Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1816-05-13
Religious intelligence
NrERFsr1NG TOUR THROUGH
: GERMANY.

nual Meeting. :
! TT cannot be doubted, that want o,
R;bles exists along the whole tract o.
country through which the retreating ana
nursuing armies have passed, as many
villages have been nearly destroyed, ano
many more completely pillaged. was
forced 10 travel with as much rapidity as
lpossibIe through these cenesof desola
ltion,: but the account given me during
my stay at Iisenuch, BY the key. Mr.
w mel. Member of the Consistory lot
| that nutchy, is certainly applicable e
iother districts which have shared the
same fate as the vicinity of Eisenach; !
will give II in his own words:
6 TO the most melancholy consequence
! rs Of the war in our neighborhcod, be
LONGS also the loss of means OF edificatioi
land instruction, which many families
have sustained, and which their present
Isituatioa renders them unable to repa'l
latter the retreat Of the French army
fathers and mothers of families came ant
complained 10 me, that they had lost al
Their Bibles, Hymn-books, and other re
llipious books. and requested me to SUP
ipIy them with some books for their con
ISOLATION. But still more lamentable IS
!! the situation Of children one School O.
| this town cannot be frequented at all,
land in another, the greater number o.
| the children are obliged to stay away ta
iwantof books, aud the inability OF their
parents to purchase them. succeeded
in obtaining sufficient aid to supply them
with Cateehisms, but still most of them
! are without Bibles or Hymn-boOks. Nor
is the situation o: the villages IN the
! vicinity Of this town less deplorabIe; Tor
in many families not book is to be
found. The distressin Fortha. a village
| two leagues from this town, is in this re.
spect peculiarly great. Its Minister as
snred me, that he was entirely destitute
! ofb obs requisite for the due performance
| of divine worship, for he had net even .
Bible or Hymn-Book left; nor did he
know how to procure them, as his Church
was completely ruined, and his congrega-
|tion impoverished. / have endeavoured
| to obtain some assistance to relieve these
pressing wants. A Russian officer, who
became acquainted with them. give me
three ducats,. and by the addition of
some other gifts, I have raised about
Twenty dollars + but these are far from
Sufficient to procure the necessary sup
lply.
While visiting one OF The la@est silver
mines at Freyberg, where above 10GGper-
lsons are employed, / learn that the prac-
Itice Of assembling for the purpose of i'm
Iploripg the divine protection before they
descend into the mine in the morning,
and of closing the day in the same way
with united devotion, is not only faith
fully adhered TO. but also much respect
led BY them, and that in general they
ARE peculiarly anxious for proper and
religious education of their children.
The Rev. Mr.. Trisch, at Frey burg, whoi
lhas lately become the benefactor of the
numerous poor of that vicinity by the es-I
adjustment OF we'll regulated School
lof Industry, represented to me the wan,
/ OF Bibles in the school of the suburbs of
IFreyberg, principally freguented By the
Ichiidien Of miners, and deprived by the
WAR Of the funds which formerly sup
lplied the necessary books. Among 5000
children capable of reading the Scrip
| lures, 100 were destitute of them; and
Ias the sum of fifty dollars was deemed
sufficient for the present exigencv. was
thappy to grant it. 1t cannot be doubted,
but the late y established Saxon Billie So
Ici..y will direct lis attention to district
living SO near the capital, and to class
of persons to whom Christian charity
must be particularly DESTROYS OF sup
plying the comforts of religion, as the ar
ldacus aud cherries labor by which they
learn a scanty livelihood has, also ten
Idency to shorten t'eis life. which, as /
have been Informed. very seldom reaches
the age of fifty years
Permit me here to notice the shortl
visit which, on my way from Erfnrt toI
Dresden, paid to Halle. and to the Con-
stein Institution, because it enables me!
to give or confirm the gratifying intel
|ligence ofthe existence of so great a del
nand of Bibles in the German language :;
that even the greatest activity and exer-
|tion in the printing Office of Halle were
scarcely capable Of satisfying it. The
warehouses. which few years ago were
filled with copies of the Scriptures, were
at the time of my visit, almost entirely
empty; of some editions no copies rel
manned on hand !; and not only all the
presses belonging to the Institution, but