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dvocate0 I3obbitt Gray- Inblisliers. Published in the Interests of Methodism in !N"orth Carolina. I?er Annum, in Advance. Vol. XXL--No. 21. Raleigh, N. C, Wednesday, May 26, 1875. Whole No. 1,059. F. tie Ai- r;3I turn ulil HQ eivt! SAL It 1. ETS, am 7 was sold .. ..i-i; TM".V 1EB Hati For the Advocate. Lines to Pisgah. ,.,.,, iroiu ol' mo-:nt Nebo's top, The proin-.'-ed V.v.xCi doth view, A; i-,v anew. His h:llld UiUMi he h leyond Xho Jordan's soothing foam. V'ul th.'io in dazzling beauty hoes, Israel's loug-songilt lumie. Aud uow lie bid "diou to oartb, With all its toilsome cai , UK t.re (.rod iv.Us Lis siuvit home, I, jo oilers h i'elt prayers. j;0 ,-.mvs for those ho loaves behind, i;.- friends, and kindred dear. And tiod in answer to his prayers, Oiaes Jowu, his heart to cheer. (1 1 Pisgah's dizzy heiglit lie roeets, U maker fnee to face. A ul no- Uis spirit t;,kes its flight, To seek a re-ting place. i.i m w isdoai lades from man, ! lis bodv "m- at:i tilt And till this day, no one doth know Where lie is laid, but God. Ansivaviile. . X C. Tday 10th ISTo. 6 0 m m u n i c a t c t For the Advocate. The Year 1900. 1 3iK3. Lirrou.s: In a little over a year 1 f Jm this time the Great Centennial Anniversary of our national in depend ejiee will have rolled around --and in order that tint day and the event may be properly regarded, preparations are iij.v goiac, forward on a scan', that for expenditure, amplitude and m-i niirkence. wiil probably eclipse evervl -tUnrr.f Hi bml that lias inuiei- 3 . . .i - . -.1 1 "V. J. to ojen attempted m ttifi worm. --ot only will this be true of our own aa- i! Uni tiw indications are loan otuei jnitions will largely participate, and Jcjutribute to give interest-variety and ?mij;nitude to the occasion. It is a r duer remarkable circumstance that khti scheme, notwithstanding the pro- "je d of a free people, and prompted by -p. desire to sU'oi eiiia;ye ami iernetuate republican principles- tall commends itself to nations and people outside of us many of whom i..idit not be expected to sympathize I -ith these feelings and purposes. In the midst of the interest and Vibstantial aid and co-operation that U being evoked almost everywhere to 4 uaug urate auu rauj j. - grand enterprise intended to be a tciittiug expression of a free people's appreciation, and an exponent of a t-te people's love for their govern - iu.nt, and the principles upon which It is founded - one might well ask, il . ... ,1.. ,,t .i.i- -s-i itir.il ril'p we -- a people oi "-i u. - teadv for it?" Do our people see and feel the full importance and bc.ring Ihis centennial anniversary may have mpon the nations around us ; Tiiese are grave questions, and if iu their investigation it shall be found at we are not ready, that our na i . .i .i- jnalitv is marred by sectional uivis- : fctis .Hid internal strifes, or that our government rulers and officers in the ilaiinistration of our laws are corrupt .d imp.u-tial, or finally that our astel freedom is abused and per rted until it exists only in name; if eve things abound we will do weil-- A.v, it is even now high time to in- ii 'urate measures of reform. Ail such abuses and wrongs would ike a sad exhibit to the nations aud us, and would not be calcula- 1 to call forth their admiration or spect for our government or its in- itutious, prominent among which, tit be remembered, is our Chris - itiiitv. However much our neighboring , iations jnay distrust the policy of unaii freedom, the ability ot men to vera themselves, as long as we pro to be a christian nation, relying ore upon Divine direction tiian uh- nii wisdom, many ot them are no ubt watching our progress with in- nse interest and their ideas of our neerity as well as in regard to the pcei-is of our policy, will tor the tu- lira be largely measured and ap- iroved or disapproved according the impressions we may make upon sir respective delegations sent up jKtensiLly to participate in our ap- "o:i:hiii.r Centennial Celebration. But then this is a day and an age of 'and exhibitions, celebrations, &c: ei' our own people, with wonderful nihility and enthusiasm, are now edeiiing to celebrate an important st'irical fact of no loss importance hi the claim of the fore-fathers of noble old State to the honor of g i iie '' .' to break off the yoke nny and enunciate to the world in.'.n of ri'ilit oik 1 1 d to be free. h'; honor of being the first to xe anl throw off the yoke of tyranny oppression, to the maintainance of they pledged "their lives, their :i'aes and their sacrA,! hnnnvs " is rma n,iHu irw;inn ift u k lore -fathers and in view cf thelpaytheirdebtswitb.it "VUiu i"UV,l JLUU.1A Xj.i U.CT KfJ magnitude of the benefits it has se cured to us , it is eminently appro -priate for the people of the State, the heirs of so precious a legacy, to cele brate the day and the deeds chat gave it to them. As the wheels of time roll onward, and the nations and peoples of the earth give prominence to this and that day in their history intended to sig nalize and perpetuate the events con nected therewith I have found my mind and contemplations running forward to :he ushering in of the year 1900. Judging from the present feelings of the nations of the earth as evinced by their desire to exhibit their indus tries open up commerce and estab lish friendly intercommunications with one another, may we not expect the ushering in of that event to be marked by grand events more especially if in the next 25 years as great advances are made in the arts and sciences, im provements and inventions, educa tion and morality, &c, as has been achieved in the past 25 years'? It would not be wild speculation to an ticipate that the ingress of the year 1900 will be heralded in and signal ized by some grand projection whose fame and influence will reach around the entire globe, and prcbably bring together representations from every nation and kindred of man. The influence it might exert and that would probably grow out of such gathering together of the nations of the world, having in view one com mon purpose would give an interest and importance to the centennial of the year 1900 of which at this day and distance we cannot have scarcely a faint idea the mind staggers under its mere contemplation. Many of us who feel that we are nearing the threshold of that auspicious event would like to be permitted to live to see it; to see and hear what our civil ization, freedom and our holy Chris tianity had accomplished for the world up to that date might well beget in as a desire to be there. But oh, we will not be there our "three score years and ten" will have been told off; a large proportion of the human race now living will be hid away in the earth - and thougn that memorable day may be ushered in with the boom ing of cannon and the shouts of the nations till they reverberate in answer ing echoes around the globe. These will not hear it. But there are those now living, thousands of them, who will be there to ioin in the mighty shout and upon whose shoulders will then rest the wonderful and ever- increasing destinies of an advanced aud still advancing world. The point I desire to make m this communication is to impress upon the minds and heaits of those concerned the important fact that the heaviest portion and largest measure of the duties and responsibilities of Society, of Church and State will fall upon the shoulders of the young men who are now fillmcr our colleges and high schools, and those who have recently passec1 from the halls of learning into the more active aud practical duties of life. These are now in the full vigor of youth prepared or prepar ing themselves for the graver, heavier, duties and responsibilities of man hood. T .venty-five years hence will not only usher in, amid the acclama tions of a world, the year 1900, but wiil roll upon the shoulders,the minds and heaits of our educated young men, the full meaning of duty and destiny. An age which is even now pre eminently practical and progressive- a humanity whose interests are be coming more anil more identical the dissemination of a Christianity which alone can save the world, challenge our educated young men not only to great zeal and activity, but to an un tiring emulation to be prepared for that event. If they would keep pace with the age in which they live a large proportion of whose destinies are committed to their hands, and leave the impress of their character and example upon its history there must be no lagging behind or loiter in"- on the way. The wants of their fellow men the voice of duty as well hs the voice of God bids them, "Go work to day in my vineyard." "What soever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might for there is no work, nor device nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest." O that our educated young men and women would lay these things to heart that they were lully awake to the magnitude of the duties and re sponsibilities that must so soon claim their attention, and will demand prep aration, courage t persevering ef fort, if they would rise up to the full measure of a manhood, commensurate with the wants and progress of the af e in which they live whose culmi nating glory will be probably seen in the episode in its history to which we have so imperfectly cast a prospective glance. Watchman. Cedar Grove, May 1875. ' Time is money, and many people I " ' For the Advocate. Hewberne Distriot Oonferenco- The 9th session of the Newberne District Conference commenced m the Methodist Church in Mount Olive, in Wayne co., 14 miles south of Goldsboro, on the W. & W. R. R. at 9 o'clock a. m. 6th May. Rev. E. A. Yates, P. E. in the chair, J. P. Simp son was elected secretary, and Thos. D. Gay, assistant. 1st. With two exceptions every charge in the District was represen ted. The attendance of Lay Mem - bers was not very large, but in num bers sufficient to make the session agreeable and profitable to our peo ple 2nd Nearly every charge was re ported in a good spiritual condition. Some had been visited recently, with a gracious revival of religion. The attendance upon the ordinances and social meetings of the church, indica ted a general improvement. A deci ded advance was observable in the piety and morality of our people in spect of worldly amusements, and the use of intoxicating beverages few comparatively of . our members indulge in either of them. This statement is carefully and cautiously made up from authoritative reports of the Pastors in the District. 3rd. The subject of Missions re ceived a careful consideration by an intelligent committee, and was freely discussed in the Conference. The resolutions relating thereto, adopted unanimously,indicate an advance step in the spirit and policy of the preach ers and laymen of the District. The two most important are subjoined liesolved; That the best success in this great work of the church demands jood talents imbued with the Mis sionary spirit; and that we request the Bishop and his Council, through our E., to send as far as possible, men the most competent and full of holy zeal in charge of our "Home Mis sions. " 4th The Suuday School is in some places very prosperous, in others it languishes. A very lively interest was elicited in an extended discuss ion of that subject, and the following resolution was adopted: that we hold a District Sunday School Convention, that the P. E. appoint the time and place, and that the Pastoral charges be requested under the direction of their Pastors, to send a delegate from each Sunday School in the circuits, and two or more from the Sunday Schools in the stations. 5th. The financial exhibit Ehows the District is advancing in providing for its Pastors, and in contributions to the support of the Institutions and Enterprises ot our church. This Dis trict for several years past has been paying more per member than most of the Districts in our Conference. The reported statistics however, in our late minutes do not giro a cor rect statement of its finances. All the charges are self sustaining, save one. There is but one Mission in the District. An average of two thirds of the membership support (by pe cuniary contributions) our church In stitutions. This proportion consid ering the peculiar condition of this people, is large, and it is believed will compare favorably with other Dis tricts in our church. Two of our charges had lifted collections for Missions, and one charge had collec ted all the assessments for Bishops, Missions, and widows and orphans. 6th. The agents for Trinity and Greensboro F. Colleges, were present, and labored earnestly in the interest of their respective enterprises. The Conference by a series of resolutions pledged itself o tlie support of both Institutions, 7th. Rev. J. B. Webb, a local preacher from Kinston station offered the following resolution, which was adopted: "Believing that our local preachers, maj to a great ext6nt accomplish the object of Domestic Missions, and that the knowledge of he labors and sue cess of one would encourage effort on the part of others; therefore resolved; that all our local preachers within this District be requested to report either in person, or by letter, to this Con ference at its next annual session, the extent and success of their labors." 8th. The Raleigh Christian Advo cate was presented and the Confer ence unanimously pas.se.cj the following in relation to its support and sue -cess: Jlesoloed, That this District Con ference is as. much as ever persuaded, that the Raleigh Christian Advocate is an efficient arm o s.eryjc.e in. the operation of qur church in the bounds of the N. C. Conference; and that we will endeavor, ao far as practicable, to extend its circulation among the peo ple in the bounds of our several Pas toral charges. 9th. The Secretary v:as djireeted to prepare (from material supplied by Rev. N A. Hooker) an obituary of Rev. W. H. ' Cunninggim, deceased, and spread the same on the minutes of the Conference, and furnish a copy for publication in our Conference Organ. Rev W. H. Cunninggim, a local elder in the M. E. Church South, was born August 10th 1804, and died September 22nd 1874. He joined the Methodist Church in 1830, and soon afterward obtained the witness of his justification before God. He was li censed to preach in 1830, and by his studious habits and methodical life, became a sound theologian and a practical and useful preacher. His piety was not a fitful glare; but a steady and burning light. He was a great help in the Pastoral charge in which he lived and was useful to his a pastors, as counsellor and to the peo ple as a preacher. He was liberal in his pecuniary support of Methodism. His business habits were very judi cious and economical. His integrity was above and beyond suspicious. He reared a large and pious family, and having finished his work on earth died in great peace and hope. 10th. The "Life Sermon and Speeches" of Rev. Noma F. Reid, were highly reccommended to our people. Resolutions of thanks were unani mously passed in favor of the people of Mount Olive our brethren of the Baptist Church, and the W. & W. R. Road, after which the 9th session of the Newberne District Conference ended in great harmony and good feel ing. In summing up the proceedings of the Conference, the Secretary may be allowed to say that the conduct of the Conference under Rev. E. A. Yates, the P. E., was very acceptable and highly approved by both preachers and laymen. The spirit of the Con ference too, was m lull accord witn the design and requirements of the work upon their hands. Differences of opinion on questions of policy pro duced no acerbi':y of temper, but serv ed only to promote a good spirit of emulation. Oar venerable and rev ered brethren, Daniel Culbreth, Joseph H. Wheeler, and R. P. Bibb V31-.3 actively employed in making the sessions of Conference pleasant and profitable. The Conference re quested them to furnish as far as they Armhl sdinfl reminiscences of their lives for the history of Methodism in N- Carolina. The ministration ot the Word was eminently evangelical, instructive and edifying. In tone, temper and doc trine it was Methodistic, spiritual, for cible and impressive. The generosity and hospitality of the good citizens of Mount Olive was a large contribution to the interest and success of our District Confer ence. The village is beautifully sit uated; the streets are spacious and well arranged; the buildings are in good taste, and some of them are ele -gant; the yards and gardens are pretty evidences of woman's refinement and delicate skill; the people are haspita, ble, sociable and wonderfully clever They are enterprising, thrifty and nrosnerons. Our Presbvterian and i i - " Baptist brethren and friends all show ed us kindness and brotherly love. Long live the people of Mount Olive to bless and encourage the ministers and lajmen of God's cause and His Church! They are a people of good ohp.p.r a hannv social band 'of warm " Li. hearts and open hands. The next Conference is to be held at Kinston. The following named brethren were elected Delegates to the next ensuii session of the N. C. Conference: A. B. Thompson, W. F. Kornegay, Willie Arendall. and Rufus W. Bell. Rev. J. B. Webb aud Thos. D. Gay were elec ted Alternates. J as. P. Simpson, Secretary. Far the Advocate. Kevivals No. 2. If Christianity is God's work, why is it that its diffusion is subject to so many fluctuations, sometimes advan cing as a storm, at other times appa, reutly Languishing:. This is a perti nent question, and one that must be met in the struggle between the friends and enemies of revivals The promotion of Christianity in the earth is God's work and man's work. God uses man as the agent, and his word as the instiument by which the work is to be, carried on- Men are to b,e brought to Qod by the preaching o.f the gospel. This is God's appointed means for awakening men's minds. The success is in pro portion to the energy with which the work is carried on,provided the work ers are all in the spirit of thei? mas ter. 4 el fir extending party lines may be very energetic, but it is not in the spirit of true Christianity. Names may be enrolled, but sinners not con verted. Conversions take place under a spiritual ministry. The minister, who, like Barnabas, is "a good man," and full oi faith and of the Holy Ghost)" will "add many to the Lord." The minister that lacks these qualities has a spiritual languishing under hs ministry. Hence it is that while the church rejoicos in one place,it mourns iu another. The difference is in the spiritual power used in the energies put forth. A man full of the Holy Ghost will accomplish more in build ing up the church of God, with less apparent effort, than ten men whose might is merely in argument and elo. quence, yet lacking in the spirit of the Master's work. It seems strange to worldly mind ed men, that such great results should attend such simple means as those often used by a very spiritual minded minister. There is a hidden power in a spiritual ministry that becomes a puzzle it cannot be explained by or dinary principles. For this reason such men become the subjects of envy and vindictive rage. In this way we account for those malicious attacks of the London World upon the present moyement in England. The move ment is called "a poor compliment to civilization," and the chief actors are denounced as dangerous humbugs," and many scurrilous epithets are ap -plied. One high -churchman fulmi nated his holy thunder from his pul pit, declaring that, "revivals were the pest of the age " These vindictive sentiments have found an echo in the brains of nu merous editors on this side of the Atlantic. There is manifestly a rest less desire to destroy the influence of religious awakenings. They do not allow the sleeping conscience, that sweet undisturbed repose that sin had promised its possessor, and formal Christians feel that the line of dis tinction is made too wid6 between the form and the power of Godliness. Revivals have always been subject to suchmalice. It is the same spirit that crucified Christ; that stoned Stephen; that buffeted and martyred the apostles; that kindled the fires around the martyrs of the reforma tion; that threw stones at Wesley and Whitfield, and now spits venom upon all who earnestly endeavor to hasten the time of salvation to all men. A cowardly ministry will yield the field to strong influence in the opposition, but one who feels his master's pres ence, will face the foe, whether he be weak or strong, for if God blesses the work, worldly influence for or against is of but little effect. The work then is in the hands of God's agents, and the slow or rapid progress it makes is according to the efficiency of the agency. From the general awakening, exhibiting signs of a greater and deeper work of grace all over Christendom, we conclude that the work will advance, and by con stant and fervent prayers for its spreading influence we should look for but one result a steady onward march of the revival spirit, until the millenium dawns, and the struggle between holiness and unholiness is closed by the final triumph of the re deemed. E L. P. For the Advocate. TbeBeautie's of Nature. BY M. B. H. B. There's beauty, in the firm gray rock, There's beauty in a flower; And all along through life we see New beauties every hour , The? e'st beauty in the violet, The lillies blue and white The wood bines climbing o'er the door, So green, ao fresh, so bright. The cedar in its dres3 of green, The lilac's purple bloom, The dew-kissed lips of roses red Yield such a rich eifuaie.. T;h,e stately oak, the s.tern old pine, The grand old forest tree- Among whose branches now doth play A gentle April breeze. Each day that comes, new beauties bring, To tell us of "His power." Who can create and then unfold New beauties every hour. Who could, uuoh, pp,wer. and beauty place tjppji th,i3 sin-c-urspd sod, But he whom we so much adre And, who is, "Natu.rea God?' A. man became entangled in a fast revolving water-wheel in a mill at Georgetown, Ky., and was whirled around at the rate of eighty revolutions a minute. He was rj,noofls,ciQua when rescued, $ ytm not badly hurt. He said, that his. sensations while being carried in a circle, at such a velocity were very peculiar. At first he was terribly frightened, expecting instant death, but his perception was perfect ly clear. Then he grew dizzy, and it seemed to him that he was, rising higher and higher the air. Next he felv a.8, though, in a dream, with a dim sense of imagining that he was heing transported to the moon at a terrible speed. That was the last he remembered. A calculation showed that he had been carried an aggregate distance of thirteen miles ii about eight minutes. In reply" to a recent anti-Papal manifesto of Karl Blind, Garibaldi writes: "I believe there is not in all the world a country less Catholic, than Italy. GoYeromen.t and the upper classes, affect a Catholic devotion which they do not feel. As to the masses of the people, tuey neither do believe in Catholicism; and in the Pop ish churches one only sees bigoted old women." For the Advocate. The Co-operation of Parents in the Sunday-School- Wuat can the fathers and mothers do to help in the Sunday-school in terest ? Much every way. In the first place, many of them have the qualification andtime to be active workers in this department. Their experience, age, and weight of character would give dignity and power to the influence of the School. Too often our schools are left entirely to the management of the younger portion of the church. Secondly, much can be done by the parents creating at home a Sunday school influence. Speak favorably of the importance of the work impress on the minds of the children its high value induce them to study the les sons as-igned them by the teachers train them to panctualj obedience to the rules of the school, and never suffer them to stay at home when it is possible for them to be at school. Indifference on your part to these things will have a freezing influence on the school wiil tend to break it down in spite of the efforts of the teachers. Thirdly, let the influence at home co-operate, with the efforts of the pas tor and Sunday-school teachers in getting the children converted. There is much lost right here. Too many parents seemed to be afraid of Sunday-school revivals and the early conversion of their children. They say in acts and some times in words, that they don't want their children to profess religion while young. "Let them wait," they say until they be come old enongh to know what they are doing. This is foolish and dan gerous. Suppose the son of a shep herd comes in and says: "Father, I have found a lamb out in the woods. shall I bring it in and put it in the fold?" "No," says the shepherd. "let it remain in the woods, and if the cold does not kill it, and the wolf does not devour it, and it proves it self able to take care of itself, then bring it in the fold and feed it." ' But how foolish and cruel. If the lamb can live in spite of the wintry snows, can escape the prowling wolf, and grow up without the shepherd's care there will be no necessity of bringing it in then. It is in the age of its tenderness, and for this reason needs most the shepherd's care. The command 'Feed my lambs is based upon this faet. Children are buds buds of immortality and are easily blighted by the biting frost of neglect. Nurserymen know when to graft their scions with trees it is just that season when the bark slips easily and the sap flows to nourish the engrafted twig. They know too, that there is but one period in the year when this work can be effectually dqn.e. JBut parents are slow to team, that the best time for engrafting their chil dren into the great vine of Divine life, is while they are young and tender. Being engrafted at this age, they grow up more readily into Christ, blossom more beautifully in the fragrance of youthful piety, and bear fruit more richly in after life. The sapling bends easily to your hand, turning this or that way as you will. But when the summers of fifty years have turned its juices into hard wood, and built it up into pillared majesty and storm defying strength, what giant's arm can bend or break its sturdy trunk ? That tree symbolizes the pliancy ot childhood when young, and the unyielding stubborness of manhood when old. How easy it is to turn the bleating lamb when stand ing around the gate into the green pasture, but if this lamb is kept out side, and allowed to wander away over the hills and mountains, and re- i main there where it contracts habits of wildness, how exceeding difficult it is to got it back into the home pasture, and keep it there! So it is with chil dren. When lambs, they can be easily turned into the green pasture of Gospel grace, but when grown up into sinful habits and worldly love, hew hard is the work of conversion with them. inhabits gather by unseen degrees, As brooks run rivers, rivers run to seas." Childhood is a silver fountain of immortal existence, that can be easily turned to flow into the. '-'dead sea" of wickedness or into the river of Gos pel salvation, that flows to spread beauty and fruitfulness over the earth. But the work must be done wb,e& the crystal stream is manageably or it will soon swell into, the rushing tor rent of youthful impetuosity, thence nto, the river channels of settled man hood, and then hurling down all op position, it goes as a resistless flood carrying havoc and death before it. Again, It is sometimes said "Ah, what if our children should fall away after they make a profession, and dis grace the church . ' But why not sup pose that they would do well, if pro perly cared for? The majority of early conversions become the most fruitful christians. Look at the fruit -fulness of David, Joseph, Josiah, Daniel and his three companions who maintained their parity amid the se ductions of a heathen court,and many that might be mentioned. What fruitful trees of righteousness, they are, standing in the garden of the Lord! Along the sides ot great riv ers there lie alluvial lands, rich in all the elements of fertility. Far back in former ages, great floods swept the gbns and hill -sides and carried in their muddy waters wealth to these bottoms On these nat lands, the farmers gather year after year boun tiful crops. And so when parents lay line upon line, precept upon pre cept of holy instruction npon the minds of their children, and sow the seeds of eternal life into this rich soil, and bestow upon it careful culti vation, they will see ample harvests of righteousness growing there year after year until angel-reapers gather these golden sheaves into garners of the skies. Will parents then co operate with the pastor and teachers in using all possible means to get their children converted and estab lished in the faith? We ought to have all the children in the Sunday- school, and thence into the grace of the Gospel. It is the'young recruits that make the best soldiers the early apprentices the most skillful mechan ics, and the best christians are those trained by such mothers as Lois and Eunice who trained Timothy "from a child" to know the Holy Scriptures. H. T. HcnsoN. Sermons and Stupid People The biographer of the late Dr. Bloomfield relates that on one occas ion while yet a curate, he preached in a Suffolk village church from the text, "The fool hath said in his heart there is no God;" and having, as he sup posed, made himself very intelligible, and wishing to ascertain the effect of his discourse, asked one of the intelli gent hearers, as he left the church, what he thought of the sermon, re ceiving for answer, "Well, Mr. Bloom field, arter all yon have said, I do believe there be a God!" "One of the brightest of our New England pastors," says the Independent, 'preached a carefully-written sermon the other day, in which he argued that the spiritual realm has its own facts and laws, and that they are just as cl9ar and legible as the facts and laws of the material realm; and, there fore, that the attempt of modern scientists to rule out all the subject matter of faith is an impertinence. The sermon was undoubtedly under stood by people of average intelli gence; but the perverse stupidity of a class that has its representatives in all our congregations found expression, in a comment of one hoaxer maie to the pastor after the serYice, 'I was very much interegf -m your sermon, Brotb'X., but I can't help thinlh', after all, that mind is superior to matter.'" If there is no excuse for such perverse "hearers" of sermons, how much less for people who read printed discourses, about which, one would think, there could be no mis take, and understand the authors to mean the very opposite of what was said. If this be the state of mind of manv of the hearers and readers of sermons, what wonder that preachers make so little impression! Thoroughly stupid people are certainly very trying to those teachers who have ever so little sense. Helping Others. It seems a strange thing, but it is nevertheless true, that sharing another's burden will lighten our own. If you begin doing little things for your neighbor, it will very soon be easy for you to perform great deeds in his behalf. No man is sufficient unto himself. Trust in Providence is nothing but higher belief in humanity. You may feel very much depressed some day, dis couraged and well nigh despairing, when some kind friend happens in God sent,and you are soothed,cheered and encouraged; the veil is lift ed, and you are nappy once more. Jiiany are able to give substantial help to those who are in need; money, to tide over some financial trouble; foodv to keep a family fromstarving; gifts that nourish the heart with, assurances of love somethifigf that may be a trifle in it self, but helps make up the sum of human happiness. But perhaps you cannot do this; yon have a large family and limited income, or are otherwise prevented! from making the hand the almoner of the heart. Well then draw on the spiritual treasury. Give kind words to those who need them; com fort those who are bowed down; speak lovingly to little children, and en couragingly to those who faint foi this support. Stand ready to help everybody. The California Advocate says that at a lovefeast and sacramental service held at the Chinese Methodist Epis copal Mission in San Francisco, over fifty persons were present, and all seemed deeply interested. Elephants live for two hundred, three hundred, and dred years. even four hun The Grave of "Highland Mary-" The Rev. Dr. Cuyler gives the fol lowing sketch of a jaunt in Scotland: 'One more hour brought us to the Tontine Hotel at Greenock. Thi morning we sailed out through the rain to visit the one spot in Greenock which every man or woman who has a soul must visit the tomb of Burn's Higland Mary. This poor dairy-maid immortalized in the sweetest of all love songs came from Montgomery Castle to Greenock, died here and was buried in the Presbyterian kirk yard, just out of Crawford street. We soon found the tomb, to which a well trodden foot-path leads. A graceful marble monument, twelve feet high, covers the gentle lassie's dust. It bears a sculptured medallion which represents Burns and the young lady clasping hands and plighting their troth, he holding a Bible in his hands. Beneath is this inscrintion: ERECTED OVER THE GRAVE OT HIGHLAND MARY m 1842. O Mary, dear 'departed shade, Where is thy place of blissful rest? "These lines are from the impas sioned verses, 'To Mary in Heaven,' and have been read through t9ars by many an eye. Wonderful is the charm of genius which could beat a pathway trodden by thousands of feet to the grave of an humble dairy-maid who lived nearly a hundred years ago." Be Exact. I have seen very se rious mischief done through some one's want of care in answering ques tions. But instead of mentioning serious cases we will take a small one. Suppose a father is going to take two, of his children out for a ramble. They are to start by a train at a certain minute, and they are going to botanize at a place where they will be glad to have brought some refreshments with them. The father is working till within a short time of the start. All in good time he tells Bob to ask JeBsy to pack the sandwiches, the cake and the coffee in a certain satchel that they well know. "Tell her at once," says he, and Bob does. Within a short time of the hour for starting the father says to Bob: "Has Jessy made up the satchel?" and giddy Bob an swers: "Oh, yes." But at the last mo ment it is found that Jessy has not packed the satchel; the train is missed and the little holiday has to be put off. What Bob meant to say was that, he having told Jessy to pack the satchel, he took it for granted she had done so. Now that is not only a little case; it is purely imaginary. Yet things of the kind happen every day, and some of them are very awkward. Good Words for the Young. A country paper gives the follow ing advice to a correspondent: "We shall have to decline your article on the 'Decline of Aristocracy." We have left out several of our own ar ticles this week, and yours is worse than any of them. Take our advice, and write a few short pieces; write plainly; write only on one side of the sheet; and then take your pieces and burn them in the kitchen-hre. That editor must be a real Diogenes, or else he must have had some sore tempta tion of a sort with which we are not unacquainted. The Nashville Advocate says: We were amused in reading in an obituary notice, the words "he was a pillow to the Church." Of course "pil lar ' was meant; but in many instances with what propriety may it be said that one zealous member is a pillow to the Church for all others seem to rest upon him. Then on the other hand, how often is it that the Church is a pillow on which many recline, in stead of being a field in which to work. "Woe to them that are at ease inZion!" If we had fewer pillows and more pillars, the cause of God would be better sustained. Don't be above the work that is at your hand. Some people think that, in order to sustain their profess ional or official dignity,they must not stoop to certain kinds of work. Did Chalmers injure his dignity when he went with a few earnest Church mem bers and held little meetings for relig ious conversation and prayer in some lowly and poverty-stricken homes of Edinburgh? We need never fear of stoopiag in the doing of the service of Christ, however humble it may be. We advise those whose backs are somewhat stiff from the effect of that kind of dignity, to read now the thir teenth chapter of the Gospel by St. John. "O gracious, no!" exclaimed Mrs. Marrowfat to Mrs. Quoggs, raising her hands and speaking in a very ex cited tone. "She was so ill when her new bonnet came home that she couldn't get np; but, dear sakes! Jane, that didn't matter nothing, for she just put her hat on, and lay with her head out of the window the whole afternoon." Yesterday as an old citizen was nailing a "To Rent" card on a vacant house, a pedestrian halted and re marked that "howze" was not the right way to spell "house." "How long have you lived in Detroit?" asked the old citizen, scowling savagely. "Fifteen years," was the reply. "Well, I've lived here for thirty," con tinued the old man, "and I guess I know how to spell as well as you do," Detroit Fret Press.
North Carolina Christian Advocate (Greensboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 26, 1875, edition 1
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