North Carolina Newspapers

R o n Christian A aie: II e 11 IU REV. J. B. EOBBITT, Editor, PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF METHODISM IN NORTH OAEOLINA. $2.00 PER ANNUM, IN ADVANCE. VOL. XX. NO. 7. RALEIGH, N. C, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1874. WHOLE NO. 1,005. i r ' t r ' i . . - The Death-Answered Prayer of Moses, BY H. WALTER FEATHERSTTJN. "I beseech thee, show me thy glory. Sx. xxxlll. IS. On Sinai's cloud encircled brr, Athwart which vivid lihtn ngs play, Where God the towering heavens dth bow. Ilia awful grandeur to portray, IVipt MopfS btauds and gazes on The scene sublime with wonder fraught, Until his face its aspect gone The pageant, kindling glow has caught. - And gszing on, he wonders why Thij mighty pageant Is displayed ! What new design matured high In heaven is now to be portrayed ! He prays: "Oh Father, show to me Thy glory all thy grand design Unfold the glorious mystery Upon me let its luster shine !" "No man can see my face and live Can scarcely stand a glimmering beam; The sight thou crav'st I must not give But still its clouded rays may gleam Upon thee not its fullest blaze An adumbration thou may'st see Its full tile then in other days I'll pour unclouded full on thee." His woik is done leath's day has come Th prophet lead?r bids his charge Adieu all silenced is the hum Of that vast throng, while tear-drops large, FiiH-frauglit with grief, so gushing warm, O'errun each eye which fondly turns A farewell gase uu that loved form. For which each ardent bosom burns. Th'tf dear-loved form, rnc'-dlng now. Forever from their view ascpuds Old Nebo's rugged, lofty brow; And pausing now, a moment spends In meditation, gazing o'er The plain bedazzled with the blaze of snowy, sun-lit tents, no more To jireet hii loving, lirgering gsso. Now hi'h on 1;, 11 old Pisah. top !! tird-. w!ii!e smiling Palestine, (ii-t-en-rol'id before his view, loom up; And then that pigsantry divine. Long lo"k-.'d for and long wished, nnveilg Its splendors to his raptured view; Old Time's career his vision trails. The c'oudy future piercing through. lie sees his own loved Israel spread I n beauty o'er those emerald hills J'hov ah's pride, her foeman's dread Oh how tie scene his spirit thrill. ! sees her high in glory rise E'en up its lofty climax climb l'o sees her kigs and sage, wise. Her poets, prophets, most sub'ime. An 1 f irlhr ou h; sees the light Or g'spnI day dawn on the earth The Suo ol'iighteoisness, lor flight, Plume well his wings at Shiloh'a berth. He sees the light more lustrons grow, Asowuard moves the gospel day, Until it melts before the glow 01 j-'rand Mi'lcrjium's brighter ray. And farther yet he tees, away Beyond old Earth's and Time's c ireer. The brightest beams ol heavenly day. And heavenly music greets his ear; He sies loved Israel gathered round The throne of Israel's Shiloh bright, And hears thei' raptnroas songs resound Fir o'er those blissful plaine of light! As he each opening scene beholds, More raptured still his spirit grows; Bnt now the last grand sceue unfolds All feverent now his spirit glows; His quivering frame sinks 'neath it. weight His trembling spirit spreads its wings Now bursts it. earthly prison's gate. And, qaics as thought, toward glory spring.. Oh man of God thy feervent prayer Is answered, and the glory shown Why thus so still and pale ! O whero Ills thy enraptured spirit flown ! : Transcending depths ol aiur. deep, It passes through yon portals brigh', j O'er heaven's verdant fields to sweep. All bathed in floods of golden light. For the Advocate. Letters to a Young Itinerant. No. IV. ; But there are other evils growing out of the use of tobacco, besides its polluting, unseemly filthiness, which, were I to pass over in silenee, I would . do violence to my convictions of duty; ' and you will allow me to bespeak your patience, and if need be, your forbear ance, (if so be that you indulge in this habit) while with almost parental so licitude, and, as I trust, a due sense of professional responsibility, I warn you of the physical, and sometimes moral disaster that this habit entails upon its victims, some or all of which may overtake and overwhelm you ere life's duties are done. '; The millions of the human race who . use the weed, are brought forward to prove that there is something in it that meets certain propensities of our nature, and yet by nature to one has a relish for,or will love the taste of to bacco. These are purely acquired iti properties are virulently poison ous and its effects preerninently prove this. The vertigo, deadly nau sea, and subsequent profuse vomiting that follow its absorption in the eys f tern, are so many pointings of nature ? going to prove her repugnance to its : presence in her appointed work and are so many remonstrances against its repetition or persistence in bringing her well ordered laws in (subjugation it follows therefore that the taste for tobacco is first endured and after wards loved, purely to secure its ef fects. These though so repugnant and terrible at first, gradually subside, ad the infatuated victim persists in his efforts to overcome them, until not only a new taste and want is aroused, bat a new train of sensations are developed, unnatural in their cause, inatorbid. in their character,and pernici Qts in their tendency both to the piysical and menial man. This new trtiin of sensations and unnatural Vints soon gains an aseenclancy oyer jth;r victim that in thousands of 'iBaiv.8 amounts to a species of monom ania which is premonitory of the whole train of mental aberrations, from incipient to confirmed insanity. But by far the most common and wide spread evils growing out of the use of tobacco are seen in its effects upon the physical health. That its use in all forms is highly deleterious to health, productive of a vast num ber and a grave character of diseases, is none the less true; though neither regarded, feared nor believed by its votaries, whose aggregate is probably a majority of mankind. The essential oil of tobacco, or its active principle, is declared to be one of the most active and virulent poi sons in the Materia-Medica, as may be proven by simple experiments on animals, and as are seen by the mor bid effects its continued or immoder ate use soon brings upon its consu mers. These morbid effects are varied and wide spread, and enter largely into the causation of that potent and alarmingly prevalent disease called tlyzpopsfa. This is true in probably nine cases out of ten. Dyspepsia, arising from the use of tobacco, is a very intractible and obstinate form of that disease hard to treat and harder to cure because of the difficulty of drawing off the poison, which is its chief cause. t This form of dyspepsia not only torments and tortures its victims with almost the whole cata logue of physical diseases, but reacts on the mind, inducing paraxyoms of dejection, anxiety, fearful forebodings, palpitations, tremors, and a hypochon driacal and constant fear of impending death. This physico-mental disquiet ude is so terrible that it cannot be discribed in words, is admitted to be indescribably wretched. Think of a man a minister, study ing a sermon, visiting the sick, in structing and encouraging an earnest inquirer, or ascending the pulpit to preach a sennon in such a frame of mind as that ! This state of physical and mental suffering so terrrible to think of, will measurably pass off, if the victim will abstain for a few horns from his indulgence and one would think that a person once passing through all these dread horrors if he could only feel himself free again, ex trieated, released, would "go and sin no more;" but such is the infatuation of this habit upon the man. So im perative the morbid craving within him, that sometimes in a few hours he finds himself writliing again in the clutches of his tormentor. (How like the poor enslaved inebriate !) Talk to him in regard to his habit, he will agree with you, remonstrate with him, he is ready to promise, warn and entreat him, he sees the danger but rushes right upon it. How ap propriately he might exclaim with the Apostle, "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death." But, then; tobacco is a powerful nervous stimulant, and sedative ac cording to the manner and extent in which it is used, or tolerated by the system; all poisons of its class first stimulate to be followed by sedation. This exaltation and depression, having a specific cause, and that being a poison, soon induces a morbid con dition of the nervous system such as sooner or later cripples the strength limits the capacities and disturbs the equilibrium of the human mind. This is perhaps time in thousands of cases among all our professions, and may account for their premature decline in physical endurance and mental strength. A great mind inspired with great thoughts, that is thus benumbed and obtunded in its straggles to be free and to grasp the great truths of science or leligion, must not only ex haust and back down the physical sys tem through which its acts, but must at last fall short in its own powers, of what it otherwise might have achieved. This is a most startling fact, while I pray you to remember; for if this is true in regard to other things,or other professions, it is equally true in regard to the work of the ministry. Embra cing as it does matter for the prc foundest thoughts that ever engaged a mortal man; and looking to results that reach beyond the end of time to find their consummation in the day of eternity. Is it not a pity more is it not a sad calamity that so many of our ministers are poisoning their systems, enfeebling their energies, fettering their minds; and in this way forestall ing their usefulness, curtailing their labors and influence, and abbreviating their lives, just to gratify a taste and craving of their own creating, for a poison, that kills while it satisfies. You will see, my ("ear brother, that. I have devoted this entire number to the consideration of the evils and damages of an indulgence in this habit of using tobacco. I offer no apology for do ing so. The magnitude of this habit and the injury which it is entailing upon the health of our ministry and the Church, to me are sufficient reason for warning and remonstrance; and, however lightly these mp.y be esteem ed, and however far short they may fall of producing the restraint and re form that are so much needed from you, I hope for a better hearing, and for this reason, confidently appeal to you, if you are a slave of this habit, that you will shake it off as you would some dreadful incubus that like a "strong man armed" is weighing you down, or if you are not, that you will shun it, as you would a mortal sin. Yours in Christ, Watchman. Cedar Grove, February, 1874. For the Adrocale. Annual Conferences - No. 3. Mb. Editor: One of the most stri king features of these conferences is the behavior of the preachers when ever a contribution of money is called for. And really, brother Jim, I sometimes feel like taking the whole posse out and flagellating them soundly for their conduct. A stranger would think that they had "dead loads" of money, seeing how they give it away Not a collection is made for any purpose that these im pecunious brethren do not give nearly every dollar of it. At this very last conference one of these benevolent paupers gave one hundred 'and fifty dollars in one lump. And just four years before,I saw the same charitable beggar give fifty dollars at once. To be sure that style of doing it is not common; but the tens and fives fall "thick as autumn leaves in Valani brosa's vale" whenever a pressing call is made for them. Don't you say, friend Bobbitt, that they ought to be thrashed for it ? I confess that it al ways makes me feel mean when I see it; and I don't like to feel mean. I have often wished that the stingy sup porters of the gospel at home, in tte church and ou', (f if, could see the self-denjing generosity, the heaven trusting courage and faith, with which these men give so freely of their in sufficient and ill-paid salaries. But 1! of them do not, because they cannot, give. It was with no little pain that I learned, after leaving there, that one of them, "of whom the world is not worthy," with the burden of many years and more abundant labors upon him, was removed from one charge to another nearly across the State, and had not, as he told my pastor, "jive cents" to meet the expense of that re moval! The preachers made up a purse for him! If the devil don't get the greater part (if not all) of his late parishioners, brother Bobbitt, I'd like for you to tell me if the devil knows his own business. The open housed hospitality of the citizens on these occasions is always most genial and pleasant; and every preacher seems to be at liberty to take whom he will, and as many as he will, to the house whero he is lodged. The preaching at Conference is al ways good as it always should be. But it is said that "kissing goes by favors." Does preaching at Confer ence go the same way 1 And do preaching and kissing therefore go to gether? If so, brother Bobbitt, can you tell me how many times brother H. had to kiss brother M. before he, brother H., got two appointments to preach at one Conference, while so much eloquence was kept bottled up in other vessels and not suffered to explode at all ? I have been figuring at that problem myself, and conclude that the heavy whiskers must have swept the clean-shaven face, or e con verso the clean-shaven face must have sought and pressed the heavy whis kers, several times, Next time I move that the kissing be required to be done on the conference floor coram pub. What shall I say of the bishop ? He looks more like a judge on the bench, or a general in the field than a preach er. A man of impressive appearance and great dignity of manner, he seems bom and trained to command. And yet I thought at times that a little more of the forliter in re would not have been misapplied. His preach ing was quite up to the bishop mark; and yet I could name several who I think can beat him. As an executive officer, I should say that he has no superior, if an equal. Though this was his first visit to the North Caroli lina Conference be was, I am told, as minutely and thoroughly informed of the recent history of every man in it, and of every pastorate under its juris diction as any of his council. When a name was proposed in the council he referred to his memoranda, and could tell at once where that man had been and what he had done for several 3reurs past. When a pastorate was called,he could as readily tell by whom it had been served for the last several years, and what was its general con dition. Decidedly, a Joseph E. John ston sort of commander; one who keeps his forces well in hand, and can tell any minute where any man is and what he is doing. There are many things of interest to be seen and heard at Conference, of which I will toll you of but one more: "fcr the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jepthah; of David also and Samuel, and of the prophets;" of the Sunday-school Mass Meeting, of the Missionary Society meeting, of the solemn memorial services in honor of our Roid, our Barringer, of Norman the aged, and of father Holmes. We must omit many things and hasten to the close; for time presses and patience fails. The one scene and one event which movet most powerfully the heart, and with chastened effect, the imagination, is the aclministiation of the Lord's Supper to the large number of com municants who there throng around His table. This service was conducted at our last Conference by our excellent brother, Rev. Dr. Deems. It had been some time in progress when I reached the church. How many had com muned, I know not. The chancel was surrounded and crowded by the kneel ing communicants on my arrival. And again and again, and yet again, many times was it thus surrounded. As band after band gathered round that table and retired, as company suc ceeded company of communicants, the congregation the while accompanying them with "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in their hearts to the Lord," the Doctor spoke to them words of advice or warning, of exultant hope or triumphant faith which now melt -ed, now strengthened their hearts. Quoting our Lord's almost dying words "this do, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me," he reminded them that more than eighteen hundred years have passed since that sacrament was instituted and those words were spoken. Then the splendid Roman empire was in the zenith of its great ness and glory: centuries have elapsed since that mighty fabric crumbled to rains and the dust of more than a thousand years lies thick over its buiied grandeur. He told of other empires and nations that have since risen and fallen; of the temples and columns and triumphal arches and other creations of human genius and monuments of human glory then standing or since erected, seemingly raised to stand forever, long ago over thrown and forgotten; of that glorious temple at Jerusalem, with its hundreds of priests and servitors, its "goodly stones and gifts," its gorgeous ritual, its bleeding sacrifices and smoking altars, of which truly is it to be said that not one stone has been left upon another that has not been thrown down; of which it hath been wailingly sung ''Our temple hath not left s stone, And Mockery sits on Salem's throne;" and still, said the preacher, this simple observance testifies the Christian's re membrance of his crucified Lord. But I will not attempt further to repro duce the speaker's eloquent and touch ing thoughts. I kno'.v of none but Deems who could say it as he said it. All who heard him must have ownel that there is a reality and a lorions life-giving power in the gospel of Jesus Christ, when the mere words of that Jesus are thus sure to outlive all the works of man, and the remem brance and observance of them through all generations and in all lands still bind in holy brotherhood the millions who have believed on his name. But very likely, Mr. Editor, you are tired of me, and your readers no less so. With a post-script to your read ers, the words of Woodsdale are ended. As for ourselves we met as friends; let us part in peace. Woodsdale. P. S. Gentle Reader, my Fellow Rustic: If you want to know anything more about Annual Conferences you may go and see one. I have discharged my conscience. I have not told you all by a great deal, but I have told you enough; enough perhaps to get me a flogging from somebody. I won't incur any further risk for you. Were I to write any more I might make somebody mad. I might let out who preached too long, who spoke too often, who "sassed" the bishop. I might criticise some man's logic, another's "elocution," another's be havior, and another's looks. I might let escape me who is the ugliest man in the Conference; for I know very well who he is. But I am notgoing to do it. I have a wholesome regard for whole bones and a sound skin. And were I to tell you of the pretty Methodist women who were there and try to tell you who was the prettiest, I don't know what the consequence might be. I desire to live in peace. If the men were ugly, they didn't mean any harm by it, and I won't tell on them. If the women were pretty and they Were I fear they did mean harm by it, and I'm afraid to tell on them. Go see for yourself next Conference! Yours, in the faith of Methodism, Woodsdale. An undecided fellow courted a lady for twenty-tight years and then mar ried her. She turned out a perfect virago, but Jied in two years after ti e wedding. "Now," said he, in a self congratulating tone, " see what I have escaped by a long courtship." For the Advocate. Revival in China. I have just received a letter from Lungchow, Shan ting Province, China, written November 29, 1873, by my dear friend, Mrs. L. T. Crawford, of the Southern Baptist Board in the United States; and in giving an ac- i count of the missionaries whom I used to know in that country, Mrs. Craw ford speaks of Rev Mr. Corbett, an i American Presbyterian Missionary who is laboring "a hundred or two miles" south-west of Lungchow. "Mr. Corbett is having a great revival," is the statement. "At last accounts he had received into the chiu-ch more than a hundred adults." How long the revival had been in progress is not stated. The intelligence comes in a manner that indicates the work to be one of no ordinary character, and that it is still going on wif,h unabating in terest. "A great revival" in China ! How strange, and how cheering, es pecially to one who has labored among and with that people, and witnessed their inexcitability, their want of en thusiasm, upon religious subjects; and seen with what reluctance they give up their old and familiar system of re ligion for the Gospel ! How such news must cheer the hearts of all the missionaries in that country! How it must quicken their faith and stimulate their zeal! "A great revival" in China. Let it be told in all Christendom. Let it be known in all the Church es! Surely such news "from afar" should arouse the whole Church to renewed efforts for the salvation of the last heathen, and increase the confidence of Christians in the China Mission. Can any one doubt longer that it is his duty to support that mission his duty to contribute to strengthen it ? Can any one longer doubt that the Gospel is intended for that people ? H so, he had better become deeply and earnestly concerned for his own soid, and begin to pray for his own salva tion. No one can be saved without trying to save others without trying to save the heathen especially. With out the Gospel they must perish. How can any one expect salvation him self if he cares not for the salvation of the p'risliing ? How fearful will be tne accoant of men of means, of any means, who heed not the Macedonian call ! Men are called to contribute according their means. What a bur ning shame for a man making his thousands annually to contribute only fifty cents or a dollar to the mission ary cause, while some poor body, who has to depend upon her needle for a support, pays that amount or more each year! What shall the Methodists in the North Carolina Conference raise the present Conference year for the cause of missions 1 Only 4510, which is assessment ! That will not be ten cents to the member. Thirty two cents to the member would, give the amount the Board at Nashville assess ed our Conference last May. Shall we not raise it ? why not ? The amount is very small for our membership. Let every preacher treble his assess -ment and it will be raised. It is to be hoped that the time is at hand when missionary assessment will not be made. That collection ought to be imlimited. M. L. Wood. Literary Women. Very intellectual women are seldom beautiful. Their features and partic ularly their foreheads, are more or less masculine. But there are exceptions to all rules,and MisB Lankon was an ex ception to this one. She was exceed ingly feminine and pretty. Mrs. Stanton likewise is a handsome woman. Miss Anthony and Mrs. Livermore are both plain. Marie and Jane Porter were women of high brows and regular fea tures, as was also Miss Sedgewick. Anna. Dickenson has a strong mascu line face; Kate Field has a good looking, though by no means a pretty one, and Mrs. Stowe is thought to be positively homely. Alice and Phoebe Cary were both plain in features, though their sweetness of disposition added greatly to their personal appearence. Margaret Fuller had a splendid head, but her features were in-egular, aud she was anything but handsome, though some times in the glow of converstion she appeared almost radiant. Charlotte Bronte hadwondrously beautifuly dark brown eyes and perfectly shaped head1 She was small to diminutiveness, and was as simple in her manner as a child. Julia Ward Howe is a fine looking wo man, wearing an aspect of grace and refinement and great force of charac ter in her face and carnage. Laura Holloway resembles Charlotte Bronte both in personal appearance and in the ead experience of her young life. Neither Mary Booth nor Marian Har Ian can lay claim to handsome faces' though they are splendid specimens of cultured woman, while Mary Clemmer Ames is jufit as pleasing in features as her writings are graceful and popu lar, fiaflbnorean. Justification by Faith - A Perplexity Unraveled. BY VOX CLAMANTIS. No thoughtful observer can have failed to notice'the'eonfusion and per plexity that exists in the minds of ma ny teachers and seekers of religion in reference to the subject of faith and justification. This embarrassing con fusion is one of the grand hindrances to the personal holiness and comfort of God's people, as well as the suc cessful preaching of the gospel. We notice: 1. Thil justification and the assurance ofjuatijicalion are often confounded. Justification is an act of the rnind of God. The assurance of justification is the communication of the fact of justification to the mind of the peni tent. The act of justification in the mind of God is not only a fact distinct from the knowledge of assurance im parted to the penitent, but they are facts that are not always constanta neous. Penitent souls are often justi fied or have the witness of justifica tion. Justification takes place in the mind of God the moment the sinner surrenders his will to the divine will through the redemption that is in Jes us Christ. The witness of justifica tion or the spirit of adoption is com municated to the penitent after he be lieves in the faot of his justification which has already taken place in the mind of God. The condemned cul prit at the point of execution may have been pardoned by executive clemency while death seems to him his inevita ble doom. The arrival of the swift messenger with the reprieve does not create the fact of pardon, but brings the witness of a fact that has already taken place. 'Even so the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God. Now, we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.' The faith which secures justification is often confounded with the faith which secures the witness of justifica tion, as well as with that assurance of faith which is produced by the witness of the Spirit. Here are three modifi cations of faith which should be clear ly distinguished in spiritual instruc tion. The Scriptures teach plainly that we are justified by faith only. This is the cardinal doctrine. The very pillar and ground of the truth, But the faith which secures justifica tion is essentially distinct from both that faith which brings the 'seal of the Spirit' upon the soul, and that assur ance of faith which is the fruit of the Spirit. The faith which seems justifi cation is the reliance upon or accep tance of Christ as the only and all sufficient meritorious ground of justifi cation. Its object is not the fact of justification, but the all-comprehensive merit of Christ as the procuring cause of justification. It is simply a willingness to be justified by receiving Christ as a complete Savior. 'As ma ny as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on his name. The faith which secured the witness of justification has for its object the fact of justification itself. The peni tent, consecrated soul receives Christ as a complete Savior, and in that mo ment it is justified in the mind of God, but the Spirit of God only knows the mind of God, and may or may not communicate the fact of justification at the same moment. For the peni tent may receive Christ as a complete Savior without at the same time be lieving in the fact of justification. This is a psychological fact of the deep est significance. It is faith in justifi cation as a fact; the belief that I am justified through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, that secures the abiding witness of the Spirit. This act of faith sometimes accompanies the leception of Christ which secures jus tification and then the justification of the sinner and the witness of justifi cation are constantaneous. Assur ance of faith is the faith of 'the opera tion of the power of God,' which is preceded by both the faith that justi fies and the faith which secures the witness of justification. It is the 'fruit of the spirit or the direct gift of God.' Notice: 3. Some of the results of not clear ly perceiving these distinctions. One of the consequences of not making the distinctions noted above, is the very absurd practice of urging penitents to believe that they are forgiven, in order that they may be forgiven. In answer to the agonizing inquiry. 'What shall I do to be saved?' thepen- itent is instructed to believe that God does now for Christ's sake forgive him, that he may forgive him. Now unra vel this, and we find confusion, per plexity and absurdity itself. Let us see. The penitent desires forgiveness or justification. The instructor urges bim to believe that God does now for give him for Christ's sake, as the only condition of his justification. That is believe what is not a fact, and it be comes a fact. Believe a lie and it be comes the truth. You are not now justified, and you will ba justified. Plainly this involves the absurdity of substituting effect for the cause. Faith in the fact of justification must necessarily be the effect or result of the antecedent fact. It cannot there fore be made the cause of what has already taken place in the mind of God. All this confus on and perplex ity arises from not distmguishing between the fact of justification and the witness of the fact. The penitent who is willing to accept Christ as a complete Savior, is justified already by virtue of that acceptance or faith, and should be instructed to believe in the fact of his justification not in or der to create the fact, bat to secure the witness of the fact. Another difficulty which arises from not dis tinguishing assurance of faith from the faith which secures justification is, that penitents are urged to believe in order to justification, and at the same time told that faith is the gift of God. God does indeed require and command faith as the condition of salvation, but assurance of faith is the immediate, direct and glorious fruit of the opera tion of God upon the heart of the pen itent believer. The fij st is the con dition of justification and the gift of God only as the result pf that pre venient grace which is given to all men. The second is the result of justification and the witness of the Spirit. St. Low's Ad a catr. Conrt Etiquette. Among the most perplexing ques tions to which European Courts have been subject in the past are those of etiquette and ceremonial. We find much curious information on this sub ject in a recent article in an English Magazine. The Spanish Court was the most punctilious, aud many absurd tales are told of the extent " to which scruples of etiquette were indulged in. Among them we have that of the origin of the death of Phillip DII, who finding the fire too hot for his royal well -being, told the Marquis de Pobar to put it out. But the Marquis could not presume to so, because fire extinc tion was one of the attributions of the Duke d'Useda, who most fortuitously, was at thatemoment hunting in Catal onia. So the king, who of course could not condescend to give way to fire fire being bound by etiquette to giveaway to kings sat majestically and scorchingly still, grew far too warm for health, got erysipelas, and thereby died. French etiquette was almost as ex treme as that of Spain. Arni-chairs, backed chairs, and stools were, for centimes, as Voltaire says, 'important objects of politics, and illustrious sub jects of quorrels.' He explains, with his "usual spitefulness, that the et'quette of chaii s came from 'Ihe bar barians, our grandfathers,' who had only one arm-chair, which was solely used by the people who were ill. This latter view is borne out by the fact that there were provinces in France where the piece of f urniture in ques tion was called a chaise de dcleance; and that the Germans have, from all times, denominated it kravkenscssel a sick chair. Voltaire goes on to say that Mademoiselle spent a quarter of her life in the mortal tribulation of disputes about her sea s; ought she to sit in a certain room, upon a chair or upon a stool, or not sit down at all? The whole court was in emotional per plexity about these insoluble difficul ties. Even the king himself was not free from the obligation of sitting ac cording to regulation. If he con descended to pay a visit to a courtier ill in bed, etiquette constrained his majesty to lie down too, for it was im possible that a soverign could per mit a subject to indulge in unshared recumbency in his presence; so when the king was coming to a sick room, a second bed was prepared before hand, and the conversation was conducted in mutual horizontality. Louis XTLI. visited Richelieu in this way at Tar ascon, and Louis XIV. did the same when he went to see the Marechal de Villars, after he yas wounded at Mal plaquet. In England, questions of precedence are determined by reference to a statute of Henry VIL Doubtful cases arerefered to the crown, and the crown refers them to the Herald's college. A catalogue of persons entitled to precedence and the order of their prec edence has been published. It begins with the king and queen, and ends with burgesses and their wives; it in cludes ninety-eight ranks of men, and sixty six ranks of women. In 1508, Pope Julius H. endeavor ed to establish the rules of precedence for the ambassadors of the European powers. His list comprised twenty ranks, beginning with the Pope and ending with the nephews of the Pope and the legates of Bologna and Fer- rara. It ;s subject of remark that of all the titles of sovereigns on this list only three exist in the same name at this day. Amusing stories are told of the struggles of individual ministers to settlethe question of precedence with each other. In I6G1 a Spanish envoy attacked the carriage of the French embassador in the streets of London and had his horses hamstrung, in or der that he might reach court first. When Mazarin and Don Luis de Haro met to settle the conditions .f the marriage between Louis XIV. and Mara Theresa, in order to preserve the full dignity of their nations br yielding nothing to each other, the to Ministers stepped together, with the right foot, side by side, into a eouncilchainbcr hung in correspond ing halves with their respective colors, and sat down at the same instant pre ¬ cisely opposite each other nta critical ly square table, on two mathematically quivalent arm-chairs. Bielield tells a story of two envoys, one from Genoa and one from Braden burg, who, being unable to come to terms as to which of them should present himself first to the French king, stipulated that whoever reached Versailles soonest on the day of their eception should take precedence of the other. The cunning Prussian went down the night before the au dience, and sat on a bench in the pal ace until dawn. The Genoese, not suspecting this activity, arrived in the morning early, saw the Prussian, recog nized that he was beaten, but with the perfidy which Italian proverbs attri bute to the children of his native town, slipped surreptitiously through the door of the king's bedroom, whicli had been left ajar, and instantly commenc ed the reauisite ! salutations. Th German rushed indignantly after him, pulled him back by the skirts, and be gan 2ouring out his own harangue. Two ambassadors met face to face on the bridge at Prague, and stopped there for the entire day, because neith er of them would disgrace liis country by letting the other one go by. In 17G8, at a court ball in London, Ivan Czi-rnicheff, Ambassador from Russia, sat down audaciously next to the Imperial Envoy, in the very place which belonged to the Comte de Cha telet-Lomon, representative of France The latter came in a few minutes later, did not say a word, passed quietly be hind the Russian, affected to sit down on a bench of the second row, and suddenly, with a bound, sprang in be tween his two colleagues, and in that way reconquered his legitimate posi tion. A duel was the consequence of this, and Czernicheff was wounded. "Sacred Music." An American clergyman has been spending his holiday vacation in visit ing some of the large cities in the United States, and gives the results of his sight-seeing in a New York pa per. In describing one of the most interesting cities in the States, he re lates how he spent the Sabbath. He says: " Ve decided on attending one of several orthodox Congregational churches, in which a distinguished professor of theology was announced to preach. The first thing presented to our view was the platform, near tk pulpit, on which stood a large vase of fresh lilies. The first Scripture read was that part of the Sermon on the Mount in which our Saviour pointed to the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. The sermon was excellent on the providence of God. But the part of the service on which I have some comments to make for general readers was the opening piece. The solemn worship of God was introduced by a solo, 'Consider the lilies,' per formed by the leading singer of the choir, gracefully accompanied by the organ. So far as the music was con cerned, it was beautifully and fault lessly rendered. The effect upon my own mind, however, was anything but devotional. The singer commenced, 'Consider the lilies of the field,' etc., and when she came to the application, it ran thus: 'And yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed was not arrayed like one of these was not arraved (interlude by the organ) was not ar rayed (interlude by the organ) like one of these.' And then she went back again, and asseverated in the most em phatic manner,' I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed wjisnot arrayed- was not arrayed' (pause), until I began to des pair for poor Solomon, lest he should never get the very first of hi s garments on. "There was yet another piece; of church not sacred music, in which the soprano led off with the announce ment, 'I will wash'; and then came in the contralto, 'I will wash'; and then the tenor, 'I will wash'; and then from the profoundest depths comes up the guttural of the basso, saying also, 'I will wash'; and last of all they strike in together, crying out in concert, 'I will wash.' No one couldimaginethat this singular and oft repeated an nouncement of an iiitended ablution was a rendering in sacred song, for the spiritual edification of a Christian congregation, of those solemn words of the Psalmist: 'I will wash my hands in innocency; so wilt I compass thine altar, O Lord V "