The working Christian. [volume], August 26, 1869, Image 1

About The working Christian. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1869-1877

Image provided by: University of South Carolina; Columbia, SC

                
Wm
TILMAN r. gainesTI
Proprietor. . f
ft
Fervent in spirit serving th.e Fiord.
LEWIS M. GRIST,
Publisher. ... .
VOLUME 1.
YORKVILLE. SOUTH CAROLINA. THURSDAY MORNING, AUGUST 26,1869. NUMBER 9. >
SELECTED POETRY.
*
I AM NEVER WEARV.
Jesus, I am never weary,
When upon this bod of pain;
If thy presence only cheer me,
All mv loss I count but gain i
fever near me—
Ever near me, Lord remain!
Dear ones cotne with fruits and flowers
Thus to cheer my heart the while—
In these deeply anxious hours;
Oh! if Jesus only smile!
Only Jesus
Pan those trembling fears beguile.
All my sins were laid upon Thee, ,
All iny griefs W9re on Thee laid j
In the blood of thine atonement
AU my utmost debts were paid:
—Ilea rest Saviour,
I bolieve for thou hast said.
Dea. jst Saviour 1 go not from me,
Ijft thy presence still abide j
Eook in tenderest love upon me
1 am sheltering at thy side:
Dearest Saviour!
Who for suffering sinners died.
Both mine arms are clasped around Thee,
And my head is on thv breast;
For my wearv soul has found Thee,
Such a perfect, jierfect rest.
Dearest Saviour,
* Now I have that, I am blest.
—Mrn. Wells, daughter of the A rchbishop of Dub
lin, (composed ii/ioii her deathbed.)
FIQGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
AFTIST MINISTERS OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
We are commanded in the Scriptures, “to
know them that labor among us, * * * and
to esteem them very highly in love for their
work’s sake.” We propose to give, from time
U? time, in the columns of our paper, brief
sketches of the ministers of South Carolina,
by way of introducing them to the brethren
who do not know them. As we are not per
sonally acquainted with some of our preach
ers, and do not know their fields of labor, it
will be out of our power to introduce them,
unless others give us the information. We,
therefore, solicit the assistance of brethren,
^ho can write, in the different parts of our
State.
W. L. BALLARD.
Brother Ballard began his ministry in N.
Carolina, and a few years after came into this
State. He lived for a number of years at
Greenville, and was connected with the Bap
tist Church at that place. He then moved to
Fork Shoal, in Greenville District, where he
still resides. His early opportunities were
Ary bad. He was somewhat advanced in
years, and had a considerable family when he
I>egan to preach. But by diligence he has
become well informed and is now a very ac
ceptable preacher. He was for a number of
years, Moderator of the Greenville Associa
tion. He has charge of three or four church
es in Abbeville and Laurens Districts and is
very successful in his labors among them.
?*ince he began his ministry he has baptized
over two thousand persons. His desire to pre
pare for the work of the ministry was so great
that at the age of about forty-five he spent a
time in the Beminary at Greenville. He is a
medium sized man, now in the fifty-fifth year
of his age. He may now be said to be in the
midst of his days, and should God spare him
to old age, he may yet do much for our cause.
R. KING.
' Robert King is the name of an old father
in Israel, who has spent his three score years
and ten in Anderson District He lives not
far from Belton. He has been preaching to
churches in his field of labor for forty-four
years. He is noted for his piety, deep and
spiritual knowledge of the Scriptures and his
earnest, feeling and original manner of preach
ing. His early opportunities, as to education,
were bad, and having a large family depen
dent on him for support, he lias had to labor
almost daily for a living. He has left a good
record behind him, and furnishes a good ex
ample for others. He has two sons now ac
tively engaged in the ministry. If they have
the faith, piety and zeal of their father, added
to their superior advantages, in point of edu
cation, they may be of great service to the
church. V '
^ W. H. KINO.
This brother is the younger of the two
preaching sons of Elder R. King. He is
about thirty-five years of age, and is a stout,
well looking man, a little over medium size.
He now lives in the Western part of Ander
son District, and is actively engaged in the
ministry. He was educated in the Furman
University in Greenville. If spared, he will
doubtless do much work in the Master’s vine
yard yet.
R. M. KINO.
This is an older brother of W. H. King,
and has been preaching only a few years. He
is well spoken of as a pious man, and his
preaching is quite acceptable. His brethren
are now preparing to send him to the Semina
ry, and he expects to enter in September if
possible. Like his brother he is large and
able to do much. He is now about forty years
vof age.
JAMR8 WILSON.
Elder Wilson lives in Anderson District,
and has long been connected with the Saluda
Association. We met him at the last meet
ing of this body, and were surprised to find
him so stout fora man of his age, being near
ly eighty. His hair and beard are very white.
He is a small man, of an erect and neat fig
► ure. He is yet a zealous worker—as he has
always been. He lives free from want by his
own industry and economy and labors much
in the ministry. If such men have not been
paid by the churches for their labor as they
should have been, they can have the conscious
ness that they have not been burdensome to
any, and they do receive the confidence and
love of their brethren, which is better than
gold. - r „ .
JACKSON WILSON, u- .. \
Jackson Wilson is a son of James Wilson,
and also a minister of the gospel. He lives
i and labors in the same field with his father,
. and has the confidence of those who know him,
; He is, we think, about fifty years old. It was
i pleasant to see, at the meeting of the Saluda
Association “Father Wilson” and his son,
both Elders among their brethren, sitting in
this Baptist council.
B. F. MAULDIN. ‘
Brother Mauldin has long lived at William
I ston, in Anderson District. Being a man of
! means, he has for many years been engaged in
j merchandising; but he has also been active
: as a preacher of the gospel. He has been
; pastor of several churches in the surrounding
| country, and preaches also at Williamston.
He is an elequent speaker, well educated, and
a zealous worker. His business capacities
make him a leading brother in the Saluda As
sociation. He was clerk of that body for ma
ny years. He was not at the last meeting of
the body, We were told that he was engaged
in an interesting meeting which he did not
wish to leave. He loves to work for Christ
He is, in person, a man of medium size, erect
and handsome, and abut fifty years of age.
l. H. SHUCK.
This brother is pastor of the Baptist Church
at Barnwell C. H., 8. C., and a son of the la
mented Lewis Bhuck, Missionary to China,
who closed his labors in our State a few years
ago. We believe brother L. H. Shuck was
born in China. He is now about thirty years
of age. In person he is small, having almost
the features of a woman. He is a zealous
worker, a good pastor, and a successful preach
er. He is generally known in the State and
highly esteemed by his brethren. We very
much fear that we shall lose him, as we hear
that a church in a sister State have their eyes
on him in view of making him their pastor.
We should hate to part with him, but if it is
God’s will we must let him go.
MISCELLANEOUS READING.
THE 8EA-ELEPHAKT.
At present the true sea-elephant is found
only in the Antarctic Ocean—a monster not
unfrequently thirty feet long, and measures
over sixteen feet in circumference! His
powerful teeth are formidable enough in ap
pearance, and above them he raises, when he
is roused to anger, his inflated trunk, which
ordinarily hangs loosely over his upper lip.
His whole body is covered with stiff, shining
I hair, and underneath his fur coat he has a
layer of fat at least a foot thick, which pro
tects him effectually against the terrible cold
of the polar regions. The two awkward feet,
mere stumps encased in fat-like coverings,
are of little avail to the giant when he moves
j on firm land; after a few yards he begins to
! groan and to rest, while the whole huge body
! shakes as if it were one vast mass of jelly-like
fat. Here he falls an easy victim to the sail
ors, who cOme in search of his ivory and his
oil; they walk fearlessly through the thick
crowds, and knock them over by a single blow
on the nose. The giant opens his enormous
mouth and shows his formidable teeth, but
as he cannot move he is virtually helpless.
Very different, however, are his motions in
his own element; as soon as he is under water
he swims with amazing rapidity, turns and
twists like an eel, and is thus enabled to catch
not only swift fish and sepias, but even the
web-footed penguins. He must find it diffi
cult at times to provide his enormous body
with sufficient food, for he swallows masses of
tangled seatan; and large stones have been
found in his stomach to the number of t welve.
"When he wishes to sleep he floats on the sur
face, and is rocked and cradled by the waves
of the ocean.
What has, in all probability, led to their
being taken for human beings by credulous
and superstitious mariners of early ages, is
the beauty of their eye, and the deep feeling
they manifest at critical times. They not only
never attack men, but unlike the sympathetic
seals, they also abandon their wounded com
panions, and. purposely turn aside so as not
to witness their sufferings and heir agony.
When they are mortally wounded they drag
themselves painfully inland, and bide behind
a large rock to die m peace, unseen By o$§rs.
If they are prevented from thus retiring, they,
shed tears, as they also weep bitterly when'
they are ill-treated by cruel sailors.—Putnam’t
Monthly.
THE DUTY OF. CHRISTIANS.
Never, in all the history of Christianity,
was there a time when its professors were
more imperatively called upon to be firm and
unyielding in the maintenance of their prin
ciples, than now. Never, not even when the
cruel hand of persecution was binding them
to the stake or burying them in dungeons, did
they have to deal with hostile influences of a
more trying character. Never was infidelity
more prevalent, or more insidious in its attacks
upon the very foundations of religious faith.
Never was impiety more bold and unblushing.
Never did vice so enrobe itself in the livery of
virtue, and seek by cunning sophistry to de
ceive even the elect. Never did injustice, red
of hand and cruel of heart, so present itself in
the guise of patriotism. Everywhere, in all
quarters of Christendom, the alarming falling
off from the simple faith and unyielding in
tegrity of the early Christians, would melt the
pious heart with grief. In the great demoral
ization which the country has undergone, the
line of demarcation between the church and
the world has almost wholly disappeared.—
Church members are found ill practices which,
a decade ago, were condemned, not by the
church alone, but by the moral sentiment of
the country at large, and they are so far from
suffering any compunctions of conscience
therefor, that they defend themselves in their
course. The distinction between right and
wrong has become sadly blurred. Passion
and prejudice govern more than a sense of
justice, or a desire to maintain what is right
and true.
There is much need of firmness and courage
on the part of professed Christians, lest they
be swept along with this strong current. They
shouldconsider themselves as the dykes whicn
must, if possible, protect the world from the
great moral deluge with which it is threaten
ed. They should stand up with an unyield
ing fortitude against the encroachments of
wickedness. They should despise and utterly
discard the flimsy sophisms by which the wear
and vacillating persuade themselves that it is
best to go with the multitude, even to do evil.
They should stand up for law and order, and
let all men know their position. Nor threats,
nor blandishments should induce them to give
their countenance and encouragement to in
subordination, violence and wrong.
It is no more true now than it has been, but
qnite as much so, that the sole hope of the
country is in the professors of Christianity.—
We need not expect bad men to have much
regard for the well-being of society. They
are either in the pursuit of some unworthy
object, or in the mere recklessness of wanton
wickedness, have no care as to what mischief
they may cause. The right-minded, sober
Christian people must save the country from
the horrors of anarchy, if saved it be. If they
be recreant to this high trust—if they take
the hues of the prevailing immorality, we are
morally, socially and financially ruined.—
They should mould public opinion and frown
in unsparing condemnation upon the disorder
ly spirits who seek to destroy the peace and
prosperity of the land. If they wish men to
be better, they must not let them believe that
their conduct is undeserving of censure —
Christian Index.
MEMORABLE DATES.
1189—Glass windows first used for light.
1246—Chimneys first put to houses. *
1252—Lead pipes for carrying water.
1290—Tallow candles for light.
1299—Spectacles invented by an Italian.
1302—Paper first made from linen.
1341—Woolen cloth first manufactured in
England.
1410—Art of printing in oil.
1440—The art of printing with movable
types.
1477—Watches first made in Germany.
1540—Variations of compass first noticed.
1543—Pins first used in England.
1590—Telescopes invented by Paro and
Jansen.
1590—Jupiter’s satellites discovered by Jan
sen.
1691—Tea first brought to Europe from
China.
1603—Theatre erected in England by
Shakespeare.
1610—Thermometer invented by Sandtor.
1619—Circulation of blood discovered by
Harvey.
1625— Bricks first made of any required
size.
1626— Printing in colors invented.
1629— Newspaper first established.
1630— Shoe buckles first made.
1635—Pendulum clocks invented.
1641—Coffee brought to England.
1643—Sugar cane cultivated in the West
Indies.
1643—Barometer invented by Torricelli.
1646—Air guns invented,
1749—Steam engines invented.
1760.—Bread first made with yeast
FOUR IMPOSSIBLE THINGS.
1. To escape troubles by running away from
duty. Jonan once made the experiment, but
it did not succeed. Therefore manfully meet
and overcome the difficulties and trials to
which the post assigned you by God’s provi
dence exposes you.
2. To become a Christian of strength and
maturity without undergoing severe trials.
What fir; is to gold, such is affliction to the
believer. It burns up the dross, and makes
the gold shine forth with unalloyed lustre.
3. To form an independent character except
when thrown upon one’s own resources. The
oak in the middle of the forest, if surrounded
on every side by trees that shelter and shade
it, runs up tall and comparatively feeble; cut
away its protectors, and the first blast will
overturn it. But the same tree, growing in
the open field where it is continually beaten
upon by the tempest, becomes its own protec
tor. So the man who is compelled to rely on
his own resources, forms an independence of
character to which he could not otherwise
have attained.
4. To be a growing man by looking to
your position in society for influence, instead
bringing influence to your position. There
fore prefer" rather to climb up the hill with
difficulty than-to ..be steamed up by a power
outside yourself.—&bur eh Gazette.
The Trials op EditoIsf^lnd Publish
ers.—At a meeting of the Iowa‘<State Press
Association,” an address was delivered—and
a sensible one, too—by one of its members,
from which we make the following extract:
“In speaking of the revenue ofthe press, I
cannot refrain from expressing my views on
the subject of free advertisements. There is
always to be found in every considerable com
munity a set of men, who imagine, by some
dispensation, they ought not, like other other
mortals, to pay for what they receive. Edit
ors have extraordinary facilities for making
their acquaintance, and are very' kindly per
mitted to contribute gifts to their •support. In
what other branch of business would be
tolerated? Allow that one has put the press
under some obligation, does he not generally
expect to get back more than the worth of his
services?
If a man does an editor a favor of a re
markable value, let him have his remunera
tion in cash. On the other hand, require him
to pay for what the paper has done for him.
It is .as reasonable to expect a carpenter to
shingle your house and the tailor to make
your clothes without charge, as to prepare and
pub'\sh matter for another’s benefit, without
1 compensation. Long obituaries, marriages
ornamented by extracts from all the poets,
and lengthy puffs of some one’s comer lots or
improvements come under this class of adver
tisements. This custom of gratuitous notices
and advertisments from any quarter ought to
cease, for the reason that it would be a benefit
to the editor’s pocket, and would in some de
gree abate an almost intolerable nuisance.
The editor’s path has mere thorns than roses,
and there is no law, human or divine, that
should oblige him to shoulder the burdens of
those who are too lazy or too stingy to take
care of themselves. People will come to terms
where they find their interests are involved in
a reasonable compliance.”..
| SATE THE FRAGMENTS.
j “Many a little makes a mickle,” is a good
old feeotch saying. There is another that
! sounds English-like: “Take care of the shil
lings, and the pounds will take of themselves.”
But there is a higher authority for frugality.
When our blessed Lord had fed five thousand
people by miracle, and could have created
enough food for the world by uttering a sin
gle word, He said unto His disciples, “Gath
er up the fragments that remain, that noth
ing be lost.” The most bountiful Giver in the
universe would teach his followers a lesson of
| economy, even of fragments of fishes and
bread.
It is by tittles that men become rich, and
great, and good. The wealthiest man in A
merica became so by taking care of the pen
nies. The “learnecl blacksmith” acquired a
partial knowledge of nearly fifty languages,
by saving time at the anvil, and in the even
ing, hours for study. The most liberal men,
who give thousands of dollars to benevolent
objects, gained their means by saving.
A while since, the dust and shavings from
a bookhindery, where gold leaf is used to
make the titles on the backs of books, was
sent to the gold-beaters to be burnt out. And
how much do you think was found from the
little particles that had fallen on the floor ?
Why a lump that amounted to more than
1100! Enough to buy 200 Bibles or 20,000
tracts. The shavinngs from the edges of
books in the same bindery, sell for $3000 or
$4000 a year for paper rags.
If boys and girls would save the fragments
of time, and devote them to reading and study,
they might become learned and wise. If they
would save the fragments of money, they might
become wealthy and useful. If they would
save the fragments of opportunity, they w ould
do a greal deal of good.
It is as right to be economical and saving
as it is to be mean and miserly. Save to give
and give to save. Then you will say as a
good man did, “What I kept I have lost, and
what 1 gave away I have.
Only it isn’t.—“Come and see me,” said
a lady friend, one morning, on leaving church.
“We live in the large, brick house on the
corner of this street; the one that looks like
a lunatic asylum—only it isn’t,” she added
lightly.
What a train of thought it started! Houses
are not the only things that are not what they
seem. When a lady hires a carriage and
drives to church through a drizzling rain,
because the first new bonnet of the season
reached her the day before from Madame
Demorest’s, and she knows that Deacon
Brown’s wife and Miss Smith will each have
one before next Sabbath, it looks like a faith
ful performance of duty—only it isn’t. When
! a young lady, conscious of a very limited re
ligious education, is invited to take charge of
a Bible-class in a Sabbath School, and refuses
on the plea of preferring a class of little ones,
it looks like humility—only it isn’t. When
a man who wants to be a class-leader is as
signed to a class led by one whom he considers
unfit for the position, and refuses to attend, it
looks like conscientiousness—only it isn’t.
When a man considers “old Jones” ahumbug,
and meets him, with smiling cordiality, as
“brother Jones,” it looks like brotherly love
—only it isn’t. When a man gives alms,
and makes long prayers to be seen and heard
of men, it looks like benevolence and piety—
only it isn’t. When a preacher has not moral
courage enough to break the bread of life to
his parishioners in the presence of a visiting
clergyman, and insists so strongly on his fill
ing his engagements, it looks like following
the Bible rule—“in honor preferring one an
other”—only it isn’t. When a minister invites
a clergyman of another denomination, whom
he sincerely wishes was in his own parish, into
his pulpit, because he knows his congregation
expects him to, it looks like Christian charity
—only it isn’t. When people who are stran
gers to secret devotions offer up eloquent
prayers in the congregation of God’s people,
it looks like religion—only ah!
“Life is earnest, life is real,
And things are not what they seem,’’
—Church Union.
Great Harm from a Little Matter.—
A man from the country invested five cents
in Hartford, Conn., in the purchase of an
orange and preparatory to eating it, threw
the peel on the sidewalk. Soon after, a young
woman came along, slipped upon the peel,
and fell breaking her leg. The woman was
.to have been married the next day, but
wtt’nt. The man who was to marry her had
come~from St. Paul, Minn., and was obliged
to returny>n account of business, to await the
recoveay of the girl. On his was back he un
fortunately took a train on the Erie railroad
which ran off the'track, and his shoulderblade
was broken, forcing him to stop at Dunkirk
for repairs. On getting back to St. Paul, he
found that his forced absence had upset a
business arrangement which he had expected
to complete, at a pecuniary loss to him of
$5,000. Meanwhile the injured girl suffered
a relapse, which so enfeebled her health that
her marriage was delayed, which had a bad
effect upon the young man, and he finally
broke the engagement and married a widow
in Minnesota with four small children. This
so worked upon the mind of the girl that she
is now in the insane hospital at Middleton
Connecticut Her father, outraged by the
conduct of the voung man, brought a suit for
breach of promise, and has just recovered ten
thousand dollars. The anxiety and expense
of the whole affair thus far have been enor
mous, as anybody can see. Similar cases are
likely to. occur, so long as people will persist
in throwihg orange peel around loose.
Kind Words.—They never blister the
tongue nor lips. And we have never heard
of any mental trouble arising from this quar
ter. Though they do not cost much, yet they
accomplish much. They help one’s own good
nature and good will. Soft words soften our
own soul. Angry words are fuel to the
flames of wrath, and it makes it blaze more
fiercely.
Kind words make other people good natur
ed. Cold words freeze people, and hot words
scorch them, and bitter words make them
bitter, and wrathful words make them wrath
ful. There is such a rush of all other kind
of words in our days, that it seems desirable
to give kind words a chance among them.
There are vain words, and idle words, and
hasty words, and spiteful words, and silly
words, and empty words, and boisterous words,
and warlike words. Kind words also pro
duce their own image in men’s souls. And a
beautiful image it is. • They soothe and quiet
and comfort the hearer. They shame him
out of his sour, morose, unkind feelings. We
have not yet begun to use kind words in such
abundance as they ought to be used.
Traveling Stones.—They have walking
stones in Australia, and, as ire are informed,
they have traveling stones in Nevada. Here
is a description; They are almost perfectly
round, the majority of them as large as a wal
nut, and of an irony nature. When distrib
uted about upon the floor, table or any other
level surface, within two or three feet of each
other, they immediately begin traveling to
ward a common centre, and there huddle up
in a bunch, like a lot of eggs in a nest. A
single stone, removed to a distance of thiee
ana a half feet, upon being released, at once
started off with wonderful and somewhat
comical Celerity to join its fellows; taken
away four or five feet, it remained motionless.
They are found in a region that, although
comparatively level, is nothing but barren
rock. Scattered over this barren region are
little basins, from a few feet to a rod in diam
eter, and it is in the bottom of these that the
rolling-stones are found. They are from the
size of a pea to five or six inches in diameter.
The cause of these stones rolling together is
doubtless to be found in the material of which
they are composed, which appears to be load
stone or magnetic iron ore.
The Consumption of Coffee.—Accord
ing to a foreign statistician, the consumption
of coffee is proportioned as follows among the
nations of Europe and the United States:
The consumption in Holland is 10.5 pounds
per caput, Belgium, 8.5, United States, 7,
Switzerland 6, Denmark, 5.5, Germany 4,
France 2.75, England 1.5. In England the
inhabitants are principally drinkers of tea and
in France of chocolate. This accounts for
the small amount of coffee consumed in those
countries. The amount consumed in 1867 by
each country was as follows: United States
1.840.000 hundred weight, countries belong
ing to the German Customs Uniou 1,549,000,
France 944,000, Austria 500,000, Portugal,
Spain, Italy, Turkey and Greece, 500,000,
Great Britain, 300,000, Holland and Belgium
350,000, Sweden and Norway 250,000, Cana
da, Australia, the Cape of Good Hope 180,
000, Switzerland 160,000, Russia 150,000,
Denmark 120,000, Mecklenburg and the free
cities of Germany 80,00. Making a total of
7.474.000 hundred weight.
A Talking Baby.—Dr. J. H. Sudduth, a
respectable physician of St. Charles, Minneso
ta, gives an account of the wonderful pheno
menon of a child five months old which talks
perfectly, and which began to talk when it
was three months old. It does not prattle, as
is usual with infants when first trying to talk,
stumbling upon and straining at words. It
speaks clearly and coherently, a regular sen
tence that clearly expresses its thought or idea.
It seems to think, and then expresses its
thoughts calmly ar.d clearly. It seems to
note the anxiety and wishes of others. A lit
tle four year old brother was out of the house,
and several members of the family inquired
where he was. He soon came, and the baby
seeing him, said to the mother, “Otty has come
home.” It will lie quietly in its cradle while
its mother is at work, and when it is hungry
will say, “Baby wants dinner,” or, “mamma,
take baby up,” as a child five or six years old.
Another of the children in the same family
commenced talking when eight months old.
' Pic-Nic Camp-Meetings.—A manifestly
pic-nic feature of modem camp-meetings is
what is called the “refreshment stand.” No
body will pretend to say that the articles usu
ally sold here are essential to a religious
meeting. What has piety to do with pea
nuts ? or with soda-water ? or with ice-cream ?
or with tobacco, or with the score of other
wares exhibited for sale at such times ? Re
member too that these articles are freely sold
during public service, so that the preaching of
the gospel, the songs of praise, even the pray*
ers of God’s people, are mingled with the pop
ing of corks, the cracking of shells, the giddy
gossip of ice-cream eaters, and the jingling of
pence. These facts, with others, plainly indi
cate that the pic-nic part of the “camp-meet
ing” is fast over-riding the spiritual and relig
ious features.—The Methodist:.
Light Suppers.—One of the great secrets
of health is a light supper, and yet it is a great
self-denial, when one is hungry and tired at
the eloee df the day, to eat little or nothing;
let such an one take leisurely a single cup of
tea and a piece of cold bread with butter, and
he will leave the table as felly pleased with
himself and all the world, as if he had eaten a
hearty meal, and be tenfold the better for it
the next morning. Take any two men under
similar circumstances, strong, hard working
men, of twenty-five years; let one take his
bread and butter with a a cup of tea, and the
other a hearty meal of meat, bread, potatoes,
and the ordinary et ceteras, as the last meai
of the day, and I will venture to affirm, that
the tea*drinker will outlive the other by thirty
years,—Hall’s Journal of Health.
THE SHIELD OF FAITH.
When Epaminondas had received his death
wound, on the battle-field, heasked, with his
fast-failing breath, if the enemy had taken his
buckler.
On being told that it was safe, that the ene
my had not so much as laid a hand upon it,
he laid him down again peacefully to His sol
dier’s death.
So, when the soldier of the red cross comes
to his dying hour, his failing hand reaches
out for his trusty shield of faith, which has
borne him safely through so many conflicts.
If it is safe, all is well. He can rest his head
upon it, as upon a downy pillow, and breathe
his life away in the joyous hope of a glorious
resurrection. '
“Now,” said the bishop to John Hubs, as
the fagots were piled about him, “we com
mend thy soul to the devil.”
“But I,” said Huss, lifting up his eyes to
heaven, “do commit my spirit into thy hands,
O, Lord Jesus Christ: to thee I commend my
spirit, which thou hast redeemed.”
He wore a shield which no fire of the perse
cutor could destroy.
A young minister of great promise was call
ed, at twenty-four, to lay his armour down,
and take the cross his Saviour held to him.
“None can know,” he said, in his last mo
ments, “none ean conceive the happiness I
possess, but the sincere disciple of Jesus. Re
deemer of mankind give me strength to bear
even this joy!”—S. S. Times.
-i — -
Tip Pardoned Pirate.—A famous pi
rate infested the seas in the days of Augustus
Csesar. So dangerous had he become that the
Emperor offered a fabulous bounty for his
head. The pirate hearing of it, repaired him
self to the royal presence and laid his head at
his feet. Augustus was so struck with the
robber’s confidence in his clemency, that he
forgave him all his past offences and also be
stowed the reward.
And so we, though sentence has been pass
ed against us, will surely find mercy & we
come and cast ourselves humbly at our Sov
erign’s feet, trusting in his forgiveness for the
sake of Jesus Christ. More than all, he in
vites us, who have robbed him these many
years, to come and accept his mercy. He is
not ignorant of our sins, but if we come in his
appointed way, he bids us “be of good cheer,
thy sins are forgiven thee.”
The pirate might have long eluded those
who sought to capture him. Indeed he might
never have been brought to justice; but we
are in the power of One from whom we can
not flee. Is it not our wisest course to come
at once, and cast ourselves into the arms of
his mercy ?
The Cross and the Crown.—The cross
now—the crown to-morrow. Now the bed of
languishing—to-morrow the throne of Jesus.
What encouragement to “fight the good fight
of faith!” The body now bears the spirit
down, and the spirit will bear the body up.
A few breathings more in this dull and op
pressive element, then all will be health and
buoyancy, strength and gladness, purity and
peace—the body changed, the heart all holy.
Even now the Lord is with you; but you can
not see him for the darkness of night. You
walk by faith, not by sight. Yet you can
say, “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” He
lives—he thinks upon you—he is with you—
he will never leave you nor forsake you. He
is a Friend; a Brother, a Lord—a Friend to
guide you by his counsel, a Brother to sym
pathize with you in all your sorrow, a Lord
to defend you from all evil and make all
things work together for your good. No safe
ty but at his side; no strength but in his arm;
no holiness but in his steps.—Heuiwon.
Sun Stroke—How to Avoid It.—The
.season when the sun’s rays pour down with
their greatest intensity, and inflict upon the
head of man the dangerous m'alady known as
coup de solid, is now at hand, (says the Balti
more Sun) and it is well to remind persons of
the fact. Very simple precautions will save
persons from being seized by the malady in
question. One of the best preventive?! is a
thin piece of sponge loosely sewed in the top of
the hat, and occasionally moistened with wa
ter in the course of the day. We have heard
of a man who walked twenty miles, under a
hot sun with a damp pocket handkerchief in
side the crown of his hat, and did not suffer
any inconvenience. The precautions are so
obvious and simple that people do not regard
them. Were they complicated and expensive
their use would be more general.
Wesley’s Philosophy.—“At jt and al
ways at it.” Wesley’s philosophy for the
Christian was good and his life was a noble
exemplification of its excellence. Put it on
the brain and in the heart of every professor
and the church would be a mighty power for
good—“the desert would rejoice ana blossom
as the rose.” Here is a large field fee thought,
and the lukewarm, idle professor, who does
nothing for the Lord, never has asked and
never will: “Why does not every Christian
adopt this motto ?” He always excepts him
self, but complains of others fee their neglect
and thinks this is pious and praiseworthy.
Thus, did not Wesley.
The Master’s Face.—A painter once, on
finishing a magnificent picture, called his
artist friends around him to examine it and
express their judgment as to its merits or de
fects. The one in whose taste the author
most confided came last to view the work.
“Tell me truly, brother,” said the painter,
“what do you think is the best point in my
picture ?” “O brother! it is all beautiful;
but that chancel! That is a perfect master
piece—a gem!” With a sorrowful heart the
artist took his brush and dashed it over the
toil of many a weary day, and turning to his
friends, said: “O brothers! if there w any
thing in mj niece more beautiful than the
Master » face, that I have sought to put there,
let it be gone ?”—Eclectic Treasury, ;
I®1* Let your great Physician heal you in
his own way, unly follow his directions, and
take the medicines which he prescribes, and
then quietly leave the result with him.