VOL. III.
OXFORD, N. C., WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1877.
NO. 46.
OAXHElilXG SHIN'T.
By Adelaiuk Stout.
ilow stvange tliat even the sweet smell
Of licrli or ft'atlieved How(!r
Btciils o’er the senses, touching them
With such a subtle power
That all life’s morning' scene is new,
AVheie erst tlie i)lant or tlow’ret grew.
This morn the cool air floated in.
Sweet with the scent of mint;
AVc close our eyes, and in the loam
AVe see the soft, fresh print
Of tiny feet; how white they gleam.
Set in the black loam of the stream!
The tinkling stream flows on as cleiir
As when, with feet half wet,
On stones that seemed so far apart,
Our shrinking feet were set.
A ready hand is at our side.
And firmer feet to gently guide.
The mullein’s dust is on fair brows,
AVe laugh a sweet refrain
At inerrimeut of him who wears
On the sun-biown cheek the stain
Of golden ilust; he’s robbed the bee
Of iiollen, and right merrily,
The light gleams over cheek and brow,
And flashes in those eyes;
And now in those clear depths we see
Only the shadow lies;
AVo watch them often, and they seem
Sullen and dark as Winter stream.
AVe bringour gathered thyme and mint,
Kach brightest-colored stone.
And lay them in the lap of one
AVho scarcely deigns to Jow'n
The gifts that in our small hands were
I’rccious as it of gold or myrrh.
The tiny ‘ lady ’ takes onr gifts,
And queens it over all;
And still into her hands and lap
The best life holds doth fall.
The ‘ best ’ to her seems oft'ring meet
To lie unnoticed at her feet.
The hands that won from the stream’s
bed
Its shining stones of old
Are larger; in the streams of life
Tliey gather discs of gold;
But hearts thafbeat in eliildish play,
Have altered little since tliat day.
Tlic boy who waited at the stream
AVith sucli a tender skill.
To guide ‘ tlio little ones’ across,
Is just as helpful still;
At life’s deep ‘ ford ’ his feet are set,
Helping ‘ the children ’ over yet.
The eyes tliat watch for timid sonls
Arc calm as any lake,
AVliile j ust beneath,o’er slippery stones.
The foaiu-cappeil waters break.
God counts, and none but God alone,
The feet ‘ helped’ over each wot stone.
And those who ‘ gave’ and those who
‘ took ’
But typed in childish ])lay
The part tliat eaeli is acting out,
In busy life to-day;
Hslpful or selfisli. each I deem.
Gathered tioasure at “The Stream.”
Leslie's Sunday Mayaziiie.
“ALL MY SPKJRIGS AltE IN
THEE.”—Psalms Ixxxvii, 7.
Wlien Moses led tlie Israelites
up near the south bound of Ca
naan, tlie people were famishing
for water. The arid desert fur
nished no springs of water to sate
the thirst of man or beast. Little
children crying for water ! Water
is their great desideratum. Old
men and strong men are perish
ing with thirst, while the dry
earth and sand beneath their feet,
and the high towering red sand
stone rocks, afford but little pros
pect of fi.if immediate supply of
the much-needed water-springs;
and as the lowing herd and bleat
ing flocks are pressing on in pur
suit of water, murmurings are
heard in the camp. And God
told Moses and Aaron to go and
speak to the rock to furnish wa
ter ; but Moses smote the rook,
and an abundant supply of the
much needed pure cold water
gushed out of the rock, and all
may now drink of the spring and
eat of the manna which their great
leader supplies to all in that dry
barrbn waste.
Tlie God of the Israelites in the
desert was the God of David, and
lie is the God of tlie Christian
Church, and is leading his sacra
mental host through a spiritual
desert to a home of plenty, and
He feeds Ilis people with biead
from heaven, and of the Water of
Life He gives them to drink in
rich abundance. When the fam
ishing child of God cries uiiglitily
to God in faith the fountains be
gin to flow—yes, streams break
out in tlie desert for all who thirst
for the living God.
Dear friend, are j'ou a weary
traveler through to the New Jeru
salem ?—and have you not been
sorely tried and felt as though tlie
moral heavens were brass over
your head, and the earth hot iron
beneath your feet, but when you
called on God in faith He an
swered your prayer and encour
aged you to trust in Jesus as
your strong provider and sure
protector? Has your character
been assailed ?—or have you lost
a dear friend and one with whom
you took sweet council ?—have
3'ou suffered the loss of health or
property?—then look to Jesus,
whose ear is ever ready to hear
your prayer, and Ho will be in
you a well of water springing up
into everlasting life. Do you
hungei or thirst ?—He will give
you an abundant supply, for the
Rock that followed tlie Israelites
in the desert follows vou, and
all your springs are in Him. Do
you pant for the living God as
the heart panteth for the cooling
water brooks?—look to the Rook
smitten for v'ou, and drink of
your spring in Him. When, like
David, you feel W'eighed down
under temptations, and the world
is an arid desert before you, Amur
friends forsake you, and there is
nothing but darkness before you
—look up through the cloud by
faith in fervent prayer, and the
tlireateuing cloud will break in a
shower of mercy and comfort on
your head, and the waters of life
will gush up in your soul and be
come “a well of water springing
up unto everlasting life.” Weary
traveler, have jmu lost your way
in the desert, and lost your guide,
and know not where to go or
how to find relief I—turn to the
smitten Rock, and you shall again
plunge into the Fountain tliat
was opened in the house of Da
vid, and find your way by your
guide down in the valley where
flows the River of Life, and on
its banks grows the Tree of Life,
whose fruit will be your food, and
whose leaves will heal your heart-
wanderings, and under whose
shadow A’ou will find protection
from the storms of life.—A. Craw,
in Church Union.
A GBEEHL WEDDING.
“ I was fortunate enough to be
in Patras on the occasion of a
Greek wedding, which is an in
teresting and peculiar ceremony.
Weddings aniong.st the Greeks
are for the most part solemnized
in the evening and at home, and
from the nature of the rite must
be very trying to tlie persons
principally concerned. A small
table is placed in the centre of
the room, on one side of which
stands the bride and bridegroom,
each holding a long lighted can
dle ; on the opposite side the olli-
ciating priests. Dehiiul the former
the best man takes his place ; lie
has an important part to fill in
the ceremony, and is ranked as a
relation from the time of the mar
riage. The room is, of course,
brilliantly lighted, and the nu
merous guests throng as closely
as they can toward the centre in
order to gain the better view.
Many prayers are chanted by the
priests and assistants, uiiintelligi-
blo even to the ears of a classical
scholar, with the exception of the
often-repeated ‘ K^-rie eleison ’
which torms so prominent a part
in almost every Greek service.
There is very elaborate ritual—
the signing bride and bridegroom
on the forehead three times with
the ring, the blessing two wreaths
which are afterwards placed on
their heads by the best man, and
at the latter part of the rite, in
terchanged over and over again,
the drinking of wine three times
from the same cup, the kissing by
both of the office book and of the
priest’s hand, who has made them
one; and finally, the strongest
part of the ceremony, when the
clergy, closely followed by the
bride and bridegroom hand in
hand, the best man, and the near
est relations of (he newly-married
couple, make the tour of the table
three times. This is said to be a
relic of heathen days, while the
drinking of wine from the same
cup has continued from the Jews.
When the ceremony, which lasts
three-quarters of an hour, is over,
and the young couple have been
duly kissed and congratulated by
their assembled friends, the fes
tive part of the evening begins.
Servants appear on the scene,
carrying huge trays heaped with
bonbons, sugar plums, and arti
ficial fruit of different sorts.
These are presented to the guests,
who are expected to help them
selves liberally and to take to
their friends at home as muoli as
they care to carry. Cooling
drinks of various kinds are also
brought in never-ending supply ;
and the evening ends, sometimes
with a ball, sometimes with the
departure of bride and bridegroom
for their own home.”—Standard.
WSIAX SOME WIVES BO.
“A man,” says Rousseau, “is
only what a wonjan makes him.”
This remark may be exaggerated,
but that it contains enough of
truth to give it vitality is attested
by the biographies of great men.
The wife of the late Dr. Biickland,
the geologist, used to write from
his dictations for hours at a time.
She furnished many of the draw
ings with which his works are il
lustrated, and skillful}' and dex-
trously mended many of the fos
sils. “For forty years,” wrote
Carlyle on the tombstone of his
wife, “she was the true and lov
ing helpmate of her husband, and
by act and word unweariedly
forwarded him, as none else could,
in all of worthy that he ever did
or attempted.” The author of
the “Song of the Shirt,” Thomas
Hood, thus wrote to his wife: “I
never was anything, dearest, till
I knew you; and I have been a
better, liappier, and more pros
perous man ever since. Whatev
er may befall me, the wife of my
bosom will have the acknowl
edgement of her teiulci'iiess,
worth, and excellence, from iny
pen.” A writer in Cassell’s Mag
azine thus describes the aid given
to her husband b}’ tlie wife of the
great Scotcli philosopher:
“The wife of Sir William Ham
ilton, Professor of Logic in the
University of Edinburgh, was a
true helper to her husband; in
deed, it is more than probable
that, without her, many of his
best works would never have
been written. When he was
elected to the professorship some
of his opponents declared public
ly that he would never be able
to fulfill the duties of liis position,
as he was nothing but a dreamer.
He and his wife heard of this, and
determined to prove it was not
true. They therefore, arranged to
work together. Sir William wrote
out roughly, each day, the lect
ure that was to be given the next
morning, and as he wrote, his
wife copied it out; and again and
again they sat up writing till far
into the night. When Sir William
was struck down with paralysis,
the result of overwork. Lady
Hamilton devoted herself entire
ly to him—wrote for him, read
for him, and saved him in every
way.”—Church Union.
WDNBESiFUL DEXTERITY OF
A GOAT.
Dr. Clarke relates that when he
was traveling from Jerusalem to
Bethlehem, his party fell in with
an Arab who had a goat, which
he led about the country for ex
hibition. He had taught this an
imal, while he accompanied its
movements with a song, to mount
upon little cylindrical blocks of
wood, placed successively one
above the other, and in shape re
sembling the dice-boxes of a
backgammon table. In this man
ner the goat stood first upon the
top of one cylinder, then upon
the top of two, and afterward of
three, four, five, and six, until it
remained balanced upon the top
of them all, elevated several feet
from the ground, and with its
four feet collected on a single
point, without throwing down tlie
disjointed fabric upon which it
stood. Dr. Clarke adds that this
feat is very ancient. It is also
noticed by Sandys. Nothing can
show more strikingly the tena
cious footing possessed by this
quadruped upon the jutting points
and crags of rocks ; and the cir
cumstance of its ability to remain
thus poised may render this ex
hibition less surprising. It is
seen frequently in mountainous
countries, standing securely,
though with scarcely any place
for its feet, upon the sides and by
the brink of the most tremendous
precipices. The diameter of the
upper cylinder upon which its
feet ultimately remained until the
Arab had ended his duty, was
only two inches, and the length
of each cylinder was six inches.
The most curious part of the per
formance occurred afterward ; for
the Arab, to convince Dr. Clarke’s
party of the goat’s attention to
Ilis tune, interrupted the da capo.
As often as he did this the goat
tottered, appeared uneasy, and
upon his master becoming sud
denly silent in the middle of the
song, fell to the ground,—Frank
Leslie's Sunday Mayazine.
WOI£a.I>L!NES.S.
From the beginning until now,
“ All that is ill the world, the lust
of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not
of the Father, but is of tlie world.”
Therefore the Divine coimiiaiid is
given: “Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the
world.” And tlien we have a
reason for this requisition : “ If
any man love the world, the love
of the Father is not in him." But
Christians live in the world, are
surrounded by its influences and
are consequently liable to be
overtaken by it, and to become
more or less subject to its power.
It woi'ks quietly and almost im
perceptibly upon individuals and
churches, so that it accomplishes
its purposes before its victims are
conscious of its presence. Its
progress and effects are well illus
trated in the following paragraph,
which we find in one of our ex
changes :
“ In Brazil there grows a com
mon plant, which the forest-
dwellers call ‘murderer.’ The
slender stem creeps at first along
the ground, but no sooner does it
meet a vigorous tree than, with
clinging grasp, it cleaves to it,
and as it climbs, at short intervals,
keeps sending out arm-like ten
di'ils, that embrace the tree. As
the ‘murderer’ ascends, these
ligatures grow larger and clasp
tighter. Up, up it climbs, a hun
dred feet, nay, two hundred if
need be, until the loftiest spire is
piiued and fettered. Then, as if
in triumph, the parasite (murdei-
er) shoots a huge flovverv head
above the strangled summit, and
thence from the dead tree’s crown
scatters its seeds to do again the
work of death. Even thus world
liness has strangled more churches
than ever persecution broke.”—
PresTjyterian Banner.
THE WAY THE DUTCH DO.
The Department of State has
received a report from our minis
ter at the Hague, in which it is
shown, as an illustration of the
carefulness and steadiness of the
Dutch, that there has not been a
bank failure in Holland in forty
years, and that tiie paper moneA''
in the banks during tliat time ha's
been equal to gold. There is no
such thing as the failure of a fire
insurance company in Holland,
and while the rate cf insurance
does not exceed one half of one
per cent, the companies are flour
ishing. First class railroad fare
is only one cent per mile, and yet
the roads pay good dividends.
Pilfering officials are rarely hoard
of. No free passes are granted.
Dishonesty of any kind or failure
in business means public dishon
or. Foiir millions of people live
within 20,0(i0 square miles, and
all appear happy and contented..
The secret of their prosperit-'-
that all live within their Anoomo
and stick to industry nnd hones-
‘y-
What’s the reason tlie people
of this country cannot return to
this happy and reasonable style
of living.—JV. a Breslytorian.
vho
per*
A blind mendicant, wJ
aiiibulates New York streets,
wears this inscription about hi^
neck: “Don’t be ashamed
only a penny. I can’t see.’
to give