Christian observer

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"■■"■■MM
NEW SERIES. NO. 210.
FOR THE DIFFUSION OF TRUTH AND THE SUPPORT OF THE PRINCIPLES 0F ^ PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES.
Southern auitrjfous s^lflprflpfc-
A. CONVERSE, EDITOR:—134 Chestnut Street.
PHILADELPHIA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1843.
VOL.XXII. NO. 40.
CHRISTIAN OBSERVER.
REVIVALS IN PORTAGE PRESBYTERY.
The Presbytery of Portage, (on the Wes-
tern Reserve) report the progress of an in¬
teresting work of grace in many of their
churches, during the last year. Of its fruits,
thirty-five persons were added to the Church
in Windham ; twelve, to the Church in North¬
ampton ; thirty-two, to that in Tallmadge;
several to the Church in Western Reserve
College; eighteen in Rootstown ; and twenty-
four in Atwater. Eighty-five were added to
the Church in Middlebury, and accessions
have also been made,-to the Churches in Auro¬
ra, Mantua, Streetsborough, Boston Center,
Nelson, Edinburg, and Brimfield.
in eternity; the box of ointment will
never lose its perfume; that insignificant
gift was put into the treasury of heaven,
to be repaid with infinite accumulations
of interest. Each deed of charity will
form an item in judgment, that will affect
the balances formed to weigh character,
and determine whether it be full or want¬
ing.— Rev. F. A. Cox, D. D.
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For the Christian Observer.
PUSEYISM  AN AGENT  UNDER PROVI¬
DENCE.
The present agitation in the Episcopal
Church is evidently a purifying process.
There is something in the very constitu¬
tion and formsof thatchurch,from which,
as a legitimate consequence, this state of
things arises. Multitudes who attach un¬
due importance to mere externals, have
been brought into her communion by the
lure of titles, and station, and wealth—by
the imposing ceremonies of her public
worship, and the gorgeous decorations of
her temples. Paley ingenuously avows it
as an established policy to hold out these
attractions to the unsanctified aspirations
ofthe human heart, in order to secure to
the service of the church the talents of
For tlie Christian Observer.
TO THE FRIENDS OP THE SABBATH.
At a meeting of the Friends of the
Lord's Day, held in Baltimore, Novem¬
ber 16th, 1813, the following circular was
adopted:
To the Ministers ofthe Gospel, and all other
friends ofthe lord's Day, in the States of
Maryland and Delaware, and the District
of Columbia:
Whereas we, the undersigned, regard
the institution of the Lord's Day as a di¬
vine enactment, designed to be uninter¬
rupted and permanent, and its observ¬
ance as essential to the welfare of man;
whereas all our state governments, as
well as the federal government, our ju¬
diciary, and other civil and political au¬
thorities, have more or less recognized
and yielded to their obligations to have
regard to said Day—and we are satisfied,
that no nation that profanes it can long
continue to be free, intelligent, and vir¬
tuous; whereas, we deem its observance
to be one of the inalienable rights of the
people, as well as their high privilege
and duty, and are of opinion, that, to re-
young men whose ambition, if not grati- j quire any portion of the co'mmu'nity to
lied there, would seek promotion or dis¬
tinction elsewhere. This purely worldly
policy must be acknowledged to possess
the merit of adaptation, though in the use
of it the Episcopal Church can justly lay
no claim to the merit of originality. It
had been for centuries the main pillar of
the Roman Catholic Church. It was al¬
ways a settled maxim in that corrupt
communion, to enlist in her cause all the
talent and influence that spring up with¬
in her dominions. The means for this at¬
tainment were always sanctioned by the
end. Every selfish motive was present¬
ed, and in far greater attractiveness than
could be afforded from any other source.
Hence all were strenuous advocates for
Rome, and hence, too, Rome was an¬
tichrist.
Now we have failed to see in what re¬
spect Episcopacy has a better claim to
commendation than Popery on the score
of Christian policy. Dues she not excite
the suspicion of attempting to conceal
the repulsiveness of pure religion by the
attractiveness ofthe sensual drapery with
which she is ever careful to encircle it J
And has she not but too well succeeded
in bringing within her pale a mass of un¬
sanctified talent] What is the testimony
of recent convulsions'? Let facts tell
their own unvarnished tale. In the late
Episcopal Convention in the city of New
York, the clergy, with a few honorable
exceptions, were opposed to the laity on
questions of vital interest to the spiritual
welfare of their church. The increase of
clerical patronage, the very leaven of
Puseyism, is manifestly the pointat issue.
As worldly emolument never satisfies,
but rather increases the appetite to which
it panders, so the lust of spiritual domi¬
nation finds no satiety consequent on in¬
dulgence, and it is now making a despe¬
rate onset to secure for itself a more libe¬
ral gratification.
We would not be understood to inti¬
mate that there are not many examples
of piety and usefulness in each branch of
her "threefold ministry."' We fully be¬
lieve the contrary. Indeed, some of them
are at this moment with commendable
promptness and assiduity opposing this
sad defection from purity and freedom.
But their integrity is no proof lhat their
high stations are not beset with peculiar
temptations.
The church will probably be rent. The
advocates for extended rule are not to be
diverted from their purpose. They have
been promised distinction, and distinc¬
tion they will have. They are too well
versed in the history of the past not to
know the best means for accomplishing
their purpose.
Hence their efforts to attach additional
pomp and ceremony to their official per¬
formances, in order to excite admiration,
and secure to themselves, as the privi¬
leged operators in these imposing forms,
increased deference and veneration. As
these externals have no necessary con¬
nexion with humble piety, they can be
multiplied to .any extent without making
the slightest requisition upon the heart.
The progress of the controversy, thus
far, gives pleasing indication that the en¬
lightened laity in the Episcopal commu¬
nion are not prepared to adopt the Rom¬
ish dogmas so insidiously served up for
their taste, nor to surrender their reli¬
gious freedom into the hands of a power
seeking hierarchy. If present appear¬
ances are worthy of confidence, we may
hope ere long to see this branch of the
church of Christ purified by the actual se¬
cession of the officious innovators. And
when that time arrives, so "devoutly to
be wished," may we not hope the church
thus tried and purified, will abandon at
least some of her lofty pretensions, her
sell-complacent and illiberal exclusive¬
ness, her arro
gam claims to apostolical
8"Crf lu"' and' above all, close the ave¬
nues to her sacred aha
rs against the ap¬
proach of all mercenary intruders ■    I ct
her free herself from hL-PSnSunholy
alliances, put on the garment of humuf-
y, and extend the hand of Christian fe-
lowsh.p to all evangelical churches  and
'   sh° ^ "«Pe to flourish like the garden
| of the Lord, refreshed with the dews of
H. W. B.
labor on that day, for the pecuniary ben¬
efit or mere gratification of others, is not
only an open violation ofthe law of God,
but impairs the health and seriously in-
jures the moral powers of those thus de¬
prived of the day of rest: whereas, fur¬
thermore, we are convinced, by the con¬
current testimony of ages, nations, and
individuals, that ignoranca, crime, and
misery are the concomitants of the dese¬
cration of the day of the Lord—that re¬
ligion, with all its salutary influences, is
elevated or depressed, in proportion as
that day is honored or profaned—that if
it continue to be gradually encroached
upon, and finally set aside, all the other
institutions of our holy religion, with all
their powerful bearings upon the moral¬
ity and happiness of society, and of the
world at large, must certainly fall with
it—the Bible .will be forgotten, the social
worship of God will cease, religious
knowledge and feeling will decline, the
reign of darkness, crime, and barbarism,
will return, and the desolating results be
felt by man in all his social relations in
families, neighborhoods, and larger com¬
munities; therefore, we respectfully, but
confidently, appeal to every Christian,
patriot, and philanthropist, to co-operate
with us in preserving this great safe¬
guard, under God, of public liberty and
virtue—this palladium of all that is pure
and elevated, and heavenly in Christian¬
ity—of all that is benign, and endearing,
and tender in patriotism—and of all that
is lovely, and noble, and enlarged in phi¬
lanthropy.
To this great end, we request, with
earnestness, that you will take this sub¬
ject into serious and prayerful considera¬
tion ; that you will endeavor to have ap¬
pointed from your respective congrega¬
tions, or election districts, or from both,
as large a delegation as possible, to meet
in Convention, at Baltimore, on the 2d
Wednesday in Januar}', 1844, to confer
on the best manner of promoting the
due observance of the Lord's day.
The evil to be remedied is too appa¬
rent, to need farther explanation. It is
seen in a thousand forms, and has for
years been gradually but surely aug¬
menting. Avarice and sensuality are its
chief advocates, whilst apologies without
number are made far its extenuation, by
those who are bound by their religious
profession to condemn and resist it. But,
we forbear further remark, as the subject
is familiar to all.
We invite ministers of the gospel to
lay this subject before their congrega¬
tions, and contribnte their efforts toward
the promotion of an object which can
scarcely fail to commend itself to the wise
and the good of all Christian denomina¬
tions.
We ask all interested in the perpetua¬
tion of one of the wisest and best insti¬
tutions, especially officers and stock¬
holders in rail-roads and steamboats, for¬
warders, boatmen, agents, clerks, and
others concerned with canals and rail¬
roads, and with the shipping interest, and
merchants, and business men generally,
to attend and take part in the delibera¬
tions of the Convention.
B. Kurtz, "1
A. M. Carter, j
R. J. Breckenridge,
J. G. Hamner, ^Committee.
E. J. Richardson,      j
F. Israel, I
T. E. Bond, Jr.,      j
Resolved, by the Executive Committee of
the Society ofthe friends ofthe Sabbath,
That the Clergy be respectfully request¬
ed to preach one or more sermons to
their respective congregations, on the
importance of a proper observance ofthe
Sabbath, prior to the assembling of the
above Convention.
marvellous structure ; and how can this
be effected, but by opening our hearts in
earnest prayer to that gracious God,
"from whom all blessings flow," and in
whom the wisdom of all the world is cen¬
tred'!
Did all the human family join in earn¬
est prayer to God, and their daily ac¬
tions show the exercise of such a duty,
how different would be the state of soci¬
ety—how different would be the conduct
of all people in this land of sojourners!
The pride of the world would be discarded
from among us; every heart would be
cleansed; and in place of broils and
contentions, every day witnessed and
felt, from the poor man's fireside to the
rich man's palace, there would be harmo¬
ny and universal concord. Deceit—Malice—
Revenge Jealousy, and all things of
shame and ignominy,—would fly from be¬
fore us. Purity of conscience—good feel¬
ing—humanity—benevolence, and every ob¬
ject of good, would repose in us, and
cause us to be happy, and to feel that "it
is good for us to be here," while glory
and honor to God would be established
in the highest degree.
T+++S&^f-t^*++*4*-.
4^4*<^_+f4r4f^r+~
grace.
ACTS THAT ARE IMMORTAL.
Not the smallest donation which, by
being given to the necessitous, especial¬
ly to those of the household of faith, un¬
der the influence of holy motives, is giv¬
en to God, can be lost; it will re-appear
with appropriate marks of Divine accept¬
ance, in futurity.    "The day shall de¬
clare it;" that day which will bring from
the depths of distant ages, and from their
remotest and most hidden places, deeds
°f mercy and kindness, to grace the final
lrlurnphs of sanctified souls amidst the
^■enmities of the judgment seat.   God
measures the magnitude of a work by
eyem?tlve lhat inspires it; so that, in his
puritltS f?1.oatncss is proportioned to its
and th    ihe ar)ointin£ of Christ's feet,
e w'dow's two mites, are written
For the Christian Obersver.
EARNEST   PRAYER.
BT L. BNYDEIt iEIDT.
In earnest prayer, there is something
so consoling—so full of richness to the
human soul—that it causes one to feel
as if he were in company with the spirits
in heaven. Indeed, there is nothing to
be enjoyed, which affords the same hap¬
piness to the mind.
In true prayer to God, we seem ele¬
vated far above and entirely beyond
comprehending the actions and doings
of the world here below—and, as we
continue in the same earnest prayer, we
seem to rise higher and yet higher, until
the mind is brought to bear upon nothing
but the idea of being in the presence of
our Creator. There is- nothing which
operates so pleasantly, and, at the same
time, yields so much goodness to the
penitent and impassioned heart, as the
exercise of true prayer: indeed, how
many people are there in the world,
who desire to be elevated to the light of
Divine munificence—to the light of true
knowledge in their souls, by which they
may be able to join their sentiments with
the great Author of their being, so as to
distinguish the various springs of their
THE DISPENSATION OP FORMS.
A religion of forms and ceremonies has its
origin in the desires and principles ofour fall¬
en nature. The following philosophical re¬
marks on this subject, from Dr. Haddock's
Discourse before the Rhetorical..Society of
Bangor Theological Seminary, will be read
with interest.
"The ideas, which uninspired men
have formed of the spiritual and the in¬
finite, they have, generally, sought to
express and to fix in material forms.—
Structures of enduring masonry, statues
of the gods, costly and mysterious rites,
have been resorted to, to represent and
perpetuate among men the great princi¬
ples of religious belief, which their un¬
assisted reason has seemed to discover,
and which, distorted and corrupted, con¬
founded with errors and obscured by su¬
perstitions, have, yet, been the leading
element in the education of every peo¬
ple.
Even.the Jewish worship, though com¬
paratively pure and spiritual, was, in no
small degree, nourished by sensible ima¬
ges and consecrated forms. The taber¬
nacle, with its golden furniture, its ark
and altar and mercy seat; the robes of
Aaron, the ephod, the breastplate and the
mitre, allofcunning workmanship, glow¬
ing with purple and scarlet dyes, and
jeweled with the emerald, the diamond
and all precious stones; the oracular
TJrim and Thummim; the wondrous cloud
and fire of the Divine presence; and, in
after ages, the temple, enriched with the
offerings of piety and the trophies of ho¬
ly warfare—these outward, visible things,
were the secret of the charm, which
bound the Jew to the city of his solem¬
nities. These made him to prefer Jeru¬
salem above his chief joy. For these he
wept, when he hung his harp on the wil¬
lows, and sat down by the rivers of Baby¬
lon.
In thus imparting a high significance
to visible forms, there is nothing unrea¬
sonable or unnatural. There is, rather,
something beautiful in the idea of giving
a tongue to inanimate nature, making
the hues of the sun and the gems of the
earth our teachers; something grand in
the thought of engraving our wisdom and
our duty upon the permanent material of
nature, the everlasting rock; something
grateful to the heart, amid the changes of
life, in surrounding ourselves, on either
hand and above, with enduring records
of spiritual and living truth. The wisest
of men die; the most eloquent lips soon
cease to impart knowledge. It would
seem, therefore, but a natural wish to
give greater permanence and a more ve¬
nerable authority to truth, than is entire¬
ly consistent with this transient life of
ours. And, certainly, there is a solemn
eloquence, a revered grandeur in those
mysterious monuments of genius and pi¬
ety, which, in America, in Europe, in
Asia, in Africa, all over the world, have
outlived the memory of their builders,
and still utter their sublime lessons of
primeval wisdom.
Wherever to these outward emblems
have been added the influence of civil
authority and of a divine right in the
priesthood, the machinery of religion has
been complete. The-power of circum¬
stance and form has here attained its ut¬
most height. Personal qualities, mere
weight of character, intellect, eloquence,
piety, in the sacred office, have here been
last and least among the elements of ec¬
clesiastical power. The individual ap¬
pears lost in the order; the order, but an
accident, a necessary accident of the
system ; the system, a colossal structure,
built up by the gradual accumulation of
ages, and become, by insensible degrees,
the agent of opinion, rather than its in¬
strument; dictating to the reason, mould¬
ing the taste, and prescribing to the con¬
science; presenting, in history, the hu¬
miliating spectacle of free heaven-born
mind paying homage to a creature of its
own.
THE DISPENSATION OP THE SPIRIT.
The Christian Religion discovers pro-
founder views of our nature. It goes
upon higher ideas of our true dignity and
spiritual character; and in this respect,
as in so many others, betrays its super¬
human origin. Revelation, which so
humbles his pride, is, at the same time,
the greatest honor ever put upon man.—
It supposes in him capacities hitherto un¬
developed to himself. It assumes the ex¬
istence of elements of moral greatness in
his nature, which no philosophy had de¬
tected. It takes for granted his capacity
for a high spiritual life. It abandons
the whole apparatus of forms, and
shows and outward monuments; puts
away the childish things of the world's
infancy; and gives us, in their stead, in¬
tellectual, manly, spiritual principles.
Even in Jerusalem, while the temple
was yet standing, and men had no idea,
that the Father of the Universe could be
truly worshipped any where else, the
apostles, with power, if need were, to
evoke a more gorgeous temple from the
earth, were content to be gathered to¬
gether in an upper room of a private
house. And in Greece, taught by her
poets and artists to associate the worship
ofthe Gods with whatever of beauty, ge¬
nius had executed or taste designed, in
The temple, in which a Saviour promis¬
ed had been so long adored, might have
been consecrated to a Saviour come • its
imposing service mi^ht have been made
to turn the eye of faith backward as well
as forward. There would have been
something appropriate and consonant
with our best feelings, in the idea of de¬
voting the house of David to the worship
ofthe Son of David. It would have seem¬
ed eminently fit and useful, that he, who
had been foreshadowed, in the sacrifices
ofthe sanctuary, to the generations, who
died before the sight, should be set forth
in the same holy place, as the risen and
glorified Redeemer of all generations.—
But this work of ages, the pride of Jewish
faith and the wonder of the nations, was
to be of no more account. It had accom¬
plished its purpose. A new order of
things vvas to succeed. And the glory of
Jerusalem was suffered to pass away ; not
one stone was left upon another. The
line ofthe priesthood vvas ended ; the al¬
tar of incense, as well as the altar of sac¬
rifice, was thrown down. The dispensa¬
tion of Forms was superseded by a dis¬
pensation ofthe Spirit.
To Christianity an outward existence
was hardly given. The kingdom of hea¬
ven was set up within men ; it came not
with observation. The life of piety was
awakened in the soul; the principle of
love was implanted in the heart; the spi¬
rit of worship was quickened into fervid
action. But every thing external was left
very much to the instinctive suggestions
ofthe new born spirit. The sensual was
thus subordinated to the spiritual; the
formal, to the essential. The inward was
developed in the outward; not the out¬
ward made to develope the inward.—
The enlarged thoughts and rectified feel¬
ings of the regenerate were trusted to un¬
fold themselves in natural forms, subject
to no law but their own impulses. The
principle of spiritual life, the supernatu¬
ral element in the new creature, became,
to the moral man, what the principle of
animal, or of vegetable life, is to the
physical man or the plant, a central, or¬
ganic power, evolving and manifesting
itself spontaneously—symmetrical!)' and
appropriately embodying itself; a power
impatient of coercion or direction from
without, but, when left perfectly free,
naturally taking to itself a form as be¬
coming and as graceful as the uncramp-
ed child or unforced tree.
Hence the absence of prescribed forms
of devotion and modes of organization
in the New Testament. Hence the re¬
markable obscurity which rests on the
institution of the Christian Sabbath, the
mode and subjects of Christian baptism,
the calling and ordination of the clergy,
the discipline and constitution of the
church, and the whole matter of ecclesi¬
astical order. A single chapter, one is
ready to think, might have made all
plain. The space taken up by our Lord's
commentary on the moral law, would
have determined, with equal clearness,
questions of mode and order, which have
filled the world with bitterness and vio¬
lence. But that space is not given to the
subject; that chapter is not written.
There was, undoubtedly, a primitive
order and a primitive discipline. A
church was formed; a ministry institut¬
ed ; an outward worship adopted. But
the particular organization of the church,
the precise mode of ordination, the exact
manner of worship are left, to say the
least, in much indistinctness, if not un¬
certainty. Is there not a striking differ¬
ence, in this respect, between the formal
and the doctrinal part of Christianity 1—
A remarkable difference, in point of
clearness and prominence between the
facts, which relate to the essentials ofour
religion, and the facts which respect its
forms 1 Can it have been wholly without
design, that the two only rites enjoined
upon Christians were the simplest possi¬
ble, for ends, which could not otherwise
be answered, the one as a visible profes¬
sion of Christ, and the other, as a peri¬
odical public recognition of him'! And
that even these simple rites were not ori¬
ginal, nor instituted with any show of im¬
portance ; but were only Jewish practices
transferred, without ceremony, from their
primitive use] Does it not look very
much as if it had been intended, in this
way, to intimate to after ages, that, al¬
though Christianity must, of necessity,
have a visible existence, and, therefore,
a form of existence, this form was left to
be determined by the circumstances and
the judgment of the worshippers; and
that, beyond the necessities of the case,
the less of form and circumstance there
might be, the safer and wiser, on the
whole, would be the organization ofthe
church 1
It is difficult to resist the impression
from the whole history of the New Tes¬
tament,-that the care of all the inspired
writers, as well as of the great Founder
of our religion himself, was directed
chiefly to the inward spirit of piety, not
to the outward manifestation of it; to the
divine truths, by which the spirit is nour¬
ished, not to modes and means. They
seem studiously to rebuke the ven¬
eration of their times for sacred places
and holy days. " The hour cometh, when
ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet
at Jerusalem, worship the Father." "The
true worshippers shall worship the Father
in spirit and in truth." " But now after
that ye have known God, or, rather, are
known of Him, how turn ye again to the
weak beggarly elements, whereunto ye
desire to be in bondage'! Ye observe
days and months and times and years."
• •****4-*^4y4y4-**	
For the Christian Observer.
A CONTINUING CITY.
« For we have here no continuing city; but we
seek one to come."
Heaven is repeatedly represented as a
city ; but a city unlike those of earth. It
is a continuing city. Here, however,
Christians have no continuing city—no
abiding place. They are liable ever to
be driven to and fro. Soon they must be
removed hence by death—they must de¬
part.—Compared with eternity,—perhaps
even with the time which is already past,
—the present scene will soon be chang¬
ed the present state of things soon ter¬
minated. When this shall be, we cannot
tell. Perhaps sooner than we suppose ;
and yet, probably, not immediately.—
Nevertheless, soon. But all shall soon be
removed by death. Death is in the midst
of us. However, though Christians have
here no continuing city, thev may, and
And
architecture   and   sculpture,   the   same
apostles meet their disciples by the riv-   should, and do seek one to come
er'sside, or in the school of Tyrannus.— l diligently seeking  such,  they through
grace, shall surely find it. There is for
true Christians, a continuing city. It is
Heaven—the place of perfect purity, and
unmingled bliss. For Heaven is not only
a state, but a place. Where Heaven is,
it may not be for us to say. It is where
the throne of God is—where Jehovah
manifests unveiled his glory.—Where his
people rest.
Christians, therefore, should live—
should feel and act, as if they habitually
realized that earth is not their home-
that they are mere pilgrims and sojour-
ers here. The present state is a state of
motion and passage. Christians, more¬
over, should habitually live as seeking a
continuing city—a home in Heaven—a
holy, happy, and permanent abode.—
Why should they fix their hearts on
earth ]—why weary themselves with the
anxieties and cares of time'! Why should
they envy the ungodly their prosperi¬
ty and ease] Why should they seek
their portion here below] They should
not;—and when grace is reigning, and
faith is strong, and hope is bright, and
love is holy, they will not. Death to them
will be unspeakable gain ; and what will
not immortality be ! Oh ! let them, then,
live above the world—live as if near Hea¬
ven. And let them bear with cheerful¬
ness, whatsoever they may be called to
bear; and do with all their heart and
might whatsoever their hands finds to
do, to benefit mankind, and glorify their
God.—"For here we have no continuing
city ; but we seek one to come."       G.
SUBJUGATION OP THE NESTORIANS.
The following is Dr. Grant's letter, men¬
tioned in our last, confirming the intelligence
of the massacre and subjugation of the moun¬
tain Nestorians.   It was dated at
Mosdl, August I2lh, 1843.
I wrote to you two weeks ago, giving
the latest intelligence from the moun¬
tains. Messengers have just now ar¬
rived, confirming the general correct¬
ness of the reports which had reached
us up to that date, and showing that they
had rather fallen short than exceeded the
truth. The die is now cast. The whole
of Tiyary, with the exception of four or
five villages, has been laid in ruins, the
houses burned, the crops destroyed, flocks
driven away, and even the trees cut down
and burned, or so cut to pieces that they
could not be used for building; so that,
in such an inhospitable country, it is
hard to say whether we have most to
mourn for tbe living or the dead.
Of the number of the killed, it is im¬
possible, as yet, to obtain any definite
and correct information. Our informants
are among the most intelligent and trust¬
worthy Nestorians of the mountains, and
their reports are corroborated by gene¬
ral rumor. They concur in saying that
very many have fallen, both Nestorians
and Koords; that the latter (with many
of the former) were thrown into the ri¬
ver, to prevent the surviving soldiers
from being disheartened—in other words,
to conceal the amount of their loss. As
many of the Nestorians ,that fell into the
power of the Koords were killed, the wo¬
men and children were taken prisoners
and carried away into slavery, except
that many of the women, who were nei¬
ther young nor handsome, were wanton¬
ly put to death on the spot. A party of
these women, while crossing the Zab, in
the anguish of being thus driven away
by the merciless Koords, simultaneously
precipitated themselves into the river,
and were drowned ! Many of the inha¬
bitants escaped to the fastnesses of the
most inaccessible mountains, or fled into
neighboring districts for safety.
The Koords swept through the moun¬
tains like a devouring fire, even tearing
down, or blowing to pieces with powder,
some of the most venerated of the
churches. The valuable library of the
patriarch was destroyed in the sacking of
his district of Diss. It had been greatly
diminished by previous invasions—first
by repeated attacks from the Koords
upon his former isolated residence in
Kochannes, afterwards by the invasion,
two years ago, when his house was de¬
molished and burned. It is now to be
feared that few of the venerable and
highly valued manuscripts, lately pos-
sessed by the Nestorians, have survived
the general desolation. A few of our
own books, which had not been distribut¬
ed, have also disappeared, together with
some remaining personal effects, which
we could not remove, but nothing of any
considerable value.
It has been interesting to see the evi¬
dence of the strong attachment to their
places of worship and their sacred books,
manifested by all classes of the Nestori¬
ans, and particularly by their clergy.—
One who had lost more than most others
possessed, with much apparent sincerity,
affirmed that he would have cared little
for the destruction of the village, if only
their church and books were safe. Some
of these were secured by hiding them—
others might have been saved, but that
they feared to bury them or hide them in
caves, lest they should be ruined by
dampness. The loss of their flocks, and
the produce of their gardens and fields,
they can hardly survive; and unless the
account is greatly exaggerated, I see not
but many must flee to their brethren of
the plain, or other more favored parts, to
escape starvation in winter.
After the disasters of Tiyary and Diss,
the remaining tribes, it is said, have Bent
in their submission—and the Hakary
chief has now gone to Tehoma, with a
part of his army, to enforce the terms to
be imposed. Thence he would pass on
to Bass and Jelu, sparing the people for
the sake of their effects and the prospec¬
tive value of future service. The Koords
far exceeded the Nestorians in number,
and the latter were never assembled in
one general action. For this latter rea¬
son, I am inclined to hope that the num¬
ber of killed may not prove so great as
is now supposed. But, on the other
hand, the destruction may have been pro-
portionably greater among those who fell
within the sweep ofthe invaders. These
were chiefly, if not solely, Koords, col¬
lected, as our pasha informed me, from
Van to Ravendoose, from the Tigris to the
boundaries of Persia, "a hundred thou¬
sand strong," he exultingly added. In
this, however, there was some hyberbole.
The largest numbers I have heard esti¬
mated by the Nestorians, is that of our
informants to-day, who say they were
seventy thousand strong; end it is now
understood,and generally acknowledged,
that they have acted by orders from the
Turkish authorities.
I have mentioned an exception of four
or five villages to the general destruc¬
tion. They are situated in the small
valley running from Lezan to Asheta—
but, even of these, little remains, save
their miserable dwellings, and fields
swept of their luxuriant crops. An ex¬
orbitant sum—more than most will be
able to pay—has been levied upon each
household ; and, to prevent a redress of
their injuries, each house has been com¬
pelled to contribute a gun—while a few
ofthe more efficient have been obliged
to relinquish all the arms in their posses¬
sion. Several have been slain from these
villages—and a large number, some say
one half, have fled for their lives. Of
these last, many will return to their
dwellings—and others may seek a pre¬
carious subsistence in some other place.
The leader of the expedition, the zealous
chief of Buhtan, has returned to his
home, leaving one Zainal Bey—the most
noted robber in the mountains—as gov¬
ernor at Asheta, over that section of the
late powerful tribe of Tiyary. He has
taken up his quarters in your mission-
house, which he is finishing with consi¬
derable additions of his own.
The patriarch is still here, wishing,
however, that he were in Ooroomiah—
whither he attempted to flee from the
mountains, but found the way intercept¬
ed by the Koords. He has been encour¬
aged to hope for a successful interference
in his favor by the British ambassador at
the Porte. But, as things now are, the
most he can hope for is the release of his
brothers and sisters, with other members
of his family, eighteen or twenty in num¬
ber. In accomplishing this, we may
possibly exert a silent influence, and I
trust, through some agency, it will yet be
effected.
MISSION AT CONSTANTINOPLE.
Rev. Mr. Goodell's Expository Lectures io the
Armenians.
In February last, Mr. Goodell commenced
a course of expository discourses for the ben¬
efit of a few Armenians, at the dwelling of
Mr. Schauffler. The first was attended by
seven Armenians.   The Herald says—
The number subsequently became lar¬
ger. Eaul's Epistle to the Galatians was
first taken up, as peculiarly fitted to meet
the wants of those who would naturally
attend the service, they soon—to use the
language of Mr. Goodell—"launched out
into the great deep of justification by
faith alone." At the close of the fourth
meeting, those who were present " rose
as one man, and requested that a similar
exercise might be held every Sabbath
in the chapel, where all may attend who
wish." This arrangement, however, was
not intended to affect the expository ser¬
vice, already established.
The influence of this meeting seems
to have been very happy. The exercise
held upon the Sabbath occurs immediate¬
ly after Mr. Dwight's preaching service.
Still under date of April 2d, Mr. Good¬
ell says, " Most of the Armenians pre¬
sent to-day must have been sitting in a
crowded room not less than three hours;
and yet, instead of manifesting the least
impatience, they were slow to leave after
they were dismissed; many of them lin¬
gered, as usual, to ask questions, and to
take still deeper draughts of the waters
of life." The private exercise of Tues¬
day is generally opened with prayer by
one of the Armenian brethren. "Sev¬
eral of them are highly gifted, and pour
forth their hearts in a very becoming and
most edifying manner." Mr. Goodell
says—
"Our meetings for a familiar exposi¬
tion of the Scriptures, twice a week,
have been continued to the present time,
and the interest in them seems to be un¬
abated. When I commenced the one on
the Sabbath, I expected that the other on
Tuesday morning, which was compara¬
tively small, would dwindle away, and
become merged in this; but I am happy
to say, that this has not been the case.—
Sometimes half a chapter is commented
on at a meeting, sometimes only one
verse, or even half a verse. When any
fail to understand, or when they wish for
fuller explanations, they ask questions.
Some of our more constant hearers
are very shrewd and clear-headed men;
and when they get hold of the idea in¬
tended to be conveyed, which is often be¬
fore we have completed the explanation,
their eyes sparkle, and they seem to "re¬
joice as one that findeth great spoils." I
have often thought of that beautiful pass¬
age in Jeremiah, "Thy words were found
and I did eat them; and thy word was
unto me the joy and rejoicing of my
heart." They swallow the truth by whole
mouthfuls.like those who have been long
famishing: and to open the rich treasures
ofthe gospel to such, is like "pouring
water upon the thirsty and floods upon
the dry ground." Not a drop seems to
be wasted. Often does every ear seem
to be open, every eye riveted, and
every heart prepared, by the Holy Spirit,
to receive the truth. The werd is with
power. It comes with all the authority
of eternal truth, and with all the fresh¬
ness of a revelation from God. It cuts
every way, like a two-edged sword. It
scatters all the mists and mazes of night
like the rising of the sun. It " is perfect,
converting the soul."
Several take notes, especially of all
references to parallel passages in the
Old Testament. To find so much pure
gospel in the Old Testament, and such
wonderful harmony between the Old and
the New, and so much more of spiritual¬
ity, and of real evangelical religion,
among the patriarchs and prophets, than
even *the disciples appear to have had
before they were baptized with the Holy
Ghost on the day of Pentecost, is alto¬
gether new to them. And those who thus
take notes, do it for the purpose of com¬
municating to others what they hear from
us. They gather up the fragments, and
retail them; and, as retailers, nobody in
all Constantinople carries on a brisker
trade than they do. They light their can¬
dle, not to conceal it under a bushel, but
to put it on a candlestick, for the publiG
benefit. And the water they drink fqr
their own refreshment, becomes in them
a well of living water, springing up for
the refreshment of all their neighbors
and friends'."
*MM*V/#/##/*fVM<
POPERY IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND.
Amid the contentions occasioned in the
the Church of England by the doctrines
of Dr. Pusey, and in Scotland by Drs.
Chalmers and Candlish, it would appear
from the statement quoted in our columns
of last week's paper, that Catholicism is
steadily and rapidly progressing. It would
also appear from the number of recently-
erected Catholic chapels that this county
despite the labors of Dissenters and the
zeal of Methodism, continues to maintain
its ancient character as a stronghold of
the Church of Rome.—Tyne Mercury.
 *****4*w***r***—	
SPURIOUS REFORMS.
There are lessons of practical wisdom
in the Rev. Dr. Riddle's Address, noticed
in our last, which are worthy of atten¬
tion. We give an extract fr-om it, in il¬
lustration of some of the spurious efforts
at reform, which have at different periods
been witnessed. After a notice ofthe at¬
tempts at reform by Poets, Philoso¬
phers, Artists, Legislators, and infidel
Politicians, he remarks—
The principle of association has been
tried, in correcting the evils of the
world—a principle worthy of the study
of the philosopher, especially as used
for the purposes of reformation. The
principle of associatiou is generally, but
erroneously, claimed as the peculiar dis¬
covery of modern times, and as the phi¬
losopher's stone, in questions of reform.
Its power is not in arithmetical, but in
geometrical ratio to the numbers en¬
gaged, and hence its plausibility. But
association gives no new element of rec¬
tification. It multiplies even geometri¬
cally only the individual elements of the
body associated. Increase nothing, or
worse than nothing, by geometrical pro¬
gression, and it will be nothing, or worse
than nothing, at the last conceivable com¬
bination of the indeterminate series.
There is this danger, too, peculiar to
associations.     An  association uses   or
sanctions measures, from which indivi¬
duals would shrink.   It can perpetrate a
fraud, or bear an  odium, which would
crush an individual, as an arch sustains a
pressure, by which the materials other¬
wise combined would be overwhelmed.
As corporations are said to have no souls,
associations are seldom found to have
any consciences. Association is a move¬
able quantity, which of itself works no
cures, an implement the reformer may
employ, but which the demagogue and
the anarchist find ready for his purpo¬
ses.   Look at Jesuitism, as illustrative of
the power of association, as an element
of reform.   This was the nonpareil of as¬
sociated power.   Organized by the re¬
puted   Head  of the   church—-diffused
through all lands—regulated by one lead¬
er—ramified from the palace to the hovel
—armed  with every variety  of wealth
and   power—entrenched   in., cabinets—
installed in  schools and colleges, and
confessedly aiming at  the rectification
and revolution of society, it seemed the
perfection of reformatory machinery.—
But  an  indignant  world  and  insulted
thrones repudiated the scheme, after as
fair a trial as ever fell to the lot of any
system of spurious radicalism.   Though
now revived, with the fruits of the past
experiment, and with large promise of
success, especially in this land, its doom
will at last be the same.
So of Freemasonry. We do not decide
whether it originated in the days of Solo¬
mon, or in the times of the revolutionary
troubles in England, when guilds or cor¬
porations sought refuge from oppression,
and aimed at the rectification of social
evils by combing their forces and affiliat¬
ing their branches. Though linked in
later years to politics, there is no reason
to believe that the original intention was
any thing but an effort of reform, grow¬
ing in extent and mystery beyond the
conception of its projectors. It promis¬
ed much and spoke a mystic language on
purpose to combine all nations in a bless¬
ed brotherhood, and make a dialect of
love every where intelligible, and an at¬
mosphere of charity all-encircling. But
notwithstanding all its high purposes, it
has been repudiated, almost universally,
as an element for reforming tbe world,
and in its old age accused of treasonable
designs, and of being perverted to the
purposes of party politics. On this point
we pass no judgment; but we conceive
the demonstration complete, that it like¬
wise lacks the essential element of radi¬
cal reform.
The same, we are persuaded, will be
found true of the latest form of associa¬
tion and folly, i. e., Fourierism, when
fairly tried.
Now, granting that all the schemes at
which wejiave glaced,from Orpheuiand
his lyre, down to Fourier and his associ-
ational plan, have originated in sober
and earnest desires for reform. Granting,
even by the largest stretch of charity, the
honesty of their purposes, their ineffica-
cy must also be allowed. The world is
not cured of its evils or its wretchedness,
in society, in the state, or in the church.
The world sometimes reminds one of
John Bunyan's slough of despair. The
efforts of past ages have only deepened,
instead of drying up the mire; and as a
man possesses the idiosyncrasy of Demo-
critus or Heraclitus, be will weep or
laugh at the past history of spurious radi¬
calism, and especially as he perceives
the essential features ofthe most ancient,
preserved in the most modern phases.—
He may indulge in the cold sneer of Car-
lyle, or the everlasting persiflage of Vol¬
taire, or be tempted to pray, as Luther is
said once to have done, that God would
put an end to the world, as it is too bad to
be mended; orpredict, as modern proph¬
ets, its speedy physical conflagration,
by which God's omnipotence is brought
in to destroy those evils which his wis¬
dom has failed to cure.
But this is all wrong. The evils of the
world are to be abolished. A long Sab¬
bath is to succeed its cycles of confusion
and unrest. The bad working of all
wrong plans hitherto, should not discour¬
age our faith or our efforts. True philoso¬
phy teaches us that a thousand experi¬
ments, with disastrous results, on wrong
principles, do not in the least degree
weaken the reasons for trusting confident¬
ly in the success of efforts conducted on
right principles. Even this long list of
failures would be valuable, if thereby the
essential error of all spurious radicalism
were demonstrated, and its advocates
were brought to acknowledge and practice
the genuine principle of radicalism.
In accordance with the definition al¬
ready given, genuine radicalism is dis-