The New York Herald Newspaper, December 22, 1867, Page 8

RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE. “*‘ VOLUNTARY ENTRANCES INTO THE OTHER WORLD.” To rae Eprron oy rae Heaap: Looking over the Sunday Heracp, in the de- partment of religious intelligence, my eye chanced to rest on an article under the above heading, and asI read I was pained to find there some arguments which might lead some one who was * bine’’ to cut short his existence, in the hope of eujoying a ‘ blessed hereafter,” especially at this time, when the rigors of what promises to be 4 severe winter are so suddenly upon us. Every thoughtful, strong minded person should try to cheer his weaker neighbor, and, at all events, Deware how he incites to the dreadful crime of suicide. -Motives are not already wanting. De- pression of business, high rents, food costly and many other evils in this train are fast having their baneful influence, and /t is to counteract this tendency that I now ask you to give place to this, from one who has no other motive in view than to prevent some poor, disconsolate, weary spirit from soaring away on the point of cold steel or on, or even s watery grave, to an “‘uiknown arne from which no traveller retarns.” To even iat to us that such an entrance, in direct defiance ef God's creative law, is or can be in any sense “peace or joy’—no! Oh no! You who have ever thought of changing your lot here, which however dreary has had some bright oasis, for that you know not of, forbear until God calls you by his natural means; not your own hand. Stopand con- sider ere you attempt the irretrievable steps stop and consider, I say, ere you take the fatal leap in the dark down yon yawning precipice—a grave dug by your own hands. Stop, I say, and ponder well the following from the French of Rousseau:— “Thou would’st cease to live; but 1 should like to know if thou hast yet ‘began with life? What, wast thou placed on earth to do nothing there? What answer hast thou ready for the Almighty Judge when He shall ask thee for thy reckoning ? nhappy mortal, show me the just one who can pretend to hi lived long enough; Jet me earn from him in what manner life must Rave been borne to give us aright to abanden it. Thou reckonest the ills of humanity, and thou ‘sayest, ‘Life is an evil.’ Look around thee and search in the order of things for benefits which are not mingled with evils. Is that a reason to say there is no good in the world? And can you con- found what is evil by nature with that which is ct to evil by accident? Man’s passive life is Ro ings it merely concerns a body from which he will soon be delivered; but his active and life, which must influence his whole ing, consists in the exercise of his will. Thou art weary of life, and thou sayest ‘ Life is an evil.’ Booner or later thou shalt be comforted, and shall say, ‘Life isagood.’ This willbe more truly spoken; for nothing will have changed but ‘th |. Change, then, thyself, from to-day; and eince the evil lies in the peccant disposition of thy soul, correct thy disordered desires, and do net burn down thy house to escape from keeping itin order. * * Say not any longer, then, that itis bad for thee to live, since it depends entirely on thyself that it be good; and even if it be an evil to have lived, do not say either that thou hast a right to die, for as well mightest thou say thou hast a right not to be a man as to rebel against the author of thy existence. Suicide isa etealthy and abominable death—it is a theft a tieed on mankind. Before you leave the world, at your own bidding, return what it has done for » Knowest thou not thou canst not move a step on this earth without finding ‘some duty to de done, and that every man is useful to his kind by the very fact of his existence.’ “Rash youth! if there still lingers in thy heart ‘the least penciple of hope and virtue come with me,and let me teach thee to love life. Every time thou art tempted to leave it, say to thyself, ‘Let me do another act of charity before I die;’ then go in quest of some poor man to be relieved (poorer than thyself, for thou wilt find many such); “some unfortunate to be comforted, or some op- oa man to be defended; and if this considera- Testrain thee to-day, it will restrain thee to- morrow, the ope after—all thy life long,’ till thou shalt be taken by Him who gave thee thy being end endowed thee with those means which thou wilt thos have learned to use to make thy life happy, and at last thou shalt sink to thy rest at ‘His bidding im peace and happiness :— ** Bo fades the summer cloud away, So minks the gale when storms are o'er; Bo gently shuts tue eye of day, Bo dies the wave along the shore, How mildly beam the closing eyes! How geally heaves the expiring breast!” The Sulcide’s Arg: BY & T, COLERIDG! Ere the birth of my life, if I wished it or no, question was asked me—It could not be so! If the life was tho question, a thing sent to try, And to live on bo rks; what can wo be?—to die? NATURE'S ANSWER. ‘Is’t retern'd as ‘twas sent? Is’t no worse for the wear? hink first, what you ang! Call to mind what you wans! gave you innocence, I gave you ho} ve health, and jug, and an ampl- scope. turn you me gi lotbargy, despair? @ Out the invent’ry ; inspect, compare! ‘Thea die—if dic you dare! INSPIRED PSALMODY VERSUS THE OPERA.” Church Divided On a Ques- u of Sacred Music. om the New York Observer—High Old Pres- ads byterian.. Hig Ny As one of the results of the late Presb; Convention, held at Philadelphia, it has become evident that the greatest obstacle to a union of all the Presbyterian churches in this country is not difference in doctrine, but a difference of views in regard to what shall be sung in the ablic worship of God. A portion of the Re- and of the United Presbyterian churches have maintained the ground it no’ may ‘be used in this part of divine service but inspired Boriptare ; that the Psalms of David were given, and have been preserved, for exclusive use in God’s praise. There are those who hold that it fs sinful to sing any pealm that is nota literal translation of one of the Psalms of David, or any hymn, no matter how closely conformed in sen- timent to the inspired Word or how elevated fn ite spiritual character; and they refuse to eommune with any and every one who sings gach hymns. They are willing that Christians should address their Heavenly Father in prayer with words of their own choosing; nay, ey require in the ministry that extemporancous should be used in leading the devotions of the assembled church. But when it comes to ising God, no matter how full of evangelical Joy ane heart may be, it is a sin to give expression ‘Phe Presbstert: to itin one of the beautifal and truly Scriptural hymns which make up our church collections, or in any other words than those which were in use under the Jewish dispensation. Those holding anch sentiments will not, of course, be willing to form a church union, ou terms of Christian equal- ity and fellowship, with otheswho do not believe it wrong to praise God in the psalms and hymns of Watis and others equally conformed, in spirit and sentiment, to the Holy Scriptures. The exclusive views to which we refer, and the practice of close commugjo! which they lead, poy pom Christians of other commu- na to be absurd, and many will scarcely believe that in thie enlightene’ age of the Church they can be entertained at all. We refer to the matter mot to cast reproach on our brethren, but for a very different purpose. In the convention at Philadelphia there was little time for the discussion of differences of inion, and for this as well, per eT reasons, no one attempted an so far as we remember, even attempted to prove that there was any Scriptural authority for taking the exclusive ground. No one cited a single pas- ¢ to show that oy may be sung in the wor- ship of God which is not divinely inspired as the Word of God is inspired. It is admitted on all hands that the ma of David were given for perpetaal ase in the Obureh, and the practice of every branoh of the Church is in accordance with this admission. But no one, without the citation of Holy Writ—the law and the testimony— will admit that it is sinful to sing anything else in ao, have many bight ted 'e have many highly respected readers amon; the advocates of an oxclusive; inepired ptintownr | and our object in ge tne nme to the subject is to say that we will cheerfully publish an article of su) vom forth the doctrine that ir ae ely insp! ed psalms ma) be fin the publie worship of God.” We da Ao ry mentof inferences, but the divitg anther- etn saith the Lord.” The point that needs proof is on vigen one—that ‘nothing else vad be sung. Will any one give us the proof? Throwing Dirt inte the Faces ef American Reporters. Rey. Mowman Hall hap written © fazewell letter NEW YORK.\/HERALD, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1867.—TRIPLE SHEET. to his American brethren. It is dated on board the steamship Cuba, and is evidently written, with an accompanying “recipe for bad preaching,” which we give, upon the rising and agonizing sen- eations of sea-sickness. He says he intends to edit & volume of his sermons, preached in this country, after he gets home; for the manuscript of his dis- courees, he remarks, is in characters unknown in any printing office. In this farewell letter, which is addressed to the editor of the Independent, he retches forth as follows about American reporters and publishers :— If any newspaper editor wishes to honor me “4 giving his readers some of my discourses, any suc! editor is most welcome to my o. copy, as an furnished to those publishers ; have requested them to supply, for the sole pur- pose of newspaper publication, any such sermons prior to the publication of the volume. At the same time I protest against any other sermons of mine being pub- liahed, and any other version than that which has passed under my revision, I do not wish to be made responsible as an author for my own verbal inaccuracies as a preacher—inaccuracies unavoid- able, except by that constrained mode of reciting memoriter, or reading from manuscript, which can seldom be consistent with good preaching. Much less do I consent to be made responsible, in addition, for the errors of reporter and printer combined, * * * Whatever payments were made me, my objection against a reporter's ver- sion of my spontaneous utterances being sent forth without my revision, as my own production, stands unabated and in all its force. Recipe te Obtain and Preserve Bad Prench- Ing. BY REV. NEWMAN HALL. First, find a reporter wanting employment and & publisher or newspaper proprietor willing to make capital out of other people’s brains, and able to undersell the regular literary market by saving the payment usually made for authorship. Shake them well up together till they come to a mutual agreement. <A settlement will then take place. The reporting element, being much the lighter in the result, will rise to the surface. Next look out for some preacher who does not read carefully from a prepared manuscript, and who, therefore, is unable, even should be wish it, tosend his sermon to the press, and defeat the prolest by anticipation. Let said reporter station self near the pulpit, where he will catch every syllable of the speaker. When the sermon begins, let the pencil begin; when the preacher pauses, let it pause; when he speaks quickly, let it race along the lines; when he lingers in his utterance, let it also linger, and when he shuts the Bible, let the reporter shut his notebook and say—Amen. Repeat the process, so that the preacher may know that whenever he preaches all he says will be re- corded just as he says it. Then let one of the sermons thus recorded be published— not as an article of news, but as s true: and complete version of such discourse. At the game time let it be announced that all the said preacher’s sermons will be thus published, Do not consult his wishes beforehand. Give him no option as to whether he desires particular dis- course withheld for the present. He may want to preach it elsewhere, and will feel a difficulty in 80 doing if the people have previously read it. He may intend it to bea portion of some volume which he has been meditating and laboriously pre- paring during several years, and may not wish any art of the book to look like a reprint. He may, refore, accept your courtesy in consulting him, and forbid publication. Do not give him the Spray to oorrect the proofs, for this will delay you. Therefore, on no account let your procedure be dependent on his whims, The thoughts are his; but give him no control over the publishing of them be- yond his present auditors, nor over the expan tion of them in that shape. Persevere in the ap- Rees and the recipe is sure to be successful. ‘he said preacher will alter his style. He will speak to the reporter, and not alone to the audi- ence. He will speak as an author, and not alone as 8 preacher He will be influenced by the thought of how his sermons will appear as read, and not simply how they will be felt as heard. And the influence will extend beyond himself. Younger preachers will follow in hris steps, and the end desired will be attained. You will secure in the pulpit carefully composed essays, read with strict attention to the manuscript. And thus you will got bad preaching.—Jndependent. NATIONAL COVENANT OF SCOTLAND, The following is published in the Observer:—. Messrs. Epirors—I read in your last paper an account of one of the “‘actual origitals of the Covenant of Scotland,” which is described in your extract from the London Scotsman as a ‘‘valuable document, and one of the few sheets got up in 1638 to facilitate signing the great national pro- teat.” The Scotsman adds:—'We kaow only of other two now in existence.”’ Tam able to inform you of another, which is in my possession, and which is probabl the only one to be found this side of the Atlantic. It is a large sheet of vellum, and in good preservation, except that it is Ley oo mutilated at one corner. Itcan be read with a little effort, and is crowded at the bottom with the names of sub- scribers. The date (1638) is visible, and the whole forms an interest documeut of the olden times, The history of the relic is, in brief, as follows:Some forty years ago it fell into the hands of Rev. Dr. Mason, of Wishatown, Scot- lJand. He presented it to my father, the late Rev. Dr. Alexander McLeod, of this city, when on visit to Scotland in 1830, and from him it has passed to me. It appears that the British overnment thought it sufficient importance £ ossess itaelf of the copy which was in the of the Breadalbane ily, that it might be deposited among their archives. May be the American government should have the other in my possenele It is known that Thomas Jefferson had the nal covenant before him when he mnned the Declaration of Independence. ‘Mecklenburg declaration, which preceded it, ‘was produc by men who had drunk deeply at the fountains of religion and_ liberty that were opened by the Reformed church in Scotland, who were one with the English Puritans of their day. Both Church and te had their martyrs for liberty, and their influence in laying the foundations of the American republic is matter of history. The«National Covenant of Scotland was the prototype of the Declaration of Independence. I may add that the curious in these matters may see the parchment in my study, where they are welcome to examine it. JOHN N. McLEOD. New York, Dec. 2, 1867. MUNIFICENT BEQUESTS. The late Thomas Garner, of this eity, left by will the following sums:—To the American Bible Society, Nursery and Child's Hospital, American Female Guardian Society, to be applied to the benefit of the Home for the Friendless, $10,000 each. To the New York Hospital (including Bloomingdale Asylum), Children’s Aid Society, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, Society for t! Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children, St. Luke's Home for Indigent Christian Females, Protestant Episcopal Society for the Promotion of Evangelical Knowledge, Society for the Relief of Widows and Orphans of Clergymen of the Protestant Epis- copal Church of the State of New York, St. Ann's church (Episcopal) for Deaf Mutes, Mission Society of the Episcopal Church, domestic and foreign (one-half to each), $5,000 each. Te the Howard Mission and Home for Little Wanderers in the city of New York, to the Five Points House of In- dustry of New York, to the Society for the Relief of Respectable Aged and Indigent Females in the city of New York, $2,500 each. New York Insti- tution for the Blind, $1,500; to the Shelterin, Arms and House of Mercy, ind the New Yor! Episcopal City Mission Society for the axe of St. Baruabas Honse, each $2,000. STREET MURDERS. {From the Observer, Dec, 19.) The in our streets on Tuesday of last week, resull in the marder of one and the wou of two, is another of those eventa that reveal ravity of morals and the recklese- nese of human life. ¢ parties in the affray were armed with loaded revolvers, as ueual, at all times for such an ¢' ane , os if we are an of civil war an ht be involved free fight at any moment. The lives of people passing on the streets are put in danger, and places of resort made dangerous by this abuse of liberty. We have laws to punish euch crimes ; what we need is energy in execution, and ® public sentiment that démands their execution, and holds public officers responsible for the safety of the people. While we are writing these lines a trained com pany ef police officers are marching by, and when we consider the immense of , time and labor which the 4 con- 4 and good, of rampant vice snd crime will be the order of the day, DENOMINATIONAL, American Reformed. The Christian Intelligencer, organ of the Ameri- can Reformed (late Dutch Protestant) Church, now claime:— 1. That {t now bears a broad, evangelical title, descriptive of its origin, doctrines and polity. 2. That its standards of faith have been approved by Pari Presbyterians and Episcopalians, and are o! ecumenical authority. 3, That it has thrown off its foreign appellative with a unanimity which is worthy of alladmiration. 4. That in the structure of its government it is the most Ameri- can of all the ecclesiastical organizations in this country ; and, lastly, that it hopes to do its proper work in ite own way, while cultivating the spirit of friendship, forbearance and charity evem toward those religious newspapers which may have some conscious or unconscious motives for misrepresent- ing it. \ The Independent comments upon the above as follows :— These claims may not be acquiesced in by loyal Christians of other denominations, and, if not fully sigs are liable to be thought rather exorbitant. it is enough to say that they are made, and are open to the judgment of public opinion, to decide how far they are sustained by facts. BAPTIST. Rev. 8. L. Caldwell, D. D., of the First Baptist church in Providence, has been elected Professor of Ecclesiastical History in Newton Theological Seminary. Rey. Ebenezer Dodge, D. D., of Ham- ilton, N. Y., will be offered the chair of Christian Theology. soon to be vacated by the transference r of Rev. Dr. Hovey to the Professorship of Biblical Interpretation, In the five associations composing the General Association of North Alabama, there are 112 cburches, 58 ordained ministers, 6,112 communi- cants. There were received by baptism during the past year, 1,073; by letter, 437. Deducting those removed by dismission and death, the net gain amounts to 946, During the past month there have been received into the fellowship of the churches in Reedsburg and Greenville, .» by the Bea Rev. B, H. Thomas, fifty-nine pee, lany of these are heads of families. There is still a deep religious interest in the community. Rev. Jacob Knapp goes to California for the me to labor among the Baptist churches of that The new church in Holmesburg, Pa., built at a cost of $22,000, was dedicated on ‘Thanksgiving day. Rev. G. D. Boardman, D. D., preached the sermon. CATHOLIC. Ember Week. The week just terminated is known to Roman Catholics as Quarter Tense or Ember Week, in which is held one of the solemn fasts ordained by the Church. The Ember days occur four times each year—hence the name Quatuor Tempora— on the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of the week following the first Sanday of Lent, the feast of Pentecost, of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross September 14, and of St. Laer, December 13. We are reminded of this in the old doggerel mnemonic lines :— F Post Len. Post Pen. Post Crucy. Post Lucy. The origin of this quarterly fast is very old. Posi- tive proof of its existence so far back as the third century can be adduced. It is the opinion of many that itis of apostolical origin, intended to com- memorate some of the fasts of the s; , OF to oppose by mortification and penance the riotous excesses of the bacchanalians. St. Leo, im one of his sermons, clearly alludes to it » aking of the feast of the four seasons celebrated in three days. The introduction of this fast into Spain is due to St. Isidore. Under Charlemagne it was observed in France. The Greek Church, which retains many of the old customs of the Catholic Charch, does not keep this observance, as with it Wednesday and Friday are always fasts and Saturday @ feast. The object of the institution was to implore the divine protection for the agricultural pro- ducts of the earth, and also at this the solemn ordinations were held, the same protection for the newly ordained. Much discussion as to the deriv tion of the name ‘‘Ember Day’ has taken pl: The most apparent, — assigned is that it ori; ted in the custom of sprinkling ashes on the head in times of mourning and penance. But this rite was not peculiar to these particular fasts. Some seek the origin in the Greek word for day, or the Latin, yee, ner That offered by oem of the best authority takes it from the Anglo-Saxon, Ymbrine Dagas, or circling days, as these faste occurred at stated times in the four seasons. An old writer speaking of them says that they were ‘‘chosen and set apart for fasting and prayer for obteyning the fruits of the earth and to give thanks for the same, whereas at those times they are either sowen, sprang up, coming in their ripenesse or gathered into the barne, as also to obtaine the one of the Holy Gees ye holy orders are given and ministers ma ie. At the close of the mission ae by the Fathers Rei of the con; ‘tion of the Most Hol \deemer, in St. Stephen's church, East Twenty-eighth street, the Most Reverend Archbishop ad inistered the ae of confirmation to fourteen hundred lults. Archbishop McClosky dedicated at Cold Spring, z Y., November 17, Church ‘of Our Lady of CONGREGATIONAL, Rey. E. P. Payson, late of this city, was installed pastor of the Congregational church in Kent, Conn., on the 4th instant. The new Congregational church of Washington will cost $100,000 when finished, and not less than $30,000 more are required to complete it, One hundred and three have been added to the Congregational charch in Middleboro, Maas., dur- in year—ninety-eight by profession. yt North Yarmouth, Mass., meetings are held almost every evening, and nearly the whole com- munity er, tener by a solemn thought- peed ady smong the converts, cla Rev. jartly was installed over the Con- gregational chin North Potsdam, N. Y., No- vember 20, as its first pastor. Rev. C. W. Camp, of Fon dn Lac, whose house of worship is to cost $30,000. Rey. Clarendon Waite, late pastor of the Crom- bie street church in Salem, enters at once upon his duties in the Professorship of Rhetoric and — ish Literature, at Beloit Coleg Wisconsin. ev. A. W. Buraham, D. D., of Rindge, N. H., lately preached his forty-sixth anniversary ser- mon, and closed the duties of his active pastorate of the Congregational church. Since August 1 seventy-six persons have been received Ww pees into the Congregational church in West Hartford, Conn.; seven in August, forty-three in October, and twenty-six in Decem- ber—largely the fruits of the revival which com- menced early in August. In lowa, houses of worship are in process of erection and will be soon completed by the churches of Orford, Monticello, Mason City and Charles City. A new meeting-house has been finished by the church at Alden. Subscriptions ‘e been opened for new churches also at Mitchell, Farm- ersburg and Winthrop. Mr. B. M, Fullerten, recently ot Andover Theo- logical Seminary, has received a unanimous call to settle over the Second Congregational church, at Paimer, Maas. The Con; gational Society in Jewett City, RI, dedicated their new house of worship on the 11th int The edifice measures forty-one by sixty- feet and coat $15,000. Pastor, Rev. J. ee! Tack. Wm. H. Pearson, of Newburyport, a graduate of Bowdoin Celle; id Princeton Theological roe, has accepted s call’ from the South church, in Ipswich, Maas. The Council which met in Brooklyn, December 4, with the Bedford Church, advised that its pas tor, Rev. Robert G. Hutchins, should not accept a call to the Broadway church in Norwich. In the Congregational Theological Seminary at Andover, the present term, there are 109 stadents; at Bangor, 40; at Hartford, 23; at New Haven, 32; at Oberlin, 11; at Chicago, 46, Mr. J. L. R. Trask was ordained over the Second Congregational church in Holyoke, Mass., om the 4th Tost. METHODIST. * The South Carolina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South commenced tte sessions in Morganton, N. C., on the 1ith iast., Bishop Dog- gott, of Virginie, in the chair. Righty-elght mem- bers answered to thetr names. The following reso- Jutions have been adopted :— at Reserved, I orer Wo keep the pembenhin gt ap) § might have been anticipated from the bay peace, its proprieties; w! te deemed too fai sinful world, we have reason to inquire seriously into the nature of the Mormon phenomenon. How net we reconcile all this to our received notions rej not ‘the power of truth weakened by this evidence of the comparative their fruits ye shall Mormonism, peculiarity in this country and age, rather than to its power, as ‘a factor, in the organization. was not included in the original design and tenets of the founders, and the inspiration of the least correct, opini n em bell rings. {Church property informed and intetested in the origin, istory, progress, peculiarities and successes of Method- fam, that the 24th day of May—the date of the conver. sion of John Wesley—be set apart by this Conference for annual public serv! to be celebrated by sermons, ad- ‘Sunday Sc! festivals or otherwise, in all our charges to this en: d, Resolved, That the first Friday in September be ob- served asa day of fasting and prayer befure God, and that all our charges be invited to unite in earnest, humble supplication to the great Head of the Church, that be would raise up aad thrust forth more laborers into bis barvest. The first session of the South Georgia Confer- ence of the M. E. Church, South, closed in Savan- nah on the 16th inst, The next mecting will be held in Albany, Ga. EPISCOPAL, Rey, Stephen H. Tyng, Jr., having declared to the Bishop of his diocese his determination not to choose from the twelve Presbyters named by the Standing Committee, five to form the court for the trial of his case, the duty of choosing the five de- volved upon the Bishop of his diocese. The latter has fixed upon Rev. Dr. Tuttle, of St. Luke’s, in New York city; Rev. Dr. Beach, of St. Peter's; Rev. Dr. Hoffman, of Grace church, Brooklyn Heights; Rev. Dean Moore, of Hempstead, and Rey. Samuel Hollingsworth, of Portchester. The court is summoned to meet on the 10th of Jan- be 1868. ‘he new building for the Episcopal Academy, Bronson Hall, Cheshire, Conn., was opened on Sunday, November 24, with special religious ser- vices, This academy was founded in 1796, by Bishop Seabury. Rev. Beardsley Northrop, one of the few re- maining Presbyters that have been connected with the Western New York Diocese ever since its organization, died at Utica on the 6th inst., in the seventy-¢ighth year of his age. Twenty-five thousand dollars has been sub- seni oe aaa cnurdhs Botanse for the new Episcop; jog! minary at Cam- bridge, Mass, —- According to the tables in the Lutheran Church Almanac for 1868, there are in this country forty- five Lutheran synods, ‘with 1,748 ministers, 3,111 congregations and 351,860 communicants. <A di- vision has taken place on the question of adhering to the whole of the Augs! Confession. The General Synod having recei' &@ synod thet had formed @ confession of its own, ® convention of seceding synods who adhere strictly to the Auga- burg platfortn was held at Fort Wayne, Ind., No- vember 20, The Observer (Presbyterian) has an editorial article about Mormons and Mormonism. After expressing the opinion that Mormonism will have to give way before the progress of steam end civilization, it proceeds to speak of the religion of Brigham Young as an ‘‘undertaking’’ thus :— There is nothing whatever remarkable in the in- ception of this undertaking. It was just as ~ tory of legree of success ‘in-the other delusions. Its earlier years of its history, its survival of re- peated persecutions, are not at all in conflict with our general impressions in regard to cause and effect in the moral and social world. But when we look at Mormonism as it has culminated in Utah; when we hear of its rity, its virtues, m our literary tour- with colors that would be t ite ber and glowing for the rest of this ard to the consequences of moral evil? Is teh unholy error? By jow them; and is not the world in danger of moral confusion from this ex. hibition of apparently substantial fruite? Polygamy, the most exceptionable feature of seems to owe its prominence to its It It was the result of the habits ophet Smith, some are after the first community was formed. Now t ia only awincident of Mormon life, and pecu- liar to those who are so materialy prospered as to be able to bear the burden. The great law ‘of compensation prevails even in Salt Lake the valley of ‘and poor men, who ‘have to struggie ‘are not expected to marry any more pectability requires in other parts of the country. Although there may be nothing in the practice to interfere with the Frcenetods working of the system that is controlled by Brigham Young, itis still a question whether this and other alleged peculiarities of with the natural Thus far Mo sm has failed to reconcile ‘itself to the conditions of ordinary has flourished only when cut off from all else and planted by itself. Ita hour of trial ism can coexist owth of American civilization. life around it. It jain ap- roaching. Mormons and Indians must ‘‘look out for the engine,” like the rest .of us, ‘‘when the A correspondent of the London Freeman, after referring to the recent controversy about the rela- tive numbers of Anglicans and Wesleyans, ‘‘re- minds those ‘who lay so much stress on numbers’ that the Presbyterian Charch is the largest in the world. Of course nearly the whole of Scotland is Presbyterian, and this section of the Catholic Church i@ very strong in the North of Ire- land, in Wales and in America, as it also is im our colonial dependencies. Then there is the ancient Church of the Vaudois, not to speak of the churches of Holland aad Switzerland. A Pan-Presbyterian Synod would sssaredly put that Lambeth gathering into the shade, avd I suspect it would utter @ less uncertain sound.” Presbyterian churches have been successfully established in all the towns (with but one excep- tion) situated on the Missouri river between Iowa and Nebraska. Sioux City, Dakota, Blackbird, Decatur, Omaha, Council Bluffs, Bellevue, Platts, City and Browna- ville have Presbyterian churches, and most of these churches have neat and comfortable — of worship. The church in Omaha is New School; the church in Rock Bluff is United Presbyterian; the others are in connexion with the,Old School body. The churches in Council Bilaffs, Omaha and Nebraska City are the largest, byt in all the Word is dispensed regularly, either by pastors or stated supplies. The Presbytery of Luzerne (Old School), and the Presbytery of Montrose (New School), assem- bled in conference on the subject of ‘union’ in Scranton, Pa., on the 16th instant. The Rev. Dr. McLean, President of Princeton College, has resigned, after a long term of ser- vice. In @ communication to the Board of Trus- tees Dr. McLean referred to his long connection with the College, commencing with his election to a tutorship in 1818. Not one of the Board of Trustees who, fifty years ago, appointed him to his first office In the College now survives. Rev. W. J. Parrot, of Waverley ., has re- ceived a call to the Presbyterian church’ of Addi- Ce N. Y., and is about removing to that field of ja bor. Rev. David M. Wilson (formerly a missionary of the American Board in Syria), has removed from Radnor, io, to Athens, Tenn. He takes pas- toral ch: of the Presbyterian ehurch in the latter place. Rev. F. L, Patton, recently pastor of the Eighty- fourth street church, New York, has been installed pastor of the Presbyterian chi of Nyack, Conn. Anew Presbyterian church was dedicated at Lonaconing, Md., on the 17th ult. The Rutgers Presbyterian church, of this city, of ‘which the late Rev. Dr. Krebs was pastor, have ven @ unanimous call to the Rev. Nathaniel W. fonklin, of the Arch street Pres! church, Philadelphis. Rey. David Mitchell was installed as ‘or of the Canal street (or Irish) Presbyterian church of this city on Sunday e' , 15th inst. 1 ota aes etal oh ee resbyte ehurc! re 4 or two- thirds of the debt of the Board of Foreign Mis+ ons. \ Rev. John K. Davis, for fn the service of the Pres! jan Board mestic Looe ana fail and efficient a died at yy, N. Y., on 6th inst., im the 7 Ther Be v. age. E. H. Curtis, son of Rev. Harvey Curtis, D. class in the Union long period Lagi The 1 Seminary i this city, has accepted to pastorate of the cl pi lace, sore god the Bevents Preshyisrian Shot aes Jordin; N. ¥., to secept a ananimous call from ihe First Presbyterian church of Drydem, N. ¥. Rey. A. D. ite, formerly of ‘Tre nton, New Je : baa bepeltds tarcioes vali bot Pee db chureh of Clinton, Ill. Rev. James A. Reed has resigned the ral bn the Presbyterian church at Wooster, in conmequenas of impaired health. Rev. M.L. Todd has removed from Vernon, Ind., to Richmond, Madison county, Kentucky, to take charge of the Assembly’s church. SPIRITUALISM =OUTDONE. Remarkable Devel nte~The Travels of a Girl ta a Trauce. {From the Indianapolis Herald, Dec. 14. The people living in the vicinity of Whiteland, Johnson county, have recently been very much excited over a matter which to say the least, is ve ‘ange. Several weeks since Miss Van Ars- dale, a young woman about seventeen years old, living at the house of afamily near Whiteland in the cay aati of servant, was taken sick with some- thing like hysterics. She had been confined to her bed a little over a week when to all appearances she died, The body, however, did not sary lose its warmth and a gp sini ulse remained. The people with whom was living supposed that she was dead, and were making preparations to bury her, when the physician interfered, forbid- ding any such step. After remaining in this state twelve hours. consciousness returned and the girl pronounced herself much better, She then went on to describe her sensations and experiences during the trance, nring that she had visited aie eee viour, many persons whom known on earth. She spoke of seeing persons in both places who had recently died; in heaven, a young man named Quinn, who, although at one time a professor of religion, had in the last year or two of his life led a bad life; in hell the two men, Hatchell and Patterson, who were lynched at Franklin on the night of October 31 for the murder of Lyons, at Greenwood. Miss Van Arsdale sent for a number of persons in the neighborhood, and not only imparted to them news of lost friends, but told of .sins committed by them, supposed to be unknown by any one. Among others was a man who had participated in the execution of the men named above ; she told him that he had been there that night (which he acknowledged), and had in the sight of God committed murder. Previous to this the names of the band had been kepta profound secret, and this man had not even been suspected. She narrated a orf ag relating mainly to individuals both in world and the other, many of which would have been almost impossible for her to have invented. But the strangest part of the story is yet to ecome.. A few hours the expiration of the firat trance she predicted that she would have another, and told to@ minute the time at which it would commence and at which it would end. Everything turned out as she had said; at the exact time she fell into the same state, In an ordinary trance, or cataleptic state, respiration is not suspended, but in this case breathing could not be observed. She was to all appearance dead; but the pulse beat faintly and the body was not cold. All sensation was gone. The physician made numer- ous experiments, pricking the body, 0; ing veins and so forth, to discover if could be-any deception. in theend he was per- fectly convinced there was none. At the,ex- Piration of the time set by herself she came to, and in a few hours was well enough to leave her bed and go'about the house. The story of her ex- rience, in the second trance, was similar to the tone, and was confined almost wholly to indi- viduals. She seemed unable to describe the places she had been in, but gave histories of events and persons with remarkable minuteness. She also said that she would neverhavea recur- rence cs he uae id aioe ae spond consi some flagrant sin; her authority for this predi oe mangers eh Lord himself ma told ner ‘#0. ae .certainly @ strange thing. uneducated and has lived about as a pres patos since she was able towork. She has always borne iter for truthfulness, and is a member ehurch., The physician in attendance is posi- tive as to her condition during the whole time, and aed it not been for him she would have been buried ve, Instances of persons lying in trances and pro- fessing to bave visited the other world are not un- common, but generally no ‘ticulars have ever been related. The case of Mr. Tennant, 9 minis- ter, of New Jersey, who was seemingly dead for several days, is in all the circumstances one of the most mysterious on record, aside from his state- ment that he had been in heayen. An investiga- tion of this case in Johnson county would certainly repay any curious minded person. RELICLOUS AND MORAL THOUGHTS AND MOVEMENTS. The Sabbath is the couch of time. Liberality is not in giving largely, but wisely. A short way to become rich is to contract our desires. | Have the courage to provide entertainment for your friends within your means, not beyond. The joy resulting from the diffusion of blessings to all around us is the purest and sublimest that can. enter the human mind. If we would only take the trouble to count up, we would find that our blessings are more than our crosses. The Observer says perfect integrity and a pro- perly cooked beefsteak are rare. At Cheyenne, a station upon the Pacific Rail- road, at the foot 6f the Rocky Mountains, where there-was not single house or hut in July last, nor one within fifty miles, there are now five thousand inhabitants, and next year there will be fifteen. At least five hundred ministers are wanted immediately, as well as the means of sending them out and supporting them, The Independent approves the idea of dropping the “Rev.” prefix to the names of clergymen, and ia lies the preced: Congress as a reason for the innovation. The installation of Rev. Dr. H. M. Storrs as | aod the South gationalist church, ip J, baviog beet, postpousd eh evening, bavi ee pn i it of the severity of the weather. The German Evangelical h onsin Rell revivals are in progress all over the ° = poet Redding, Weston, Stamford, Bethel e Copn., there have been over five pe! fa) conversions. to Christ; and in some other pla sd they Saviour. The meet- ngs a nding the ——_ of the “Central Amociation”’ at West ‘ge Ind.,"brought « speci) bl to the people of that town. So much ii it was manifested before the adjourn- ment of the association that revival meetings were continued by Dr. Jewett, of Terre Haute, after its close, and are still in progress. \ the evangelist, has just josed of meetings of three weeks at Lee, N.H., where it is believed that over filty persons have been hopefully converted. A revival of religion of t power is now in Progress at Yorkshire, in me couuty. More an fifty are indulging hope. The Congtegation- Baptists work hbarmonl- alists, Methodists ously. The Independent aenerts that the so-called blue laws ef Connecticut were not bona statutes, but satires. A eburchman who was driven out of New EF for his toryiem i him- self im the laxur; acode of a drawing of laws a6 4 cari of the ws of Connecticut, ‘The first publication of these pretended statutes @ Rever existed except in their author's brain and book) was in London, in 1781, The name of the splenetic exile was Samuel Peters. ‘The Bishop of Sierra Leone has been captured the natives in the interior, and the Value of ousand slaves is demanded by the “Governor of Téa” for his ransom, The British government will have to interfere. ‘The American Methodists have raised within a $7,000,000 for educational purposes. The ‘odists now number twe millions of communi- ants, and eight millions of our population in their congregations, or one-fifth of the whole Ameri- a8 people, Reflections in a Fashionable Churc Rich notes from a contralto voice, * RS ee sisedpeetecagene WITTICISMS. {From the Evening Telegram } A fast metal—Quicksiiver. Btock raisers—The “bulls,” Bhocking poetry—Re-verses, Asianding joke—A cork leg. 4 bigh rent—A hole in your bat. A drop too much—The hangman's. Behind time—The back of a ciock. The commonest social vice—Advice, Food for refiection—Butcher’s meat. The best possession. f-pot Sporting intelligence—A s' The divine spark—A woman's frst love. A little ‘“shaver”—A diminutive barber. A Mmited business—That of artificial limbs, The first ’bus in America was Columbus, Favorite game of blacksmiths—old sledge. A great aid to the temperance cause—lemonade, A “high old drink"”—brandy at fifty cents per giasa, A “light’’ business—trade in candies and kerosene, Maas imposed on those who sin against the wr, No city has a street so bleak but New York has e- Bleecker. Lore has ever been punished by a shoulder ef mat- An appropriate book for a hotel table—a come-’and- Can a Catholic de said to ‘sleep the sleep that knows: no waking?” The exceedingly short coats worn nowadays might be called petty-coats, Can a man who gets drunk om oxy-gin be said to be- air-tight? Where is the identical nose of the bellows that ever smelt a rat? ; ‘Who ever felt the breath from the lungs of a chest of drawers? Ladies in Irish poplin are carefully watched by the London police. “You are quite welcome,” as the empty pocket sald to the greenback. “Two of a trade can never agree” does not apply to. gin and bitters, A trial trip—a trip with two Saratoga trunks, four ‘band boxes and a—woman. When wore the first sweetmeats made? ‘When Noab. Preserved pears in the the ark. Show us the lady whose waist has ever been encom- passed by an arm of the sea, ‘There is one thing among many in life te try men. more than any other. It is a—jury. Ia thero s soul living who bas heard a sentiment em- anating from the breast of a veal? abd barber is said to be lke a telegraphic. de- spateb, se he runs from poll to poll. The difference between a cook and her lovor is, one - cooks the meat and the other meets the cook. All assons meeting to transect business, even Antec must have ther ram— quorum, Fleshy persons may become lean by eating slate cfls. ry reduces them to a mere cipher. rr The first thing a hen says to her brood, and not the- last thing a child says to ita father—‘Shell out? ‘Walt. Whitman don’t think highly of some ef the American party. They probably say, “We don’t care @ ‘Whit, man.” A blacksmith and a thief differ in this particular:— One would hammer the steel and the other would stead the hammer, ‘The difference between a schoolmaster and # conduc - tor is, one trains the mind, and the other minds the train, why ‘less sleeper like alawyer? Because he lies on cus nae tee tarae and lies ease other. Love is said to be another name for fire, That's why its subjects often look so consumediy bad. ‘Why are bot buckwheat cakes like caterpillars? Be- cause they are the “grub” which makes the ‘‘butter- ‘Meorschaum is called the foam of theses, Is the ae of pipes from that material a surg-ical epera- tion, Bi ital weather, Mr. Jones, capital weather, wires por sucha bad cold ae cau’t speak. "I hike weather.” An excha! eats that when Utah ie admitted into the Union should be called the State of, Matri- mony. It 18 £0 hilly in some parts of New Hampshire that the peonle lok up the chinieye o nn when to coms com ty Noah built bis ark with gopher wood, but how far he had to go for wood to build it with the Scriptures de not inform ua. How to cook a goose—Suspend yourself in front of » brisk fire, and revolve earerany ae reguialy until yor are done brown, Aenaot semen Deine asked by & politician which party she was most in favor of, replied that she pre- ferred a wedding party. The young who was recommended to take exer, cise to improve health saye that she “will jump at an offer and rua her own risk.'’ - “Figures can’t lie,’ says the arithmetician. “You can’t that of —. Ogures in these days,” re- eponds the slanderous dressmaker. The fali style of ladies’ bonnets is very tea tableish. It Js round at the back like a teacup,-and turus over at the front like a saucer, aa is mot likely to become a toper, from py gong ey many scropies to every dram, and always keeps nis balance fect. ‘pert A young man who passed the Broadway other any remarked that “it reminded him Brainy Dvn} of Sighs.” He lisped dreadfuily. earthquakes that porell at the present time ai}. ont world, and which are visiting tue United states, ‘will mo doubt add largely to the society of Shakers, ‘ ‘Men are bought, men are sold, men throw themeeivea away, men give themselves up to dissipation, men are een RENN but the worst of all are your pese- men. “My opinion {s,’’ said @ philosophical old lady of mi and woh experience observation, “that MAR AD dies upon washing day does it out of pure spita. "anid & to her companion, ‘‘whigh rail. Toad train do you like the best?’ ‘That ‘weeplied. Nancy, ‘which furnishes a spark catcher.”’ One who receives from goverament an annual gum in. Writing, are not dantine. "One lea peaslouer and the are re a 1e other a pen-shuoner. Cuffy said he’d rather die in a railroad smash ep eedtmetie grate et Fon oe s ou on the buat, wher is your” tel bed “What a fine head bas!” said an. friend, “Yes,” said the fond falters “he’s a aineremg oid bieck; ain’t you, sonny?’ +] guess go; my teacher Twas ay jead."” Papa—"‘Well , bew do you like school 2” ites # Ga ed to-day.” | Sisay—"'t have peta I ae: N, “Pm afraid,” sal to her basband, “that Mer ad enon at all naprobable, hed the spouse; ‘‘I've geen strong symptoms chine,” auswered the soldier. macbine?’”’ ‘Well, no; General Grant Curran, after a debate which gave rise ve high weeds, ' put bis band to bis heart and deciared that he was trasty guardian of his own honor, U; which Sir Boyle Roche coogratulatea bis je friend on Paes tue sinecure he bad Ser bim- of ‘La Geise’’ in aj Western theatre ‘was suddenly brought to a stop by the manager ap- pearing before the curtain and 1formiaf the audience that bis wife, who was to have played ene of the “virgins,” bad at that moment been safely of a fine, stout boy. A Western