3SE1E IS C 0 PI E - MBTH 0 D I ST.
' ; : - . . rri : rr
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF METHODISM IN THE STATE , OF "FORTH CAROLINA-
"Vol. II.
RALEIGH, ISr. C.; SEPT, 2, 18 08.
No. 33-
3
Eternity.
EY E. ALICE FINNEY.
Ye say there is no end; that on these hills.
And deep ravines, and blackened moun
tain sides
Of lite, the hateful shall shine forever;
Over the mounds, and scathed and seoth
ing wastes
Of human thought God's stars may never
don
The midnight; lmt years and centuries
shall bring
No dream, no thought of change. The
fires will bum
Unqnenched, unquenchable, the- dusky
ilames
Leap up and kiss with gold tho white
lost gates
Of distant heaven, and then, in burni:
showers.
Fall, scintillating death.
And this ye say,
This living lire, this forked, dividing
flame
Of scorpion sting and dragon shape, this j
uea tii,
"With all the torments of eternal life.
Is hell ? Dost think thy dainty soul, thy
heart,
All warm, all sensitive to pain, is ripe
For tiiis? Dost feel iu every passing hour
The Samiel breath grow hotter o'er thy
cheek,
As demons' feet clank on the iron floor
"Without thy palace ?
Does the thought bring light
To thy tormented vision ? Has the rire
A taste of pleasure for thy dainty liesh ?
Dost thou, e'en thou, like prospect of a
feast
At hell, served up in human skulls ? Me
thinks Our very inmost soul recoils in horror;
That the flesh seems starting from our
1 -
O.ir eyeballs lire, and being all accursed I
Witl. th-.it-. ilriMiii t.:inn-r1:i jiiiil vi' I-. o w !
iui v . - y . -
ti.v.v ii.iM-iwir
How very near the downward patn! how j
., lilV, , , . , 1,-11.
'I I.,. ,.,1 f1,.-.4- t...-...Ti-.Tt-- tt.iv-i l?irTtif frnm
Of blessed Mercv! Oh! the days of grace j
...... i l. .1". a! ;, ;, .,11 f..;..
iie llOl Uasl. UlClUnii. IJJ.L.-I .n
Yet winding up to heaven; aial, though
the way
Skirt very hell, though pi'in, and death
and sin,
"Encompass erring life, there is one Star
liope
Yet eal us back to God.
She 3?u1pvt,
Awake Tiaow thai Sieeretli.
There is sate f iudifference to .
i . . i 11-... ii i
religion
r ciosejv resemoiiug uie !
kodib' condition called sleep that it is
apv-opriately called by the same
..ime. The phenomena connected with
it are similar to those associated with
clumber. In the latter condition,
men cease from their labor. The
hands which, during the dixy, were
busily employed are now idle, save a
few convulsive, unmeaning motion?. ! the secular pursuits oi lite, and ii prac
So, in this soul slumber, there is idle-! ticabie such engagements would shack
ness. Iteligious duties are neglected ; j lo their efforts and greatly impair their
the Saviour is not sought; the Church
is not visited; prayer is not offered.
These duties are vastly more impor- ;
tant than those of a worldly kind; yet !
while men are wide awake to the lat
ter, they neglect the former. Once in
awhile conscience arouses the man,
and he seems to put forth efforts for !
a new life; but these have so little !
heart and earnestness in them as to
remind us of the spasmodic and
unmeaning motions of tho sleep
er. This indifference to l'eligious inter
ests is also represented by the uncon
ciousness of tho sleeper. One by one
his senses are closed to the external
world. First the heavy eyelids fall,
and he sees not; then the sense of
smell is blunted; next the hearing be
comes dull, and, last of all, he is in
sensible to touch. He now presents
the strange spectacle of a living man,
in fulness of health and strength and
yet totally unconscious of every thing
around him. Place before his eyes
the most beautiful paintings or the
most brilliant gems; he sees them not.
Bring to him a bunch of sweetest
flowers, or an alabaster vase of richest
perfume; he perceives not the fra
grance which loads the air. Speak to
him; tell him of danger fire, famine,
war, pestilence or tell him of a rich
inheritance bequeathed to him, and in
evidence read to him his father's will.
No impression is made; he heeds not.
Touch him gently, and he does not
awaken; he must be shaken before he
can be aroused. So strongly locked
are his senses by sleep that one might
almost as well address himself to a log
as to the sleeper.
The condition of the man who is in
drficront to hi religious stale ii re
eisely like this. Bring before him a
vivid picture of his sins or of his Sa-
viour, and he sees neither. Tell him
that he is iu danger of hell, but that
if he will repent of sin and believe on
Christ, he may be an heir of heaven;
he does not heed such godly admoni-
j tions, nor is he attracted by the pros
pect ot such a heavenly inheritance.
There are thousands of unconverted
people who hear preaching every Sun-
day and are not affected by it. They
become accustomed to the sound, as
one may get used to the clangor of an
alarm-bell, and sleep unconscious
through it all. They daily transgress
God's law, and have neither feeling
v.. j-mj '"" mem-
selves safe, just as the sleeper dreams
of safety. They even consider some -
times the probability of reaching j ted a plan for raising money, by as
heaven, and enioying its raptures, , Al , 3, .
just as the slumberev often dreams of lament of all the members, thereby
wealth and joy which, alas! he is nev-
er to possess in reality.
The saddest fact in connection with
this state of indifference is its dan
ger. There are many subjects about
which we may bo perfectly indiffer
ent, but religion is not one of these.
The issues involved in it are of such
importance that our hearts should be
thoroughly aroused to their eonsider-
tion. This consideration cannot, safe
ly bo delayed: for while we delay, our j only in part operated, the church that
opportunities for moral improvement j adopts it excels the others. .This
pass on and may soon bo out of ' plau is not arbitrary or compulsive as
reach Yhile the sleeper dreams m some asser-but is based on the as
fancied security, tne robber may ba at i . . . ..
work at his strongbox, or the hate- j sumption that every Christian man or
ful incendiary may apply the torch to
his dwelling, or the stealthy assassin
may stand over him with drawn
1
ger. So, while the ungodly man cart-
! pssl v takes his fiisp. never rhiiikiii."
I about his religious obligations.
- -i r
i.,!w,:if hiu i'imnn r-itinr imiif.
fereut tG all the pressing claims of God
upon ium, di earning of Heavenly hap
,4 - - ' 0 -
cg pitfjlis iu his path, and seek
evfrv w;i In (!,St.i)V hi'll.
- --
iiiit rsf IViiiKiusttm District
C'OStfOi'CMCO.
:i;poEr or committei: o: usance.
The support of tho miuintry is a re-
sponsibilitv tl
iat Las be
a devolved
v that duty
j upon the Chur-
ud
can best be discharged is worthy of
ii . l : ... i . .. . l: "v
tne most &cri'jus c-juiuuttuiou. jar
Itinerant system, or the removal of our
Preachers year after year from one
tielil of labor to another a system
which has been blessedof Go,!, and pro
ductive of great good in Lha Y orid
a system of Divine Origin, and apos
tolic precedent prevents engagements
in whole or in xart, by
the clergv, in
usefulness. That "the laborer is wor
thy of his hire," is universally ci.ntc-
dad, and the men who obey tha
,'i -
vine command "Go forth and preach
theGosnel" should find wherever tiu-.ii
lots may bo cast, homes and plent
' OTll
it is the duty of the Laity to make
such provision for their support, thai
their minds shall be releived from all
anxiety in reference to this matter,
and until this is accomplished, U.e
shirts of the Laity are not clear and I
God will not hold them guiltless. The
membership have relied too much on
ministers to aid in the matter of ways
and means, the' have been expected
to move, call attention, preach ser
mrmw nif f'Vpn tr hptr iii their own be
half in a word to bear burdens which
others should bear, and thus the mem
bership have shifted their responsi
bilities and too often failed to dis
charge their positive obligations.
The minister's duty is to preach, and
not to work or beg for their support,
and any interference or intervention
by them iu financial arrangements,
cannot be reconciled with their Holy
Office; the laity should understand
and appreciate this truth and by their
industry and fidelity so promote all
the temporal interests of the Church,
as to avoid any necessity for such in
tervention. God will h old no Brethren respon
sible, and if wo neglect this high trust
we shall certainly incur his disfavor,
and may expect blighting droughts
and devastating Hoods and decreasing
revenues. He as certainly rules in
the affairs of wen, as he does in Hea
ven.
The voluntary support of the minis
try is a prominent feature in Method -ibtic
LYononiv one that has been pro-
fessedly conceded by bur people but
j the sad story of the past is, that we
: have promised, but, too generally have
j failed to pay years past and gone
i have recorded our delinquencies in too
; many instances.
The present Conference year is rap-
: idly passing away; already two thirds
j gone, and what facts do the statistics
,m the hands of the Sect, reveal? this
; that but little or no amendment over
j former years is evidenced. A glance
j show that the stations and circuits,
j hi neaily every instance have not paid
j more than one third or one half of
! their indebtedness.
j Shall this state of things continue ?
; o, common Honesty ioruicis it our
j religious obligations thunder, No!
! The annual Conference has submit-
causing a more equitable division, and
affording to all the privilege of con
tributing each according to his means
as God hath prospered. This plan
has not been universally adopted in
this district whore introduced it has
wrought well, and more money has
been raised by its operations, and the
j woman will willingly co-operate and
I rrladlv contribute their mxroortion
.
I c,
!
nurcij.
-x . , -, . ,
I -Aotwithstanuing however
f ul f
this i
i plan has been divised and operated,
; and with partial success, still it is a
j fact that deticiences continue to be the
rale. We are therefoie prompted to
; inquire into the causo and suggest
; . . . , ,
tue remedy.
The stewards of the Church are its
! financial agents, and we hold that in
j proportion as they are faithful and ef
( lieient, or indolent and unfaithful, will
be found balanced accounts, or much
indebtedness. The -truth is, that as
etc wards wo have not devoted the
rime, nor given that attention to the
interest of ihe Church which is deman
ded, interests vital to the success aud
prosperity of our Denominational or-
gaiv.zaiion.
Methodist people have always been
celebrated for being liberal and hos
pitable and in years anterior to the late
war nobly responded to tne cabs or j tendency-to disregard pastoral author
the Church, aud although calamities j iiy to break away from the restraints
have befallen them, milking the rich, j 0f tho church, and to claim a larger
poor, and tho poor poorer, yet the old latitude, both, iu faith and practice.
fire burns in their hearts, and if ap- j Jlave we not yielded already too much
pealed to properly, thoy will
again
If a
bring their gifts to the altar.
spirit, of self sacrifice was inculcated
and practised, there i-? none so poor
but that like the Vidow.in the Gospel
might cast their raiuo into the Tieasu-
The real wants of life are but few
and require but lit le to supply them;
it is the imaginary wants, which add
neither to health or happiness, that
create such heavy demands cm our
Pkuis ana purses ana prevent an
.1 1 i.
"ccnmulation for religious an i charit-
Jibl appropriations,
It is the duty of faithful stewards to
present this doctrine of self sacrafice
to the people, not occ isionally, but
perseveringly, prayerfully, patiently,
pleasantly and practically, line upon
line, precept upo i precept, example
upon example, and urge them to dis
card the superfluous and practice econ
omy, that t hereby their resources :iay j
be hu-banded, and thev be enabled to
give liberally, and thus discharge ful
ly their obligations to the Church,
which are morally and rligiouslrr, as
honestly duo as obligations contracted
for lands or merchandise. The prac
tical effect of such teaching would soon
be realized and like good . seed sown
in a fertile soil, would produce abun
dantly, and the teaching of the Scrip
tures that the "Lord loveth a cheerful
giver" and "it is more blessed to give
than receive," would be properly ap
preciated aud cause a response that
would gladden despondent hearts and
fill many an empt' Treasury.
We submit tho following resolu
tions :
1st. Hesolced, That it is the opinion
and advice of this Conference, that the
Financial plan reccommended by the
last Annual Conference, should be in
augurated in every station and circuit
where it hau not been introduced.
2nd. Resolved, That whereas the du
ty of providing for the financial inter
ests of the Church, has been confided
to the Stewards of the Church, that it
is essential to her prosperity both
temporal and spiritual, that the Stew
ards be men of active habits and busi
ness qualifications men of true piety
and noted for their devotion to the ! among us are imbued with the doc
Church and that we reccommend to j trines and ideas of other Churches,
the Quarterly Conference the election ; and therefore, are not reliablo Metho
of such onTy as combine these qualifi-1 dists, yet, they are expected to do
cations. ' ' j their duty as Methodists, and when
3rd. Resolved, That in view of the
fact that the Conference year is draw
ing rapidly to a close, that we exhort
our Stewards to exercise all possible
dili ence in making their collections,
that at the end of the year the report
may be had, that on every circuit and
station in the district, the monied ob
ligations or each have ' been fully met
and discharged.
S. D. Wallace, Chm'n.
ON THE STATE OF THE CHURCH.
The Committee on the State of the
Church' beg leave to report as follows :
Considering tho misfortunes of the
times, and the various demoralizing
influences which have environed us on
every hand, the exciting worldly' top
ics which have engaged the minds of
men, through a series of years!' arid
the state of poverty to which the conn-!
try has been reduced bv the late disas-j
ter, we are constrained to say much j
for the fortitude, zeal, pietv, and lib!
erality of our church; especially with- !
in the bounds ot the Wilmington Dis
trict.
cm i i i i i
J
I dant in labors to a darare desrree, pa-
j tienfc in sufferinft and- all tho while
1 1Bail)tnilied according to the genius of
iIcthoarijmf a liberal catholic spirit
' torJ uI1 oiIifc:r M1omiiianonK.
At present, it is evident that in ma
ny respects, she is the embodiment of
energy. In the Sabbath school en
terprise, in the cultivation of Church
Music, in tho disposition to support
the Gospel liberally, and iu a settled
principle of piety, there is a marked
; improvement in many quarters, upon
the former times.
But while justice constrains us to
! sav so much in her favor, the same
j prlucipai demands that we should not
j disirrijse certain evil tendencies, or fail
j to seek for means of contracting
them.
For years, there has been a growing
to this tendency? Have we not pan
dered too much to a vitiated popular
taste, both in tho pulpit and in the
administrations of tho discipline?
Has not the church in many cases fear
ed to do her duty, lest she should ia-J
cur the censure of the world, or sac
rifice her pecuniary strength? Has
she not increased her numerical
strength at the expense of her purity ?
These are questions which it is well
to consider. And if these things be
so, is it not wonderful that so many
r.' f.ni.M-.i within the church, who dai
ly set at naught the duties which she
i requires defy her authority, and ren
der the strict administration of dis
cipline apparently dangerous to her
existence V
Again, large ch.iritv has ever beu
a prominent characteristic of the
Methodist Church. ' All exelusiveness
all narrowness and- liberty all
blind adherence to favorite creeds, and
exploded dogmas she has scrupulously
ignored, as inconsistent Avith the lib
eral spirit of Christianity. . In every
land, he that believeth is acceptable of
her, whatever may be his peculiar
views upon minor topics. But we are
constrained to believe that her very
liberality has, to a large extent, prov
ed a snare to her.
In extending her charity, she has
often surrendered her ground." For
the sake of peace (sometimes for the
sake of popularity) she has sacrificed
her principles and failed to meet ' her
obligations. She has failed to attack
prevalent errors, to insist upon her
perculiar doctrines, and to demand
the respect of sister churches. Many
of her people are not indoctrinated,
and really do not know whether they
are Methodists or not, at all events,
they are not Methodists, because they
believe her doctrines to be truth, and
the Methodist Church to be the
" soundest, safest, and best." For
these reasons, there is, we think a
great wrant of steadiness and decision.
The lines between us and other de
nominations are not distinctly drawn,
and consequently, we can never be
certain of our real status. Many
I these fail to do so, the church suffers.
We need a reliable membership
to
use tho language of Bishop Pierce,
" a compact, serried host, instinct with
one spirit" every man stepping to
the music of spiritual religion loving,
harmonious of one accord-wedded to
the institutions of Methodism not
bigoted but warmly denominational
not exclusive, pretentious, illiberal,
but yet, thoroughly persuaded that
our Church; in doctrine, discipline,
economy, experience, is the "soundest,
safest,1 best.'' '- Such being the tenden
cies and wants of. the times, it seems
to follow: ' -
1st. That the great leading doc
trines of 'Methodism, (which we be
lieve to be tho leading doctrines of the
Bible) shonld be set forth with pecu
liar prominence arid distinctness that
error from every quarter, should be
i j ,i i . .i .i a
V1UIUU pioueu,
in lhc sPirit of controversy, but for
the love of truth, and that the lines
bet?eGn Gs and othcrs sllouia bo
JCLJ-V U1 a w
i ilia, xi ui greater suiccness buouia
-i i
ue mainLamcd m
tho admission of
members into our church, and in the
administration of tho discipline of tho
church, leaving tho consequences with
God.
3rd. That there should bo special
efforts to revive class meetings, prayer
meetings and love-feasts, wherever it
is practicable, and to give them their
original effectiveness and power.
"War. Bobev, j
B. B. CUUBEETH, r COM.
M. F. Owen. )
A True Woman.
A TOUCHING
INCIDENT
TRAIN.
ON A BAILK0AD
The following incident of travel is
narrated by a correspondent of tho
Daily Saratogian. It took place on
the Beuneselear and Saratoga railroad,
on one of tho Northern trains, be
tween Saratoga and Whitehall. N.
Y.'
When tho train halted at Saratoga,
among the passengers from the West,
came a man of about thirty years of
go, elbowing his way through tho
crowd, ana oeanng m ins arni3 a
his
child. He was a poor man; his clothes
were poor; he looked poor. Around
his hat was tied a piece of soiled,
. -1 i 1 111!
woru crape, n was evidently au uio
mourning his scanty meaua would
permit, for the mother of the child was
dead.
. This man was rough in exterior,
yet his face was an honest one. He
haudlod the baby awkardly, yet there
was a tenderness in his sad look that
showed the purity of a father's love.
The little fellow lay on his coarsely
clad knee, a stray sunbeam glanced
across its tired face. They wero both
tired, the father and tho child for they
had come from the far West; and as
he placed his hard, toil-worn hand to
shield it from the golden rays, there
was in his look a mixture of sadness
and care, as if his pout up feelings
had been so crowded back into the
iuner cells of his heart that even tears
could have been no relief to tho hid
den anguish that was making his life a
misery.
The poor child cried; it may be that
the little thing was tired; it missed its
mother; perhaps it was hungry; per
haps it was sick, and so it cried. The
tears rolled down its baby cheeks ; tho
father wiped away the tears as they
fell, and tried to feed it. Ho was so
awkward with tho bottle his had
been a life of toil and hardship and
he knew not how to givo his darling
its nourishment. As ho mado effort
after effort to stiflo the cries and check
the tears of 'his motherless babe, how
he must have missed her who in his
life of labor and privation had beeu hi: j
solace and "comfort. An unbidden
tear started to eye, but he brushed it
quickly away. All who saw him pit
ied him. At length a woman richly
appareled, with an infant resting on
the lap of her nurse beside her sho
had been watching tho man said in a
gentle tone, "Give me tho child."
The poor fellow looked at her with a
look of gratitude, for thoro was a
mother's tenderness in her voice.
With humble resignation, as though
it was pain to part with him, even for
a moment, lio grave her his boy. The
woman took it; its soiled clothes rest
on her costly silk, its tiny head was"
soon beneath her shawl, and in a mo
ment all was still. Like tho Grecian
daughter who through tho iron bars
fed her starving father, so did thin
high born lady from her breast feed
the hungry child, and when on her
gentlo bosom tho little ono lay in calm
and unvexed sleep, sho put asido tho
shawl.
The father's heart swelled with grat
itude. He said as a tear welled in his
eye, and his voice was thick with emo
tion, "Thank you; I'll take him now."
then tho woman's nature spoke forth,
as she gently answered, "Not yet,
you will wako liim,', and for mile after
mile that noblehearted woman held
that poor man's child, and it wa3 not
until her own babo required such
nourishment as only a mother can
givo sho gently rose and placed the
strango boy with its father.
Wickedness is then great, when
great men are wicked.
They that aim, like the Babel buil
ders, at a ijrcat name, commonly como
off with a bad name.
Luther was accustomed to say,
"Bene orasse, est bono studuisse."
To have prayed well is to have studied
well.
Many a rich father has mido of hi
only son what Aaron made of tho of
ferings of the Israelites L golden calf.
The ancients used to say that
"Truth is in a well." We have to dig
for it, and often dig deep. Matthew
Henry says, "Man digs the well; God
fills it."
Tho North American Review said
more than forty years ago: "Tho
etry of Byron is the pootry of earth on
ly; whero it is not, as in his Cain, tho
poetry of hell."
Claudius Buchanan says, " I fancy
that youthful sermon-writers aro gen
erally at a loss to know how to bejin,
and when they do begin, they know
not where to stop."
De Luc says, "Ileal and general ad
vances will only then be made in tho
Science of Nature when tho dread of
prolixity shall bo overcome."
Sir William Jones gives tho title
Bostani-Kheiyal of a Persian romance
in sixteen quarto volumes. Hew many
of our young ladies read it ? "
Diogenes, boasting of his plain, hum
ble apparel, was told, " There is prido
in every hole of your rags."
Sterne says, " Gravity is a mysteri
ous carriage of tho body to hido tho
defects of tho mind."
The author of "Talo of a Tub" says,
"Tho most accomplished way of usiug
books at present is, to serve them as
come do lords loarn their titles, and
then brag of their acquaintance.
" What is all righteousnosa that mcu de
vise?
What, but a sordid bargain for tho skies?
But Christ as soon would abdicate his ow u,
As stoop from heaven to sell tho proud a
throne."
Tnoocritus, when asked which wero
tho most rapacious of all wild beasts,
replied: "Bears and lions in your
mountains; tax-gatherers and slan
derers in your cities."
John Gray, speaking of the Duko of
Newcastle's eloquence at his installa
tion as Chancellor of Cambridge Uni
versity, says, " Vesuvius in an erup
tion was not more violent than his ut
terance, nor Felion, with all its . piuo
trees, iu a storm of wind, more impet
uous tb an his action."
Dr. Burney said of tho English pa
rochial music of his day: " It is such
as would sooner drive Christians out
of the church than draw pagans into
it." 1'opo was more severe :
Light quirks of music, broken and une
ven, Make the soul dance upon a jig to heaven."
Possidonius relates of Austin, ono
of tho Christian Fathers, that this Lat
in distich was inscribed on the table
where he entertained hi friends:
"Quisquis amat dictis abaentem
roderc amicum,
Hanc mensam indiguam noverit esso
sibi."
It must have spoiled the appetites ol
every backbiter