Washington sentinel., 1854-02-07

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treat to them to be there, it seemed to me that
here was the loveliest spirit Of the religion Of
Jesus, at work in the loveliest way. Of such
is the kingdom of heaven--I mean such teach
ers as well as children.
An hour afterwards there was yet another
scene in the same house. of which there were
unseen spectators angels certainly were pres
ent, though we saw them not and He who
made himself known to his three disciples in
the breaking of bread revealed himself to the
eye of our faith, though we could not take him
by the hand and urge him to stay. DR.. King
desired that the friends who were travelling
with me would come with his family and cele-
brate the Lords supper "a privilege rarely
enjoyed, and very dear. We came and sat
down together; not with the forms and cere-
monies that attend the celebration of the ordi-
nance in the Greek, the Romish, or the Pro-
testant churches, but in the more primitive
way. We came to it as to d social feast--a
breaking of bread together around table, as
when our master first said to his friend, Take,
eat, this is my body which is broken for you" !"
And we spoke to one another of the love of
that Saviour, and Of the Joy of finding table
spread for us in the wilderness and our hearts
burned within us as we talked and comforted
one another with these words. IF tears did
flow freely, they were not so much of grief as
of love; for the hour was not a sorrowful one,
even under the shadow Of the cross. And
when we rose up and took each others hands,
there were smiles on every face as we said: 1t
is good to be here.
But the Sabbath was not yet passed. The
missionary friends in Athens had desired me
to preach for them during my visit here, and
arrangements were made for an evening service
at the house of DR.. King. There were gathered
the missionaries of the Baptist church, of the
Episcopal church, and Of the American board,
and their families, with the chaplain Of the
British legation at Constantinope, the British
vice-consul, and a few others, filing the room.
It would have been far more appropriate and
profitable for me to sit at the feet of these mis-
sionaries, and learn Of them, than to take the
place of teacher; and could not refrain
from commencing with words like these:
Socrates was accustomed to say, when he
had Plato for hearer, that he had the better
half of Athens. In far higher sense than
the best Of Grecian philosophers employed the
expression, may make the remark of my au
to whom it would be Joy to preach the gospel,
little need that / should address them"
But we spent an hour in worship and in the
contemplation of a great truth that lies at the
heart of the missionary work. 1t was the first
time in my life preached to a congregation
that were not already full to repletion Of preach
ing and the way they listened and the express
sions they made afterwards of refreshment
were rich reward.
And this was the closing exercise Of a very
memorable Sabbath day. It had been unex-
pected in the anticipations oftravel, and doubt
less was all the richer for that. There cannot
be many such on this pilgrimage, nor on the
journey to the heavenly Canaan. Probably,
you would like to have me tell you something
Of the Acropolis and the Parthenon; the tenn
Piles Of Jupiter, Olympus, and Theseus Of the
groves of Plato and the prison Of Socrates; of
the Areopagus and the tribune Of Pericles and
Demosthenes. Of these and all the many an
tquities of Athens, SO glorious in their history,
so sadly beautiful in their crumbling greatness
or their deserted grandeur, you shall hear per-
haps hereafter. Richer treasures are opening
than I have hitherto told you Of, and you will
be all the better pleased if hoard them till
you can see them to better advantage. All
these hills are familiar to you as those about
old Cambridge, where we played in childhood
along time ago. These plains we studied
then and there. Shall tell you how ] felt
when first saw them now? Well, wait and you
shall know. IRENEUS.