l . " '.' ' ' ' r.-.' I : ' : ' ' ' . ... r-4
- - : - - ' . f
As tbe tord IiTctb; wtat toe lord znith upfo pct tfrat -prill I frcpE,"" Yo tBc poor ffio Gospel is preacbed
1 1-
t f.
t
lit
:.Vf
VOL. II.
NEAR !HENDERSONVILI;N. C. OCTOBER 8 I860; .
NO. . 46.
Tliti COTTAG E V IS IT O II,
Pu blicbcd every Friday
iiDiTOR and Publisher, .
Three lailes N. W.cfHercLerfecnville, N. C.
One copy 12 months, J. .
I . "5 i A i it
j- ' 1 f - - i
Single copy, 5 cents. ;
L. Shou&c, Esq., of KanxaA Cit, has been! iration in the form of a Bijtist Sunday-Kchool
ununng in nis enoris, anrmg tbe year, to Convention siioniil ve hmtvcu in every State
$1 50
75
50
Advertisements compatible j :with the character
of tl:e pivpf r will be insrr Vel at 10 cents per line, fur
the first insertion, and 5 cent for each subsequent
in. errion. . . .
Fo; awnouncing M candidate i for oflBte, . . . $3
lJibwork iexecJtejd ueailj, at prices correspond
xitr with tin times K.
IuvHii:ibly in ftdvue. j
4 ......
For the Cottage , Visitor, .
Tb& Missouri Baptist Sunday
School Convention.
BY E. D. JONES.
Duving the session of the Baptist General
Association of Missouri, held at Paiis, August
1808, thid Convention was i called into, exis
tence 'with, a view of concentrating the Bap
tist Sunday-school forces of the State for
practical service. The great end to be 'at
taiued vas the awaken in p- of an intelligent
enthusiasm :in the cause that would secure to
us "a, Suuday-school in eyeryj -Baptist cliurch
in Micyp.nri," establish new 'Sanday-sebools
iiv destitute localities, and arouse those en.
gaged .in the service as officers and teachers
tQ seek for the best plana arid methods where-
. ....... J ; 4 .. r ' , r .
by they could execute their jwork to a higher
decree of success than ever before. It seenl-
ed then like a bold experiment to attempt
such a movement. Tlie denomination had
k b;en distracted by political i differences and
gather facts and figures as a basis for future
action. Without a knowIeJge of the field
nothing could be done. So ; far as heard
fronij the Baptist strength of the Slate is as
IolIoys:OU, Associations, 810: churches, 57,
32o members.-
..... t .
W e are now acquainted with the location
of all the churches, and of course this year we
shall be ,able to learn; our"" Sunday School
strength, the deistitute localities, and the fields
requiring the most cultivation.
lid. A new interest iu the cause has been
created. i ' -
A spirit of awakening has rolled over our
churches, ; committing many pastors and
brethren to this branch of Christian labor,
who have been, heretofore, not only indiffer
ent but really opposed to Sunday Schools.
Public opinion is "undergoing a serious
change, and the example of 'prominent and
influential churches is rendering the iiisti
tution too popular for many to long resist
falling into line. The tide jof enthusiasm
has certainly rolled up immensely ; the entire
denomination has been movedj more or less,
to a deeper and more abiding love iorthe cause
than was ever known beforehand certainly
in the Union, having for
tion of the cause within
ries. The children that
forgotten in all these Sta
object the promo
ttir several bounda
o neglected and
should be claimed
consequently serious alienations for a
titmv existed ; ' educational interests
long
were
as ours ; .make them our by faithful regard
for their ctcrnnl interests. In d who shall meas
ure the growth and powerit Baptist influence
hich Got! i ready to honc tud bless if we
are but faithful to the tnut lie has committed
to our hands. Millions are pouring in ou us
from every laud; GeJpiany has sent her mil
lions, Ireland has strgglcd to keep pace with
her. They are upci us to give shape to our
institutions; to moild us rather than o be
moulded. Iufidelijr and'Ilonianism are the
two great contcndilg forct4hat we now grap
ple with. Educatpnal aud religious institu
tions stagger fluid the conflict, with
seeming despair ocr the final issue, did not
tlie promise of Goj assure us of ultimate vic
tory over everything, that designs to oppose
the kingdom of ClrisU j
j This is the hourlfor every soldier to be on
the alert. Now islhe time to lay deep and
strong the principles of truth and, no eU'iucnt
promises equal to tie youth of the land. Or
ganize, we say, in etery State such influences
the . number of earnest, willing hearts identified as will secure this uucli desired end, of Icad-
with this movement, and the details of Sun-1 ing young souls to the feet of Christ, i
day School work, is greatly multiplied over
struggling for enlargement and proportionate
maintenance : William Jewell ' College was
cylling loudly through its worthy President,
llev.'Thomas Rambaut, LL. D., .for large
ndu.vnients and was gaiuing upon the afifect
it ns of the brethren ; the General Association
was earnestly appealing to the churches, then
just emerging from j tbe sad effects of the war,
for luaterialjaiu with whi?h to prosecute its
missionary operations through the State ; the
claims were urgent and 'worthy, but the
means aJly deficient. I
Coujd we venture a new organization in the
Ftate just then ?f Would the churches re
coi nize such a bVly-and give it their support
by t h eir sy in pathy aud their means whereby
its operations could be successfully prosecu
te i Could sufficient interest be awakened
among the churches so that a greater number
Ynf'the vouth of the State could be reached
ana gntneiea into papiiM ouuuajr otHwis,
and could those churches, sceptical regarding
. snch institutions be brought into line and
induced 'to -adopt the Sunday school asauin
BtiumentaUty for the futheraneeof Christ'
Kingdom! . 1 -I-
These considerations were not lightly dealt
with, but with much grayer, amid fear and
trembling-; an - ory-anizatiou was effected in
what it was one year since, p. . .
3d. Organization has been effected.
Shape lias been given to the Baptist Sun
day school forces of the State with some ac
quaintance of the field and its wants.
The scheme has been when organizing
j - It o c
these local conventions, to place on the. list
of Vice Presidents, one from each church
composing the Asscciation; within which the
Convention is placed, A lret of the officers
of each Convention with post-office address,
is filed witli the Corresponding! Secretary and
with the General Agent. A j book is kept
hy eaoh of thoco offijrpr7showmgrat-air times
the exact locality, of all the iofiScers of the
Conventions so organized, so that communi
cation can be alwavs maintained between the
State and local organizations, land ever, the
churches if necessary. ;
It is made the duty of the Vice Presidents
to look carefully affer the Sunday school
cause in their churches, and indeed . do any-
Volnoy and tho Bible.
Selected from "Credo," a valuable book j recently
published by Lee & SbeparJ, Boston. i '
Eighty years ago, a French infidel, by name
Count de Volney, left his home in Paris to
visit the East, with the avowed purpose of
testing, by every meaus at his command, the
truthfulness and accuracy of the statements
that had beeu made by former travelers and
explorers. His merits as an accurate delineator
of the countries he visited, hare'acc(i
itrine-Tnniv-renK urttirsTias vCwrrrtei 'ATtycXs' wTiTcirXbrder on- tbe Dead sea.
desolate.' Isa. xxiv. 1. t seems a dreary,
burning place.' Volney. In this one sentence
from Volney, beginning with 'tho temples
are thrown down,' without the necessaiy ad
dition or alteration of a ringle word, he ha
clearly, though unconsciously, 6hown the fol
filment of no less than six definite and distinct
piedictions.
Though he entered Palestine without a
pilgrim's spirit, bave not his long sojourn in it,
his careful researches, and his published works,
made him of more value to the Charch than
would have been tho journey thither of athou
sand ordinary though sincere pilgrims?
'This infidel chief Keith well remarks, 'con
tends like an indomitable hero, and reasons
like an irrefutable philoopher in our behalf
Like Gibbou in some of his statements, seem.
iMv sclf-foroetful. he is borne on to concla
ftions utterly subversive of his own principle;
reiterating almost word for word, the prophe
cies with which he is not familiar; knowing
them only to hate them. How blind ore the
wilfully blinded! A" wan in a raylc& dun
geon, may doubt the shining of the stars.
But unless he bandage his eyes, can he go
forth iu a cloudless night, when the heavens
are throbbing with beauty, and say there are
no stars? Can any one familiar with the
facts before us, fail to see that history is
prophecy fulfilled? As we enlarge the circle
of our observation, can we remain destitute
of humble veneration Tor tho sacred Scrip
tures' bee, Zion is 1 ploughed as a field.'
The great city of Samari is ocupicd as 4 a
vineyard.' The princely Tyre is ' a plain
iu part, in part a sea-bottom on which ' fisher
men spread their nets.' The cots" of sheph
erds have supplanted the royal palaces of the
lords of the Philistines. Ammon has become
'a stable for camels.' The temple of ahcieut
Petra is 'a court for fowls," Askelon has
become a 1 desolation.' Ishmael is 'a wild
nr.. v rrt
man. ilie Jews are wanuerers.' me in
habitants of Moab are 'dwellers among the
a skeptic says Keith, 'he was one j of the
most zealous partisans and successful promoters
of infidelity.' 'Hetookeveiy occasion says
the British Encyclopiedia, 'to hold up the con
tents of the Scriptures to the mockery and
derision of mankind." Such the man and his
mission. The result of his patient anil criti
cal investigations are before us and we pause
thing that will piouiote the jwclfare of the to; compare it with the words ot .ancient
cause of- their respective neighborhoods, prophecy. !
Thus a uniformity of action is secured I Concerning Syria, fifteen hundred ycaT be-
thoughout these district arganizations of the fure Christ, Moses declared that, 4the stranger
State, giving a body of strength with a unity that shall come from a far land, even all na
of action is sure to effect. These twenty- turns, shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord
mcaticth the
Where shall we pause ? All things come
to our aid. Skeptics, are our allies. As they
continue to write the Progressive History of
Man and Nations, the Rise and Fall of Era
. .... ...
jpires, as tney weigu mc natural sciences
against revelation, accumulating evidence and
piling tip the results of their eruuito research
es into what they think and declare will be
dark and formidable pyramids in the christian
world, have we not ample reason to believ
that, as in the past, so in the future, they will
continue, unwillingly, to render the Church
effective aid? Is not the day hastening when
all their lofty pyramids are to be taken down
by the believer, and by him reconsecrated
no man becomes a drunkard at once. It
is not a leap, but a alow descent. Moo'er--tion
in all caes, nor in most cases but
here is the thing to b9 considered : it docs
make all the drunkards that are' made.
The first social glass of wine was the first
step. And oh, how often m 'li that the
noblest fall by it ! Not the soar, the cal
culating, and the clo&ehearted, but tne
generous aarl the free;. The. net. catcbea"
the best. Oh, if tho Cock of greedy blae"
jays that sweep like a cloud of Jest n e ?crr
upon our cherry-orchard would take oiIy
the poor sour cherries; but they take the
best fruit. The social, the open-hearted and
open Landed these arc oucn iiio surest.
victims of intemperate.
TniRD, Srx now these I)aU5kaels jlbs
Held, after tuet are' Made. In some,
parts of the 'arth there aro cavts nblcir
run along underground for miles Irr daT&
ness and gloom and chill, an I thru sod- .
denly break into a precipice. Why don't
these drunkards come back out of tho
horrible cavern into which they have cn
tcred ? W?hy do they keep : steadily on to
the precipice? They know it is there.
They hear the deeP QleQ roar of a bys
mal water below. They realize the hor-
rors.. Why don't they retrace their steps?
m W 9W m
Don't they try? Yes. Probaly nc such
offorts arc made on earth as are made by
drunkard. But there is a demon that
drives them; a demon of their own beget
ting. It is appetite. Aud it is appetite
of a peculiar sort, engendered by a dls-
eased stomach. This is no theory, but
one of the fixed facts of science. Dissec
tions after death prove it. There is like!,
wise other proof. Year ago man .was
shot. The charge tore a hole through his
side and stomach. He recovered as by a
miracle. The wound healed, but the ap-
. S f
peraiure remained. ror many years a
doctor kept this man, and spent much
time 'Ih looking into . his stomach. Ho
could open and shut his stomach as easily
as the lid of a box. He lowered all sorts
of solids and liquids into the man. - iul
then peeped into sec what was going on.
The experiment made onoa him with
alcohlic drinks clearly showed the way in
which a drunkard s stomach become the seat
eight Conventions already formed, jepresentl0116 tns unto this land? What m
588 churches and 34,687 members. Sixty- "fat tuls great anger?'? (Deut. xxix. 22-jand transferred to the foundation which
five meetings have been held by these bodiesJ-f ) Speaking of his journey through this re- standeth sure, and reconstructed into the sub-
extending from one to three days each. TheU5,0U Volney says, "I wandered over the lime temple of God's truth and prophecy?
Agent :
Days of service
great hnnnony. W.ith a firtfl 'reliance on Him j Miles traveled
together
we
in 'whose iiaiiie. we had banded
filtered the field for immediate and active ser-
vice. . ,- '-j ,".;.-..':'
The American Baptist Publication Society
kiudlv cam'e to our aid in the support of the
General Agent we appointed. He was to re
port to both bo lies and t lbe under the -direct
ion of the Executive Board of the Convention.
It hasy been of mutual profit and has (there
fore been a very happy relationship. f
Some y ell defined plan j of operation seemed
absolutely essential to success. Organization
of a Sunday j School Convention within the
1 bouds of each Association was at once fought
to be effected. This work has progressed
with g"od satisfaction, until twenty-eight
such organizations have bpen formed within
tho fifty Associations kooyVh- to exist ' in the
- Suite, instructions in detail have been from
time to time afforded the officers of these Con
vciitioHS to atuVt them iri the uniform and
General prosecution of duties incident to their
respective fields. "
Many ot these orgonizatipns have done
noble in extending and deepening the influ
ence of' the Sunday School while we are look
jn" for the early formation of Conventions in
r.U our; Associations, to more effectually per
meate every portiou of this great and grow-
results hae been very happy and satisfactory country. Great Godl from whence proceed
in their results. New works have been eulist- sucu melancholy revelations? Why are so
ed, valuable information has been imparted many cities destroyed? Why is not their
and new schools have been organized to Athe ancient population reproduced and j pcrpet.
number of eighty-four, while a number oi wated t Says the prophecy of Ezekicl, "Rob-
others . have received valuable assistance. bers shali enter into it. and defile it." (Ezck.
The following is the summary, of the work v-7-22.) " The government," says Volney,
performed by Rev. S." W. Marston, "Geueral " 15 far rom disapproving a system of robbery
and plunder. ' Iu Jeremiah we rcad,' Every
one that passeth by shall be astouished." (rJer.
OOO I I .....
000 xvin .10.1 " So feeble a population iu so ex-
19,104 ccllent a country," writes Volney, " may well
u,ouu excite our astonishment.'1 "Your hiirhwavs
73 shall be desolate." (Lev. xxvi. 22.) " There
are neither great roads (or highways) nor
84
9 9 mf ;
Pages of tracts distributed
Sermons preached
Sunday Schools partly instumental
The grass withereth, the flower fadcth, but
the word of our God shall stand forever.'
The Problem of Intemperance
in organizing
Sunday Schools visited
Sunday Schools addressed ;
Sunday School Convantions organized
Sunday School Conventions attended
Childrens Mass Meetings addressed
Associations attended
we never saw a wngon nor a cart in al!
New churches assisted to organize
Prayer-meetings attended
Letteis written
Circulars' sent out
Blanks for Sunday School and church
statistics
Latters to Sunday School children !
03 that
1A I
4- Syria." 'The wayfaring mau shall cease.1
21 Isa.'xxxiii. 8. ' Nobody travels alone.' Volney
44 All tli
v suva mj aavcs vu puui a ciii. A.04 A A I
8.1 'To hear their plaintive strains, it is al-
10 nine) imnnaeililo in vnTi-nin fnmi n
'The joy of the harp shall cca.se.' Isa. xxiv. 8
Such instruments as they have are detebtable.'
718 Volney. ' The mirth of the land shall dcpait."
2300 Isa. xxiv. 11. ' The inhabitants never lau-h
Vol u ey. ' Upon the land of my people shall
come up thorns and briers Isa. xxxiii. 13.
570
rr n t
UUU qiie oarli nrodnee.4 onlv hrir nmt mrm:
v.i fmi...i rr...; J j . . J
aiuc ui uiuies auu xesiauienis aonaieu cyo i Ai t - i . i .
,T i ja r j- , o , wood, olney. 'Because they have trans
. 1 . J I rrri-RSr il th l.nr cliall Hif chka Ho-i it...
, , 1 13 r - . uw.wui mi
ccnoois
Money raised on certificates I
New Sunday Schools aided from
certificate fund
Thcs far God in his mercy has led ns on ;
to Him be all the glory. We take courage
and ask for grace to do greater things in the
I6 vth'' Isa- 5 P. 'God has doubtless
OCO tJ4 1,' i ij:l.r.' . ' .
j'luiiuuiam a ectick luaicniciiuu againSl the
earth.' Voluey. ' I will bring your sanctu-
43
ensuing vear.
I
We are not satisfied however, to see this
character of Sunday school effort confined
to a few 5 States to cultivate. The immense
iri "common wealth. But what are the results
of thcmov.cmeutK so far ? One year only field that spreads itself at our feet, callin
h P.lansed. arid of course but proportionate for systematic and persistent labor in behalf
success can be reported. : of Baptist (loctrines, should excite every l0v-
lst. Denominational statistics have been er of truth in this broad land of ours to zeal
gathered. ITlia Corresponding Secretary, D 'luey have never known beforei Some organ-
anes mto desolation. Amos ' vu. 9. 'Tlie
temples are thrown down Voluey. The
palaces shall be forsaken.' Isa. xxxii. 14.
'The palaces are demolished Volney 1
will destroy the remnant of the sea-coast.'
Ezek. xxv. 1G. 'The poits are filled up
Volney. ' I will make " your cities ' waste
Lev. xxvi. C. 'Tlie earth is stripped of in
habitants Volney. I will make the land
For the selection aid translation of the para
llelisms her given, an for raanr e other raluaule
thougbts on prophecy, we are chiefly fodcble J to
the1 works of pr. lcxandtr Keith.
Extract fr6m tho sermon recently delivered
by Rev. Dr. Henry M. Scudder, it San. Fran
cisco, Cal :
What, then is the problem before us ?
It U the problem of Intemperence. The
land is deluged with alchoholic drinks.
i notion iiiniuation always acts upon a
fermented substance .as its base of work
ing, yet the discovery of distillation, on
known in the earlier ages, has enlarged
the sphere and intensified the energies of
intemperance; and modern chemistry, with all
its subtleties, has brought into the ranks a
long catalogue of deleterious and maddening
counterfeits, of which I gave "you a few
sarnies. No one can deny the existence of
the evil. Tlie magnitude of intemprance
appears in this, that it is mixed op . with al
mott all other kinds of evil either as cause slim
ulus or concomitant. I wish you to consider:
Firht, tub . Fact. There are five hun
dred thousand drunkards in this country.
I have adopted alow estimate. The real
fact is, doubtless, greater. Five hundred
thousand -drunkards in our- land? Here
is a -fact?, for 2 statesmen, for t "philophers,
for polit6al economists, for patriots for
all who love their fcllow-men, to comtem.
plate. Iu gigantic and solitary horror,
loomit.ir up above a host of lower evils.
it confronts us like some devil risen up out
of hell's depths to assert . its awful soverei
gnty. Second, tux WxT Drunkards -are
M ade. There is a factory and a process
for the making and turning oat of drunk
ards. The factory is the conviral cus
tom of society. Those customs are the
ponderous wheels which drive the drunk-ard-m&kiurr
machinery. The process i
I O . 0
1 moderate drinking. lou all know that
of a raging appetite.
This physical appetite can be morally
measured. It can be measured by what
it bears down and overrides. A man
once went to his friend to plead with him
to give up drinking. His friend said:
"First hear me. I know that if I con
tinue to drink I shall squander my prop
erty, ruin my business and lose my rep
utation; I shall blight my intellect, bru
talize my heart, and defile my iaoral"
nature ; I shall destroy my domestic hap
piness,' reduce my children to ras and
starvation, and break the heart cf her
whom I love the best in the world: I thall
leave behind me a drunkard's name, damn
toy soul, and 6tnk in to the drunkard's hell; .
.1 know all this, and yet I .cannot resist the
temptation to drink. Can you present th
case any more forcibly 7 If you can, I will
listen to you' There is the moral measure
ment of the appetite. Five hundred thousand
rtggi inatiablc, uncontrollable appetites in.
one commonwealth hoa airful the spec
tacle I
These results are horrible enough, but they
do not terminate with the individuals affected,
they rise up with an invasive force upon the
community.
Hope on.
The darkest clond will -vanish before tT e
sun, in4 the heaviest night give place to a
coming morrow. There is no grief so pro.
found that it cannot be lessened; no mourn-
ing so bitter that in cannot be turned into
1 mm m I
joyandgiaoness. lippe is j ever present to
administer her consolation. She lives amid
trials and disappointments, and shines more
brightly for the darkened atmosphere in which
she dwells. She comes unforbidden to a man
in his low estate, as a comforter and a'friend.
In lo&ses nd croscj, borne upon the swift
tide of prosiicrity, or driven by the "ebbing
currents of adversity; amid the 6trife" of
tongues, or hailed by the acclamations of the
multitude, she bids him rise superior to all
and wait patiently the issues of the allwisc
Providence. Hop on, toil ooK bide the time
God is not unrighteous, to. forget the work of
the labor of l6ve. He knows all and tho'
appointed time is in his hand. Wait pa lien-"
tly for him. "Ilow hava I seen thee," said
Bishop Hall, "of lifcle&a stones raise up chil
dren to Abraham; cf sinners to make saints;
out of a bloody war, a happy peace; oct or
a rock, water; of i prosecutor, an ape'
tfC;v . ...
3.
' ; H ;'.' j' . i '