of ponti-
flcial dress, and on each occasion
behind a curtain put up for the
purpose between liimandthe peo
ple, be plunged into the great
swimming bath or pool, whicii if
he was old or infirm, was heated
for him. ife the.i put on all his
gilded garments—goat’s hair gilt—
to penetrate into innermost saiict-
uarv and sprinkle the blood, like
holy water, round tbe pavement
eight times, checking his move
ment, like the officer who laid on
stripes on an offender, by num
bering them. Wlien he came up
lie was thrice to utter the bene
d ction, when all wore hushed in
ileup stillness to catch the awful
Name—which then only in eacli
year of an Israelite’s life could bo
iieanl—pronounced iu lhatsienee
so distinctly that, in the exagger
ated Rabbinical traditions, its
sound was believed to reach as
far as Jericho. * * * *
The ceremony of the scapegoat
still continued, though it had a;l
the appearance of a terrified ritual
in its last stage of decadence. The
creature vvas conveyed from the
Temple to Olivet on a laised
bridge to avoid the jeers of the
irreverent pilgrims of Alexandria
—-who used to pluck the poor
animal’s long flakes of hair with
tbe rude cry of “Get along and
away with you !” Then lie was
liamled on from keeper to keeper
bv short stages over hill and
valley. At each hut where he
rested an obsequious guide said
to him, “Here is your food, here
is your drink ” The last in this
strange succession led him to a
precioice above the fortress ot
Hok, ami hurried him down, and
the signal was sent back to Jer
usalem that the deed was accom
plished by the waving of hand
kerchiefs all along the rocky road.
— Dean Stanley’s Lectures on the
History of the Jewish Church.
KEEP iS rUAIUllX AtiEAD.
Pay no attention to slanderers
and gossip-mongers. Keen straight
on in your course and let their
back-biting die the death of neg
lect. What is the use of Iving
awake nights brooding over the
remark of some false friend, that
runs throiigli your brain like
lightning I What is the use of
getting into a worry and fret over
gossip that has been set afloat to
your disadvantage by some med
dlesome busy' body who has more
time than character! The things
cannot possibly' injure yon, un
less indeed you take notice of
them, and in combating them
give them standing and character;
If what is said about you is true,
set yourself right; if it is false,
let it go for what it will fetch. If
a bee sting y-ou, would y'on go to
the hive to .destroy it ? Would
not a thousand come upon y’ou I
It is wisdom to say little respect
ing the injuries y'ou have receiv
ed. We are generallv losers ui
the end it we stop to refute all
the hackhitiiig and gossiping we
may' hear by the way. They are
aniioyiiig, it is true, hut not dan
gerous, so long as we do not stop
to expostulate and scold. Our
characters are formed and siis-
tidiied bv ourselves, by' our own
actions and purposes, and tiot by
others. Let us always hear in
mind that “calumniators may
usually be trusted to time and the
slow hilt steady justice of public
opinion.”—Selected.
Everv nioriung hetore the break
ot day the captain or chief otiicer
of the remple guard opened the
(liHir of the court, wliere the priest
111 residence for tlie week had
slept lor the night, and the pro
cession olteii passed round the
court in white robes and bare feet
Ml kill the iiiorniiig sacrifice. As
the first rays of tiie rising sun
struck upon the gcddeii lamp
above the porcli, the trumpets
sounded; and those ot the priests
who had drawn the lot entered
tiie temple for the ofl'eriiig of
incense. That was the moment,
ifaiiv, for any preternatural visita
tion to the priest. Then they
came out, and having slain the
lamb Oh tiie altar, they pronounc
ed tlie benediction, tlie only relic
of tiie .sacerdotal office which has
coiitinueJ in the Jewish Churcii
to our own time. On greater days
tiie soleiiiuities were increased, but
the general plan vvas the same,
and It was tins worship, with its
sacrificial shambles and its minute
meclianisiii, that furnished the
chief material for the theological
discussions and ecclesias'iical reg
ulation ot the Jewish (Jluirch of
that period. Tile High Priest
was still to be kept from f.diing
asleep on the eve ot toe great fast,
by pinching him and by reading
to him what were thought the
most exciting parts of the Bible.
Eive times over in the course of
Not long since a graduate from
one of our eastern theological
schools was called to the pastoral
charge of a churCh in the extreme
Southwest. When about to start
for his new parish he was unex-
P' clediv detained by the iiicapa
bilitv of his Presbytery to ordain
him. In order to explain his
non-arrival at the oppointed time,
he sent the following telegram to
the deacons of the church :
‘Presbytery' lacked a quorum to
ordain.’ In the course of its
jonrnev tbe message got strangely
metamorphosed, and reached the
a.-itonished deacons in this shape :
‘Presbytery tacked a worm on
to Adam !’ The sober church
officers were greatly discomposed
and mystified, but alter grave
consnltation concluded it was the
minister’s facetious way' of an-
iiomiciiig that he had got married,
and accordingly proceeded to
provide lodgings for two instead
of-one.—Chicago Inter- Ocean.
A beggar posted himself at the
door of tlie Chancery court, ind
kept say ing,” A penny', please, sir!
Only one penny, sir, before you
go in !” “And, why, my man ?”
inquired an old country gentle
man. “Because, sir, the chances
are y'OU will not have one when
you get out.”
It is said—with what truth we
know not—that tlie change of
style which has been noticed in
George Eliot’s later works is duo
to certain literary jiartnership
with her husband, Mr. Lewes.
His thoughts are said to be dis
cernible in Middlemarch, and even
more than tliouglus in Daniel
Deronda. H-nvever this may ho,
Daniel Deronda a hook every
body wants to read.
Conversation between an in
qiiiring stranger and a steamboat
pilot: ‘That is Black Mountain V
‘Yes, sir ; highest mountain above
Lake Georgo.’ ‘Any story of le
gend connected with that moun
tain f Lots of ’em. 'I'vvo lovers
went up that mountain once and
never came back again.’ ‘Indeed
—why : what became of them ?’
‘Went down on the o'ther side.’
The Rev. Mr. Emerson, of
Gloucester, Mass., recently said :
“ My friends, lias the age of mir
acles returned I I do not know
that they turn water into wine,
but they do say that there are
those who can turn water into
milk ! How happens it, friends,
that herring caught on the coast
of Maine become “Labrador her
ring” on touching the h-ands of
some Glouce.ster dealers? How
does it happen, too, that Bank
codfish, worth five dollars a
quintal, become transformed—
changed in the twinkling of an
eve—to George’s fish, worth fifty
cents more ? Gan any one here
tell me how these wonderful
transformations take place ?”
Talleyrand once complained
that the English had thirty-nine
religious and only one sauce,
which evoked the retort from a
witty Englisl man, -“And tlie
French have thirty-nine sauces
-and no religion. ”
Jd