.' i . i clvoca KEY. J. B. BOBBITT, Editor. PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF METHODISM IN NOETH CAROLINA. $2.00 PER ANNUM, IN ADVANCE. VOL. XIX. NO. 47. 1JALE1GH, N. 0., WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1873. WHOLE NO. 1)95. Raleigh Christian te ' ( ' s CUBA. Siempre Fielissima Iala de Cuba. 13 Y JAMES BAR RON HOVE. O'er thy purple U Us. (), Cub . ! TiiO'U'li "O valley ! lomaime. Ui : 1. v irlori-.iis 1 f.-.i m i.l fr-o.lom i i.u1 lir-aml as a trauee. M :i .: ti:i : iss a:. 1 I iii.ttul v .Hoy -Mini tt.wii :tii'l spreading plain, w :;i to !,-.; of the .panitrd. i his Imniiii;! Insi inr itaiu. Si ill c irav il .1 uil-ii i.l I'fd lii'si up tii v strand, Kv'rt'lill- .'.tm'lt itioe. Cuba. s,j -vs ilu' ui'ii Sp.m .-'i Iii .d. i ,if Ci .; ci'.-li i'l tn irli.ii musio ! i- 1-..H1 i.n-pl.z. tiuxv u swells.' ii...v n trembles witu tin. moaning ui ' story tint it to'.U ! i" i r :i ihy 'tops to Vrtaros i' lt-io -V.I-; do io ,i lt.-d ol shame ! i! I;ile.-- men were coldly butchered lis part ui op inisb fam-. W : 1 1 i T now d v :i to liie 1'u i (a, i.iy t'riy h n i up i hy throat, l iiu i wilt, so a Spnuish emblem (:i ilit-' dark and grim jjarrote. l i tho Murn in tho iu irket 1 i tii'1 s'j do .v in the sun 'l i i wilt soo tho heard 1 Spaniard 'Vii-'ii' a seMfii pi o- in iy b." won, A i'i now S.mti i-iV stjry 'iv-'s t!i world a mi'iiy s!nck. --vmth ami Vulcan li;i.l their victim To "5i- a.l mi lutino rock. An 1 they fatten on the?, '"hiba ! J iy Sad-lido cun:iing I'riest--!?' those vuU ires fl ick and hover ill thy torture 1 bro-st to feast! T iiii tr :a? h -i of th- Ocean, I'-j-.n 1 down, not lor w'lat thou'st done, But for fe ir thy social statue. Siioild e-alt living in the sun ! A :d idve tho tears. O, Cuba ! And 0'ir tears to God iiplil,, Tii i". at 1 it the fl iiu s ceVjtial My c nil"? down to thee a gilt! o in rouawatcd. Tor tlie Advocate. The Youth of our Country. Although tho unsanetitied genius of Stephen Decatur led his haughty sjiirit into misconce.tions of gentle manly dignity and honor, and induced him to place on record a precedent which christian intelligence will ever deprecate, the sentiment uttered by Lis noble father should never fade from the American mind: "Our chil dren; the property of our country !" it is a lamentable fact that too many oi the youth, who are to characterize the future of our country, are contract ing debasing and disreputable habits. 31 my of them seem to think it smart in them to shrewdly deceive their parents, and indulge in degrading practices after they have retired to ret. Go to our week-day prayer m. .tings, especially in our towns and vil aires, and who do vou cenerallv find there ? A few of the aged mem tars of the church scattered over the church, while the young men, who are to be the guardians of the dearest in tcrcsts of the church in coming years, are, in too many instances, frecrnenting gambling, billiard, and drinking sa 1'juns! Disregarding parental counsel a'nl admonition, and wholesome re straint, the out-croppings of their nightly carousals too plainly manifest their preference for grop-shop associa tions, instead of the cheerful fireside at home. Although I may not hope to arrest the mighty current of moral cor ruption which is sweeping so many of the once promising youths of our land into the vortex of degradation and ruin, may I not hope to induce some, who have not passed tho Rubi con, to pause ere borne down antl fet tered by tho force of indulgence, like the victim of a merciless reptile writh -i"g in hopeless agony, they find them selves powerless to resist ! When young men think they are vhi'wdhi deceiving their mothers, and seek the association of grog-shops, billiard and gambling saloons, and fcthcr scenes of debauchery after night full, they occupy truly a perilous sit nation. Such young men are to be pitied, and have much need of caution lf,st they bo "led captive by the Devil at liis will," the bane and curse of so ciety. Young men ! The old Serpent, the Devil, has a numerous progeny whose venomous bite is deadly and ruinous, engaged in the work of bait ing his traps and deadfalls with tempt ig bait to decoy and catch unwary youths. Your parents and your sisters, nd the church see the perils which surround you, and feel a doep interest w your happiness and welfare. Why leave the high road to respectability aad usefulness o seek the fetid at mosphere and inviting shades of the moral upas which poison and debase the moral sensibilities of man ? If the small-pox or yellow fever visits a peo ple, spreading gloom and desolation ifl their midst, the electric wires con vey the mournful intelligence to every corner of our sympathizing land. We very properly send our afflicted breth ren needed assistance. But how few feel concerned for the church, and sympathize with the afflicted mothers of the many deluded young men whose feelings of respectability and responsi bility are being smothered and crushed in the miserable cess-pools of moral corruption which infest this land. Young men ! you know not the heavy weight of sorrow you are heaping upon your kind and afflicted mother's heart when you disregard her admo nition and her council, and prefer the association of scenes of debauchery to tho cheerful fireside at home, and the church of God. It is a terrible thing to have your affections, inclinations and desires crouching iu hopeless des peration in degrading homage and servitude at the altar of a degrading and ruinous indulgence, with ghosts and frightful hobgoblins chasing you in your phrenzy, and terrifying the nightly visions of your soul. Make one more effort to disentangle yourself from the coils of your indulged and besetting sin. Go with your kind, forgiving, and care-worn mothers to the house of God, and rejoice their hearts with tho cheerinp; reflection that their noble and considerate sons are ornaments to the church that a bright er future awaits tho church and the country when they shall be reaping their reward in the land of unsullied bliss. Young man ! lift up your head and resolve to be a man. Like the eagle with liis eye turned upward to the orb of day, lifting himself above the tem pests and the clouds, look out from the moral gloom which surrounds you, and like a Sampson, in the strength of a manly resistance, burst asunder the fetters of habit which threaten to chain you to a sad and hopeless desti ny. Lift yourself to a higher and purer atmosphere, high above the de basing practices which brutalize and fetter the mental and moral percep tions of man. God did not endow thee with the thinking faculties of an im mortal soul to be desecrated to the manic-ajwlu of loathsome cess-pools of moral darkness and corruption, frightened into madness by imaginaiy demons and hissing serpents. Man, created in the image of his God, was made to stand erect in all the manli ness, dignity, and nobleness of his im mortal nature the noblest of created beings; with his soul drinking in the purifying, elevating, and illuminating light of a higher and holier influence. Young man ! the love and anxiety of a doting mother's heart pursues and clings to thee with deathless tenacity in your waywardness and thoughtless ness of your duty to yourself, to your parents, and to your God. Should sickness prostrate you, with christian fortitude and resignation, she would watch over you in your lonely horns of feebleness and of sadness, hoping px-oper nursing and medicine might restore you to health. And when de basing and beclouding habit is deaden ing the refined sensibilities, and crush ing out the manly and generous emo tions of your nature, and an unfeeling world is spurning and frowning upon thee as feelings of self-confidence and respect are fading from yom mind, like a lingering angel of mercy, her love, anxieties, prayers, and hopes will pur sue thee, hoping for thy moral rescue and elevation and undying felicity in a brighter land. You know not how poignant and oppressive the weight of grief which is embittering the cup of her joy and sinking her to the tomb, as she sees her beloved boy whom she nursed in liis infancy, tirrning Ms feet from home associations and from the path of Christian consideration and of duty, and plunging in scenes of dissi pation, disreputable, debasing, and ruinous. ine solicitude 01 JJavids heart for the safety of his son, as ex pressed in his lamentation, "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom !" conveys but a faint idea of the inex pressible grief of a sorrow-stricken mother's heart, when she sees her son, the object of her many prayers and tears, sink into the grave a mental and moral wreck of manhood, and the last lingering ray of hope of Ms reforma tion and eternal happiness fades from her mind in the sad realization of Ms melancholy fate and hopeless desti nv. Young man ! your pious and devoted parents love you. Do not disregard their kindly admonition and counsel; but obey their teachings and follow their christian example. Kneel with them around the family altar, invoking the blessings of heaven upon your head. And when they stretch their aged limbs to x-est upon their bedsj do not desire or seek the debasing scenes of outside association; but re tire to your rooms, placing yourselves under the care and protection of the great Shepherd that neither blumbers nor sleeps, feeling that if the material sun should never again ilhunine your pathway on earth, that your purified and redeemed spirit would bask in the eternal and ever iUuminating sunlight of eternal light and love. Let it never be written on the tombstone that points out your mother's grave, "Hoi'e lies an humble, devoted, and affection ate christian mother, whose gray hairs were brought down with sorrow to the grave, by the waywardness and in gratitude of an undutiful and wicked son." Young men ! bear in mind the teach ings and the council of the Inspired Apostle to the Gentiles: "Flee also youthful lusts;" and forget not the admonition of the angel of mercy to a lingering Lot, when the merited ven geance of Heaven was about to do scend upon the cities, and tho wicked inhabitants of the plain: "Escape for thy life: look not belxind thee, neither stay thou iu all tho plain, lest thou be consumed." Take the high road to respectability and usefulness, shun ning the demoralizing influences which contribute to tho degradation, down fall tuid ruin of men. Oxonian. Oxford, N. C, Oct. 28th. For tho Advocate. Historical Society of N. 0. Conference. The question of having the History of North Carolina Methodism written is being now agitated. All agree as to the propriety of the enterprise. The successful career of Methodism in our State, is earnestly worthy of being embalmed in the permanent form of written Mstory. If secular Mstory is philosophy teaching by example, eccle siastical history is Christianity teach ing by example. We have a number of N. C. Histories in reference to sec ular affairs. We have general histo ries of wars, of heathen and civilized nations. AVe have N. C. novels and biographies. The History of the Lu theran Church in Ji. C. is already pub lished that of the Presbyterian, is largely written in Mr. Foote's sketch es of N. C. The Baptists, I leam, took the preliminary steps, at their late con vention, to gather materials for the writing of their Church History, in N. C. Methodists, equal at least in mor al forces, christian usefulness and in fluential power and numerical strength to any other denomination in the State, ought to have self-respect enough to preserve the shining deeds of their forefathers in the form of history. AYhat shall we Methodists do 1 Let us, at least, orgauize a Historical Society at our approaching Conference, as the best means of collecting the widely scattered materials necessary for the writing of the proposed History. There are two sources from which we can gather facts. First, the fragmenta lyTsketches of Methodism to be found in books, magazines, papers and the unpublished manuscripts of our- pio neer fathers. Secondly, the knowl edge attainable from the memory of the aged persons now living in and out of the State. The information from this last source, must be obtain ed speedily or else it will be irretrieva bly lost by death. It is just one. hun dred years since Robert Williams be gan to preach in North Carolina in the Roanoke section. This was the first Methodist preaclnng in our State at any regular preaching place. It was then Missionary ground. The first circuit was formed 07 years ago, and was called "Carolina." Two years la ter, the Carolina was divided into three Roanoke, Tar River, New Hope. It would be eminently appropriate for us to siznolizc, the hundredth year of Methodist preaching in the State by taking the preliminary steps of having the proposed History written. therefore, heartily sanction the article written by Bro. Raven on tMs subject, and write this to get the enterprise put upon the footing of practical op eration. H. T. Hudson. Letter from Dr. Pierce. Mr. Editor: In my former letter, af ter a brief reference to myself, I sug gested much in the way of my fears, and a little, in reference to my idea of reinstating Methodism in its primitive excellency. Than this, there can be no higher object before Methodist pas tors and people. Methodism, as a system of practical godliness, never can be improved upon its original John Wesley foundation, All attempts to improve it are more abortive than would bo the folly of a surgeon who would attempt to benefit Ms patient by cutting off Ms natural legs in order to substitue cork ones. have never known any one to fall out with Methodism, as Methodism, ex cept for the reason that there was more religion in it than they had any relish for. Such a church can neither be created nor perpetuated, without strictness in receiving members, an constant discipline in preserving it from accumulating a stock of merely denominational members. Such ac cumulation will take place in any pop ular church, just in proportion as what is called cultivated and refine social life, increases under a popular religious influence. Hence, the importance of a strenuous guarding of the door of entrance, so that all who look for leaven, may well learn the rule of ad mittance there: 'Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it.' The constant exercise of a high nioral dis cipline is indispensable to the mam - tenanceof a spiritually minded Church; and the very day when a Church, like oiu-s, ftdls below tliis standard idea and law of church membership, it en ters upon its own dissolution. A aerely religious organization, for the sake of religious reputation, is the darling of tho devil, in my opinion; is so, because the more religious any people become, while the light that is within them is darkness, the better is Satan's chance. Hence, you will find, in every country where a formal re gion is becoming an ingredient in the composition of high civilian life, the startling fact, that the higher the civi lization idea rises, tho lower sinks the evangelization idea. And this, just because the flesh, and spirit, are con trarythe one, to the other. It never has been, neither will it ever be, that the idea of high civilization is associat ed Avith any idea of what I am calling high evangelization by which, I mean spiritual regeneration. On the con trary, every appetite that is engender ed by what is commonly called fash ionable lift, is of fleshly origin. The old but tine adage, 'birds of a feather will flock together,' applies to these worldly affianced members. They are always ready for any tiling that 'will increase the gorgeousness of a formal religion; half crazy at the suggestion of any measure for raising money to magnify the Church, its a tiling; and the more grandly it is social, the more cheerfully will this class of members contribute Labor or money. In the, to them, dull rounds of spiritual duties, such as prayer-meetings, class-meetings, etc., they find no attraction. Take out what feeds tho carnal appetites and put in what satisfies only spiritual desires, and you will establish a test of genuine church membership, as in fallible as inspiration itself, wMch says, 'They that are after tho flesh do mind the things of the flesh, and they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.' Now, Mr. Editor, if you w ere on an ecclesiastical jury, and sworn to give, to the best of your judgment, a right eous verdict, in such a case as I will now set forth, would you not write the veiVlict, so far as your vote was concerned, 'We find the accused per sons guilty of 'living after the flesh?' A charge of living after the fllesh, is preferred against a number of yomig persons of both sexes, based upon the fact, that they are to be found at eve ry fashionable or social party within their reach, wliile seldom or never at any of the sociable meetings of the Church. They admit the fact, and confess that 'living after the flesh' is the characteristic of their lives. If iiviiur after the flesh is a crime sufficient to damn the soul, of course they are mifit for the Chiu'ch, and such a verdict would lead to their expulsion, unless the Church consent to turn out its laws, in order to keep members in. And yet, the Chm-ch is crowded with just such cases; which proves, only too clearly, that prose cutions are waived, because conviction and consequent expulsion, would be inevitable. My horror is that this ig noring the sinful course of members, to avoid expelling them from the Church, will grieve the Holy Spirit away from us, wliich alas! I fear is al ready largely the case. I fear so be cause I believe that any church recog' nized of God as conformed to His will, would have more power with Him, than we have, as an open endowment. I tell you, my brethren, God meant a great deal when he told Jeremiah, that if he separated the precious from the vile, he should be as His mouth My idea is that the neglect of the Church of the Living God, commited as it is to our hands as God's appoint ed rulers, is a crinie of fearful results in many retributive issues. Our office is to show God's people their sins. This sounds strangely, but "God's people" means churchmem-bers,- all who have entered into cove nant with Him. This we must do by open and faithful denunciation of all conduct wMch we believe to be con trary to God's Holy word; and kindly but firmly mforrning them that, if af ter such denunciation on our part, they persist, we must and will bring them before the Church upon the charge of living contrary to God's word. The specifications may be drawn upon one or more points, in wliich, in our opin ion, the accused does not make the word of God, Ms or her rule of faith and practice. The Chm ch, as God's Grand Jury is to find a tine bill or no bill. When this verdict is rendered, if the Church should be so corrupt as to find no bill in cases of obvious guilt, you would be at your end as guardian ruler, but not so, as a minister of truth. It would still be your duty to preach faithfully against all those ways of evil living. But on the other hand, should tMs Grand Jury decide that the accus ed is living contrary to God's word, yon have notMng to do but to say to the offender, if you accept the judg ment of the Church, and will yield obedience, all is well; but if you de termine to go on in your own way, you leave me no alternative but to read you out; as you are obliged to see that no clmrch can deliberately continue to retain in its fold one who is is deter mined to live in a way which the Clmrch, in the fear of God, litis deci ded is contrary to God's word.' In cases of persistent obstinacy, always suspend the execution of the sentence, with an earnest exhoitation to the de linquent, to comply with the judgment of the Church. But let it be clearly understood, that dismissal is absolute ly certain within ninety days, unless he sets himself riuflit with the Church. Do tMs, and you will be joyfully sur prised, to see how few you will lose. I tell you all I mean yon pastors of churches that the way you arc go ing on compromises the whole Clmrch, yourselves along with it. These worldly, fleshly minded members, feel that they have the consent of the Church, in the course they tire pursu ing, because through your failure, no decided dissent is ct up by the Church This cannot be had by individual ex pressions of opinion, but only by uni ted utterance in response to distinct charges. Take the proper course, file your bill of complaint, put it before the Church in this Grand Jury form. and you will always succeed .' u'hurn A locale. The Death -bed of Prince Albert. Most, of our l eaders are probably familiar with the remarkable sayiii"; of Prince Albert when upon his dvinc bed: "I have had wealth, rank, and pow er. Jjnt it tuis were ail 1 litul, now wretched I should be now. Roe'.t ol attest cleti f r ine. Lot me hi lo my.-i-iri i tlieo. ' It is not easy to conceive of a more brilliant and happy life than was that of Prince Albert. He was a child of illustrious birth, and the heir to what would generally bo considered la weal Ui. a no iiome oi ms cinuuioou was one of the most imposing of baro nial castles, which feudal pride and opulence had reared upon the heights of Gfcvniy. In his early youth ho en joyea every privilege oi education earth could give. The best teachers of Evu'ope guided his mind in all branches of knowledge. Obsequious attendants anticipated his wants, as he freely moved amid the luxurious surroundings of the castle. Famil iarity with the most cultivated society gave him the Mghest polish of man ! ners, and made him familiar with the etiquette of com ts. He was by nature endowed with a fine mind, much aniia bility of character, and remarkable beauty of person. Prince Albert thus early became, in personal attractions, in mental culture, in princely bearing one of the most accomplished gentlemen in Europe. When about eighteen years of age he visited the royal family in England, to wMch he was nearly related. In the gorgeous saloons of Windsor Castle and of Buckingham Palace he was an honored guest. He was introduced to a circle of society as brilliant and refined as has ever been known upon earth. And here he won the love of his cousin, the Princess Victoria, tho heiress to the throne of England. Their marriage was an event in which not only all Christendom, but every government on earth was inter ested. Embassadors flocked to Lon don, in honor of the occasion, from all the principal dynasties of Africa and Asia. Westminster's grand cathedral was never before crowded with such an assemblage. All that earthly am bition could desire was now attained by Prince Albert. He was in the en joyment of wealth unsurpassed in the visions of romance. He had rank which placed Mm on an equality with tho. most illustrious kincs. He had power such as few mortals ever pos sessed, and yet without the pressure of toil and responsibility. An attractive family of sons and daughters grew up around liiin. He had no paternal anxiety as to provis ion for their future. As each child was bom, the British Parliament voted that child, for the support of the dig nity of the royal family, an annual in f.nme of about one hundred thousand dollars. One daughter married tho heir ap parent of the crown of Prussia. Thus there is onencd to her perhaps the Mghest position which a lady can now occitpy upon this globe - that of the TJmwess of Germany. The eldest son, heir to the throne of Great Brit ftiii. manned into the royal family of Other brilliant alliances opened before others of the chil dien. In the midst of all this prosperity in the meridian of Ms days, being but forty-two years of age, sudden diseasa strikes Prince Albeit down, and he lies upon a dying bed. The regal couch is draped with an imperial canopy. The splendors of a palatial chamber slitter around the bed. The highest dignitaries of Church and State are present with their sympathy aid homage. But death is the equalizer of prince and prcasant. Tho queen is but a woman weeping, broken-hearted, over her dying husband. The royal chil dren are but sons and daughters sob bing in uncontrollable grief over their dying father. Prince Albeit is but a man gasping, fainting, sinking in death pawing from the shsidow of an earthly crown to the tribunal of God, where, like the humh'est subject in his realms, he must ::in wer for eve ry thought, word, and deed done in the body. In a moment of cessation from pain, he looked up to the weep ing ones around him :md uttered the memorable words : " I have had wealth, rank, and pow er. But if tin's were all I had, how wretched siiould I be now. R -k of :ip. cl. ft. Tor ir.o, lj'-t HI- h'llo nn elfin ttiee."' He had, we believe, som ething more. Faith in an atoning Saviour sustained him. He had a professed faith in Jesus, and all who kuew Mm believed him to be a sincere disciple. Reader! yon will soon be placed on this dying bod. Have you this faith to sustain you in that dread hour? A 7 vanci'. Palm Sunday at Rome. KromCau!ai VOid Rome and Now Italy.' It is Palm Sunday. The great Basilica of St. Peter is going to be stow the benediction of Palms. Be hind in the church the people are crushed together, as if they had not received with baptism tho sesil of Christian equality. From the grand altar to the great door are two lines of soldiers to prevent the multitude from pressing on the Vopc. Although the assemblage is most numerous, it does not fill the immense space; for St Peter's could contain sixty thousand souls. Tho words of military com mand resound loudly in the temple, where the voice of prayer should alone be audible. Tho butts of the lire arms fall noisily on the marble pave nient. Those present are strangers. The Roman citizen litis almost dis appeared in the inundation of foreign nil it i i - - ls couch, .py tue y ope to nis syor t the time nxett, tne procession bringing Pius IX. appears. It is im possible for any one to give an idea of the different dresses woin by his re tmue. lo ao so wouia necessitate a masquerading nomenclature like that of Bizancio. At length, after an army of courtiers, comes tho Pope, seated on a gilded tln-one, and borne like the saints in our processions, wearing a robe of crimson velvet and a white mitre, his left liand holding the golden crosier, his right uplifted in benedic tion to those who implore it kneeling. St. Peter's appears a theatre. The stalls, raised on steps under the vast arches wliich support the wondrous dome of Michael Angelo, are occupied by ladies. The arrangement of these religious scats seems the same as that of the central area of the Grand Opera of Paris. Gentlemen whose costume is strictly cn rrg'e occupy the places below tho stalls. During the Mass, some talk, others walk about, and all occasionally use opera-classes, sometimes turned on the ladies in the stalls, sometimes di rected toward the cardinals. The noble guards dressed like our cava! iers of the Court of Philip IV., with trunk hose and silk stockings, short velvet jackets, the sleeves slashed and adorned with clipses of satin; the man tle on the shoulder; the dagger with hilt of steel before; the black head gear under the arm, and the wliite collar on the neck join in the general conver sation and mingle in the general prom enade. The Swiss only are immova ble. It is pitiful to reflect that they have been so weak-minded as to for sake the liberty of their native moun tains to serve poor mercenaries ! a foreign sovereign. Their costume was designed by Raphael, and in this the great painter did not prove himself a master of color - it is a mixture of strips of black, red, and yellow cloth; a helmet ornamented with a wliite feather covers the head, and each bears an elegant battle-axe. They look like lay figures dressed as harlequins. Going Through the Thin. A venerable father was giving the charge to & young brother, who had just been installed over his first pas toral charge, "You must be prepared, saidhe, "my young friend, to g through thisl: and Ami." Then raising his voice, ho added, "' effevial!y th thiii. Tho pastors ami missionaries, who are labeling on salaries of from ijjiOO to $800 or $900 a year, will ap preciate tka point of the charge, wheth er then- congregations do or not. Thg stinginess, and sometimes absolute meanness, which ministers are compell ed to submit to at the hands of the people they serve, is one of the great est trials they are called to meet. They have one consolation: the 'Master they serve is not mean, if he has some mean people. Thought B ittor Than Books KliV. C U. MTIK'EON I would eamt stly impress uprn all the truth that a man who is short of apparatus can make up for it by much thought. Thinking is lettT than possessing lxioks. Thin king is an ex iTtise of the soul wliich both develops its powers and educates them. A little girl was once asked whethcr'she knew what her soul was; and to the siu--prise of all; she said: "Sir, my soul iH my think." li this be correct, some persons have ve ry little soul. Without thinking, read- ng cannot benefit the mind, but it may delude the man into the idea that he is growing wise. Books arc a sort of idol to some men. As the image with the Roman Catholic is intended to make Mm think of Christ, and in ef feet keeps him from Christ; so, Ixxjks are intended to make men think, but are often a hindrance to thought. When Gkouge Fox took a sharp knife and cut for himself a pair of leather breeches, and having done with all the fashions of society, hid himself a hol low tree, to think of tho months to gether, ho was growing into a man be fore whom tho men of the looks sjiecd ily boat a retreat. What a flutter he made , not only among the Poperies, and Presbyteries of his day, lint also among tho well-read proprieties of dissent. He swept no end of cobwebs out of tho sky, and gave the bookworm a hard time of it Thought is the backbone of a student; and if more ministers would think, what a blessing it would be! Only we want men who will think about the revealed truth of God, tuid not dreamers who solvo rC' ligions out of their own'eonse.iousness. Now a days we are pestered with set of fellows who must needs sttuid on their heads and think with their feet. Romancing is their notion of meditation. Instead of considering revealed truth, they excogitate a mess of their own, in which error, and non sense, and conceit, appear in about equal parts; and they call this broth "modern thought." We want men who will try to think straight, and yet think deep, because they think God's thoughts. Far be it from me to urge yon, to imitate the boastful thinkers of this age, who" empty their meeting-houses, and then glory that they preach to the cultivated and in t jllectual. It is miserable cant. But earnest thought upon the tilings which are assuredly believed among us is quite another matter, and to that I urge you. Personally, I owe much to many hours, and even days, spent alone, under an old oak tree by the River Medway. Happening to be somewliat indisposed, at the time when I was leaving school, I was allowed considerable leisure, and, armed with an excellent fishing-rod, I caught a few small fishes, and enjoyed many day dreams, intermingled with seiirch ing of heart, and much ruminating of knowledge gained. If loys woidd tliink, it would be well to give them less class work and more opportunity for thought. All cram and no diges- ton, makes flesh destitute of muscle, and this is even more deplorable men tally than physically. If your people are not numerous enough to supply you with a library, they will make fewer demands on your time, and per haps you will be even better off than your brethren with many books and no time to meditate upon their con tents. ChrU'ian at Work. How Arizona Lost Her Forests. I egend of the Utcn. A legend of the Utes, for which I am indebted to the perusal of Major Powell's M. S. notes, explains the cause of the absence of woods in north ern Arizona. It is not long, and there is sometliing so inexpressibly novel in its movement, as well as in the fact of our drawing a new mythology and fresh imagery from the very heart of tho continent, that I give it, as it is remembered It is called. "The Origin of Fire," and tells how once upon a time a bright spark fell from tho point of a reed upon the ground, and the nightingale picked it up in its leak and found it was fire. And the mighty cMef of the Utes asked what it was, and the nightingale said it was fire. And tho cliief asked if there were any more in the world, and the night ingale said, that far off in the South was a people dancing ever about a great fire, with songs and shouts. So the mighty cliief of tho Utes made ready, and put on a fine cap, with long eagle feathers upon it, and started for the people of the South. And, as he went, he stationed nimble nmners of Ms tiibe all the way from the land of the Utes to the Fire People, at inter vals of a mite. And, journeying, he came, after many days, totnelu-ePeo pie, dancing v. iLh songs and shouts about a great fire. And he mingled with them, but they Baw he was a stranger and looked askant at lmn. But he danced and sang, and shouted, with them, end suddenly stooping, thrust the end of Ms eagle plumes in the lire, and they blazed up mightily. And the lire People wouldltave catiirht him, but .he leaped over their heads and ran to the first man of his triU-. and falling exhausted, handed Mm Ihe Razing torch of plumes and told Mm to run. And lie ran and 'fell exhausted by the soeo'nd mail, handing him the plumes. And m they 'ran, each man catching the fire pluiutr. from the hand of the runner, until the last man brought it to the land of the 1'ten. And they were no rejoiced, they put the torch to the roots of a mighty tree on the edge of the forest 'and Khouted aH it burned. Butagriv.t wind Mining up and carried the lire into the forest and it spread in every direction, mid all the woods were destroyed. And the people of the Utcs prayed long and loud to the god Tawotz, and at length he sent a mighty rain, which quenched the hre. But a turtle sat upon a spark of fire and kept it alive luring the rain. And this was tho origin of fire. Tho myths combined give a not uninteresting barbaric his tory of the origin of the Grand Canon and river of the Colorado, and of tho absence of forests in this part of Ari zona. - M. S. S vrrnnit; lit Oli AND Nkw, r li miter. MiBchievous. A paper mill--a light R tween rival journals. Before slates were used people multiplied on the face of the earth. Athens, G.i., lias a pa ter named 6V, with the motto "I can scratch." Out in Montana when they htart a man down hill in a barrel, they speak of liis "appearance in a new role." "What is your name, little girl V "Minnie." "Minnie what.'" "Minnie Don't; that's Avhat Mamma calls ine." A Boston diy goods dealer ad vertises "financial crash towels." Some people have their think ing, like their washing, done out. An Irishman has defined nothing to bo "a footless stocking without legs." A description by another Emer- alder is bettor. "What is nothinir?" he was asked. "Shut your eyes and you'll see it," said Pat. The lowest? thing a Southerner wiys he has read latelv in a Noi-Hii'in imir. t mil, is the thermometer record. A cow at Rome, Ga., lay down re cently and her tail froze to the ground A Southern paper, in giving a pathetic account of the affair, says that when the cow got up there was another snap. The only Oimections. 'One day List summer,' said Mr. Nast, to an inUr- viewer, 'I received a genuine proo sition of marriage from tin admiring young lady in Ohio, in which she re ferred to (lem ral Schciick and ex- Goveinor Denuison as to her h- tion.' 'What did you do ?' AYhy, I sent back a cartoon of Mrc. N.ist and the children,' lalxlled tl 0 only objections.' Seed Thoughts. Reason can not show itself more reasonable than to leave reasoning en things alovo reason. Sir P. Sidkey. Nothing tends so much to pro duce drunkenness, or even madness, os tho frequent use of parenthesis in con versation. SlIENSTONE. He tliat impovcrisheth his chil dren to enrich his widow, destroys a quick hedge to make a dead one Fuller. Ambition thinks no face so leauli f nl as that which looks from under a crown. Sir P. Sidnky. An excuse is worse and more t r rihlo than a lie; for an excuse is a lie guarded. Pope. The ready way to the light em ployment of life is, by a pronect to wards another, to have but a very mean opinion of it. Spectator. Mere bashfuhiess without merit is awkward; and mei it w ithout mod csty insolent But modest merit has a double chum to acceptance, and gen erally meets with as many patron as 1 icholder s. 1 1 vo ues. An Akron, Ohio, cat relying upon Ms nine lives to save him, allowed his tail to swell, his spine to curve, and with a war cry emanating from his jaws, waded into a buzz saw in rapid motion. Tho cat was never seen again, but the Jmjss sawyer, who always stood with las mouth open while at work, remarked to his assistant that he could 'taste iiddio strings and sausage mer.t in the air that morning.' One of the Ohio papers tells about a brave little boy out there who found a broken rail on tho railroad track, imd perceiving the eril in which the train would be placed if it should romo dashing past without warning, sat out on the fjnee for 5ve long hours in tho bitter winter t ohl, in order that ho might carry the first news of the acci dent to his father, who is local editor of a paper published in the neighbor ing village. J