Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1851-12-31

to illuminate its margins with gratuito
portraiture.
The clergyman is entitled to our fiji
e; attention. This is the first year of
:. Or ministry. Heis stray slip of Virgin
he aristocracy, who has found scope for b
er enthusiasm of religious sentiment, ar
E opportunity for his generosity of selfdenia
,r in circuit preaching through mountai
range of three hundred miles compass.
! ! which he must traverse once every month
{ {; preaching, on an average, "once every da
D and twice on Sundays" He is marked b.
r better education, better manners, and NOR
. refinement than the men among whom b
ministered but he subdues bis tastes
and conforms his general demeanor, t.
the coarse conditions of his work, with al
the devotion, but, happily, none of thu
pretcnce, of a martyr. In good truth, h,
is very much out of place in this rude
region, except for :he rare spirits, one ir
a hundred or thousand, who, pe1chancc
may apprehend him. But he came among
us in such singleness of heart and cordial
devotcdness of spirit, that he is as much
disguised, to selfish and superficial people,
as prince in temporary banishment. And
he would have it SO, for he wants tie dis
cipline of such duty; and the conccalnent
of his accustomed style of life is necessary
to the free working Of the experiment.
The congregation felt that indefnable
something in him which distinguishes the
gentlemanbred, but missing all the prctencc
and mannerism which, in their idea,
marked it, they generally accepted him at
his own modest estimate, and the secret Of
his family and fortune escaped the gossips.
lie accepted his hundred dollars year,
made up by some thirty little congrega-
tions, as composedly as if he needed such
pittance, and he took the hospitalities of
the circuit as contentedly as if their best
was something quite agreeable to him.
Not unfrequently the position of the
preacher, in this rugged region, is a matter
of ambitious aspiration, Notwithstanding
the rudeness of the people and the hard
ness Of the work ; for some of our noun
tain clergy are the coarsest men within
A. bo,o1or;a, of xbo b.o,bo,b,oJ b,,x
often, vcrJ Vstan, the sarvicc is a s.e.;s"~
of rich sensibilities and dedication of fine
talents to the most repugnant forms of
duty Such was the person, and such the
aptitude to his work, of our friend, the
Rev. George Ashleigh. 1t were well for
our new world if the ministerial Office we're
generally filed by such men as he.
Among the women belonging to this So
ciety, there were two girls, whose charac-
ters were brought well enough to the sur
face by the events of my story to allow the
hope Of adequate prcsentment.
Nancy Barton's general character was
strength and style Her religious impul-
ses were very active, her social sentiments
free and strong, and her selfish feelings,
also, sharp and importunate. She was j
defective in imagination proper, but the !
ifc Of passion warmed and strengthened S
,er thoughts into grandeur, and her verbal e
'loquence was Of the highest tone cen t
'eivable in a woman destitute of literature s
nd the culture of refined companionship 5
The custom of the church admitted of fe- !
male participation in the public deyotions, C
nd Nancy found scope in a stormy elo- t
uence Of prayer and exhortation, for tai v
nts that had no match in such use within Il
le circuit Of hundred miles.
She was strongly rather than hand f
'mely made. There was a frmness, t.
eight, and force, with such elegance as s.
elong to them, in her make and manner, +
rat kindled admiration, unmi1ed, howev- g
:, with tenderness and affection. Her fl
ce, well fitted for the elocution of her J
rong thoughts and burning words, was u
rikingly brilliant and even handsome a
lough, without being quite agreeable, Or o
any fashion fascinating. 1t turned, it b
ay be, too fully and boldly to ones gaze; q
confessed, perhaps, too much conscious Il
sss, sand too much of the purpose Of its own al
orking, even in the rapture of its excite is
ent; for there was little of that system ,
its passion which corrcsponded to the Ct
III elaboratsness Of her robust oratory. cl
he trouble was, that, while her rhapsodies "
ere in the vein Of inspiration, the deliv- B
y iatruded the feeling Of much study Il
nd large practice with an aim. o
Nancy was an orphan, and dependent e.
II her support upon her industry or the b
o.pitality of her church friends, as she Il
leased to choose between those two sorts is
reliances. She compromised and mix a.
them as her tastes and purposes re- t.
uired. She made long visit the year Ii
sfore, to distant town in one or other of W
lese characters, and had returned with no d
iOht ADVANTAGE of trsval onJ obaorv.%;o,, 81