Newspapers / North Carolina Christian Advocate … / July 17, 1878, edition 1 / Page 1
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v I .4 Mi l - ft I ii iTUc itlirtetian Advocate. I KKMs. The Cnm-TIAX Aic.-ocats is furnished to subscri ber, a- $2 2o per annum in advance. If payment be delayed six month , ii.xl; one copy, six months, jl 2.-,. iiAihS. Ten copies, one year, post paid - $-2.e0 Fifty pie.o-e year, post paid, - 1.75 Ol it AGE. rs. i; the travetlu al lool prehera in th botind i fie N'ortU Carolina Confereuco r our authorlne! . nts. Any fraoa Bending us ten subscribers for . n? year, vrtii rer-eir. .L: r. LI FES tt'KSl' WINDOWS. We stand a life's west window.. And think ot the ilavsthat are potie; !uit'uiuerini; ti e coir.ing sunset, W loo must reinember the morn; But tUe sun will set, tke day will closo. And an end ivi.i come to ail our woes. As "ve witch tiom the western .enie-.f-, lieviwiUi; our iiappv youth, Y r.i.jurn 'or its vanished promise Of h.itf.ir. ambition and truth; But licpes w:ll t.ii and p.idc decay. Wlie i e tmak how t-ovti we must away. We stau I at lee west windows. An i turn not sa iiy away. Tn wa cb. on our etui, .reus laces The 'loouti le oi" sj,.rkiiti d-iy: But our sun must set ocr has grow dumb, Ai I tu 1 jod fro.il j.ir -via io-.vs our cli lKlrn cum . still Ik:iig fr..ni life's Wt.-t win, lows; And w fctfiw ive would uot again Lo.k forth from theea-stern la'ttie, nd live over :.ll life's pait; 1 b-Xih lite's .-...uil.tit b-? briliiAiii, i:a Fiinsct i veer. Since l brings long d-Tor r;s: lo .urweiry ley. .'..i'..'...'.'. THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF 17. This General Conference' as received -cam praise. It has siiti'eicd no litt.e censure, much nI which, as we believe, it lias not deserved. Also some weii iue."iK criticism tiiat we believe ti be unjust. It has been condemned to state the case oriedy t'nr i.n-k both ol brains and grace. Until its spirit an.i its maimers have been severely censured. Such OvMmuv vo have heard even from beardless hoys who have not passed their itinerant novitiate. We have read these eritieisins in leading journals: also j-.i obscure a:iJ uninformed papers. This number of the Wf.si.kyax contains an article from a brother beloved written most conscientiously we know, but with undue severity of condemnation we be lieve. With deep regret we have read an editorial in the General Con lerence organ o'diiiio !", from tip; pen of the retiri.ig e iitot wiioiii we li .'d in high and de served honor. Hisileep conscientious ness thai delivers nee we plniliv re cotrnize for we have had opportunity to know his loyalty to the Church; that lie has misconceived the real animus of the '.iiner:il Conference wo firmly he iieve; that his article has been used, Tit an 1 near, to the discrei'it of our ( dinrch that it has been made the occasion of trains;! yi'ig and .'eproaeh by many who to it-it love us too well that it has been liar bled and perverted by ie:ny of our Northern cxeha-ges. we know. It pains us di-eply to write further, that, as we see and read aiel hear, that well meant editorial has done no little harm ii our own Church. Though we may be in error we are willing to lie fair, and in another Column we publish the whole of the e.litoi ial. Wit li the refiriii-r elitor of the Nash ville iVtrixtiiiu Ail-'vat? who has render1 1 our Church and o'ur Methodism such long and illustrious service we can have no controversy. But with as conscientious motives as oca venerable ; frier.!, ant with every whit a- fair op- port unit v to learn what was in the ..neral Conference, we feel moved to give our opinion also. Perhaps we also ire in position to look at the subject in a dry light, since our humble contribu tions to the 'ieneral Conference were n a of t character to bring us within the range of the severe criticisms we dep recate. Wt- are not going to atlirm thit the oft repeated co.nplaiiits are groundless; that they exaggerate the faults attribut ed to the Conference we candidly be lieve. For our part we do not (juestitin for a moment that the ieneral Confer-; ace of I".1, when the smoke has clear-' 'd awav, will appear in a fairer light oven to its sternest critics; that when the clangor of criticism and complaint has subsided, much that has been adjudged discord will resolve itself into harmony. Our design in this article is not so much to vindicate the ieneral Con ference itself, for the men who composed it can et.dure criticism; but to coun teract and prevent, so far as wc may, the "Treat evil already done ami likely to be d me in our beloved Church by what, we believe, to be erroneous conceptions and unjust judgments. Is it not possible that the ieneral Conference is not altogether blamable for the prevailing dissatisfaction "? We are ready to giant that there were some things conuected with the Conference that caanot be approved. And the con cession will apply to every other Con ference where mortal men, with differ ent opinions, meet for discussion and counsel. We do not expect to see things otherwise this side "the ieneral Assembly and Church of the first-born which arc written in heaven." We venture, with due respect to all concerned, to point out some of the oc casions of the unsatisfactorincss that is attributed to the recent session of the ieneral Conference. 1. It was an over large body We have read somewhere that if every man in Athens had been a Socrates, the Athenians assembled in the Agora to transact business would have become a xnob. 2, T he Con ferenee rflom tt.is iinsjis REV. J. B. BOBBITT, D. D., Vol. XXI II. fat'vv on several accounts. Our hosts, no doubt, did the best they could. Cer tainly they were assiduous in their at tentions and generous in their hospitali- ty. Nevertheless, the room was un- comfortable and unsatisfactory. There was not enough light we mean sun- light. It was hard to see, and this made some excellent persons nervous, Tlie acoustics we- ,ad: it was dif!u;ult to bear. When men are crowded to- gethei-they will fidget: when they can - not hear they will talk. The ventila- tion was imperfect; the air was bieatlied over ami over again till it gae scores at a time headache. And the headache that comes of vitiated air makes mosi people very ia-rous ami wiry-eogcii. I nlnckiiy tor a considerable part ot the session the East-wind was blowing. . consideration of this delicate question. Even in the balmy South the East-wind There were no better men in or out of is a bad wind; it deranges the nervous I he (.ieneral Conference for the discharge currents in a most unaccountable man- ! of this duty. It may be doubted wbe ner. The Conference found itself great- ther more painstaking, prayerful labor ly perplexed with the problem of veiiti- , was ever bestowed upon a similar ipies lation; the bad air was insid. the bad tion. It was indeed a foregone conclu wind outside. hat made matters : sioii that the result would be unsatis hopeless in this respect was the fact ' factory, for there were long-fixed and that so many of us were bald-headed invincible differences of opinion among that we could not endure that East- c pially honest and capable men as to wind no, not for an hour. It was a very '. the wisest policy tor the Church to pur- touching sight, to see one venerable del- e, ate loon, gaspingly at a ciosen win- dow ami presently when it was opened to see another, equally venerahle,attempt vainiy to shield his head from the all- penetrating East-wind by the friendly j the responsibility of saving the honor of I Alas ! we never do in our closets cover ot a bandana handkerchief. The j the Church in this very serious entangle- jour homes in our churches in truth ;s, the Conference is entitled to s. .iij..io. iiiiu 1 n 1 o 11. 1.- 10. ht, ui.i in iri,,- .....I o.,.i.. r.... o. .-: ; .. . sufferings, although it be denied a- j work and pray that the result may vin plause and should never be voted for ! dieate the wisdom of the conclusion of a,ain. ! the Conference. 6. Visitors the majority of them; 7. Some of the questions before the b-ing from a distance crowded the d. "legates over-much. For the most part they had no regard for the ' Conference-Bar;" they were not afraid of the warning words printed in big letters a id swung across the aisles. They walked under it, as free American cit izens, and crowded down among the delegates wherever thev could squeeze in. The "routine" was very tiull to j by the ( ieueiftl Conference, be kept out, tie visitors; they had come to seethe and being there thev had to be met. General Conference. Perhaps we should How were they met ? Having been say. ' 1 -oiue "to do the (ieneral Con- present every session, having heard every ference." And they did. Questions j debate, having reasonable knowledge ot they would ask questions without j what was done in Committee, having number -and the delegates, being very j lead the entire record, we affirm, with polite gentlemen, must needs answer. out hesitation, that it is remarkable and 1'iuiii the platform we could see every- j altogether note-worthy that the (Ieneral thing, and our testimony is that much Conference met these questions, wrest ed" the talking and moving to and fro ' led with them, and disposed of them as came from our friendly visitors. The ' calmly and dispassionately as it did. Conference was g'-" ' io see them: it : There were a few a very few "shed some natural tears" w hen they j speeches that indicated some prejudice went home and blamed the Conference ' and bad temper: there were a few a so much for what thev helped so much verv few rude words said: there were a to lo. j few a very lew personalities indulged 4. With great respect say, the i Chair was to blame for some of the . much -talked -of disorder. We honor j the Chair's heart in this matter; but , sometimes the Chair was over-courteous j and longs uffering beyond measure. j ." Much of the unpleasant impression j that has gone through the country is ; due to the reporters for the secular press. Vour professional reporter cannot abide a "tame" meeting. Nature does not more abhor a vacuum. The readers de mand sensations, and sensations there must lie. If the facts do not agree with thc head-lines and e.xclamatiou points, 1 so much the worse for the facts. The reporter has studied the art of "putting things;" indeed he is master of it. It was said of "the Leviathan of English literature" that in his essays he trans lated the vernacular into Johnsonnese. The reporter has an idiom of his own. When he has the true reportorial afflatus upon hiin, a breeze becomes a tempest; normal bloodheat becomes boiling heat. A parliamentary skirmish becomes a tumult; an earnest discussion "an excit ed ami heated debate." A general de bate makes a "field-day " Head-lines, double exclamation points, parenthetical ejaculations, and italicising, startle the unskilled reader into the apprehension of a riot. A more intimate acquain tance with the ways of the "able repor ter" will greatly modify this alarm. G. There were some questions that, in themsetves, were disagreeable as well as troublesome. And the General Con ference was not to blame for their intro duction. The measles well distributed through a large family may be both disagreeable ami troublesome, but sym pathy is more appropriate than criticism when an unlucky child catches the uiea.-les at a public school. The gravest of these disagreeable subjects "the Publishing House Quest -tion" was unavoidable. And it had been coming so long; the Conference was chilled by the penumbra of an an ticipated eclipse before the fated hour. The mystery and difficulty of the sub ject grew day by day upon the conscious ness of the Conference, it was "the Old Man of the Sea" from which the Conference never did make its escape. But troublesome, unpleasant, difricnlt as the subject was, it was there in that dim and unvcntilated basement. And being there, it had to be met, dicussed, and in some way settled for a time at least. One may choose in the matter of buying an elephant; but when one has the elephant, he must provide for him, or dispose of him, or run away from him. The General Conference could not run rivrny from him; it could not Editor axd Pei,. isher. dispose of him; it must needs provide for him. T,. i:rc ... r . - . in uui a ease uniercuccb 01 opinion are inevitable. And thev cannot be re- . coiicilcd by any amount of good feeling '. and geuial sentiment. Bank-accounts cannot be adjusted by mutual courtesies and compliments between debtor and j creditor. This very difficult and unpleasant ptestion the Conference took hold of ; right manfully. The honor of the I Church was at stake, and the Coni erence its utmost to pu serve it. This ; ' I'ublisiung House Question" was in- j vestigated and discussed with great pa- : tience and great ability. The picked , men ot the Conference were placed upon , the large Committee charged with the ' sue in this matter. Of thitii o ; are sure : the Viencral Loiiteienee tlul I what, in the fear of God, it believed to j be the wisest and best thing to do, and j if the heroic man who is charged with j ment can save it, by diligence and devo- : .. -it i . l . r . 1 1 mm, 11 win ue none. i.ei us nope aim ( General Conference notablv two of them contained more or less dynamite, The explosive elements were in the que- nous inemseives, ana me ucuerai C on- ference, we insist, was not responsible for their being 111 that basement room. It is indeed true that thev had been looked forward to for months with pain ful apprehension. But they could not, in. We had intimate knowledge ofthe explosive elements that were wrapped up iu some of these questions; we were impressed then, ami wc arc persuaded now, in the calm retrospect, that there was very honorable and Christian re- prcssiou of feeling by those who being but men (and was not "Elijah a man of like passions with us" ? ) were in cir cumstance's to exhibit a great ileal of feeling. We assert with confidence that there were among the three hundred not twenty men who, during the twenty four tlavs, uttered one rude word in dis- cussion; who made any 1101.se unnatural in tneir circumstances, or m any wise violated the proprieties of debate bat ing the murmur of talk when they could not hear. The "personalities," concerning which so much has been said, were coufined to less than i dozen men. We have often known a very little dog to keep a whole neighborhood :n an uproar when the steady old dogs were trying to sleep; we have often known a very little owl to keep nervous people awake when all other birds were dream ing in their nests. In such cases a general fusillade on dogs, as dogs; a war of extermination on birds, as birds, is ha idly in order. b5. It seems to us that what w as the crowning glory of the ( ieneral Confer ence of 187S, its splenditl conservatism and its almost monotonous "non-concurrence" in propositions to change the polity of our Church, has itself, with many persons, been an occasion of of fense. We have even seen an arithmeti cal calculation of the cost in dollars of bringing this together to non-concur"! Some men have vet to learn that brains can in no wise be estimated in this way. People felt, when this great Conference had adjourned, semewhat as Herod did piqued because no "miracle" had been wrought. This weakness is not confined to Church people. It is so in secular life; the Legislature that refuses to make new laws is abused for doing nothing, and the less the critics know about the true functions of a legislative body, the more hearty is their abuse The Congress that does nothing striking and brilliant is denounced as worthless People want to see something done; t in y are not satisfied to hear a Genera! Con ference vote "Non-concurrenct ." This feeling is deep in human nature; it w .i worth a Roman Emperor's crown to disappoint the people assembled, in the theatre to witness a contest in tic arena. J O.Many persons were disappoint. j that there were no great, historic speeches made. But there w'af no c - casions for gT0.v; orrtions cr gif.at de- bates. Nearly sill the questions that The Faith once delivered to the Saints. gublfehrcl in tfic 3fnttrwfe Raleigh, X. 0., Wednesday, July 17, I eame ln'fore the Conference were tjues- ! tions for business-like consideration, not : .. .a- .. i -n .- rr 101 oiuiuneai lltUUllIiailoIl. 1 lines change and customs change with them. The oratorical style of carrying on Con- lerence business belongs to the past;mav I we '-never see its like aiu !" It is one of the infelicities of a General Con ference that a wise man often gets no credit for keeping his mouth shut. I -ooiiiiig back over the twenty-four days in Atlanta, or looking over the re- cord, we may say truly, there was verv ; little speaking considering the immense amount of business that was disposed j of. And there was very little evidence j of effort at display or of speaking for j buncombe. In these respects the late , -I. , deneialt oiilcrence will coiiiiare favor- ... . . . , ably with its predecessors judgin; by what :ias come down to us. 'K We may a. Id that some ofthe dissatisfaction of visitors grew out of a s.igiit misconception ot what a 1 ieneral 1 mierence really is. t.onicniplateo' in think it uiitliginhed to speak to a little the perspective of sentiment one sees an i boy on tiie street) and the open, smiling "assembly of the gods"; observed in a . I countenance of W. .!. Anderson, Esq., c.ouded room one sees an assemblage of j both so recently deceased. In counec ordinary mortals doing, under difficul- j tion also, with the face and form of ties, what they may to attend to the j Mr. Wiilkings there comes up his ex details of business. A (jieneral Coil- I eel lent wife's iieobew 'etciiie is, 101 me most iian, a ousiness niecting: it is neither a love-feast, nor a praver meeting. We grant sorrowfully enough that we did not lirav as much as wc should 1 Conferences. But there was a great 1 1 .t c . . . . .1 1 1 ueai 01 earnest liraving 111 .Atlanta, u:i iug the ( ieneral Conference. The best prayers the most prevalent interces sions are never heard by human cars. Who were iu that Conference of over I three hundred men? Those who were j sent there by their href hren because thev j believed them to be good men and true, x rue, mere were a lew voting men there ; ami the record shows that, with hardly an exception, the young men were swift to hear, slow to speak," and "easy to be entreated" by their godly elders. There were laymen there who love the Church who have given it their time ami men- money. Ami nearly all 01 1 1 i net them conducted themselves with modes ty; thev were emineiitlv conservative; they "inquired for the old paths;" they ; t:ir .;,, wl.. ,. (oliac-oi. , vcr were jealous for the ark of (iod. There ; dure on the banks ofthe Cape Fear 1 were venerable ministers there who lor two generations have given themselves to the service of the Church. Most of these men have reached or passed middle life. They love the Church, and have been true to the Church. They felt deeply their responsibilities and tried hard to meet them. Laymen and min isters we doubt not the overwhelming majority of them did the best they coiild in the fear and love of God. And they have no reason to be ashamed of their work. If there are three hundred i alder, purer men among us, wc need not despair ofthe Church. We fully believe what our venerable sonior Superintendent, Bishop Robert Paine w ho has seen General Confer- ences before 17 said to us on the cars the Saturday after t lie adjournment :! "All things considered, it was an able, wise, and gootl (ieneral Confer- enee. Dr. Uaygood, in WesUyan Christian Advocate. For the Advocate. AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. its m:w riiii iM.isr. In explanation of the changes iu the ; present Price-List, it is due to Auxili aries to state that, in view ofthe loss to the Parent Society and the limited and unequal benefit to Auxiliaries, of the five per cent, discount hitherto made to , ,1 r them for the purpose ot paying a por- i i, , tion ot their expenses, the Board have directed that books be supplied, hereaf- tcr, at reduced net prices. And as the Auxiliaries will now provide for the whole of their expenses, it is expected that in adjusting their prices they will add to the net cost prices of books, at least five per ecnt., as an equivalent for that amount, now withdrawn; and it is advisable that, as a rule, whatever ad ditions are made to our prices, be made upon the gilt-edged books, especially those in morocco bindings, where they will be least noticed and felt, so that t1u! cheaper books, intended chiefly for , t,ie 1,001" ",;y sld at the lowest i prices, thus keeping in mind the benev olent object ami purposes of the Socie ty. Old stock in possession of Auxiliary Societies, being theirs, it is expected will be sold at such prices as will pro tect them, so far as may be, from loss. nose that make irequent purchases can fix an average selling price, be tween the old ami new prices, sufficient to cover sin h epen jos as they wish to I P'"vide . and save themsch fr. m ios ott old. st" il'k. It is expected thai Auxiliaries that supply Life Members of the Parent So ciety with their early dues, ( u hid. are properly payable at the Bible House, in New Voik). w ill fmiiish b.M.k at Aux iliary j i rices. I'I'ti.E H.icsK, .4ht.ii: 1'I.a. f.. Nev York. June, Is7s. Il has been decided to hold the in- .,, ;,,., ,.,.,-,.,, for the iiivestiga of America before j tion of the histoi v ; the time of Columbus, in Brussels during 1 S7'.i. instead of in some American city. Uctlwtbm in $ortti Carolina." FAYETTEVH.I.E. Rev. E. A. Yates, of Wilmington, writing to the Raleigh nhxerrer recent ly, concerning two of Fayetteville's prominent citizens, pens the following tender and graceful letter: Taking my accustomed cat in iiiv study this morning with the -Observer" j ton, (iilchrist, MeDaiiiel, English. lu in my hand, my eye fell upon your edi- rant. Wheeler, IVarce and Frost poiut torial announcement of the death of one ed to heaven and led the way." Near of Fayetteville's oldest citizens, E. V. ly all of these have likewise paid the Willkings.Es.,. The train of thoughts j debt, and have taken the crown and suggesleil hy reading that announce ; ment aimost forces rive a partial ! expression of it in these lines. I say : "part al expression," lor pencil fails to j more' than bare! v sketch uiion paper t he : , ,. , , , , ; peculiar lights and shadows of the nan- 1 . . ln - I '"1 ;r:iiiiic past, as it starts before me bv ; vour editorial. From my bovl il 1 remember 'genial lace and cheerful word of the i:d- ward . WiUkings (for h 11-1 1101 j some, liusiuess vi.ung man. whom w, familiar! v called - .l ick ( 'Hanlon. Wliat Favettevilh : ()His ,)t r..1(.,)1l,e. boy of that period tht" large commis sion and auction house of Wiilkings it 1,1 ; ( 'onipany, and -"Jack O'llaulou"?" UI" An I then there l ist.- up before me the j foims of many that have "passed over the river," and who so link themselves in memory with liapuy days ami bright scenes of my childhood that, as a Fay etteville man yourself, you must pardon a Fayetteville boy for asking a small soace 111 vour pa Per to 1 pray with his I r , t ,...'.,1 1,,... .1,., j 'pjK, topo"i-iid v of lh Id place is a perfect photograph in memory's album. Haymotint, with its springs and foun tains, tin; chief one 01' which, supplying the water-works ofthe town, the writ er's mother, when a girl, dug out with her own hand from the hill-side! liav- ' mount, with its grand old trees of oak 1 nli 1 ,i,m,. f,,., l....,tl, ti,., f .... aeons loliage of which, in summer, we Ktlu ; ..l.n.ll. ..h... to s-..., ti,., .i,v. ,S(,,.i.i"d high uwii-Ii to !.is the cloud t ! Midway, the ( ool Spring," of which, j ;ls tradition goes, if ,,ue 'should drink, , . ,vjllcver love the place, and like the ; mariners of I'lvsses, die. enchanted. nd then Cross Creek the land of the jessamine and the pine where, wearv with many a boyish sport, we sat to rest, and watched the slant iug rays of tht! sun tangle themselves among the weird shadows of the gorge beneath. The brooks that foimcd the cross were exhaustless streams of pleasure to youth. Thev embraced the town with their j babbling waters, giving life to mills : and factories, the hum of which was music to the boys that swam in the j brooks or gathered flowers upon their 'banks. With a boy's eyc we gazed up, m t lie scene, and, supposing all of ! earth to be like it. pronounced it very j good. But alas ! beyond that "humbler heaven" a world was discovered, whose : ever widening horizon anil orbital J sweep laid tax on studious brain and I toiling hand, where but seldom a Cross Creek rest is found, and only now and then a pleasant brook babbles for the boy again ! Oh, th? years, the years, as they come and go, Bringing shadow and .sheen ofthe long a ! Of life's morning-glories; of childhood's ! fears: ! As s,,'" fr"u '''s'1" of the ctnnu- 1 toHn years; .... , , ... , ; 1 hev call to the soul, like the waves of i "the sea I Be faithful to duty: wc shall rest on the ! "!('- j My IJOv lt.o.l was in Fa vetteville's Augustan age. It was the dav of good ! alld beautiful women, and "merchant princes. Of the former, however, there has doubtless been no decline. The immense business ofthe grand old town in those days gave activity to such men asd. II. Hall, d. D. Stair, Constant Johnson, Charles 'J'. Haigh, George McNeill, Beverly Rose, Henry L. My rover, Thos. Blake, A. W. Steele, S. J. Hinsdale. George B, Atkins, John Mc Arn, E. B Drake, ami others, the most of whom rest in Cross Creek's silent city ofthe dead: ami to such bankers as Wright ami Wetmore and Broadfoot ami McLean and Cannon, over whom, also, the jessamine and the myrtle pour the tribute of perfume to departed worth. It was a day also when talent for a j nure iollrnalisi ..found its highest ex- i j pressioii in the obi Fayetteville Obser ver, under the inimitable editing of Ed ward J. Hale, Esq., now ..f New Y,,rk, and when the genius of forensic elo quence made her home with the Fayette ville Bar, and gave to the roll of fame such names as Judge Strange, I.. 1. Henry, W. II. Wright, Edw ard War ren ami John Winslow, J . C. Dobbin, D. K. McR.te, and others, the most of whom also sleep the last sleep n "fame's eternal camping-ground." When a boy I was fond of the law, and seldom missed an opportunity i i hear a trial. In I he celebrated case of Ann K. Simpson, I sat near Judge Bat 'b iV ii -tdd- jtic-.v. aii I REV. 11. T. 1878. heard the intellectual unicorns contend ing for the crown, and wanted to be a lawyer. And, indeed, in that, regard 1 mil still a boy. It was a day, too, when theology was more religious, and when heaven's embodied virtue was not so frequently struck by little dabblers in science: when such ministers ai I'.nv- harp. jui i come oaciv m i lie preseiii. ami I .. . I 1 .1. . . . 1 i standing where I did in boyhood, asU, not oniv "Our fathers, where are thev." ! l,f , i... ..i.,., .,,,.1 ..l.i, ..i l,," ; .-..V-.. v ,,0,, ,o. , ... . .1 . . .1 . -.1 . 1 j ness, the streets thronged with trade, I ti ,i..,i 1 .....t , i. 1 r niachinery'.' Much awav. Time, fire if it has passed , , wrought wonilerlul changes. J lie green 1 ti- i-t In at it-it 1 t 1.1 ...s ot t I... VI. 11 ' ' ' J Ol. Mll'l 1.11 HIV J," IH ' 'UK- good, anil in the place where each was, is a stranger, while m mai.v while iu mai.v t.Iaco-s where busv commerce hehl her court there are weeds and grasses. But shall it always be so ? I trust not. There is life in the old town yet, and w ho knows her but to love'.' "If I forget thee, oh derusalcin, let my right hand forget her cunning." "Wero't the last drop iu the well. And T gasping on the brink: Ere my fainting spirit fell, 'Tis to thee, old town. I'd drink." Very truly, E. A. V t i l s. WAS THE MOON DEAD? ALWAYS iilmost Now that astronomers have by unanimous consent accepted the doc trine ofthe development of our system, which involves the belief that the iu hole mass of each member ofthe svstejn was formerly gaseous with intensity of, heat, thev can 110 longer doubt that the! moon . itll'll l.'l. wl.'l... .111.1 .111 -ill .it considerable density. The moon has. in fact,passcd through the same cljangcs j Christian life, and iu lhose teachings,,! as our own earth, though not lieccisarily ; the I Itdy Spirit whichare not It be in tht! . same exact way. She w as! once comprehended without ex periem e. The vaporous as was our earth, though not i ''"I' '" the study of natural seienct at the same time nor for so long a time. lloI(l"i llt'n' ' vestiga- She w as once glowing with intensity . tiu" "ni"' " orks of (;,! ca.mol p,--i , i i.i- . , i ,' ".reed ".villi books alone; il icon ins beat, though this stage also musjt have continued for a much .shorter tiiu'e than the corresponding stage of I iiir 11 history. .Must wo not coiicluitt; that after passing through that staije the moon was for the time a habitable jworld, rvsAur earth is now ? The great ji.-.sses of vapor ami ol cloud which had girt our moon's whole globe, even as; in the youth of our earth her seas enwrapped her in cloud-form, must at length have taken their place as seas upon her sur face. The atmosphere w hich had sup ported those waters must at first have been dense by comparison with the pre sent lunar atmosphere, perhaps even by comparison with the present atmosphere j inspired to write the theory of th of our earth. Then the glowing surface : Christian salvation. Ami now, al'te of the moon gradually cooled, until at study of Paul's theoretical statement, length the moon must have bee.? a tit !"'"" " ill. wonder to the ele- abode for life But whether w hen llms swept and garnished into iitn tation. tho moon actually became an . , ,, . , , ' ,1 , , . . iter. ( hrist knew the whole : bis 1. tier- inhabited world is a question whidh will all,.,.s wtre ,H1(.(l willl marvelous wis be variously answered according to our j th.iii. In the (iospels we saw him first views respecting the economy of nature j as the author, in the. (iospels we set; in this respect. Those who hold that j him last as 1 be finisher, of on r faith. nature makes nothing in vain will need ; ,s- l ""''- only to ask whether the support -of life is the one sole purpose which a planet can subserve; if that should appear probable they would at once decide that tht! moon must during its habitable stage have been inhabited. Others who, looking around at the workings "of na ture as known to us, perceive, or think thev perceive, that there is much which resembles waste iu nature, will be less confident on this point. They imiy reasou that as of many seeds which fall upon the ground scare one subserves the one purpose for which seeds can Ije sup posed to have been primarily intended, as many younglings among animals perish untimely, as even !iiany; races and types fail of their apparent primary purpose, so our moon, and possibly; many such worlds, may never have subserved and never come to subserve that one chief purpose for which the orbs! peo pling space can be supposed to have been formed, if purpose indeed reigns through out the universe. Cornhill JUaytztne. BEFOBE AND A FT Ell. Save me doctor and I'll give you a check for a thousand dollars.' The doctor gave him a remedy that soon eased him and he called out : ' Keep at it eloctor and I'll give you a eheclv for five hundred dollars." In an hour more he was able to sit up and he calmly remarked- Doctor I fed like giving you a fifty dollar bill When the doctor w:i icady to g.. lie sick man was up and dressed, and he followed the physician to the door, and said: Say doctor, scud ... your bill the lirst if the iu. tilth. When six months had been gathered to I in.e's bosom, the doctor scut in a biil amounting to iivr dollars. He was , . . . , presssed to cut it down to three, and af- tcr so doing he sued to get it, got judg ment, anil the patient put iu a st n ofrx cent ion. . p 11 k les - Life's enchanted ritp bill the )!li,. 1IIDSON, Cw;kivmix Ei 'IToit. Number 28. WOKK FOR INFIDELS. An infidel should look well to his life and show that In- is pure and blameless. The world has formed an opinion that he who has no religious creed is geiura'lv a man whose morals are in sad need of mending. Infidels should refute such an error, if.indeed, it be an error, by their lives. It is said that an e.-il heart leads many a man to the rejection of tl claims i of Christianity. Such an opinion gains i confirmation by the conduct of infidels The leading ones of them in histoi v. ... i mm . In i.-m I he mi. t-ite own to fie , modem lecturer who tries to breathe new ' life mto l'niii,i ..-,M. l .....i i... i i , iiimiii-nis, nave oeen men wnose lives , , , ... : would not bear critical cxaminalion. Hence wb.-.t thev i.i l,.,.ll.. uol!silt- J ossihly some deny a future ; punishitieiit through fear that they will sutler it it (iod be inst Tin- I'.ol ..1' I!o,dwst..v ti..- must ... t..i;.... .... 11: ic g.ati- ot ins dav. 1 vmlal was a !'io,es- 0. ,fl Ill.-l Mill . Il.li 11. ..-it. ..t I... '1' I.. I t;ll't- a Papist, and a protestant again lo ."""' i.n.u-.i iff., n.ii.i,-!,- itv. Voltaire, thougii he strut some 1 11 .. 1 ... , 1 wit h vanity and a iclim to petty je.-d- 01. m- i.ioii.s 101 licfiioiu, .- as evollfe I ousies of literary rivals and wrote soi te : tilings so foul that it is charity to .ie man to forget them. Maine's last days ; ended m ilrunkeniies and debauchery. An ; of fort has been made to refute the 1 vi olence against Paine, but the eff it has been a vain one. Why do infidels, so many of them blunder so hadlv as to live so as o counteract the comforting and soul inspring influences of heir sit .1 linie teachings! They should amccd their ways. Now licit tin! International !c on. arc again in tin; New Testament, it should be borne in mind that if iudv i ever necessary in order to umlc - stand (he Scriptures, il surely i o iM the case ot'lbe (iospels. The ilillb-ul'v lies ntit ill elementary rules ol'practict ; the door is opened wide, ami the pain plainly pointed out, to salvation from sin. ami to eternal life. In some meas ure, the iliiHciilly lies in ihe fait ofthe new dispensation : the secularizing i f presilv prerogatives: the making i verc ! l,e:ll-t ti tenililii i..,l .ill ..,. I,;.. . - ' mil. Vet more the difficulty lies in ihe let'pel" invsteries of the atlvan. in handling and practice. One can onh j superuciaiiv umiersiaii ii emit ... ....tt.ii i . i ... ; rules oi'morals or ihe workin of faith. ! w itboul som xperieuce. Christ tic- j gan w ith simple prcrepis of the law. ami gradually unfolded bis leacl-ing.. as his life ami approaching death ti it folded the central fact Upon whirl: his teachings rested. Not fi.l just before his death were uttered the wonderful discourses ofthe Last Sup per, nor were these put on record bv the eai lier evangelists. Xot. till after the ascension, after the gift ofthe Holy Spirit, after years of experience in full Christian life w ith its t rails ami bless ings, was Paul, prince of the apostle. ' nientarv instructions (,f Christ rccor- . .u.-.i in iu....uo i,iiii.i j.i-i ill in lo : .1...1 ;.. 1 1... i . .. -, ...i- .. ...l i i. :.. ,al..e how thev I.e.:. r (he 111:1 rts t il'ti tuns. I was great ly stirred one day by heal ing a coloiod preacher say, "I know I w ill have to answer before (.iod for this day's sermon1 and you will have to rue wer, too, for what yen hear." I was startled ! cmild it be that some pool man was at any time listening to me, and I did not explain clearly the plan ot salvation, and so he was lost ? and so his bloejtl is required at. my hands!: Good Lord, lay not this to my charge, but give me grace to be faithful ! J'J.r. A MkTIIOI'IsT ( ir.NF.K.W. CoM-T.nr.Nl-l: in Al s in w.asia. The (ieneral Confer ence of the Australasian Wcsleyan Methodist Church opened in Sydney, New South Wales, May S. Ninety-one delegates the entire number elected were present, representing the follow ing annual conferences: New South Wales and Queensland, ictori i and Tasniaina, South Australia and New calami. Hev. J. Wats ford was elected President, ami Hev. J. B. Waterlioiise was re-elected Secretary. Hev. Dr. iervase Smith was most cordially received as delegate from the British Wesleym Conference. Vh. Ado. A sign on a house on Croghan street informs the public that washing I.s done there, audit was quite natural that a mechanic w orking m-ariiv sn,nM ! lake a bundle under his arm and call , thc-re ait.l nk..i' the boy on the step "Buh. is the washwoman in?' No sir," was the prompt reply,-! here's no washw oman here at al! !" -Btitth.it -ion says washing done here," remarked the man'. Spo-e it ileics r ' ia marked the boy iu a higher k. y sposo it. does?" A lady may leci.i..e the victim of unfortunate t in iim-taiicrs t on h .in extent tfif.t sin; is willing t wash runt iron shirts mid sheets, hut that dosi-a't 'cake a .v oman of her does it r" - I thoite ht it did." b. I. ....... I. 'ft l-o.l .I...11. .1 I..1..-..-V lm.-ll llllllllrn.xl01llll.il, t ..II"", -r-t, II , A fl( j. j,., ,p ,,,,.. , make a hor-e of you The man was silently fmtiug away when the hov added ; "If von want to fn.tl the lady of iin- I'oituiiaie circiiii.siaii.es, yoa.uiind to , )0 (1lll,. ,r , v ; at hu iUC ... - ., Lis"SSsjsssseasssJe fthc Christian gtocatr. Oi fk k Cop.. Daivmis & ILwior.ir St- ratks or advertising: SliCE. 1 Week.; 1 Mow i a Mima, 6 Muns. i1 Ye 1 Square, 2 Squares. 3 Squares 4 Squares. ' Col'mn H Col'mn I Column f 1 00 a oo 3 00: (300 $700 f 13 00 f .Ml. fi 00 l:l 00 20 00 I SX 00 7 00 1H 00 I 0 OH 4.'i 00 9 00 , 25 00 ; 3S 00 SO 00 12 .' ; :io 00 SO 00 ! 75 00 20 00 60 OH ',, 00 140 00 33 00 I 75 00 140 00 230 00 4 00 A oo: '. oo 15 00 Advertisements will be changed once every three months without additional charge. For erery oth er change there will be an extra charge of twenty ce.,t an inch. Twenty five per cent. Is added to the aliove rates for special notices In the Local col umn. Terms, rash In advance, unless otherwise izrecrt npon. The above rates are cheaper than those of any other paper in the Houth ot the same character and circulation. SCIENTIFIC An epidemic of typhoid has .,y. currcd at Manchester. England. Tht outbreak of the disease was in this in stance clearly traced to a dairy, the w i ter supply of which ran so close to Home ash-pits as to become eontnminated with the sewage. The sewage-charged water hail been employed iu cleaning the vessels used in the dairy, and, per haps, in reducing the density of the milk with the view of increasing the revenue ofthe dairyman. M. Ravaissoii-Mollicu read a pa per lately before the French Academy of Sciences on the treatment ol wounds by occlusion. In the winter of IStJ'J he suffered greatly trom chapped hands. lie filled the wounds with filaments ,,f wadding, and then covered them with rollodiiui. This gave relief and a speedy cure. But this discovery i hardly new . Artisans, w hen they re ceive severe cuts or burns w hen at work, have long been in the habit of quickly covering the injured parts with mucilage or warm glue, and almost invariably the best results have followed. The Hev. H. C. MeCook, oi the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science, has been observing the opera turns of aeronautic spiders. They lirst climb to the top of a tall post, and ele vating the abdomen, throw rapidly out a thread six ..r eight feet long. With head toward the wind, they then make 1 sinhleii spring upward, and are borne, oil' on the breeze. In the air they turn round, heading with the current, and vpread out their threads on their out stretched legs, making a sort ..f kite to give them greater buoyancy. During descent a small white ball was seen ac cumulated in the mouth, made of the wound up silk w hen the insect took iu sail to alight. I'he ellowstoiie geysers are t In most remarkable in the world. Their are more than 10,000 vents. The i rand ieyser throws a column of wa ter six feet iu diameter 2U0 feet high, while the stream ascends 1,1.00 feet. lis eruptions occur every hours, and continue iiO minutes. " The Giantess throws a stream 20 feet in diameter CO feet high, and through this he or six smaller jets ':. feet. It plays "20 mill utcs once in 11 hours. The Viiant sends up a five-foot column 1-10 feet high for three hours. The Bce-llivr projects a columu three feet iu diameter to th- enormous height of "iPJ feet for about 15 minutes. Old Faithful, vrry regularly for L" minutes once an hour, sends up its massive column, six feet in diameter, lOOfo lf0 feet high. CLIPPINGS. The man who studies to ! reveng ed only manages to keep his own ivoumb green. Life is a duty, and one ought tit desire its preservation. Wilfully to lei it decay w ould be a sin. The most dangerous of all liattety is the very common kind that we be stow upon ourselves. Those beings only are lit for soli tude who like nobody, are like nobody, and are liked by nobody. Idleness is the .lead sea that swal lows up all virtues, ami is the self made sepulchre of a living man. To gain extensive usefulness, scii. the present opportunity, great or small, and improve it to the utmost. A man can profess more religion iu tifty minutes than he can pr.itice by working hard for fifty years. Men should not think too much i l themselves, and yet a man should be careful not to forget himself. A great lie is like a lish on dry land; it may fret and fling, and make a frightful bother, but it cannot hurt you. You have only to keep still, and it will dio of itself. Dewdrops sparkling iu the morn ing sunlight are emblematic of the brightness and purit y of gems of virtue when reflecting the rays ofthe "sun of righteousness." You know that it, is a light heart that, in the cud, makes a sate head and the ancients used to say that the pun ishment of a kiiu.L is ih.;t he loses good judgment. The t wo-hundretl-anil-fifth anni versary of Marquette's discovery of the Mississippi river wiii be celebrated on T"i::c 17th by the Missouri Historical Society. The dried kernel of the cocoa nut, called iu the South Sea Islands "copra," is being turned to new account. Hith erto it. has only been used for making oil, but it has been discovered that ufici having served that purpose it is valua ble cattle feed. A pious old woman, brought up in the Calvinistic faith of the Presbyterian Church, was asked what she thought of an Armenian sermon, pit-ached by a Methodist. She shook her head vigor ously. "I don't believe a word on't' said she; "at all events, I know tht I.omJ rhose Hie lielore ever he :;aw lue; for h- ic w-r would h, chosen me nfltt .wi..l.,7 -f;, ., , , - . A. K f . I I u me; 1 1 ! 0
North Carolina Christian Advocate (Greensboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
July 17, 1878, edition 1
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