Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1854-07-02

should 90 10 America. lHdlVlduaiS IN lnfia Wr0t
me- a That is wonderful region, America; g
before you return Then, in the course of Divin
Providence, one and another invitation came frOr
America itself, first from the United States, an
lastly from Canada.-for the Canadss are an in
tegral portion of our own mighty British empire
All these things came about However. there wa
one uniform answer for long time,-@I cannot
1t IS impossible, until, in some measure at least
the work undertaken here shall be accomplished
the door Of Provideneeis open, may be driven tc
I feel that my confession must be, Here am. Lord
send me- and when Thou dost send me. do
with me what thou pleasest.'r / may note
however, just one circumstance simple one al
the time, but appearing in itself prOvidcntiaI
Some three years ago. there was an American
gentleman in Edingburg, Of whom | had peyer
heard, who, one day, in the midst of the Assembly
business, called on me at my lodgings, and intro
duced himself with all that marvellous readiness
and frankness peculiar to the American character,
though himself originally an Irishaan- (Iaughter)
"a combination Of Che exeelencies Of the two
characters, if you WILL and then you have true
eharaeter-Mr. Stuart, Of Philadelphia. Intro
ducing himself he said at once, !" You must come
America you shall have cordial welcome; We
wantto be stirred up there; plenty of material
there we need only TO be stirred up" That was
the tone of his address, with all the rankness and
heartiness so peculiar to the genuine American
character do not know how to describe what
there was in the tone and manner of that admir-
able man but there was that in him which went
at once direct to the heart there was something ia
the earnestnesa of toDe rapidty Of uttersnce, and
easy, loving address, which came home thoroughly
to the heart, and made me feel. This looks ike
some proyidential call it must be considered. p
Repeatedly the same gentleman wrote again and
again. you must come and so did others, until
last January, when being ended with the visitation
of the Preshyteries of the Church, the case was
submitted to the Foreign Missions Committee, and
they we're unanimous in their judgment that it was
as well to cross for a few months to that new
world and hail the Christian friends and brethren
there in the name of the Lord ; and so this voyage
was encountered
won't say much more about it, except that it
was terrific voyage, which one would not like,
except in the path of stern duty, to encounter
again. A succession of gales for eighteen DAYS in
the broad Atlantic amid raging pillows and storms
OF snow, and masses of ice covering the vessel,
and sinking her deep into the water-enough to
frighten one not accustom to that sort Of scenery
"a langh)-espeeially one coming frcm a region
where they never know what it is 10 have either
frost or snow However, at last in the good provi-
dence of God, we reached the Bay of New York,
coming in the end, amid strange mists, we we're at
last stranded stuck fast ten or twelve feet deep
in a mud bank, mile or two from the great city.
However, the city was reached. There are some
who must have been there to tell you what impress
sions they must have had but unquestionabIy the
appearance of that New York is one of singular
interest. You could not believe You we're in the
new worlds world 20 new-a little more than
two centuries old, so far as Christian civilization is
concerned. With regard to its present race of in
habitants, however, you do come to the whole
world planted for centuries. The rapidity of
growth is surprising. That the city of New York,
iU point Of population is the third city of Chris
tendon. First is London, then Paris and at this
hour New York is third 1t contains population
between 100000 and 100000. e.
1t was said many years ago, that there areno
old churches or palaces, and the new ones very
mean edi6ces. 1t is very true. The first pilgrims
got up things rapidly-you see this through the
whole land In going through these log huts, you
next come on them split up into deal boards and
painted, which makes them look respectable
then this goes on for several years, and by and by
you come to place where there are brick houses,
and you may be sure they are generation ahead.
By and by, when it is settled down, you find alone
buildings rising up in all directions around you
You continually psss through this scenery in the
States. So in this. EeS York spreads out on an
island, with the Hldsol Rivtr on the west, and
Long Island SOUND on the e'st and there is plenty
of room yet before it reaches its terminus. The
old city of New York in front, on either side of
which there are forests of shipping, like London or
Liverpool, abounds with stores of prodigious ex-
tent, and the largest hotels in the world. Now
the wealthy citizens have fed through it up to
new region not very much elevated, but still some
what Now, getting into this region of broad aud
spacious avenues, and cross streets aanked with
trees-we see palaces, and churches, grown up as
in the old world. We have no new churches
amongst US comparable to many now erected by
spontaneous liberality in New York One is build
ing by the Dutch Reformed body-a noble edi6ce
of the pure white marble, to cost how much think
you, and when 100000, or nearly 100000
1t so happened that the Dutch Church was down
in the old town, when it was not worth much. 1t
was wanted as building for Post Office, or some
thing They received $4,000 rent for it. Then
some personages had left three quarters of an acre
for the pasturage of COW for the pastor, and that
was sold for 100000. No wonder they can afford
to build marble church. And so on in other
bodies they are all Of late years building these
grand edifces. And really in the inside they are
uxuriousness itself. have seen nothing like them
in Scotland. If there be not aristoeracy after our
fashion, there is an aristocroey of wealth which
shows itself in all the magnitude which wealth can
| create.
They are building churches and schools, and set
ting up all sorts of institutions for the spread o.
missionary operations at home, abroad, everywhere
You know that there is no Established Church il
America and therefore ne social superiority there
| And as a consequence of this state of things in
America, all the religious bodies can come togeth
er with much greater freedom, ease, and familiarity
than in the old country. There are many noble'
minded men, both among the clergy and laity and