"IT
PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY A COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS FOR THt METHODIST EPI COPAL CHURCH, SOUTH RUFUS T. HEFLIU, Editor.
VOL. IV XO. 44.
RALEGH, T H U R SDAL NOVEMBER 3, 1859
$1.50 a year, in advance.
ORIGINAL
For the N. C. Christian Advocate.
Bible Characters. Cain.
Even the short and melancholy history j in the jYcw York Observer :
of this poor man is not without interest to j Not only should they give him a com-i!.-
Bible student. The effects of the first petent salary, but they should pay it when
- rression had become visible in all na- due. Materials for a chapter on this sub
' The earth, the climate, and the ! ject, as severely renting upon churches
ht-tsts of the field, and the birds of
. all showed "signs of wo." Adam
! had felt the power of the curse in
l.l body.
: -t...rj
,. " trwrd To the first-born of
, -ies with solemn interest, anx-
7
Iv
.itintrto see if their children were
-i they suffered for sin.
i - r son was born How they watch
fion. and every feature. He soon
id ta ks, and how delighted arethe
w:tl"
par
bee ui
II tv'cinns a man
(.1100!J,,S t0
tiller of the soil." an hmnrable
an
ii-jf.il !- 'lnyiKeTit. Hut h" ' 'lii-'i.
' '-. but v,' younger broth- r. a lowly
n : and holy man
b
Cai.t -'islike to hear Abel praised by
father, or neither, or sister. They both
worship the God of th-ir father according
to the system of religion revealed to them.
Cain brings of his first-fruits a sood sacri
fice aid offers it, perhaps, trusting, like
many worshippers, of these times, that be
cause the sacriSce was good, and he was
righteous, that it would be accepted But
Abel feels that he is a poor sinner in the
shJit of God, and that the firstlings of his
flock, which were all he had to bring, were
unworthy of his Lord, But his faith iu
the promise of a Saviour, was strong, and
that faith made his sacrifice acceptable un
to the .Lord.
Caiu is rejected while his brother is ac
cepted. His countenance fell, not with
penit' ntial sorrow, or with holy humility,
but with t nry. Now s!n is to show itself
in deeds of blood. He meets his righteous
brother in the field, and rises up and slays
him. The earth for the first time, drinks
in hum ail blood, aud that blood, shed by a
murderous brother's Viand. That blood
cries to the just God of leaven ugulust the
murderer, and God lays upon him a curse.
Whether he ever obtained pardon for tftis
enormous deed or not, we do not know.
Suffice it for us to know that his name
lives and is justly associated with deeds of
M. '
Bu- he has gone to his reward. His
ii it has long since met the spirit of his
'irdered brother. His history, as short
!id melancholy as it is, should be instruc
:i e to us. Let us remember tha our na
ture i sinful beyond our comprehension,
and unless renewed by the Spirit of the
L'rd, we may do as wickedly as he.
L u seek that blessed Spirit, early, that
.-- li.ivshun the deeds, and be saved from
'urse of the first shedder of human
C.
'.t X. C. ''hrisriaii Advocate.
i s tlio Atonement.
' . t" God that all the days of
Eve had betn thus spent " C.
,i! s arid praises end hallelujahs be un-Cn-ator
of the universe, for
wl-dom and poodness as mani-m.-m's
original weakness, as
wl --m's original free, moral agen-
us - -en in ui:iii s original power to
pluck. t'i eit and fall, if he pl-ase'l.
Mai v in the world think with "C" and
s-tj j.ilil 1 hat man never had ::!len.'
liar t:o pre at hero of M-thtiMij.
-.-1 - . T I Zi
ri , ..i i ;--y. 1 w-iiil : say, I. .-iii-ui.: '
pai ii.ii! :.ly observed, that, 'where sin
'abounded srra.-e does much more abound
For not as the condemnation, so is the free
gift; but we may gain infinitely more
than we have lost. We may now attain
both higher, degrees of holiness and high
er degrees of glory, than it would have
been possible for us to attain. If Adam
had not siuned the Sou of God had not
died : consequently, that amazing instance
of the love of God to man had never ex
isted, which has, in all ages, excited the
hiirhest joy, and love, and gratitude from
his children. We might have loved Qod
the Creator, God the Preserver, God the
Governor ; but there would have been no
place for love to God the Redeemer. This
could have had no being. The highest
glory and joy of saints on earth, and saints
in heaven, Christ crucified, had been want
ing. We could not then have praised
him, that, thinking it no robbery to be
equal with God, yet emptied himself, took
upon him the form of a servaut, and was
obedient to death, even the death of the
cross I This is now the noblest theme of
all the children of God on earth ; yea, we
need not scruple to aCirm, even of the au
gels and arch-angels, and all the company
of heaven,
"Halleluiah they cry,
To the King of the sky,
To the great everlasting I Am ;
To the Lamb that was slain,
And liveth again,
llalielujah to God and the Lamb."
C. in a School tf Ihe Prophets.
SELECTIONS.
Support of the Gosiyl Ministry.
Dr. Murray thus pithily puts the case
j as any that has evcPbeen written, might
j readily be collected from anypresbytery,
or couference, or ftsociation , oNiiocese iu
this laud. The fin of muzzling the ox
that. U. 1 -
! of congregations connected with every
! brah of the Church' and often because
; ii L i? A m. j. t.
I 01 e want 01 spiriL in pastors 10 assert
their rights and claim the fulfillment.
Some congregations commence thinking
about the collection of the salary on the
day it should be paid, and pay part of it a
few weeks afterward. A part of the sala
ry 'if each quarter is permitted to run in
to the next, until the parish is hundreds of
dollars in dpf.t to the pastor. What now
is to he done V To sue for it would seem
hard ; to insist on its payment would be
unpopular ; to permit it to increase would
be adding to the evil ; to cancel it, or to
dissolve the pastoral relation, is the only
alternative ! States cannot repudiate with-
! out ling their character, but churches
think uotliiiii of it. And thus parishes
will cheat their minister, who would not
think of cheating the carpenter that built
their church, or the sexton that takes care
of it. This, in many cases, is owing more
to neglect, and inattention, and the want
of spirit iu the officers of the curch, than
to any purpose to wrong the pastor, and
may therefore bs remedied. A young man
settled over a church notorious for the pro
cess of starving out the minister ; when
the first quarter's salary was due, the trea
surer came with a part of it, promising the
remainder in a short time. "Have I fail
ed in any of my duties ?" said the pastor.
"Jy no means," was the reply. "Then,',
said he to the treasurer, "you must not
fail in yours. You have promised to pay
me my alary quarterly, not a part of it ;
I want all of jt, and will take none until
paid all.'' The treasurer retired some
what mortified, if not vexed by the inter
view. He soon returned and paid all.
The salary was afterward paid, and punc
tually, to the comfort of the pastor anJ to
the delight of the people. The starvatiou
process was stopped.
A pastor of a church in New England,
years ago, sent for one of t he professional re
vivalists with which the Church was more
infested then than now. Before commen
cing his operations, he learned that the
church was running yearly in debt to the
pastor, and was very remiss in meeting
their engagements with him. His first ad
dress to the people was as follows : "You
have sent for me here to preach to you,
and to pray that the Lord may revive
his work among you. You have failed in
your promises to pay your pastor's salary,
and the Lord never bicsses a Iviug people.
You must confess and forsake the sin of
lying to your minister before I begin my
work, for I cannot ask the Lord to revive
his work in a lying congregation." This is
one of the best things 1 ever heard of that
class of ministers. The people paid their
minister, and a great revival followed !
The privations suffered by ministers be
cause of the neglect of their prompt pay
ment are very great. We have known
some to seli the best books from their li
braries in order to meet current expenses,
wheu the church owed them hundreds of
(oliar.-s. We have known some compelled
to keep their children from school because
tney could not pay the teache. We have
known some to borrow money aud pay in
terest for it, to keep themselves from star
ving. We Lave knoTn an excellent pas
tor and preacher compelled to borrow from
his brother minister twenty-five cents to
get his letters from the post-office, before
the law of pre-payincnt was enacted '
Such things are a shame and a reproach to
congregations bearing the name of Christi
an. The radical difficulty we find iu the li. tie
value placed upon religious instruction and
spiritual things. And yet a faithful Gos
pel ministry is one of the last importance
to a community. In its absence every
vice flourishes and every virtue languishes, i
If one vice cost more than two children,
the sins and vices which the Sabbath and
a faithful ministry would prevent would
cost twenty-fold more than the maintenance
of the ordinances of the Gospel at the high
est point of vigor and energy. A communi
ty without a Gospel ! "There is nothing
worth living for," sajs the Lev. Dr.
Spring, "in such a community. It may
be rich with rivers, in ore, and luxuriant
iu soil ; it may be well watered as the plains
of Sodom, aud as accursed as they. I
would not educate a family in such a com
munity for all the prairies between the Al
leghany aud i he llocky Mauntains." And
when wc add to the temporal benefits
which it confers, the eternal blessings for
which it gives a preparation, wc will then !
see that there is not a class of men upon
the earth more worthy of an adequate and
prompt maintenance than are the faithful
ministers of the Gospel. And yet there
are those blessed in their own souls and in
their families by their labois, who would
keep them so poor as to destroy their inde
pendence, and who would drive them from
the care of souls to the most anxious care
for their families. Just at this point the
Church stands on a very slippery place.
It is driving young men of intelligence and
enterprise from the ministry, and is dis
couraging those already in her service. -mere
are Levites tor all altars, and mis
sionaries for all errors, and preachers for
all prices ; and when the Church, by its
penuriousncss, has driven from her minis
try all save those to whom her pittance
may be more than they can elsewhere se
cure, it needs no prophet to predict the re
sult. "Who goeth a warfare at any time
at his owo charges ?" What soldier in
war is called upon to support himself ? If
you force him to do it, you make him a
robber ; and the minister driven to sup
port himself is compelled to be a man of
the world.
Our China Mission.
Ret. E. W. Seiion, D. D.. Missionary
secretary 01 the M. iu. Cnurch, South :
Dear Brother, Our reports from Chi
na may appear confused and contradictory,
simp'y because they are faithful records of
the ever-changing, ever-shifting scenas
through which we are passing. To-day
all is sunshine all is promise full of
hope and gladness : we write as if our
work was almost accomplished, and we
ready to return, "shouting harvest home.''
To-morrow the heavens are covered with
angry clouds, dark and gloomy shadows
sweep over the landscape, our hopes die,
our beans grow sick, and, as we bow low-
j ly before God, the storm breaks upon us.
I1 or a time all is darkness : neither sun,
moon, nor stars for many d;fy-s appear to
cheer us with the promise d deliverance.
Such has been our experience in China for
the last five or six years, -v and such has
been the character of our Reports hott.
Not long since, the good ne wsTthat lf s
vast empire was to be thrown open to the.
preaching of the gospel cheered our wea
ry hearts, and quickened the zeal of the
Church in Christian lands But a change
has again "come over the spirit of our
dream"' a cloud is upon us, blood is
flowing, and the horrors of war once more
threaten to desolate the land. We hope,
however, that the present difficulty will
soon be adjusted, and that it may ultimate
ly tend to the furtherance of the gospel in
these ends of the earth.
The time for changing the ratified trea
ties with China having arrived, Hon. Mr.
Bruce, English Minister, Baron Gross,
French Minister, and the American Min
ister, Mr. Ward with their suites, and a
number of war vessels appeared off the
mouth of the 1'ci-ho, and attempted to
open some kind of communication with the
government authorities ; but failing to re
ceive any satisfactory response, the Eng
lish and French Commissioners determin
ed to enter the river and proceed toward
the capital. They found the mouth of the
river blocked up by barriers ; these they
undertook to remove, when a fire from the
Chinese forts on the bank was opened up
on them, which of course was returned.
A battle then followed between the Enp
lish gunboats and the Chinese or Tartar
forts, the like of which is not on record in
the history of foreign intercourse with Chi
na. For seven long hours the awful storm
was kept up. The English fired four
hundred rounds of shell and shot from
each boat (eleven in all) into the forts -the
forts returning in full measure all that
was sent. The English attempted to land
a storming party and take the forts, bui
were unable to reach them on account of
the deep mud and ditches. They were re
pulsed and had to abandon for the present
the attempt to enter the river. The Eng
lish lost, in killed and wounded, between
four and five hundred men. The Admiral
acted with great courage he was woun
ded ; live of his lieutenants and one cap
tain were killed. The Chinese lost a
great many in killed and wounded.
Now, what is to be the end of this af
fair ? We can safely predict one thing
the English will avenge the death of the
brjfve fellows who fell on the 25th
of June before the Pei-ho forts. They
will enter Peking sword iu hand, and then
dictate their own terms. Iiussta is ready
to take her share of the spoils. The reb
els at linking are ready for any thing.
"What will be the upshot of it we cannot
now predict. One tiling wc are sorry to
know, our going into the interior is explo
ded for the present. We must content
ourselves to be penned up at the ports un
til this affair is settled. Perhaps it may
be only for a short time perhaps years.
We calmly submit all to God, and would
say to our friends at home, "Abate not
one jot of heart or hope," but rather anti
cipate more glorious things than ever in
the not remote future
The chariot of
God moves onwarl: though to our eyes,
filled with the dust pat attends bis prog
ress, there seems to e a retrograde move
ment occasionally, its only an illusion.
Every event contriaites in some way to
fulfil his promises k the world. "Hope
on, hope ever." sho id be our motto.
What though "the 1 athen rage, and the
people imagine vain I ings" though "the
kings of the earth st themselves, and the
rulers take counsel together against the
Lord, and against Is Anointed?" He
that sitteth in the fieaVens shall laugh :
the Lord shall h&vt'Shem 'fo; derision. "
Then "shall he ' speak jmto tb.eui iu "Ms
wrath, and vex tnew in his sore displeas
ure." . f
Your bntier in Christ,
W. G. E. Cunningham.
An Engfcli Camp-Meeting-.
The counterprt of our camp-meetiDgs,
in England, is jrobably the annual meet
ing at the "Gw nap Pit," a natural am
phitheater in th mining county of Corn
wall, where Weley preached several times
in his life to the largest audiences that ev
en he ever gatlered together. Still it is
not a camp-moring, lasting as it does on
ly for a single t'rmon, instead of for days;
but in the out-dior exercises aud attend
ant circumstance, it is something akin.
Wherefore we iliink the following account
from a correspondent of the Clcaveland
Herald, of the kst annual meeting at that
place, will be found interesting :
Imagine a larje natural obi -ng aniphi
theater, its gra:?ry sides shelving gently
down to a depth of fifty feet, and having
an extreme widti one way of two hundred
feet, and the otLir way three hundred feet.
Near the bottom of the amphitheater is a
huge mass of pr.mite, called the "pulpit,"
where the minister stands during the ser
vices. The sceic, as I witnessed it, was
very impressive. From the floor of the
pit, which was picked chiefly with youth
ful hearers, hunan heads arose tier after
tier ia concentric-cire'es, standing or seat
ed on uniform anificial terraces, until the
summit was reached, crowded with living
masses, rocking o and $ro under tiich- own
pressure talk about "'immense crowns
on your public s-juare in the Forest City,
or political gatherings and Fourth of July
celebiations, when you announce in big
letters, "Ten thousand people in council,"
knowing at the time that a deduction of fif
ty per coat can justly be made all re
membrances of such meetings dwindled in
to insignifi anee as I gazed on the throng
of over tbrty thousand persons gathered
in and arojind that amphitheater, to list-en
to a serniot, a prayer or two, and a few
hymns. J was a sight to be seen once in
a lifetime, and be remembered forever.
Overhead tie blue sky, with here and there
a wavy streik, varied by throne like cush
ioned massdi of silvery, transparent clouds,
capped and urowned the glorious picture.
Ninety-thiee years ago John Wesley,
with his brotier Charles preached in this
Pit to about twenty thousand people, it
being the fir time the amjjjlauater was
ever used for such a
purpose. Eight
years afterward John W7esley preached to
another immense throng in the same place.
On the next year he again preached there
and remarks "1 think this is the most
magnificent spectacle which is to be seen
this side of Heavea. And no music is to
be heard upon earth comparable to the
sound of many thousand voices when they
are all harmoniously joined together sing
ing praise to Goc and the Lamb." In
his seventieth yeaj he agaiu preached here
to over thirty thousand persons. In mem
ory of these great meetings, which were
mainly instrumental in changing the Cor
nish miners from half-savage, godless men,
to sober, decent Methodists, the festival of
Whit Monday is annually chosen for a
great gathering at the Pit, and the cele
bration of the occasion by religious exerci
ses. As soon as tie preacher reached the
granite of the Pit from the bank above,
and mounted thei rostrum, he exclaimed,
"What a magniScent sight!" A Wes
leyan hymn, commencing "See bow great
a flame aspires, 'f was sung by the immense
crowd, after which a prayer was made and
a portion of the scripture read. Then
burst forth a hymn which rang from every
part music, which surpassed in enthusiasm
and volume anything I ever heard, and
which compelled every one to join in the
chant :
"I believe the Holy Bible,
Will you go along with me ?
I believe the Holy Bible,
Sound, sound the Jubilee."
The sermon was partly historical, giving
the history of Methodism, especially as re
lated to Cornwall, and part y of a charac
ter to promote repentance and a better life.
After another hymn and a fervent prayer
the exercises were over and the assembly
dispersed.
The Conversion or Paul.
He started from a higher point than some
men reach throughout their lives. He did
not begin with the inquiry, "Lord wilt
thou save me?" but, "Lord, what wilt
thou have me to do?' That was the key
note of life ; cordially doing another's will,
and that other, Christ. Rev. E. N. Kirk.
From the Morning Enquirer.
An Hour in the Class-Itoom.
Not many Sabbaths since. I was seated
in the class-room of Cfcapel, listening
attentively to words that fell from lips that
seemed to have been touched with pro
phetic fire. I had gone there hoping that
I might gather some crumbs of comfort on
which to feed my weary and straining heart.
T War if any should tell of trials greater
than mine, of sorrows moreagonizing, and
if any could point me to a sure refuge for
the weary and oppressed,' or tell me where
to obtain strength that should endure all
and conquer all.
One by one they rose, pilgrims who had
long been journeying, and those who had
but just set forth, all anxious to tell of the
blessings that had met them on the way,
and of their hopes and resolves. There
was a fervor in all their words that made
me feel their hope was not a vain one.
One aged woman, and saint, rose to tell of
the many years she had been walking
"the road that leads to Zion's gates."
Her bent form and furrowed cheeks were
eloquent in her description of her journey.
They told that it had not all been made
under a clear sky and over a grassy turf,
but that often the clouds had hung dark
and lowering, and that many times her
feet had bled as sue journeyed. Still, said
she, "Through the many years of iny life,
God has never for one moment forsaken
me.'' Oh ! was not that precious comfort
to a heart so desolate as mine ? Faint no
more, said I, put on the whole armor, aud
fully trusting iu Him who never forsakes
those who trust in Him, go forth to battle
with poverty and toil, believing that in the
end I shall be rich. What though the
way along life's journey seems very drea
ry, believe that, asone by one hope's
I lights die out along thy pathway, newer
and brighter ones are lighted along the
path that leads to eternal rest. Another
rose, a wayworn traveler whose journey
was almost done. He had came up to the
house of his Lord to give testimony for per
haps the last time. It was more than
probable that the next Sabbath would find
him singing with the redeemed in Heaven.
He was even then suffering bodily pain
that would have prevented many from at
tending upon this, to him much loved sei
vice, but with an unwavering voice he re
counted his blessings, spoke of the pain
that would so soon free his spirit from its
earthly tenement, encouraged all to perse
vere in seeking the home where said he,
' there is no headache and no pain in the
breast.'' What a triumph had faith
achieved. The eye, just ready to close on
earth, saw across the dark water, even to
the green fields beyond ; aud the ears, fa3t
dulling to the sounds of time, heard above
the hoarse murmur of the dread flood, voi
ces of friends long since gone home, bid
ding him hasten to the bright land to
which pain is a stranger. And my frail
suffering body seemed to grow stronger as
I thought it is but for a little while, a few
short days shall thy head be bared to the
rude winds and beating rain, and after
that, thou shalt be surely saved in a land
where "there is no headache and no pain
in the breast." Yes ! and God be praised
no pain in the breast, no anxious waiting
for the full fruition of hopes that "like the
bird in the story, flitted from tree to tree.''
Love flitted by, bearing away all of life's
sunshine, till the heart has fallen into the
the abyss of despair- No pain, no pover
ty, no weariness, but rest and an eternal
Hallelujah!
AUNT PATIENCE.
Two Kinds of Preachingr.
There is one kind of preaching which
draws attention almost exclusively to the
preacher himself, and with certain classes
of hearers, comprising generally a large.
majority, he is held in very high admira
tion. Their recollection, indeed, of his
sermons is very va?ue and indistinct, and
less have they any definable purpose to
obey the truth, neither do they get any
vivid conception of Christ ; somehow he is
kept in the background, being overshadow-
by the towering form of his embassador.
Wheu the people retire it is not to weep
and pray, but to talk of the preacher :
"Magnificent man;" a " real Beecher."
" Chapin bimself can not surpass him.''
"Lofty thoughts." "Burning eloquence."
Such are the commendations that fall alike
from Universalists, Spiritualists, formalists,
half-alive professors of religion, and men
of the world. One class alone are silent
and sad : the praying members of the
church.
There is another, kind, in which the
preacher is almost entirely lost sight of-
The congregation are arraigned at tha
bar of conscience, and confronted with God.
For the time being, they are in the
midst of the realities of eternity. Each
unconverted hearer is searched by the truth,
in the secret chambers of tlie soul, and
many are led to inquire, with deepest con
cern' " What shall we do to be saved ?"
Christ is most conspicuous walking
among the golden candlesticks. II is voice,
full of sweetest encouragement, is heard
saying to the believing, ' Peace be unto
you," and to the fearful, "It is I; bo not
afraid." In tones of mercy, it falls upon the
ear of the repenting sinner, saying, " Thy
sins are all forgiven thee." The skeptical
and proud are startled into fear or rage
by the awful words, " Except ye repent ye
shall all likewise perish."
Ein Feste Burg.
In the following attempt at translating
the great War Song of the Reformation in
Germany, the liberty has been taken 01'
adopting eight lines unaltered, and seven
lines more with only slight changes, from
a version by Bishop Whittingham. The
doxology at the end is wholly new. This
translation has been carefully made, with
express reference to the grand old Choral,
which, as well as the German words,
came from the hand of Martin Luther him
self, at Coburg, in the month of June,
1530. The Choral, with these English
words, will soon bo issued in cheap form,
by D. Dana, Jr., 381 Broadway
A Tower and Stronghold is our God,
A Sword and Shield before us :
His hand hath freed in every need
That ever yet came o'er us.
The proud, conquering Foe
His downfall shall know :
His malice in vain,
With furious wrath, shall reign
O'er earth with power appalling.
Of our own selves we naught can do,
Our gain were then but losing :
For us must fight the Strong and True,
The Man of God's own choosing,
For ever the same,
Christ Jesus his name,
The Lord God of Hosts !
Then where are earthly boasts?
All foes shall fall before Him.
What though the world be thronged with
fiends
. All raging to confound us ?
We know no fear, for God is near,
With mightier armies round us.
The world and its king
No terrors can bring,
Their threats are no worth,
Their doom shall soon go forth ;
One word fulfils their ruin.
God's Word they shall themselves let stand,
Nor thanks to them be owing :
God is with us , through all the laud
His might? wind is blowing.
The body to kill,
Or torture, at will,
The wicked have power ;
Yet lasts it but an hour:
The Kingdom's ours for ever !
To Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
For ever be outpouring
All glory, from the heavenly host,
And saints on earth adoring:
Through time's utmost bound
That chorus resound,
And swell evermore,
Like stormy ocean's roar,
Through endless ages rolling
September 23, 1859.
Jr.
Religion and Business.
"They are saying, sir, that you are
neglecting your business, and that it must
suffer."
"Who says it?" say3 the employer.
"All your neighbors along the street,
sir."
"Do any Christian say it?"
"Well, I hardly know whether they are
Christians or not ; I suppose not. But I
thought I ought to let you know what was
said. Besides, there is a good deal of mo
ney to be paid, and I do not know where
it is coming from."
"How much are you short?"
"About six hundred to-day, and other
bills mature to-morrow and next day, and
I felt anxious to know how they are to be
met.''
"Do you believe our Saviour meant any
thing when he said, 'Seek first the king
dom of heaven?' "
"Certainly I do."
"Well, what do you suppose he meant?"
"Oh, I do not know. I never thought
of it. Perhaps 1 should not be able to an
swer it if 1 should try. But I do think
that business is not to be neglected."
"I am very much astonished to hear
you, a professor of religion, talk in this
way. As for me, I believe just what he
says, and I mean to do literally what he
requires. I do not neglect my business.
I know what paper is maturing, and I do
not give myself the least uneasiness about -it.
I use all proper diligence, and the
rest I leave to God."
When speaking of it the merchant said,
1 knew where I could lay my hand on the
money at once, though I did not tell my
clerk of it. I went to the noon-day prayer
meeting as usual. On coming home after
1 p. si., I asked my clerk about the means
to meet my bills for to-day."
"Oh," said he, "wc are all right. Mr.
B has been in, and has paid 1,800,
and some other money has come in."
"This $1,800 was a bad debt, which I
never expected to be paid," said the mer
chant. "So the Lord takes care of mo,
while I take care of the aflair? of my own
soul and the souls of others, and seek first
the kingdom of heaven."
This man is one of the new recruits into
the great army. His hand, his heart,
his mind, are ready for every good work,
every good word, and no duty is loft undone.
Traits of John Wesley.
Jk He preached. . on an averape. fifteen
sermons a week: ' Instead of breaking down
under it, when seventy-years eld he writes
that he is far abler to tbm lu
three and twenty.'' Ills brow was then
smooth, his coniplczim V-. nrjd Lis
voice strong and char, so that an audi-'
ence of thirty thousand . could hear him
without difficulty. This vigor he asscribes
to continual travel, early rising, good sleep,
and n even temper. 'I feel and grieve,
but by the grace of God I fret at noth-
lnj
-.0
Wesley had not a particle of th mor
bid or fanatical in his nature, and never
knew what it was to bo 'depressed.' His
piety was as fercne as it was deep. It
may be doubted whether there was ever
a nature greatly and richly endowed which
had not a vein of humor that illuminated
even its more serious moods. Wesley
had this, aud it wa3 intimately allied with
the pathos aud tenderness that melted his
hearers, or the faithfulness that rebuked
sin without bitterness.
There was one Michael Fenwiek that
traveled with hio as a sort of groom,
nurse, and occasional ex horter. The good
man was vain enough to oomplain.ontday,
that his nmiie was never inserted in Wcx
ley's published Journals. In the next num
ber of the Journals he found hi.snamc in a
connection that probbably did not perve to
increase his vanity. I left Epworth,' wroto
Wesley, 'with great batisfaction, and about
one preached at Clayworth. I think nono
were unmoved but Michael Fenwiek. who
fill fat asleep under an adjuininy Aty-
rick.'
As leader and rganiter ho was imper
ious, and, like Paul, required submission
from others, ns one born ia command.
But this was under a solemn tense of his
responsibilities, for no ono had a more
meek and forgiviug temper. One Joseph
Bradford was at one time his traveling
companion. Wesley directed him to car
ry a package of letters to the post. Brad
ford wished to hear the sermon first. Wes
ley insisted. Bradford refused.
'Then you and I must part,' said Wes
ley. 'Very good,' said Bradford.
They slept over it, and the next day
Wesley was at first inexorable.
'Will you ask my pardon ?'
'No sir.'
'Then I will ask yours,' said tho great
man ; ana liraatord melted under ino
example, and wept like a child.
Wesley's Christian liberality was as
conspicuous as his piety. Ho was eminent
ly a 'Libera' Christian ' Ho writes, near
the close of his life, 'Is a man a believer
in Jesus Christ, and is his life suitable to
his profession, are not only the main, but
the sole inquiries I make, in order to his
admission into our society.' His only
restriction on opinions was that they
should not be introduced for discussion
and wrangling in their devotional meet
ings. In one of his mass meetings brutal
man passed through the throng and struck
him in the faca. Wesley, the tears starting
into his eyes, turned the other cheek. The
assailant 6lunk away, and became his
steadfast friend, and evea periled kit Ufa
to save one of Wesley's chapels from being
destroyed. But again Wesley met a man
of the same class, who attempted to puttr
against him and throw him down. 'I ncv
er make way for a fool,' said his assailant.!
'I always do,' replied . Wesley, stepping
aside and calmly passing on.
- He died at the age of SI. preaching
almost to the last day of his life. . Proba
bly no life impressed itself more deeply r
beneficently upon the ago. Whitefield
had no gift as an organizer, and no trace
of his work remaius. Wky could not
only preach, but organize the results c-f
his preaching; and so his word is as effect-
ual to-day as when riding through bin cir
cuits and preaching sometimes to thirty
thousand hearers. Mr. Stevens' book is
an invaluable contribution to religious lit- .
craturc, showing as it docs the almost mi- .
raculons efficacy of the gospel in transform-
ing human nature and setting free its no-'"
blest powers, changing insensate and bru
tal men as if by the touch of Christ, and
giving them not ouly tho lovo oi Christ,
but a gift of eloquence that schools of.
learning and elocution had never impart- '
ed. Monthly Religious Magazine.
Serving God.
Those that resolve to serve God must
not mind being singular in it, nor be drawn
by the crowd to forsake his service. Those
that are bound for heaven uuu&t be willing.,
to swim against tho stream, and must not
do as the most do, but as the best do.
o