Newspapers / The Christian Sun (Elon … / Sept. 11, 1884, edition 1 / Page 2
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The Christian Sun. Rtv. j. Pressley Barrett, - - - Editor. Ret. H. f. Rush. - - Corresponding Editor THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11,1884. ISfLoOK OUT FOR THE X MARK ON . TOUR PAPER. It MEAN8 YOUR TIME IS out. Renew at once, or you viki los* YOUR PAPER. EDITORIAL NOTES? Send to this office for Hymn Books. Next week we will give some news from the Virginia Valley Conference. Ou* cause should have the hearty good will and help of every lover there of. The editor of the Sun returned from the Virginia Valley Conference yester day. Rev. J. W. Holt is conducting a camp meeting this week at Pleasant Hill in Chatham county, N. C. Renew your subscription to the Sun, and do so quickly, or you will lose the visits of the paper. Let our Sunday Schools send in their orders for the next Sunday School Quar terly. Price, 5 cents per copy. Those schools needing the Quarterly for the next quarter should send in the re orders with the cash at once. Price, 5 cents per copy. Bishop Geo. F. Pierce, of the M. E. Church, South, of^ Georgia, is dead. A noble Christian worker he was. He has gone to reap his reward. Rev. James Maple will visit both the Eastern Virginia and the N. C. & Va. Conference this fall. Our people gener ally will be glad to hear this. Let us be careful as to whom we will educate as ministers, and this means let us be careful to do that good work, else we must fall behind. Let every member of the church seek to do his or her part in the great work of building up our cause. Only in this way can we hope to succeed. The Franklin Gazette has changed hands. It is now owned and edited by E. M. Daughtry & Co. Mr. C. G. Luke, the former owner, remains as foreman. Rev. H. H. Butler, of Berkley, Va., is doing well and working hard for our cause. We have good evidence of his persistent efforts to build up his field. « The Raleigh Weekly” is a new paper just issued in this city . by our young friend, M. L. Edwards. The first issue is very creditable, and we hope he may reap abundant success. Every church ought to be, from the very nature of its organization and work' a missionary body, earnestly seeking to extend the borders of the Lord's vine yard. How many thus view it ? Rev. D. A. Long has returned to An tioh College, where he again enters upon his duties as President of that institu tion. He is slowly improving. We wish him the highest success. Mrs. Mary J. Barrett, the mother of the editor of the Sun, has been dan gerously ill for some days past at her home in Isle of Wight county, Va. She was convalescent on Tuesday, and strong hopes of speedy recovery are entertained. Revs. J. W. Patton and J. L. Foster have entered the University of North Carolina, preparatory to entering the gospel ministry. Rev. P. H. Fleming is contemplating a similar step. We wish ■' these young men the highest success, and commend their noble efforts to get a higher education. The Suffolk Collegiate Institute will open about the middle of September, we suppose, though we have seen no recent official announcement to that effect. We hear through private sources that Profs. Kernodle and Newman are working hard for the next session of the school, and we sincerely hope that their efforts may be richly' rewarded with a large school. Let us support the school heartily. Let the good work of extending our borders and building new houses of wor ship go on in earnest. This sort of work is life to our organization and a power through grace in leading men to the cross. Let it go on, and let every lover of our Church feel that he or she has a part in this kind of work. Without if, we stand still; with it, we march on, conquering and to conquer, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Among the visitors at the Valley Con ference last week were the following: From North Carolina—Revs. J. W. Wel lons, W. T. Walker and the editor of the Son. From Eastern Virginia—Rev. M. B. Barrett, Bros. R. T. West, E. L Ever and Mrs. Nannie Wat i Central Virginia Chris ev. J. H. Barney. iY we published during at the Virginity alley from that very ex Ilustrated Christian .me of the author of the paper in »red. We take his oversight, too good a pa 1*% Ss, I AMUSEMENTS. What shall our amusements be? and tiow far may they go? To these ques tions the answer will depend upon the party answering. There are many people, members of churches, who say give a free rope to amusements and let them have fair play. Others perhaps would feel like checking up just a little and yet would make no move against excess in amusements; while there are yet others who would al low absolutely no amusement. This would be extreme, because innocent amusements are helpful to the physical well being of man. But wnat are inno cent amusements ? Quite a hard ques tion surely. That which is innocent of itself is apt to be made objectionable by excess or otherwise by those who control it. On the other hand there are amuse ments wholly objectionable. Here is what an exchange says of the amuse ments of a club of young men : “ The young gentlemen of the athletic club will give a fine exhibition Septem ber 2d—rfencing, boxing, feats on the Ro man ladder, Indian club swinging, and all kind of acrobatism, &c. These young gents have made rapid progress in these accomplishments since last exhibition. We hope they will be patronized. Fencing, boxing &c. Accomplish ments indeed I We hope no Christian will patronize such places. The tendency of amusements which carry in themselves the very elements of ungodliness should be discouraged. They are continually evil. Witness the follow ing from the Congregationalist : Sunday concerts in Europe, whether inaugurated without apology, or under the plea of providing the poor with pleasure and opportunities of culture, in variably have aided the gradual blotting out of the distinctions between Sunday and the other days of the week. That is just the history of amusements which carry with them ungodly tenden cies. Then, let us, as Christians, not patronize fencing and boxing clubs, Sunday concerts, or the gambling dens of recent fame, the base-ball. Of late this amusement has assumed such pro portions as to lead the place where they are held to be gambling dens. Besides it caries with it other dangers. 1. To business. Of late, since the base-ball became such a mania, it is difficult for men of business to keep their hands at their post. We have heard many com plaints in this direction. 2. Physically. We hear that the base-ball men them selves, at least some of them, are suffering. One recently had a hemmorhage while playing. Then the morals of the game are bad, as it encourages and fosters* bet ting—gambling. Some strong pleas are put up to justi fy the game. For instance, the Farmer and Mechanic of this city, says : One good effect of base ball is to arouse a strong feeling of pride. It is amusing to witness the delight with which a fine play is received by fine la dies, as well as “ grave and reverend seigneurs,” whereas when the “ enemy' makes a good play all the multitude make wry faces. If that is the best effect of base ball we do not think it an offset at all for the many evils following it, one of which is described in the same column of the same paper as follows : A big row occurred on the Atlanta diamond between the “ Atlantas" and the Augusta “ Stars.'’ One of the former caught and held one of the latter. Editor Grady and Dr. Hamilton Bussey got hot. The crowd burst into the ring, and drove the offending “ Star” out of the enclos ure. The Stars then refused to play, and there was intense excitement. And that is not an exceptional case, for on various occasions different clubs have narrowly escaped a regular row, introducing much of hard feelings and ill-will, of which the public is our wit ness. The facts are indisputable, and yet there are some excellent people who favor and patronize the base ball. We hope our readers will think of these things. We see that one of our contributors, the Rev. B. S. Maben of Beloit, Wis., has given this amusement question his at tention, and a writer in the Beloit Free Press says: Mr. Maben, in speaking of the rela tion of the church and the worlcKsays, “ where the world has been jmosr eleva ted* is not where we have sank nearest to its level. Perhaps we have sank as near the world in worldly pleasures as anywhere. The worldly pleasures of to-day may not in some respects, be as carnal as in the day of Rome’s power; but when we pick up a New York paper and find it crammed with accounts of cock-fights, dog-fights, gambling matche and the like, we ask, if the relics of barbarism is not still cling ing to our skirts ? When we see the greatest men of our day gathering oqly a few" in the lecture rooms ofcth> churches ip our great cities where great and weighty subjects are dis cussed ; ’tod still we see thousands— men, women and children, every rank and class—gathering in tha^pubifc squares in N. Y., and other cities and grow so intensely interested that they are almost frantic just to see which of two 'fobls will knock the other over a rope, we asfe are we Rome? A going back to the Is the cross of Christ towering o'er the vrecks of time, as it would if we would mite and stand around it and it alone ? Is the glorious banner of the Prince Immanuel made a better standard and more attractive by being so lowered that it trails in the slums of worldly carnal pleasure ? You cannot purify mud by drinking it, but it will make you sick. May the power of God Almighty help us to vomit up the world, and come up out of the low dark valleys and slums of worldliness, bearing our cross to Calvary's Mount, gaze in the face of Jesus and see what he has done for us, and what our duty is to Him and to our brother man.” Amusements properly handled is a good thing, but when you make amuse ments not only immoral but take the place of business and become a danger to the physical condition of those who engage in it, we endorse the N. Y. “ Ex aminer" in the following : Nevertheless it is quite possible—and in fact is growing to be by no means un common—to reverse the due order ot things, putting recreation in the place that belongs to business—dr rather, making a business of pleasure, and rel egating the serious concerns of life to the second pl|ce. This has notably been the case, as has often been pointed out, with the devotees of athletic sports in our colleges ; but the error is not confined to college boys. There was a minister settled near New York not many years ago, who, in the height of the “ croquet fever,” nearly split his church in twain through his un due devotion to that pleasant game. Fortunately he had not many imitators in the extremity of his folly, but there were others who came dangerously near it. The absorbing interest of many a young man in the game of base-ball has time and again taken the form of a pas sion, until the whole object of life has come to be an ignoble effort to distin guish himself as a “ champion pitcher,” or “ batter.” And now the graceful game of lawn-tennis is having its turn. In England, it is said, young men become so fascinated with the sport, and so pos sessad with the desire to win renown as “champion” players, that everything else is subordinated to the one purpose of becoming proficient in it. Others, not able to give so exclusive attention to to it, nevertheless devote a great deal more time to the game than any young man who has his living and his mark to make in the world can afford. We do not know how far this is true in this country; but some observation leads us to think that there is a tendency, and a growing one, to spend far too much time and thought on this as on the other pas times mentioned, to say nothing of bil liards, bicycling, roller-skating, and other popular forms of amusement. Let us emphasize this point. It is not the participation in healthful sports that is to be frowned upon, but the ab sorption of the mind in them until they become the main business of life, or at least take up all of the leisure time, a part of which ought to be given to high er aims. No young man, with mind still waiting, like an empty book-shelf, to be filled with useful lore, can justly spare his leisure hours exclusively to the pursuit of any form of pleasure. He has much to learn in order to become the man he ought to be. The future needs men with enlarged and well-in formed minds, not grown-up boys having a smattering knowledge of business and a vast capacity for sport. Let us take time for needful and pleasant recreation, by all means ; but don't let the triviali ties of sport become the serious business of life. b CUPPINGS AND COMMENTS. A rough surface must be polished be fore it will reflect its Maker’s image, so one has said : “ Be content to bear the rubbing that is necessary to the restoration of God’s image.” “ Stretching the truth” is a very serious matter. Many a man doubtless stretches the truth to make it suit his convenience with no fear of his wrong doing, but is it not in fact a fearful blunder? Is it not in reality lying ? The “ Examiner” says : “ To stretch the truth is always a crimi nal blunder. Exact truthfulness is.not merely right and comely in itself, but far stronger and more effective than windy exaggeration.” The choicest flower of our collection is apt to receive marked attention. We seek to cultivate it because of our inter est in its development and growth ; so ought every Christian to look upon love as the one necessity of his spiritual life. Without it we can not be Christians. With no love, we could not know or un derstand God, for God is love. Some writer has said: “ Between God and man, between the gospel and each soul, the interpreter is love." The evil of deranged appetites is alarm ing. It assumes every conceivable shape and approaches its victims from the most unexpected standpoints. Excess of ap petite in eating, in drinking, in chewing and smoking tobacco, is now an alarm ing evil. The fact is, men seem to be drifting, unaware of the real facts in the j £use. To show the danger as well as 1 the del _ “ A prominent chemist of .Klmira, N. N .. states in the ‘ Advertiser' of that city, that he had lately been led to think that even the higher grades of cigarettes con tained opium. He. therefore, collected by purchase of reputable dealers, a dozen packages of the most prominent and high-priced cigarettes to Iks had, which he forwarded to a Pittsburgh chemist for analysis. The considerable quantity of opium in all the standard brands was astounding. The universally recognized bondage resulting from the use of opium in any form or degree, especially by smoking or absorption, renders the mur derous design of the admixture anil the sharp lesson to bclearned terribly plain.” Some writers, who have a great desire to be regarded as learned men, have sought to make it seem that they had found just where Moses, or perhaps some other inspired writer, had made a great mistake, thereby showing themselves to possess a superior order of talents—sci entific ability, if you please. In well nigh every case there is more brass than the brains can make room for, and of course the fellow apparently never finds out how little he really is till some real master hand comes along and shows how fully true science agrees with the Bible. As, for instance, the Rev. James Maple gives in 'the Christian Indicator" the following case: “ One of the favorite points of attack by irifidels on the Bible is the Mosaic account of creation, and so positive and arrogant has it been that some of weak faith have trembled. Theory after theory have been advanced, but they have been disproved, and Moses vindicated. Take an illustration. A few years ago scien tists told us that as vegetation depended for its growth on the active principle in the sun's rays, it was absurd to believe, as Moses states, that it appeared on the third day, while the sunlight was not seen until the fourth ; but now scientists teach us that the peculiar vegetation of the Carboniferous period, which answers to the third day, must have been prior to anj' direct rays of the sun reaching the earth, as it couid only have been pro duced under the conditions of heat, shade and humidity. Thus science has vindi cated Moses.” Grace for life and grace for death is evidently God s plan for his people. In health most Christians shudder at the thought of death’s approach. Then they have grace to live with. In death they pass the fear of the grave, and as the messenger calls we stand ready and wil ling. That is grace to die with. This speaks to us as to David of old. The following from Spurgeou illustrates the thought: “ Tea. though I walk through the val ley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me : thy rod and tht' stall' they comfort me. (Psa. xxii, 4.) “ When we returned from Italy some years ago, the Mont Cenis Tunnell was newly opened, and reckoned that it must be a dreary passage. We thought it must be very dark, and therefore we had better be provided with a candle. It would be damp and close, and therefore we reckoned upon closing every window, for fear we should breathe the impure air. So we speculated ; but when we traversed that wonderful passage the carriages were well lighted and much of the tun nel also, and we sat with open windows, finding it as easy to breathe as on the mountain's side. It was a joy rather than a peril to pass through the dreaded tunnel. So shall the voyager along the good way find that death is not what he dreams. Jesus will light the darksome way, and the soul will need no candle of earth; tresh breezes from glory shall drive away the death damps, and the music of angels shall make the heart forgetful of all pains. How can the good old way lead into danger ? What can it conduct us to but eternal rest ?” Men make most of their bitterness by the way they look at things. To almost every case for the attention of the mind of man there are two sides—on one side are the blessings and on the other curs ings. Alphonse Karr beautifully shows howHhis is in the following, and there is truth in it: “ Some people are always finding fault with Nature for putting thorns on roses ; I always thank her for putting roses on thorns." Writers for newspapers are generally very polite if you print their articles to suit them, and if you don’t—-well, it will be to the editor’s interest to keep oif the street and out of his office till the ire of his correspondent gets below the point of white heat. . Horace Greely had some great misfortunes in this line, one of which is as follows : “ Among the most famous men of our country there is one who will always be remembered by his atrocious handwri ting—Horace Greely. His manuscript was very illegible. Fancy, if you can, his disgust when the printer gave forth to the world, ‘ Washing with soap is wholly absurd,’ instead of ‘ Virtue is its own reward.’ His copy was a perfect string of riddles for the unfortunate com positors. One of his leaders on William H. Seward came forth entitled, ‘ Richard the Third.’ His ‘(Freemcn in Buckram’ was turned into ‘ Three Men in a Back Room,’ while ‘Jupiter Pluvius’ appeared in print as 1 Inspector Phiness.' ” Prohibition of the liquor traffic is of much importance even to the value of property. The “ Christian Leader” says : “ It is stated that Mr. John Roberts, a British member of Parliament, owns about 300 acres of the land on which Liverpool is built, containing at present 7,500 houses with a population of about 40,000. The titles contain a clause that no public house shall be permitted, and this has been rigidly enforced. The re sult is that while Mr. Roberts has lost i the extra price offered by brewers for eli gible corner sites, the loss is more than kmnter-balftnced by an increase in value ’Eipv. on the whole land consequent on the re striction, the district being rendered more respectable, and larger rents being ob tained." The natural instinct of man is to hon or man and worship God, as is shown by the following incident: “One evening Charles Lamb had met some Mends to talk together on literary topics, and in the course of conversation it occurred to them to speak of the prob able effects on themselves if they could speak mouth to mouth with the great and wonderfhl dead. 1 Then followed,' says one who was present, * something of this sort, ‘ Think,’ said one, 1 if Dante were to enter the room, what should we do ? How should we meet the man who had trod the fiery pavement of the In ferno, whose eyes had pierced the twi light, and breathed the still, clear air of the mount of the Purgatorio, whose mind had contemplated the mysteries of glory in the highest heaven ?’ ‘ Or suppose," said another, ‘ Shakespeare were to come?’ ‘ Ah!' said Lamb, his whole face bright ening, ‘ how I should fling my arms up ! how we should welcome him, that king of thoughful men !’ 1 And suppose,’ said another, ‘ Christ were to enter ?’ The whole face and attitude of Lamb were in an instant changed. ‘ Of course,’ he said, in a tone of deep solemnity, ‘ we should fall on our knees.' ’’ CHARACTER MAKING. BV REV. DR. S. F. SCOVEL. In his recent Inaugural as President of the University of Wooster, O., Dr. Scovel, after elaborately and ably advo cating the proposition that character is superior to intellect as the thing to be sought in education, thus closed his ad dress : Gentlemen and brethren, we are cer tainly building into the largest and surest forces of human nature, and, therefore, hopefully into the widest plans of the beneficent Father of all in his education of the race, when we consider this prin ciple settled for this institution and ac tively apply it to the institution’s whole inner life. Our idea must be that of careful and thorough intellectual culture under a continuous pressure of an at mosphere of conscience and duty. This is the only way to a complf^fe manhood, and this only is complete education. Do you remember Huxley’s metaphor ? life is a game of chess, with nature represen ted as a calm and wise angel. “ Well, now,” said he, “ what I mean by an edu cation is learning the rules of this mighty game. In other words, education is the instruction of the intellect in the laws of nature, and the fashioning of the affec tions and of the will into harmony with those laws.” Ay! that’s the whole of it, if but we may substitute “ the laws of j God,” which are the laws of our whole nature, for his indefinite phrase. That is education, to know the laws of God in nature and elsewhere, and then to fash ion the affections and wiH into harmony with those laws. This lofty ideal is set in the midst here, and towards it we must steadily clamber. The men who shall represent this ideal will be characterized as men of “ thought that wills or of will that thinks.” Character and intellect in their right relations make up our ideal. Somewhere about our building I should like to see this illuminated text: “ Let knowledge grow from more to more But more of reverence in us dwell, That mind and soul, according well, May make one music, as before, But vaster.” (In Memoriam.) This dominant idea must shape our curriculum, determining away from that narrowing culture which arrogantly claims to be scientific and to be large enought to fill the student's whole hori zon—as though there were no science but that of atoms, and no larger horizon than may be swept with a telescope, and no loopholes in the thick vault of sense through which man may discern spirit within matter and God above both. We will go with our steadfast forefathers, whose “ educational system did not begin with seminaries for special training of any one class, but with schools of gen eral culture—colleges of the liberal arts— as good as could be made with their re sources." We cannot neglect aught lhat is a character-making study. Character needs a rounded culture with all the gentler as well as all the sterner influences. A full curriculum must not neglect music, art, or general literature. The plea that embraces all that refines is as valid as that which maintains all that gives sinew and strength. Character is not rugged only, but the positiveness of the Christ with the whip of small cords, chastened by the refinement that found the lilies to be handsomer than a bespangled Solomon. Brethren, the place of character in our work is secured by the place of Christ in our motto—Christo et literis ! Christ and character are, in a certain sense, synonyms. Men really know the second only as they know the first. He taught its elements, exemplified its high est types, commanded and commended it to all men, and made the issues of eternity upon it. He loved men destitute of it, but only so that he might restore what had been lost and bring them to the “ fulness of the stature" of a “ per fect man in Christ Jesus.” We shall never wander from Christ while we make character condition as end and aim all our intellectual discipline; and we shall never misconceive character while we bold fast to Christ and keep him first in our motto and our hearts. And in that high trust to which this institution has been already so signally called—the provision of a ministry for a perishing world—this dominant idea may serve still as our guide. More than gilts are graces, and more than learning is character. A manly ministry, with substratum of solid qualities fitting for work at homi and abroad, must be, as indeed it has been, the prodnct of such a life as the principle just unfolded infalli bly creates. But to realize this ideal in its perfec tion, transforms this theory in its ampli tude into practice, actually to form char acter—a far more difficult task than to train intellect—to overcome moral iner tia, to neutralize poisonous forces, to evoke motive-power and supply direc tion, “ who is sufficient for these things ? Let us invoke the only power that can do what we long to see accomplished. “ In the still air the music lies unheard, In tlie rough marble beauty lies unseen, To make the music and the beauty needs The Master’s touch, the Sculptor’s chisel keen. “ Great Master! touch us by thy skilful band, Let not the music that is in us die. Great Sculptor, hew and finish us; nor let, Hidden and lost, thy form within us lie.” —111. Chris. Weekly. MUD ON THE WHEELS. BY SYDNEY DAYRE. I was one morning entering again upon long-neglected household cares, when a cheery voice broke upon the stillness, and the master of the house, who had left the breakfast* table only an hour be fore, called to me^ “ Do you want an eighteen-mile ride and back ? I’m off into the country af ter a delinquent debtor.” What! all in this mud ?" I said. “ Never mind the mud. I’ve got the best span of horses in town. Look.” The spirited-looking pair of bays, and the light buggy before which they pawed and danced as if anxious to be at their day’s work, made the idea of a ride invi ting, even on that dull November day. So I went. The rapid movement was at first ex hilarating, but the air was heavy, and the mud after a while becaifie worse as we descended the bluffs ahd entered a long stretch of river bottom land. I be came painfully absorbed in watching it as it gathered and clung upon the wheels with the well known tenacity of prairie soil, as if determined to stop their pro gress through it. It almost filled the spaces between tire and spokes and hub, rolling over and over with them, and then dropping in almost solid clods. They labored through ruts and banged into holes, and I still gazed my mind seemed to share the dreary weight, and to be by it bound down more and more strongly under the burden of past sor rows and abiding sadness. I looked back over a year full of sweet cares and joys and bright hopes, then walked again in spirit through months of anxiety, gradually sinking down to hopeless dread, a flight to purer air as a last effort to keep our hold on a precious little breath of life, and then of all the joy and sweetness and solicitude nothing left but a little grave ; and I had come back to a hushed house to take up a life which looked as gloomy as this Novem ber day, and unlighted cares which seem ed as heavy as this mud which still roll ed over and over, over and over. Presently my companion spoke, “ Are you noticing this prospect ? There are some pleasant things even in a November day.” “ Oh,” I said, “ I was watching the mud on the wheels. Do see how heavy and black it is ! It makes me wear}- to look at it.” “ But see how strong and willing these horses are. It is hard pulling, but they are equal to it, and carry us through, not as if it were a painful effort, but with what might be locked upon as the spirit of noble natures appreciating their bur den, but bravely putting their best strength to it.” We were gaining higher ground, and could find much to admire in the broad sweep of undulating prairie stretching in the distance to where a line of light, ly ing low on the horizon, flung a purplish tint oh the dark clouds below, while the sun, from somewhere behind them, threw long rays down through the hazy atmos phere, and at last burst with full radiance over the landscape. The day wore' away with varying clouds and sunshine. Sometimes our drive led over high ground where the road was comparatively dry and smooth, and again we went lower where the way was heavy, the brightness shut out, and fog and dampness seemed to gather thickly about us. But as evening drew near the whole sky cleared, and the glo rious autumn sun shone in undimmed splendor from the western sky. Hours before I had ceased my study of the mud on the wheels. Why should we allow our souls to be darkened and depressed by fixing such a persistent gaze upon the carking cares and struggles, the sorrows and sufferings, of this mortal life as to ignore the glory above and beyond us ? Dear sisters, let us look farther and higher. Let us re joice more trustingly in the strength of the Arm which will bear us to the end with more than the strength of horses and chariots. Along through the clouds and darkness will surely come intervals of brightness, and our Sun will always be shining somi beams may not a although his P visible, and, according to our faith, will shine upon us more and more, even unto the |>erfect day.—111. Chris. Weekly. THE BOLD EAOLE. A good many years ago a merchant missed from his cash drawer a twenty - dollar gold piece. No' one had been to the drawer, it was provi d, except a young clerk whose name was Weston. The morchant had sent him there to make change for a customer, and the next time the drawer was opened the gold piece had disappeared. Naturally, Weston was suspected of having stolen it, and more especially as he appeared a few days after the occurrence in a new suit of clothes. Being asked where he had bought the clothes, he gave the name of the tailor without hesitation; and the morchant, going quietty to make inqui ries, discovered that Weston hud paid for the suit with a twenty-dollar gold piece. That atternoon me cicra was ran™ into the merchant's private room and charged with the theft. “ It is needless to deny it," the mer chant said. “ You have betrayed your self with these new clothes ; and now, the only thing that you can do is to make a full confession of your fault." Weston listened with amazement; he could hardly believe, at first, that such an accusation could be brought against him ; but when he saw that his employer was in earnest; he denied it indignantly, and declared th at tire money he had spent for the clothes was his own, given him as a,Christmas gift a year ago. The merchant sneered at such an explana tio, and asked him for the proof “ Who was the person that gave it to you ? Produce him,” he demanded. “It was a lady,” answered Weston. “ and I can’t produce her, for she died last spring. 1 can tell you her name." “ Can you bring me any body that saw her give you the money, or knew of your having it ?” asked the merchant. No, I can’t do that,” Weston had to answer; “ I never told any one about the gift, for she did not wish me to. But 1 have a letter from her somewhere, it I haven't lost it, that she sent with the money, and in which she speaks of it." “ I dare say you. have lost it,” the mer chant sneered. “ When you have found it, sir, you can bring it to me. and then I will believe your story.'' Weston went home with a heavy heart. Ho had no idea where the letter was ; he could not be sure that he had not des troyed it! and it was the only means of proving his innocence. Unless he could produce it his reputation was ruined, for he saw that the merchant was fully con vinced of his guilt, and appearances, in deed, were sadly against him. He went to work, however, in the right way. He knelt down and prayed to Cod for help to prove that he was innocent, and then he began to overhaul the contents of his desk, and trunk, and closet. He kept his papers neatly, and it did not take long to see that the letter was not among them. He sat with a sense of despair when he was convinced of this. What else could he do ?„ Nothing but pray again for help and guidance, and strength to endure whatever trouble Cod might choose to send upon him. Skeptics may sneer at such prayers as this, but Weston (who is now a middle aged man, prosperous, and respected by all men, and deserving of respect) would smile and say, “ Let them sneer." “ When I rose from my knees,” he said, telling me the story years afterward, “ I happened to catch my fix>t in an old rug that I had nailed down to the carpet because it was always curling at the edges. The nail at the corner had come out, and, stooping down to straighten the rug, I saw a bit of paper peeping out I pulled it from its hiding-place, and it was the letter ! “ How it got there, I don’t know. The fact that L had found it was enougtx for me, and if I had not gone on my knees again to give thanks for such a deliver ance I should be ashamed to tell you the story now. “ 1 brought that letter to my employer. It proveyj^my innocence, and he apolo gized. A month after the gold piece was found in Mr. Finch's overcoat. He had never put it into the cash drawer at all, though he thought he had. He raised my salary on the spot to pay for his un just suspicions; and I have never yet repented of trusting the Lord in my trouble.”—Selected. y WHO WILL BE ONE ? I want a hundred of my host friends to volunteer their services to raise or give $10.00 to the Raleigh Church by the first of Sept. The work will soon be com pleted if we can get the money. The following have complied with the above request: J. H. Boyd.$10 00 T. A. Boyd. 10 00 Obediah Farmer. 10 00 D. S. Fanner.. 10 00 Rev. J. W. Holt. 10 00 W. A. Turrentine. 10 00 Rev. I). A. Long,... 10 00 Rev. Z. A. Post.. 20 00 Rev. S. B. Klapp. 10 00 W. A. Williamson and wife.... 10 00 J. S. Carr.^. 10 00 Miss Fannie E. Hatch. 22 00 MissN. E. Hatch. 10 00 J. H. Fleming. 10 00 A Friend. 20 00 MissM. C. Howard. 10 00 Maj. R. E. Petty. 50 00 J. R. Raine.... 11 00 W. Q. Clements.
The Christian Sun (Elon College, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 11, 1884, edition 1
2
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