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For the Christian Advocate.
THE CRAXD TABLEAU.
BY E. L. TEKKISS.
There's going to ba a grand tableau boys.
And the scenes will com off by and by;
It will not be made of mere trinkets and toys.
But so grand as to dazzle each eye.
You will not act alone in this great sight Ikj ,
For the girls have their part In the scene.
And they too will share in yonr sorrows and Jots,
And he honored as they may demean.
All the actors that coma to the stage then boys.
Will be millions in each rank and file;
The scene will excite In us eorrews and joys.
As the judge gives a frown or a smile.
We will all have to act in that scene my boys;
Place and time is not lully made known;
But set your drew ready, the mister employs.
The best clad in best scenes to be shown.
And the dress in which you appear there my boys,
Is a mfv.tr of deepest concern;
It will not be of fringes, and.triuketa.Jand toys.
But the virtuous lessous you learn.
Thvn Iks sore tin' you learn your part well my boys.
And the girls must b dressed nice and clean;
Let yonr virtues outshine your most gaudy toys;
Vice will make you look ragged and mean.
At the close of the scene the Judge then my boys,
Will announce his rewards to the best.
'Twill be crowns of pure gold outshining your toys;
Bat to death he will sentence the rest.
Let us all go to work prepare for the day.
When the somons shall call us to meet;
Let us throw all onr ragged vices away,
And he clothed as our Judge we would greet
For the Christian Advocate.
A FEW REMARK'S OS PREACH
ING. There is probably no subject con
nected with the ministry upon which
have been expended so much nnadul
trated nonsense and 'bosh as that of
preaching. If perfect preachers could
be manufactured just as a Yankee can
manufacture clocks and farming im
plements, then the world would be
filled with Robert Halls and George
"Whitefields. If treatises upon Homi-
letics and Pastoral Theology could
tarn out masters of rich, idiomatic
English, men of true taste and refine
ment, logicians who could rival Hain
Ifton and Mill in their chosen arena,
- "and extemporizers of the most admira
ble sermons, sermons
-'Though deep, yet cl.ar, though gentle yet not dull;
etroug without rage, without overflowing, full,"
, then every land would be a 6cone of
perpetual eloquence, and bearers
would be charmed all the year round
with intellectual displays a3 remarka
ble for brilliancy as vigor. Job said
that in the making of many books
there is no end, and surely, in the
making of books that are to improve
preaching talents then is scarcely any
end. Every few months some one
mast give the religious world a volume
upon preachers and preaching. The
fact is the subject has long since been
worn thread-bare, and the true value
of any new work on Homiletics, if the
original suggestions are alone consid
ered, is simply nothing. J ut I only
wished to say a word upon one point
connected with preaching the read
tug of sermons. I verily believe that
there is more senseless prejudice in
dulged just here than upon any other
subject connected with Christianity.
Not only do writers of celebrity berate
tlie reader of sermons, but every tenth
rate theological bush-whacker, who is
Utterly incapable of writing any thing
worth reading, wno is as innocent 01
ny knowledge of grammatical con
struction as he i3 of the color of
Adam's hair, whose so-called sermons
nave so utile connection witn me text,
that if the latter had the small-pox
fthera would never be anv daneer of
the sermon taking it, must have 'his
say,' and hold up the great excellence
of extempore speech and the utter
barrenness and futility of the written
discourse. If you are influenced by
nch unthinking GiatriDes yon wiu
oonclude that Jonathan Edwards, and
Dr. Chalmers, and Dr. John Mason,
of New York, and Dr. Hanks and a
hundred other able and eloquent
ministers who invariably read their
sermons, were men of no pulpits pow
er whatever, whilst illiterate pulpit
bangers and hortatory roarers and
bellowers were models of condensed
lorce and finished eloquence. At this
Tery time, both in this country and in
Great Britain, many of the foremost
preachers are men of the manuscript,
and are exerting as great an influence
for good as any of those ministers who
really extemporize, and who 'draw out
the thread of their verbosity finer than
the staple of their argument.'
Tne other day, I saw a passage in
the Advocate quoted from Dr. Guthrie,
in which the poor reader of sermons
was speedily 'done for.' I have read
nearly every thing that Dr. Guthrie
has written, and am somewhat an ad
mirer cf 'his perspira ional rhetoric.'
Ia fact, I have sometimes wondered
at his ability to spin out so melliflaous
ly his attenuated thoughts. He evi
dently has great art in beating the
gold of his discourses into very thin
CHRISTIAN
REV. J. B. BOBBITT, EDITOR AND
VOL. VI. NO. 16.
layers If he does this in his written,
printed productions, what may we
expect from him when he undertakes
to talk without the restraints of pre
vious excogitation and writing. Dr.
Parker, of London, in Ad Clerum, also
takes a tilt at the unfortunate reader
of sermons. The other day an Eng
lish critic took a tilt at some of his
published sermons. 1 venture the
opinion that the man who could write
and published such a work as Ad
Clerum would preach in a sensational,
rambling, verbose style.
If people would only use a littla
commonsense about preaching, there
would not be so much absurd criti
cism. Some men write admirably who
really cannot extemporize. Some
men can speak well enough for practi
cal purpo es who can not write. Let
each minister use in the best way
possible the gifts he is endowed wit!'.
Let him try all the modes of preaching
writing in full, using full notes or
brief notes, speaking without notes,
or indeed in any and every way, and
tnen let him adopt that way which is
found to be after due trial besi suited
to his peculiar gifts. If he is able to
readily command appropriate lan
guage after he has carefully thought
upon his subject, then let him speak
without notes. Thus gifted he will
need no crutches, as lawyers have in
tneir briets and evidence. xut per
contra, if he hesitate and stumble if
he find it painfully difficult to express
thoughts previously conceived and
arranged, then by a'l means let him
use the manuscript, or, (mark you,)
let him do as some distinguished
divines 'I wot of have done, write
carefully and commit, and then as if
by the sudden inspiration of taletit.no
previous long study and laborious ap
plication having been gone through
with, let him in an animated style
speak MEMOEiTEB. He will get credit
with the unanitiated that his utteran
ces are spontaneous, that his bril
liancy and fluency were elicited at the
moment of tbeir display, that his elo
quence gushed forth ex re nala. Some
fine reputations for extempore power
have been made in this way. I have
aforetime heard some remarkably
good sercaons after this sort, and have
been forced to srnilo when I heard
some unsophisticated youth after
wards remark that the preacher was
marvellously fluent his facility of ex
pression and thought quite sur
passing anything he had ever heard.
The fact was, the preacher had only
delivered a six weeks impromptu, or,
had only repeated fur the one hundred
and thirty-ninth time a sermon, every
turn of which, both as to language
and thought, he was as familiar with
as he was with the old spring path
at the home of his child-hood. Let
every minister preach as well as he
possibly can. and in the way tha is
especially adapted to his peculiar
mental organism and training, and he
has, like Mary blessed of our Saviour,
'done what he could.' Let him disre
gard blind prejudices whether in min
ister or layman, and trusting in God
for blessings to attend the Word
whenever or however spoken, let him
gird up the loins of his faith and go
on in the way of usefulness rejoicing.
Indulge me a little farther. Be
cause great orators like Pitt, Erskine,
Fox, Plunkett, Henry, Prentiss, Web
ster and Clay could 'command listen
ing senates' as they uttered their
great thoughts and burning words
upon he spur of the moment, it is no
reason why all men who are not 'great
orators' should make such hazardous
attempts. It may be true that
Demosthenes 'f ulmin'd o'er Greece' in
language that was prompted by the
occasion, but it is equally true that
few men are gifted with that ready
and appropriate utterance that en
ables them to express the best thoughts
in the best manner. Why should a
man of ordinary statue try to wear
the armor of a Richard of the Lion
Heart, or to wield his ponderous battle-axe
? It were much better to wear
his own clothes and to use discreetly
and wisely those weapons which na
ture and study furnish, than to essay
to wield weapons that were fabricated
for other hands.
What I have written may possibly
shock the prejudices of some persons,
but this would not be regretted if it
should help them to a broader, more
catholic judgment. I can hardly ex
pect those, who for a life time have
heard the unceasing clamor against
written 3ermons, to give up easily or
willingly their old cherished no
tions. Catullus told us long, long ago,
that it was indeed difficult for a person
to relinguish at once a confirmed pas
eion difficile est longum subito deponere
amorem. And bo ail iaen have found
it. Bat generous training enlarges
not only the capabilitic-s.but improves
the tastes, liberalizes the views, and
refines the judgment. A man by
proper education can rise superior to
passions or prejudices. As I take it,
that man only can be paid to have a
proper judgment on tha characte for
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF
sermonizing who looks not so much to
the manner of deliery,as to the matter
of the discourse. If ha is edified and
strengthened, why should he be par tic u
lar whether the minister reads or
speaks off-hand. However much a man
may be electrified by 'noble, sublime,
goodlike action,' as Webster hath it;
however much he may be captivated by
the outward look and gesture, or by
the 'costly ornaments and studied
contrivances of speech,' be will also,
if he be a man of taste and sagacity,
regard well the character of the thoughts
with which the speaker is charged.
If a man is truly possessed by his sub
ject; if he feels daeply he will speak
with force and animation. I have
heard Dr. Chapin in New York, with
his manuscript before him, sweep over
the heart strings of a congregation,
evoking by the touch such responsive
nofes as he pleased. He was in earn
est passion filled his soul and found
expression in voice and acion as well
as language, and yet every word was
xcritlen. But enough you say.
T. B. Kixobburv.
Oxford N. C, Mar. 28, 1S72.
For the Christian Advocate.
'Walk about Zion, and go round about her:
tell the towers thereof."
"Beautiful for situation, the joy of
the whole earth, is Mount Zion."
When the kings assembled, and
marched in procession by it, and look
ed at it, they marvelled. Its gran
deur must have beau glorious. Na
ture had made Mount Zion strong,
art had covered it with magnificence,
and the manifestations of the glory of
God had made it glorious beyond all
other places on earth. AH of its sur
roundings were upon the same scale
of magnificent proportions. B i 1 that
which more than all things besides,
stamps it with immortality, is the fact
that it was selected by Almighty God
as the location of the visible manifes
tations of His presence, and His glory.
It was this that made His Church so
powerful in Egypt, in the wilderness,
among the nations through which it
passed from the bondage land to
Canaan. It was that which made it
so successful on the day of Pentacost.
The manifestation of the presence of
God in organized associations makes
the Church. A long row of hands
reaching from St. Peter to the present
day cannot make a church, unless
those hands are sanctified by the Holy
Ghost, and God's presence is in the
hearts of the organization. The tow
ers of Zion were magnificent, and most
excellent for protection against an ap
proaching enemy, bat there never has
been a material protection equal to
that of the pillar of cloud by day, and
a pillar of fire by night.. With ali his
chariots of war, ani men in battle ar
ray, Pharaoh would not rush his thick
bucklers upon that boss of the Most
High. Take the presence of God from
the Church, and its aspect would be
fitly represented by Samson shorn of
his locks, and asleep upon the hope of
the treacherous Delilah. The towers
about Zion are the Churches. These
all spring from the Jewish Church,
when she expired, because, she by the
grace of God, had served the purpose
of God and with her all of her sacri
fices went out of existence, and gave
place to the New, the perfected Chris
tian Church. Christ is its Lead and
chief corner stone. The Holy Ghost
is the operator, the manager, the vital
power in the Church, because it is
God.
The towers, in which i3 seen to
blaze the Holy Spirit, are many. The
external or niaterialbrm of the tower
Church is of no particular advan
tage, save so far as the Holy Spirit
gives it its vitality.
It is not by might, nor by power,
physically, that the Church secures
her success, but by the Spirit of the
Living God. While, in ordination, or
in baptism, or in any manner of con
secration, or sanctifying, there is no
form of words that will of themselves
compel the Holy Spirit to attend the
act; there are forms of words that
would keep off his presence. No c ott
ly temple service will make the
Shekinah burn no walls of rocks,
nor towers of iron can secure us from
his presence.
What is called the Methodist Epis
copal Church, South, is a most mag
nificent tower of Mount Zion. And
by blending all the Methodist Towers,
or Churches, there is presented an ar
ray of beautiful strength seen no
where else upon the face of the whole
earth. Her light has been shed upon
every land, and ia shining upon every
nation. Her cry is not, 'The ark, the
ark of the Lord are we;' but her eyes
of faith are fixed upon Jesus and the
rosurrection, with her vigorous arm
stretched out and her finger pointing
to the conquoriug Cross, she exclaim,
'Behold, ihe way to God, and walk
therein.' Hei ministers go before,
and her members shouting, 'We cornel
we come !'
There is the spiritual force that is
turning the world right side up. There
is force that is keeping off the tiger of
PUBLISHER.
RALEIGH, N. 0., WEDNESDAY, APRIL
despair, an 1 blowing up the light of !
hope; that is keeping off the wolf of
poverty, and making maDy rich ; that
is the power that diives away despon
dency, and sheds the cheerful light of
joy in the heart. Ignorance, super
sti:ion, idolatry, witch-craft, and infi
delity rise like mists, or fogs and are
driven away, and like the great seen
in the heavens, it shines without a
dimr.ing veil. When Methodism
plants her standard, and throws out,
with her energetic arm, the blood
stained banner of Cross, infidelity
hides its hideous nakedness. There
need be no anti infidel sermons preach
ed, because every Methodist sermon is
a telling anti-infidel work that breaks
in pieces the clay forms of infidelity;
and every prayer that goes from a
heart sanctified by the Holy Ghost,
and all aglow with faith, and love is a
mighty battery playing upon every
opposing element of Christianity, and
every sinner feels and knows that
there is a heart power at work that
breaks his heart.
Ern Van Guy.
Look Out.
For the Christian Advocate.
OUR IRISH CORRESPONDENT.
It is not likely that there will be
war between England and the United
States over the Alabama difficulty
even although it be not amicably set
tled jast yet. Neither country could
afford to plunge into such a calamitous
issue.
The Qaeen and nation held a
thanksgiving service at St. Paul's
London. It was a grand sight. A
nation returning thanks to God for
sparing its future King. Prayer was
heard and answered. Will the life
thus lengthened be employed it useful
ly or wasted as heretofore ? The day af
ter the thanksgiving service, a young
man ran to the Queen's carriage and
presented a pistol and a document to
her majesty. The next day the papers
contained sensational paragraphs
about the attempted assasination of the
Queen. The pistol was not loaded,
and if it had been, it is not certain that
the lad could have discharged it.
It was an absurdly foolish act. The
boy wished the Fenian prisoners re
leased, and he thought he could com
pel the Queen to sign a paper to that
effect. Of course he failed, and will re
ceive a good whipping for his folly.
The act had no politcal significance.
The Queen is beloved by,all her sub
jects. Republicanism will never be
popular in England.
Cardinal Cullen has just issued a
pastor jI. It is a characteristic docu
ment. Denounces national education
and demands a denominational system.
Popery is alike the world over intoler
ant, and intense and uncompromising
in its hatre of truth.
It is not intended 1 1 at the dogma
of Papal infallibility shall be a dead
letter.
The Ultramontane party, who, with
such determination, forced it upon the
acceptance of the whole Roman Cath
olic world, do not regard their work
as complete now that they have added
another artcle of faith to the long
catalogue with which the consciences
of the faithful are burdened. Their
purpose is to employ tne dogma as a
means of giving force and weight to
the denial of all modern liberties con
tained in the Syllabus. Armed with
this weapon, they are entering upon
a crusade whose object is to rescue
the Holy Land of Europe from the
hands of Protestant infidels, and to
obtain unfettered dominion over the
conscience of men.
The boldness of the enterprise
astounds us, but 'Nothing venture,
nothing win,' is doubtless their motto.
Nor will they be very scrupulous as
to the allies whose aid they seek, or
the means by which they strive to com
pass their ends. Already we see them
fraternising in Prussia with socialists,
whose atheism is of the most decided
character. The partisans of the In
ternationale in that country being
discontented with the high-handed
proceedings of Prince Bismarck, it is
convenient to make common cause
with them now that the Government
is doing its utmost to check the usur-
( pations of the Church of Borne. Thus
across the Rhine may be Been the edi
fying spectacle of a Holy (1) alliance
between the Internationale on the one
hand, and Ultramontanism, or, as
as some one has proposed to call it,
the Internationale Noire on the oth
cr.
In France the Univers, the Jesuit
organ, so skilfully conducted by M.
Viuiixut, has lately been demonstra
ting iu its own peculiar fashion that
the Protestants have united with the
Internationale, and are busily engag
ed in preaching doctrines utterly sub
versive of all oider, and even of relig
ion itself. It affirms that this nefari
ous propagandism is going on in sev
eral departments, especially in the
district of Limoges, and that a certain
M. Fiocn, of Paris, is one of its most
active agents. It lately favoured its
ADVOCATE
REV II.
METHODISM IN
readers with the outline of a phillip
pic delivered by this gentleman at a
meeting held in a cafe in the village
of Aixe. Here is a specimen of dread
ful attack of society: 'The most, im
portant matter of all is public instruc
tion; everybody should know how to
read ami write. I want to enlighten
France. But we have in opposition
to U3 a powerful, proud, and ambitious
class of men, who desire to kep the
people in ignorance with a view of
ruling them. They are 40,000 strong,
without counting their adherents.
Thrir ideal of perfection is Brittany,
a province far behind the rest of the
country, and where no one can read
or write, and where theocracy is in
power.' This version of Dr. Fisch's
speech was given in answer to a de
mand made by Pastor Tn. Mo nod,
of Paris, that the editor of the Univers
should furnith proofs of the allegations
he had mada respecting the propag
anda undertaken 'by the Internation
ale and Protestanism,' with the con
nivance of the authorities. Or read
ers may fail to see in the report of M.
Fisch's speech any indications of a
connection between his proceedings
and those of the Iniernationalo. But
to the editor of the Univers the con
nection is clear enough. For, ex
claims he, 'Who pays M. Fisch's ex
pensas, and who gives him his salary?
He does not work for nothing, and he
does not buy with his own money all
theBible8 with which Limoges is being
inundated.' To these questions there
can be but one answer. The Interna
tionale pays Dr. Fiscu and purchases
the Bibles ! And if this does not suf
fice to convince M. Moxoi, lot him
turn to the letters written by Pastor
Bersier to the Journal de Geneve at
the time of the Conitune, and there
he will find proofs that 'the pious pas
tor' approved of that revolt against
society; and let him further bear in
mind that 'the Commune did not lay
its hand on a single pastor nor on a
single Protestant temple; it killed the
Archbishop of Paws, and spared Pas
tors Moxod and Bersier, and all the
other pastors. These facts prove
very clearly that the agreement is a
natural one between the enemies of
cociety , and the, oueinion of the
Church.
M. Monod has again summoned the
Univers to prove, not to affirm, that a
'league really exists between Protes
tantism and the Inlernationale;' Dr.
Fisch has availed himself of the right
allowed him bv the law, and required
the insertion in the Univers ot his own
analysis of the speech delivered by
him at Aixe; while M. Berier has
written, defyiog the editor to show
that he has ever said that 'the Com
muue represented modern aspirations,
human rights, and navional sovereign
ty,' and declaring that in the press
and in the pulpit he has done his ut
most to oppose and denounce it. In
reply, the Univers, relying, as it has
doubtless good reason to do, on the
credulity of its ordinary readers, re
affi.ms that the league exists, and then
proceeds to make fresh attacks on the
Protestant pastors of Paris and of tne
provinces, and, amongst others, on M.
de Pbessense, who 'believes neither in
the Bible nor in 'Jesus Christ.'
In this country such a style of cal
umny and vilification might be pass
ed by in contemptous silence, as likely
to recoil on the heads of those who
make use of it, and as certain to exer
cise no very great influence. In
France, however, it is absolutely nec
essary for Protestants to vindicate
their position, and deny such false
accusations, for tho power of Rome is,
it is to be feared, ia the ascendant,
and should Hemi! V. come to the
throne, is likely to be even more so,
and in some districts where Protes
tants are beginning to enter upon
schemes of evangelisation they find
that their proceedings are looked
upon with suspicion, and the tracts
which they distribute are scrutinised
with a very jealous care.
Jons Kxox.
March 16th 1872.
Personals.
Bolivar was a druggist.
Mahoment Ali was a barber.
Virgil was the son of a potter.
Milton was the son of a scavenger.
Horace was the son of a shopkeep
er.
Demo3thene j waa the son oi a cut
ler.
A man shall carry a bucket of water
on his head and be very tired with
the burden, but that same man when
he dives into the sea shall Lave a
thousand buckets on his head without
perceiving their weight, because he is
in the element ani it entirely sur
rounds him. The duties of holiness
are very irksome to men who are not
in the element of holiness; but when
once those men are cast into the ele
ment of grace, then they bear
times more and feel no weigut,
are refreshed thereby wkh joy
spcakable. llcv. C. II. Spurgcxn.
ten
but
un-
T. HUDSON, ASSOCIATE EDITOR.
NORTH CAROLINA-
17, 1872.
MARY GAY;
OR,
IN AND OUT OF THE DEPTHS.
BY
A MINISTER.
CHAPTER V.
-o
''thou hast dune thy bruve work well;
And the tradegy euncU'd on ttit memoruhlo duy
Lives to us In all its horror, rireachiag to our hearts
for agea."
Let us pause for a short time, to
view the revival, in its progress and
influence. When Mr. Gay stood in
the vestibule of the Methodist church,
the night of the meeting at the Rec
tory, and quietly listened to the pray
ers and praises going up from within
its holy walls, he could not resist the
conviction it was a work of the Spirit.
He could not oppose it, either in the
meeting of the vestry, or his heart, so
strong were his convictions that, to do
so, would be to fight against God; but
he is changed now.
The legions of hell were beseiged in
their last fortifications, whether they
had been driven in utter route and
confusion, and the sons of Zion in
vesting them, their fortress was al
ready quaking at the sound of Israel's
trumpet", vheu lo ! the victory is par
tially wrested from their grasp.
Satan's wiles were effectual vSere
force could not succeed. A passage
way into the very heart of the church
e's camp was discovered by their en
emy, and, while they wore pressing
the battle iu one direction, Satan un
expectedly fell upon them in another,
seized their canio.mado many of them
prisoners, and set the others, in the
confusion which ensued, to killing
each oiher, till he could draw off his
forces with credit to himself. See how
this was done.
Mr. SaDford und his friends were
out of humor over the success of the
Mathodists, for some had been con
verted, and were likely to join the
Methodist Church, on whom they had
confidently counted as candidates for
confirmation at tho Bishop's next vis
itation. Hard speeches were made,
evil reports were circulated, and, it
was generally published, that Mr.
Sanford would preach the next Sun
day on Ajxstolic success'on, at which
time he would show that the Metho
dist ministry was not a valid one, and
that the church was but a seism.
Rumors, derogatory to the character of
Mr. Wrightwell,were industriously cir
culated among all whom they thought
they could influence. One man, him
self a vagabond, was sure he had seen
him traveling with a circus in Geor
gia; another had seen a man just like
him tried for forgery out West; even
Mr. Gay, who had been very guarded
in the beginning, now gave his voice
against him, and a Ruinseller, who
was being injured pecuniarily by the
revival, took up the cry and hired
others to join him. Herod and Pilate
were friends again. When the two
forces were united, they made a tol
erable one in respect to numbers;
and the moral complexion of the army
was such, if there wa3 work to be
dene, a churchman could not stretch
his conscience far enough to do, ho
was at no loss t o find some one ready
to serve him.
But the revival influence had grown
too strong to be successfully resisted
by such means. Old and young were
nightly crowding the church'B altar
for prayers and instruction, and from
every class of society, witnesses for
Jesus were raised up, who had in
them a foretaste of the happiness to
be universally enjoyed when God's
'righteousness shall cover the earth as
the waters do the sea.'
Mary, poor Mary, is there in spirit,
if not in body. Far avay in the soli
tude of her chamber bhe pours out
her complaint to God, with no friend
ly voice to soothe her sorrows, no lov
ing tongue to eing Zion"s songs of
penitence and faith, to inspire her.
Alone she struggles with the demon
of despair; believing, yet unbelieving;
hoping, yet fearing.
O, Father in heaven, 'is thy mercy
clean gone forever I' if not, look on
this lonely and afflicted child. Thou
knowest her sorrows; pity and relieve
them, for, oat of the depths she crieth
unto thee !
Could she but fall at the altar cf
God. where so many have found the
blessiag which tiuu seeks, and receive
instruction fro u those who by expe
rience are 'wis uuto salvation', what
a relief it would afford her! bat it
cannot be. She must pass alone
through this night ot darkness, and
storm of feeling. Her father has be
come so decided in his opposition,
the last ray of ho;..o that he will t:ver
I relent, has fadd :iwty in her heart.
He has seen her distress, heard her
WHOLE NO. 270.
plea for a counselor of her own choos
ing, and, after partly promising, hm
peremptorily refused to grant her re
quest. In this situation, she was
shut up to the necessity of following
the plan already devised; meet Mr.
Wrightwell without her father's knowl
edge, or consent. She would have
given the world, had she possessed it,
to have been freed from this necessity;
for, though she had turned her twen
tyeth year, she had never willfully dis
obeyed one of hia commands. But
now tho die vns cast. She Lad
launched her bai k on a rough sea,
and its prow must be kept steadily to
ward the only port which promised
safety. She knjdod once more and
offered a fervent prayer to Heaven for
guidance and s:ipport,then, laid down,
to await tho ucLilJiiis of to-morrow,
with a heart chastened and subdued,
but still unsaved
Minnie approached Mr. Wrightwell
as soon as tho service closed that
night, and, wi.h a look strongly iudi
cative of her mission, placed a no:e in
his hand, a: tho atne time telling him
in a subdued tone, not to read it till
he was at home, and to bo euro to at
tend to tho business to which it called
his attention. Ho opened tho note,
immediately on reaching home, and
read as follows:
Rev. S. WiuoimvELL
Dear Sir, Mary requested mo to
see you, and arrange for an interview
with you, at our house, to-morrow
evening, at, or betwoen,oJ and Jive
o'clock
Please keep this secret; the bet
ter to do which, I shall request 3 on
to burn this noto after roading i.
Don't fail to come. Mary is in grci:t
distress.
Respectfully,
Minmk.
So, then, he is implacable, and has
laid on his child tho necessity of dis
obeying him, said the minister, as he
held tho note over hia lamp to destroy
it. This may draw on mo still more
of his wrath, bat I must do my duty,
if I can bo an iustrumcnt in saving
her I shall be amply compensated.
Christ commands mo to go to every
creature, and I should fail in my duty,
did I not go to this one who is seek
ing reconcilliatiou with God.
The preliminaries for tho meet ing
had now all been arranged, and, both
Mary and the minister, awaited with
anxiety the coming of tho time which
should bring thctu together. At last
it came, and both wended their way
to the appointed place, from oppotite
directions. M iry reached Mr. Arm
strong's a little ah?:id cf Mr. Wright-
well, and was closeted vith Minnie
when he was announced. Hurriedly
breaking off their conversation, Min
nie bid her frieud to remain, and she
would go down, and invito Lim up
stairs, and bring her mother with
them. Entering tho parlor, she bare
ly took lime to eahiio Mr. Wright
well, and enquiro after his health, bo
fore inviting him to her room, 'to sue
a li tie bird she had caged up thcru.'
He aroBo to follow her at ouco, say
ing; 'I hope tho littlo bird may be
loosed from its prison, and its tongue
be turned to joyful notes of praise to
its Deliverer.'
Mrs. Armstrong joined them in the
passage and the threo went up to
gether. Mary's hcai t beat quick, and the
feverish blood ru hiug through her
veins, Hushed her checks with a crim
son hu3, as the minister entered the
room, for, she Lad not thought till
then, of the delicate, and dangerous
position, in which bho had placjd
him the riok of personal violence he
was running for her take; but, not
withstanding her excitement, she re
ceived him cordially, and after allu
ding to the fast that she met him
without her father's consent, the said:
' I would not havo asked for tho favor
of an interview, if I had once thought
of the unpleasant, and it may be,
dangerous situation, in which I havo
placed you. I b"g you to pardon luy
incousiioratejiess.'
Mr. Wrightwell assured her he was
ready, at any lisk, to render her any
service he could perform, but us their
interview was so private, he could ap
prehend no danger at all. 'Open
your mind to me fully, and in the
freedom of confidence, that I may
know your spiritual s'.ate, said he, 'I
can counsel you more intelligently
than I could without such knowl
edge.'
Mary acknowledged, with grateful
appreciation, the interest he felt in
her case, and s.att d Ler condition as
plainly as she could. Her sLa ement
revealed the fact that, she was not o
much oppressed by the condemn ation
of the Divine law 8b bhe had been, but
was still in doubt und uncertain of
her ace ptance with God. One mo
ment uer sty wouia origntcn ana a
ray of hope enter Ucr heart; the next
clouds would drift across her eky and
darkness fill her soul again. She had
rwid her Bible enough to see tho
privilege of a child cf God was far
higher than thiakbut.l.r.w to obtain it
--p i i j .
orncE or ttie advocate - coenee
Or HAEGETT AND DAWSON STS.
EALEIGH, II. 0.
KATES OF ADVEETIS1SO.
Si-ace. 1 Mostii. 3 Mors. 3 Mohs. Mons. 1 Y a
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I Column. J StflM'li aoiH.J tio DO 100 im 150 ou
fi.Adv.rticmentill U chang.-d once every thrc
montha wtth.iut additional charife. for every other
Chang., th.re will U an extra charge of twenty cent
an inch. Twenty -Ave por cent. Wadded to the ab
ratea for !. .-UI notice Iu Local column.
Sierll contract made on r.-amnahlo U-rmi.
she did not know. 'I have wept and
prayed, nnid she, but it seems I am as
far from attaining the Bolid piuv,
which must bo given with tho con
sciousness of pardoned sins, as when
I began to seek it.'
A mournful shade pass-d over hi r
face, and a deep heaved eigh uccoiu
panied it, which bbowed tho inteubity
of Ler emotion, and, that bho wan at
times on tho very boundaries of de.
pair. Her last remark was as a win
dow set in her soul, and, through
his, the minister Raw tho chord with
w hich Satan held her bound in dark
ncsd uud misery. She had overlooked
the simple act of f aith iu a crucified
Redoc-iner for her justification, and,
had liko thousands of others, becu
vainly endeavo.iLg to obtain tho
peace sho dt aired by other nuau x,
and Mr. Wrightwell directed her at
tcniion lo that fact.
Our salvation is by faith, not worle,
'By grace arc ye save J, through faith,
and that not of yourselves, it i i the
vit' of God; not of works lost any
ui!u should botst.' Wo havo no
merit we cau ploud, but Christ's. Jf
wo c.-uM do any thing to niurit the
Divine favor, then, our salvation
would bo of works, not grao, and
Christ's atonement could be act aside.
As it i, wo are helpless, djiug; and
God Lids us look on Jesus crucified
for uh, believing that his blood utones
for us, and instantly spiritual lifo and
I, ....l.l. : . : ... i . .
uu'" iiupuiuil LO US, JUKI IIH
uatural health was given to tho Is
raelite tlying from tho rorpeut'a b.te,
when with couti Uiu-c iu tho promise
of God, ho looked on flio bmz. n bct-pe-ut
an,i was cured. MJdievu on tho
Lord Josus Christ and thou shuli bo
raved.' 'Being jitrliiied wo havo
peace with God through our Lord
Jebiis Chi int. Tho awning of a be t
ter day than she had seen was break,
ing upon her. Mr. Wrightwell dis
covered the grey streak which belted
the horizon of her soul and heralded
the ri.sii g of the Suu cf RighU ouH
nsr, aud ho continued: 'With the
hourt man bolicvcth unto ligh.'e-otis.
ncss.' What is it to believe with tho
h'.urt, but to believe f'rvvhj, and fully,
that a thing is true ' 1 ak you. if
you belicvo a person (o be u good
man whoso piety you cannot doubt,
and oa answer, With all my heart, 1
be'iove it. What do you mean by
such a mode of expression ?
Why, that you have not a doul t ou
the tul.j-cl. Well, if yoa will apply
this limplo ill .isl ration, and t.mloubt
iugly believe that Christ ia jvur per
sonal Saviour that ho now sivea
you you shall havo tho peace for
which you seek.
'UHii-vtt in liiiu tt'lio ilicil tli,.,-.
Ami miiv uh lie li.uli iliud,
T!iy I. bl. i.s ji iid, thy mini U hei-,
Aini tlioii art jiirttiHi'd.
'I am ti uch a bin nut !'
' And Christ is such a Saviour J
11 1 L;;d billed aguiust mau as I
havo against God 1 couid not hope
tor lorivcuobs.
You must not compare tho two.'
God say b: 'A? the heavens aio Lighcr
abjvo tho earth, bo uro my wuys
higher tLau your ways, und my
thoughts, than your thoughts.' Cast
yourself upon his mercy.
A smile played on her f tco, btaviti
ful as a summer sun, vvhcu tho cloud
have passed away. Sjo believed aud
entered into the rust of fai. h.
(To be Continued. J
Hard but nut
Field.
lIUlM'ltv
The Rev. Leonard W. Kip, of tho
R.-foraicJ (Dutch) Church, Atuoy,
China, bays:
'In spite of obstacles, tho Lord has
planted his church in China. No
doubt China is tLo hardest tuibsivii try
field iu the world. Tho n ttioual pri I j
of thes .re-ople', aud their contempt uud
suspicion of everything fjreigu, the
apparent absence of all spiritual feel
ing, aud the utter moral debasement,
the fear on ihj part of tho li term to
that tlie sprcal of our religion wid
overthrow tho doo.riues of ihcir re
vered Confucius, tho dreadful opium
traflic, and tho reproach it brings ou
Christian tatijuh tl.cso and oiher
causes, in human eyes, make the case
almost desperate.
Yjt the gospel is spreading. In
Amoy are four orgwizud churches,
two of which f ally support their own
native pastors, aud the uikiuoer&hip
in this region is abjut 1.2JL); sj that,
amid many disuouragiug things, we
work in hops. We were greatly per
plexed and disappointed that your ap
propriation to our mission was so
small. But as we could not stop our
priutiug without !os, we havo car
ried it on slowly, hophig ytu would
meet the cxcuao. 1 am instructed
by tho mission to ask fr a grant cf
$100 for tho current jcar. Tracing
tiiat wo bhJl bee great things djno
for Jesus, aud asking your prayers
for China, I um yours.'
Wilt Rome lover of son!:; -tho 10 ),
000 000 bojls of Chiua do tul Uud
$100 is put a. t:sp.isul of luo
:iety, that tho nt-Iovod iqi.h2i .nan s
may ""l I dibippointci ?