VOL. Ill
OXFORD, N. C., WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 1877.
NO. 30.
SYMPATHY.
■\Vipo S'cntly off tliat crystal diop
That dims tlio widow’s eye,
Speak kindly to the fatherless,
And still the orphans’ cry;
lixtend to all thy friendship true,
Tliy sympathy .and love,
And thou wilt have a blessing from
The One who rules above.
Bring sunshine to the darkened path,
Upraise the droo])ing head,
And to the wretched suft’rer’s couch
Ib ing back the hopes long tied;
Assist and comfort every one,
By council, hand, and heart,
Be happy in the happiness
That you to them impart.
There’s none so poor in nature’s gifts.
But what something' (»u give
To banish want and misery
I’rom the haunts in which they live;
It may not be in shape of arms,
Of raiment, food and gold;
But Hympathy tve can’t refuse,
For ’tis a gift all hold.
—J. 11. Burns.
A KECOMMEIVUATH>!« TO NOB-
MAE SCHOOES.
soul of all progress. These
schools can not’ alford. to waste
precious time spent in the Nor
mal Section of our National As
sociation, in listening to dreary
essays on philosophical themes.
Let there be then, or some time,
a full deliberation as to how the
system can be saved from serious
injury.
Normal school men are too
timid for bold soldiers in this ed
ucational warfare. Either they
are right or wrong, and if the}" are
right the large majority of our
teachers arc ^Yrong, for but very
few know or care anything about
the methods taught in our best
professional schools. Gentlemen
of the normal schools, if you are
wise, you will make good use of
your summer vacation.—-National
Teachers’ Monthly.
A PALACE OF SILENCE.
Awav up on the hill that over
looks Naples, stands the Carthu
sian monastery of San Marsino.
The monks who once inhabited
the glorious palace—for it is noth
ing else—w'ere men of noble birth
and vast fortune. The church is
now one of the most magnificent
Italy. Agate,_ jasper, lapis
EDUCATION.
HELP ONE ANOTHEB
ANSWEB TO PBAYEB.
The winter of discontent and
trouble with normal schools has
passed aiid it should be followed
by a summer of very thorough
discussion and consultation.
AVhile w’e believe in schools for
the training of teachers, we also
believe they are far from perfect,
and wo think that the most com
inon sense course would be to
make them as nearly free from
objectionable features as possible.
They have been most thoroughly
warned, their open enemies are
not dead, and the present victory
thev have secured will only be a
means of their overthrow, unless
they take warning from the past
and prepare for the future.
1. Bogus normals should be
eliminated from their number.
They can not afford to carry a
buixlen of incompetence, merely
for a name. Not all so. called
normal schools are real normals.
Here is a distinction with a dif
ference. When a school, in re
ality an academy, for popularity
assumes the name and lacks the
normal elements, it should not be
permitted to sta'nd before the
people as a representative school
and thus burden all the rest.
AVeed out the quacks! The
sooner this is done the better it
will be for the cause.
2. There should bo some gen
eral understanding among all the
schools, in reference to what
should constitute a thorough pro
fessional course for the great mass
of our teachers. Now, their out
lines of study very widely differ.
This should not be.
3. There should be some ar
rangement by which a normal
school diploma should be respect
ed in all the States, in fact, ev-
eryw'here, by Boards of Educa
tion. It is now much against
normal schools' that many cities,
in states w'tiere they are estab
lished by state authority, do not
accept their graduates without an
examination. This hurts their
professional character in the eyes
of the people.
4. Normal school men should
better agree in reference to what
constitutes good teaching. _ Some
general underlying principles
should bo accepted by all and
carried out in all the schools,
each using its own special and
peculiai’ manner of doing so, its
work.
Consultation, and friendly but
honest discussion, is the very
In the town of AV., county of
AA^orcester, Alass., resided a wor
thy family. It is w'ell known
that the times of 1812 were ex
ceedingly hard, especially to those
of small means. The individual
I allude to was a whole-hearted
Alethodist, frequently walking
two and three miles to class meet-
infif, not regarding the weather.
but pressing her way through the
inconveniences of life, and always
trusting in the Lord. Having a
large family of children to sup
port, they often found their store
of the necessaries of life very
scanty. Notwithstanding t h e
pressure of the hard times she
trusted in the Lord like Elijah.
On one unusually severe occasion,
having nothing, and seeing no
prospect of relief, she was deter
mined to test prayer. Leaving
her little ones under her roof, and
making her way to a corn-field
close at hand, she knelt and fer
vently prayed. Returning to her
house, as she reached the door,
to her surprise she found a bag
of meal on the steps. It was not
till after many days that she
found the person that had been
prompted to make her this pres-
eirt just at that time. She was
thankful, and felt new confidence
in the religion that she had pro
fessed. After many years, when
a widow, she removed to Maine.
The Methodist Church in Port
land w'ill long remember her
prayers and her counsel.—Selected.
lazuli, amethyst, Egyptian gran
ite, and fossilwood, together wdth
marbles of every tint, are so
blended in mosaics that line the
whole edifice, and the carvings
are so rich and graceful that the
interiors of some of the chapels
seem like Eden bowers transfixed
by a miracle and frozen into
stone. And in this spot lived a
brotherhood who came from the
first circles of society, and buried
themselves in the gorgeous tomb,
for it was little else. The monks
took a vow of perpetual silence,
lived apart, ate apart, and met
only for the unsocial hours of
prayer, when each one was wrap
ped in his own meditation, and
no one uttered a syllable. Each
one of the little cells where they
slept had a small window or closet
communicating with one of the
corridors, and in this closet was
placed the frugal meal, which was
then taken from the cell and eaten
in solitude. Every quarter of an
hour a boll struck to remind the
listeners that they were so much
nearer their death. In the gar
den the railings are ornamented
with human skulls, and the only
sounds that used to disturb this
splendid solitude were the tread
of sandalled feet, the rustle of
long white robes, or the clang of
the bell that told them of their
solemn lives, in brief moments,
and yet might have seemed long
to them. The.se monks, like most
others in Italy, have been driven
from their retreat and all their
treasures confiscated by Victor
Emanuel.—Selected.
THE LDClt.
EABLY PKICES.
Abraham bought a piece of
land for a burying-plaoe. He
paid 400 shekels of silver. The
low'est sum at which a shekel is
estimated is about fifty-six cents.
This would make about $200 for
the burying place. In Solomon’s
time it is mentioned that the price
of a chariot from Egypt was 500
shekels of silver, (1 Kings x. 39.)
This would bffabout $250. The
price of a horse was 150 shekels,
or some $75. The best horses ol
that age were found in Egypt.
The Egyptians trained them well,
and they were capable of impor
tant services. King Solomon, in
a valuable chaTiot drawn by two
or four of these horses, made as
showy and as dignified an ap-
pearanee, perhaps, as any prin
cess has since.
A lock was shown to Gotthold
constructed of rings which were
severally inscribed with certain
letters, and could be turned
round until the letters represent
ed the name of Jesus. It was
only when the rings wore dispos
ed in this manner that the lock
could be opened. The inven
tion pleased him beyond meas^
lire, and he exclaimed : “0 that
I could put such a lock as this
upon my heart!” Our hearts are
already locked, no doubt, but
generally with «i lock of quite
another land. Many need only
to hear the words of Gain, Hon-
, Pleasure, Riches, Revenge,
and their heart opens in a mo
ment, whereas to the Saviour
and to his holy name it contin
ues shut. Hlay the Lord Jesus
engrave his name with his own
finger upon our hearts, that they
may remain closed to worldly
joy and woildly pleasure, self-
interest, fading honor, and low
revenge, and open only to Him.
He who
friendship,
kindness gathers love.—Basil.
sows
and
courtesy reaps
Ife who plants
The Raleigh Observer gives the
following outlines ol an Address
delivered at Kernersville by Rev.
J. A. Cuuninggim :
IXo stated tlrat there were 38.3,000
eliildren in North Carolina between
the age.s of .six and twenty years. Tlie
ap})ropriation which wa.s raised by
taxation, to keep up the Gominon-
school .system was inaderpmte. By
that mode, only about two inonths
tuition was secured to the child, and
only one in thirty of the childi-cn re
ceive educational advantage out side
the coniinon-scliool system.
Ho said education had a restraining
force, keeping man from •tiolations ot
law, both moral and civil; that the
proportion Df tiiose arrested for crime
in comi>ari,son witli the educated was
1 to 10 in the civilized world. He
took the ground that as a matter of
iinancial economy, it would be a sav
ing to every county in the State, ev
ery State in the Union, to levy taxes
and educate the children, as the tax
that was necessary to be raised to
support crime was far more than would
be necessary to educate tiie children,
and morally considered, it was vastly
of more importance, lor the evil inllu-
ciioe of those steeped in crime was
fearful, and this should awaken in ev
ery man and woman a deeper interest
for tlie edneation of the young. That
the Christian churches must wake ni>
to the responsibility resting upon
tliem in pusliing forward the interest.
lie said, that in the conversation
with a gentleman, the head of a fam
ily in North Carolina, the gentleman
said, “It was his duty to fit his chil
dren for the largest usefulness in the
world,” he therefore gave them good
edncalions as ho thouglit that was
the best thing he knew of to lit them
for usefulness, and so it does. '
lie said all teachers should bo reli-
ious ami the schools that do most for
tile moral and religions training of the
young demanded a higher claim upon
us, and the man or woman eilueated
in head only, and not in heart, is not
the kind of education the church needs,
but let both go together, so that to ac
complish this, the instructors of youth
should bo God fearing men and wo
men.
This little sentence should be
written on every heart and stamp
ed on every niomoiy. It should
be the golden rule practised not
only in every household, bat
throughout the world. By help
ing one another we not only re
move thorns from the pathway
and anxiety from tlie mind, but
wo feel a sense of pleasure in
our own hearts, knowing we are
doing a duty to a fellow-creature.
A helping hand, or an encourag
ing word, is no loss to us, ybt it
is a benefit to others. ATho has
not felt the power of this littlo
sentence? AVho has not needed
the encouragement and aid of a
kind friend? How soothing,
when perplexed with some task
that is mysterious and burden
some, to feel a gentle hand on
your shoulder, and to hear a kind
voice whispering, “Do you feel
discouraged? I see your trouble
—let me help you.” AA'^hat
strength is inspired, what hope
created, what sweet gratitude is
felt, and great difficulty is dis
solved as dew beneath the sun
shine. Yes, let us help one an
other by endeavoring to strength
en and encourage the weak and lif
ting the burdens of care from the
weary and oppressed, that life
may glide smoothly on, and tho
fount of bitterness yield sweet
waters; and he whose willing
hand is ever ready to aid us, will
reward our humble endeavors,
and every good deed will be as
bread cast upon tho waters, ' to
return after many days,” if not.
to us, to those we love.
A THOUGHT.
■\Vlicn tbc (lay dawns, and we arise
to find tlie sky clear and the bright
liours all before us, how loth wo are to
lie down upon our pillow again. There
arc so many thing'.s to do—such jilcas-
ant things’, some of them; our friends
are coming, or we arc going to visit
them; then there is a walk or a drive
or a little feast in prospect—it seems
so pleasant to bo awake. But when
the day has gone, and the night has
come again, we are generally ready for
it. 'VVe are, at best, tired with our
frolic or our pleasure. Ten to one, we
are disappointed in something; some
little unpleasant incident has marred
the brightest hour; some slieleton has
.taken Its scat at the feast, or peeped
out of a secret closet. It is so delight
ful to fling off' the finery it rejoiced us
to put on; to put out tho light and lie
down, courting slumber.
So, though in the heydey of life, we
dread that long quiet .sleep, no doubt
those who live to be old hail it as their
best'friend.’ The loves and hopes of
early life have ended in disiqipoint-
ment; their dear ones have left them
alone; the life that at first seemed so
sweet has changed to bitterness, and
all the sweetness is with death. Just
as we wearily climb the bedroom stairs
with our feet, so we will climb life’s last
steps. ’\’Ve have danced and toiled al
ternately: we are as tired of our joy as
of our sorrow", and we hail repose eter
nal, as wo hailed the repose of the
night when life was all before us
“JOHN SMITH.”
Disguised tlie name may some
times be, but it is the commonest
name tlirougliout all European
countries. It does sometimes ef
fect a spelling above the common,
and appears as Smyth, Smythe,
orDe Smythe. It arises in Eng
land assumes a Latin guise (from
ferrum), and becomes Ferrior and
Ferrars, one of the noble names
of England, associate also with a
tragedy not noble either in its
character or its consequences. lu
Germany we have the Schmit; in
Italy tho Fabri, Fabrica, or Fab-
broni; in France the Le Fabres
or Lefevres. Although most of
the European languages adhere
more closely to old northen
names, even in Latin we have
volumes in our library by Johan-
Smithus, and wo have seen
—Tho missionary from China,
whose lull name is Ten AVing
Tze AVay Shin Shua Slung Tze
AVav Shing Show Tan Tze AVay
Keii Ton Ye Che Poh Kow Shu
Yu Lee Yeh AVong Chin Foo has
The children ought to burn (in
effigy) the editor who sang :
I wish I were a sclioolmarm.
Among the schoolmarm’s band,
With a boy across iiiy knee.
And a ruler in my hand.
AVhen the Breton mariner puts
to sea, his prayer is. Keep me, my
God ! my boat is so small, and thy
ocean so wide!” Does not. this
been trying to convert the New beautiful prayer truly express the
Yorkers to the Chinese religion. 1 coiiditiou of each of us ?
in Italy Giovanni Smitti. Tho
Spaniard’s version of John Smith
is Juan Smithus-; the Dutchman
adopt it as Hans Schmidt; tho
French soften it into Jean Smeets;
tho Russians roughen it into Jou-
loff Smittowski. Among the Ice
landers he is Johno Smithson;
among tho Tuscaroras he is Som
Qu Smittia; in Poland, Ivan
Schmittiaveiski; among the AVelsh
we ai'e told they talk of Jihom
Schmidd ; in Mexico he is written
down as Joutlif’Smitri; amon the
classical ruins of Greece ho be
comes Ion Sinihton; in Turkey
he is almost lost sight of as Yoo
Seef.
It is as sport to a tixd to do
mischief: but a man of under
standing hath wisdom. ■ .